Limited Normality

During the commercials of the Summer Olympic Games, the NBC audience was pleasantly treated to various clips and trailers promoting promising upcoming tv series in the fall. One of these new comedy sitcoms is "The New Normal", a story about a gay couple wanting to start a family and their chosen surrogate mother. Many audience members who enjoyed the short, yet fun and witty clips of the show highly anticipated the sitcom's arrival, but now, for many, those plans have drastically changed.

It turns out that the NBC affiliate KSL-TV, based in Salt Lake City, will not feature the new comedy on their channel because they deemed the show's main storyline about a gay couple "inappropiate on several dimensions". Their choice to completely disregard the show after privately viewing the Pilot episode, stems from the fact that Bonneville International, the broadcasting company that owns KSL-TV, is managed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yet, this is not the first time that the channel has refused to air certain shows; they still have not accepted to air one of the biggest hits in modern TV: Saturday Night Live.

KSL-TV's choice not to feature the comedy on their channel caused certain controversy due to their reasons as to why they refused to be associated with the new program. Multiple LGBT support groups and organizations such as GLAAD, spoke up against this turn of events, similarly stating that this was a demonstration of "how deeply out of touch the country is".

I chosed this article because it is related to the sitcom I had become fond of after watching its clips several times during the Summer Games. Yet, it was also very interesting to me because I had innocently thought that situations such like these were a thing of the past. I naively assumed that someone's sexual orientation (whether in reaity or in fiction) would not matter anymore, considering this is the year 2012 and in various manners, the way society once perceived certain ideas has evolved. But apparently, it still has not evolved enough if this type of situation still looms around like a dark cloud. 

As a student, this article did not impact me, but as a future filmmaker, this did leave a mark. This article taught that that if I ever want to create my own show, I will have to be careful about what I want to show to my audience because I would not want to offend or hurt anyone since that is not my intention. This is also made me realize that as a future filmmaker, I will be forced to take certain risks if I am truly passionate about one of my projects; I will have to fight for my ideas and stand by them,  but still be ready to understand that I will not be able to please everyone, especially when I ecounter a situation that is out of my hands.

As a consumer, this did not really impact me since I will still be able to watch the show if I desired to, yet if I had been living in Salt Lake City, then that would have been a different story. If I lived in Salt Lake City, I would not be able to watch the show, and since I would not be only one with this disadvantage, that would hurt the ratings of the show. For other people who hear about this minor setback for the show and become interested, they  will let their curiosity lead them to their television set and begin to watch the show simply because it made headlines before it even aired its first episode, and this could contribute to other consumers because news spreads quickly.

After reading this article, I had several questions such as: what did the cast and crew of The New Normal think about KSL-TV's choice? Were they all offended or did they understand since they knew from the beginning that their show would center around such a delicate topic? I also pondered about what this would mean for my ideas for my tv shows...should I be more careful about what I intend to produce, or shoud I be less careful and take more risks?

 

 

LINK: LA Times: The New Normal

Tony Scott's Last Smile

The whole world suffered a tragic loss on Sunday morning when director Anthony (also known as Tony) Scott committed suicide. On August 19, at the age of 68, Tony leapt off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles, which is a 185-foot drop to the waters of the Los Angeles Harbor. As soon as word began to spread about Tony's death, many reports surfaced all claiming that Tony had been suffering from incurable brain cancer and so he had decided not to suffer any longer. Yet, this seemed very unlikely considering the fact that Tony did not appear to have any health problems since he had just completed a film starring Christian Bale, as well as recently producing Prometheus, a film directed by his own brother, Ridley Scott.  However, several days after such reports began to circle, Tony's family stepped up and denied the reports that stated Tony had been suffering from cancer.

Many witnesses claim to have observed Tony climb onto the bridge, but from the angel they had been standing, the onlookers could not recognize the director and so they merely thought that Tony was some sort of stunt person participating in an extreme sport dare. 

A witness, David Silva observed that Tony appeared to be nervous before jumping off the bridge, but at last did it, which left him, along with others, completely stunned as soon they realized Tony was no stunt actor wearing a parachute. A call to 911 was immediately placed at around noon, and hours later, his body was retrieved from the water by the Los Angeles Port Police.

It was also revealed that Tony had left a suicide note at his desk in work and multiple letters all addressed to family and friends.  

Tony Scott was a famous director for creating great action-packed blockbusters that immediately captivated the audience's attention. He was the master mind behind the unforgettable film , Top Gun, as well as a producer for hit tv shows like The Good Wife.

