Resurrection of Twilight

For me, it seems as though the feminist movement has become more popular amongst activists. While some may deem feminism to be extreme, personally I’m all for women’s rights and equality towards men.

Earlier this week, Lions Gate decided to revamp the popular saga, Twilight in a series of short films. The twist is that each short film will be directed by 5 aspiring female directors and the films will be available via Facebook next year.

Facebook has seen a decline amongst its teenagers, but has continued to diversify its audience. The social media site has proposed that it will use solar powered drones to bring internet to areas with poor internet connection. The drones will be the size of a commercial airline and will fly for long periods of time.

This new series will not only draw more teenagers back towards Facebook, but it will also pave the way for the other potential films shown on Facebook. The idea provides a fresh take on a film that millions of viewers enjoyed just two years ago.

The name of the film will be “The Storytellers — New Creative Voices of ‘The Twilight Saga.” So far the cast is not required to be a part of the films, but other sources say the films will be a spinoff of minor roles portrayed in the films.

The series has the support of Women in Film, an organization that supports women in film. Lions Gate has since said, “We’re pleased to introduce fresh creative talent to the Twilight universe as part of our commitment to female empowerment in front of and behind the camera,”

I once was a diehard fan who ingested an entire book the day before the premier of the sequel, I once stood in ridiculously long lines at midnight on a school night and. Hey, I was in high school and made some pretty stupid decisions.

However, In an industry in a world mostly dominated by men this project excites me simply because women will be behind the entire plan. Hopefully the new franchise will result  in an increase in the number of females in media and change the way women are portrayed in the industry.

Arrests in Ferguson Continue

It seems as if the shooting and death of the unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, by Officer Darren Wilson was an eternity ago, but the story continues to grasp the attention of media outlets.

The latest information on Ferguson came earlier in the week when the memorial for the teen was burned. Those of the black community say that officers did not do enough to end the fire and that it was caused by them. The fire is what sent the community back to the streets to protest. Around 12:15am on Wednesday some violent protestors allegedly entered officers’ “personal space. Some even went to the extent of throwing rocks and Molotov’s. Two officers were injured.

In related news, Police Chief Thomas Jackson has openly spoken about the events in Ferguson. He says, “I’m truly sorry for the loss of your son. I’m also sorry that it took so long to remove Michael from the street,”

Jackson has since apologized for Protesters who have felt  as if they could not exercise their rights without being threatened.

As violence continues to ensue in the divided city, Jackson says he takes full responsibility for the Brown’s suffering as well as the protestors.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/26/us/ferguson-michael-brown-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

One Angry Story

If you know me well, you know that my one of my favorite shows is Scandal.

The  show’s fixates on the scandalous lives of prominent political figures in Washington D.C. The main character is Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, who is fixes messy situations including but not limited to murders, infidelity, and corruption.

Another I look forward this week is, “How to get away with murder”. The new sitcom stars Viola Davis as a law school professor determined to hire the most qualified lawyer for her law firm.

Both shows happen to be created by the the renowned director, producer, and screenwriter,  Shonda Rhimes.

Her earliest projects included Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy in which the cast was predominately White and was an acclaimed success.

On Friday, Sept. 19, New York Times writer by the name of Alessandra Stanley criticized Rimes for being, “An angry Black woman” simply because her newest television shows portray well educated, yet cutthroat women. Stanley went as far as saying,”Ms. Rhimes has embraced the trite but persistent caricature of the Angry Black Woman, recast it in her own image and made it enviable.” Never mind the fact that in both of her predominately white shows, those characters had similar personalities.

All of this to say, RhImes then responded to the article via twitter saying, “Final thing: (then I am gonna do some yoga): how come I am not ‘an angry black woman’ the many times Meredith (or Addison!) rants? @nytimes,”

Because of Twitter and the prominence of multimedia, fans of Rhimes were immediately informed and came running to her defense.

Rhimes shows will be taking over ABC on Thursday nights from 7-10pm central.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/19/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/shonda-rhimes-twitter-new-york-times/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Tweets by shondarhimes

Good news for Apple

Apple debuted its new products for the year on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The new products to be launched include the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iWatch.

If you’re like the rest of those interested in Apple products, you’re probably wondering what is so special about these?

First, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus both have bigger screens, a thin body, and faster processors. For those interested in filmmaking, both phones will also be equipped with better cameras. According to Apple’s Phil Schiller, he called “technology used by high-end DSLRs”. This advancement will allow filmmakers to be equipped with a smaller load.

So what exactly makes the $209 phone so special? According to Apple, the Plus will have an optical image stabilization and better battery life. Both of these will be operate better than the smaller iPhone 6.

The last interesting product Apple launched on Tuesday was iWatch. This innovative watch allows consumers to access their phone notifications through their watch. Another interesting feature is the ability to “travel” to the moon and other planets. Critics of the iWatch wonder just how significant some of its odd features are especially since prices will start at $350.

A Little White Story

The commencement of my sophomore year means two things:

1. My journalism classes are becoming more complex

2. I now have to blog at least every week

So here I am

I recently got a job as a reporter at KOMU, a local news station in Columbia. I have realized just how journalism is evolving. First of all, the content director at KOMU had to scold me yesterday because I came into the newsroom without a story idea. Story ideas used to be very simple for me because I would either look on the KOMU news site or on national news sites, well now in the “real world” I need original coverage. I need to look around in the community for sources and story ideas.

The problem is I feel like I lack creativity. Developing a story idea based on what I see or who I interview is somewhat difficult. 

Another realization is that social media sites have become immensely helpful (twitter specifically). In a way, multimedia has made finding story ideas bearable simply because they as a journalist, getting updates from people of interest, makes the job easier. On the other hand, multimedia does open a door for untrustworthy information as a vast population of “journalists”, but for the most part, multimedia keeps me informed and interested.  

I have then decided to follow several companies, local businesses, and government entities and hopefully one day my twitter list will inspire me to come up with a legendary story. 

Until then, I probably will continue getting scolded at Matt for poor story ideas.