MovieTalk

If I could own any movie prop it would be the Delorean car from Back to the Future. I think it would be awesome being able to drive that around, both for its iconicness and because it just looks cool. If I could make movies with my friends I would work with Isobel and Victoria because we could make comedies together. Because we aren't great actors, most likely the most successful genre we could do would be comedy because we could do something so bad its good.

Where to Watch Movies

Personally, I prefer watching films at a movie theater as opposed to at home through a DVD, streaming service, or the Internet. I think this largely has to do with the fact that when I go to the movie theater I'm going with friends and eating popcorn and having a more immersive and overall more entertaining experience. This connects to the way film industry is evolving because while the Internet and streaming services are becoming more popular mediums for watching movies, movie theaters still remain extremely popular and provide an unparalleled experience that streaming and the internet, as good and cheap as they may be, just can't match yet.

The Simpsons

Here are some ideas I pulled from "The Birth of the Simpsonian Institution" by Chris Turner: Television shows, especially those that grow extremely popular, have the ability to influence society and the actions and routines of people on a day to day basis. Television shows can bring people together to enjoy a single episode. In order for a show to be successful, it must relate to society and comment on aspects of modern culture. Rock and Roll eventually declined as a means of expressing modern opinions in the 1990's and was replaced by the Simpsons. Pop music has the ability to unify and divide people as it attracts a wide variety of people but each can be divided up into sub-categories of preference. Once an idea that is countercultural grows to the point where it becomes mainstream, it loses its value as something critical of the mainstream media. The Simpsons was a language you spoke/ a worldview you adopted and it was used to discuss a wide range of topics. Resonance is important to the success of a cultural product as it allows an audience to connect and absorb that idea. Pop-culture quickly moves on from one trend to the next. The Simpson's maintained its resonance not by continuing with the same old, but by doing something entirely new, like the violence of Itchy and Scratchy and also through the introduction of Krusty the Clown. Such advancements made the animation crisper, smoother, and iconically whole, and the pace and density of the writing increased dramatically, and the plots were now looping and multi-leveled, all of which established the Simpson's golden age. 

Various inspirations for The Simpsons include Warner Bros. cartoons, Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Flintstones, All in the Family, M*A*S*H (and other "socially conscious" sitcoms), Saturday Night Live, SCTV (and other sketch comedies), and Late Night with David Letterman.

Various descendants of The Simpsons include Capitol Critters, Fish Police, Family Dog, The Critic, The PJs, Sammy, Family Guy, The Ren and Stimpy Show, Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and South Park.

The Simpsons also influenced Spongebob as the vast audiences it attracted for its colorful cartoons and humor created a base of supporters for shows like Spongebob Squarepants which utilized similar colorful cartoons and humor.  

TV Writing

After reading "How to Land Your First TV Writing Job" by Michael Wheaton, I learned many new things about TV writing and how to find success. The article claims that TV (and writing for TV)  is at an all-time high with recent technological developments, making a career in television an ideal one. For those who wish to break into television, the article recommends starting towards the bottom (as a Staff Writer), which may be easier than you'd expect, and working your way up through the system until you are able to produce your own work. The article also points out how TV writing is unique as the writer needs to take into account time limits, commercial breaks, and budgets. The article suggests taking classes that specialize in writing for entertainment, invest in some reference books that offer advice and can help with formatting, reading other scripts and actively watching TV from a writer's perspective, and get scriptwriting software to learn the formatting. The article says that the key to success in any industry is immersing yourself in the craft and making the right connections. As far as spec scripts go, the text says that they can be used as a calling card, a résumé, and a writing sample all in one, and that when writing one it is important to choose a show that fits your writing style and corresponds with a proven show, that you should study the structure, character, plot, and tone of, and lastly, you should write and rewrite your script (and others), taking criticism into consideration each time. In order to become employed as a writer, the article recommends finding an agent, while being wary of scammers, by researching agencies that cater to your style and prestige, as well as searching for new agents who can better support you. In order to gain the support of an agent, a provocative query letter is required, which should be brief, interesting, and hopefully standouts, and learning to write such a letter may take classes, articles, and books dedicated to query letters in the entertainment industry. Lastly, the text recommends getting used to rejection as it is not a rare occurrence and responding in an offensive way can burn unwanted bridges. Overall, I don't think I'd pursue TV writing as a career simply because there are plenty of other professions I'm interested in (like physics, engineering, and business). However, if it came to it, I wouldn't be upset with achieving a career in TV writing as I think I would enjoy writing scripts for TV shows I like.