Cinema and TV (Week 9)

Cinema and television have existed as long as we can remember and they are one of the things that are important in our daily lives. They are our sources of entertainment and information. Cinema and television however are two different mediums which one might have some limitations compared to one.

Television

So television as we all know that it has played an important role in our lives. It is one of our sources of entertainment, information and ideas. I would say that it seems that television seems to grow with us because ever since we were a child, we have been exposed to the likes of television until now and it has become our ways of developing our minds besides our body. This might have a different affect to those who are never exposed to television but I am quiet sure there are only few who did not grow with television. In media, television is a vital part for them to work. Without television, their work would be very limited.

Nowadays people have been using television for spreading information such as news, documentaries, education and etc. Most of the time, television is being used for entertainment. Various kinds of entertainment are broadcast everyday for everyone to be entertained.

Cinema

 Compare to television, cinema have existed from the 1880s and have been popular ever since even before television exists. They are being used for 'viewing motion pictures' which is watching movies basically. However nowadays people tend to use the cinema for various activities such as lectures, documentaries and even stage play.

A frame from Roundhay Garden Scene, the world's earliest film produced using a motion picture camera, by Louis Le Prince, 1888

However cinemas have been popular when it comes to huge public viewing compare to television where the viewers are limited. Cinemas are popular also because the screens are bigger than television and the pleasure of watching is much more enjoyable than watching television. 

So you can tell the difference if you ever watched television or go to the cinema.

Cultural Literacy

This is a cartoon show called 'The Simpson'. I am sure that many who watch this are familiar with the cartoon because they have the cultural literacy of this cartoon meaning that they have seen or watched thus are familiar with this cartoon. Moreover there are some intertextual knowledge that you should be able to acknowledge such as the voting for Obama and McCain as the next American presidents. This cartoon involves politics which you should be able to recognize it if you have seen or watched the news on TV or anywhere else. Therefore, those who have the cultural literacy would find this rather amusing and funny but those who do not have might not understand what this cartoon is trying to show. 

So what is cultural literacy?

        Can be defined as both a knowledge of meaning systems and an ability to negotiate those systems within different cultural contexts. It is virtually impossible to describe and analyse what is happening in any communication context or practice without using the concept of cultural literacy (Shirato and Yell, 2000, p. 1).

Meaning that cultural literacy is somewhat the ability for you to be able to be familiar with other culture besides our own which includes our knowledge of everything in our lives but that depends on our own interpretations because each of us have our own way of seeing the world. 

This is a video of a movie called 'Bujang Lapok'. It is an old Malay Movie very popular in Asia before and now has become a nostalgia to many Malay culture or perhaps others who have watched this and enjoyed this. Some people might not know this film or the culture of this film. Some Malay people who might have watched this would also find this movie very funny and understand most of their languages and basically the Malay Culture. Those who are not Malay might find this hard to understand because they do not have that knowledge of the culture. Thus that is what cultural literacy is all about, understanding a culture. The more we know and learn other cultures, the more we have that cultural literacy. 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film#History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_theater

Lecture 9 slideshows