 

This article was very important to me because it hit another close spot to my heart. It was not that long ago that my brother and I sat down together in our living room to watch Top Gun. I remember how we kept exclaiming over Tom Cruise's first movies as well as his young age because it had surprised us both. But in spite of the star that was Tom Cruise, I felt more drawn to another character in the film: the best friend of Cruise's character. For some reason, I felt more drawn to him and his personality which made me enjoy the movie even more. So when I first heard of this article, I was left speechless because I could not believe that the director behind creating one of the most memorable characters for me was gone. I know death cannot be stopped, yet I did not expect Tony to rush toward it either....it seemed unfair.         

As a student, this piece of news did not impact me, but as a future filmmaker it did, yet not the way I would have expected it to. As a future filmmaker, I would think that most news relating to the media industry would affect me in the manner of technical revelations connected with matters behind the camera. Yet, this information, this heartbreaking story, tapped into my emotional side as a filmmaker, rather than the strict business-like behalf. I understand that as a future filmmaker, I will have numerous opportunities to meet all sorts of new people, all with the same passion for film, and develop strong relationships and long-lasting friendships. So by doing so, I could encounter people like Tony Scott, maybe work with someone like him, only to learn that years later, that very same person, that beloved friend, took his/her life. This would clearly affect me in a more emotional level instead of impacting the filmmaker in me.

As a consumer, this news affected me because now I know either my brother or I will go out and buy a hard copy of Top Gun to preserve the memory of Tony Scott and remember all of his accomplishments and contributions to the film industry.

By reading this article, several questions popped into my mind immediately. I wonder what his family thinking right now....how are they handling this unforseen tradegy? Did they ever suspect Tony would ever do something like this, considering the fact that he barely finished another of his films? I also ponder what his colleagues are saying and thinking....if they could have done something by helping him out in some way.     

 

 

Tony Scott

Mr. Haslingden Says Goodbye

Mr. Hanslingden, a top tv executive for Fox, is leaving News Corp. Born and raised in Australia, Mr. Hanslingden studied law before he transitioned  into the media business. His  career media slowly commenced when he began to work for Rupert Murdoch, also an Australian native credited with creating News Corp. and Fox Broadcasting Company. Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Haslingden served as the president of the Fox Networks in which he was responsible for major projects such as all of Fox's regional sports channels and all of Fox's International Channels. Due to his skills and work ethic, Mr. Haslingden was able to help build Fox International Channels into a magnificent business with more than 350 channels spread all over 50 countries.  

Yet, in spite of all his success, Mr. Haslingden could not help but keep looking back at all he had left behind in Australia. His family still resides in Australia and so it is very difficult for Mr. Hanslingden to ever, if rarely, visit them.

Matters became worse when Fox programming executive, Peter Rice, was promoted to chairman and chief executive of the Fox Networks Group. This completely changed the routine Mr. Hanslingden was accustomed to, because now, instead of reporting to former News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey as he had for more than a year, Mr. Hanslingden now had to work for Peter Rice- a stranger.

Due to the unpredictable changes, in addition to missing his family, Mr. Hanslingden will step down and leave New Corp,. although all his triumphs and successes accomplished for the corporation will always be remembered.  

I thought this article was important and captivating because I was able to recognize the company. Often on the news or on the Internet, I may come upon certain reports discussing specific problems for some unknown major companies, both in and outside the media industry. Yet, this time I was able to focus more on the report because I often watch movies with my brother on the Fox channel. Due to this, I was able to relate more to the article because I had a personal connection with it. 

As a student, this article impacted me because I was able to learn several different facts. Before reading this article, I did not know much about Rupert Murdoch, but this article gave me a chance to research his life and all his achievements which greatly influenced the media world. As a future filmmaker, this article reached me because in such a vast industry, one must know the key players in order to advance and succeed, and by learning more about its pioneers, one is able to plan ahead since certain knowledge is already grasped. As a consumer, this article lured me in because the channel in question was Fox, a channel I am very aware of, mostly because I enjoy the movies such a channel provides for my brother and me. For example, if I see a certain movie on Fox that I have never seen before, I may enjoy the movie and even go out and buy the DVD. In this way, Fox is indirectly influencing my movie choices and my experience on them which can only benefit me.  

By reading this article, I realized I had a few questions about Fox. For example, I wanted to know more about Rupert Murdoch since he founded News Corp., the corporation in which Mr. Hanslingden was a great part of. The journey Mr. Hanslingden endured to be able to participate in such a great and vast corporation also interests me because I would like to know more about what it takes to make it in this very competitive industry.


LINK:  LA Times: FOX TV Executive David Haslingden