Thank you, Professor Leeper and everyone else.

I want to take this my last blog to express how much I appreciated this class. I was pretty skeptical in the beginning of semester what is going to happen and what I am going to learn in this class. But now I feel very fulfilled and grateful. It`s like trying out delicious exotic foreign food. It looks alright but when you actually try it, you like it a lot and it`s even gluten free organic food!

Professor Leeper has profound insights gained from his experience about life. It is very easy for DMA majors to neglect the idea, philosophy behind art and get caught up in techniques and how cool they look. Professor Leeper teaches the ideas behind art.

One thing I was sad about this class is that not many people participated in conversations and discussions. Sometimes, I felt like I was the only one who was talking. More engagement from more people would`ve made this class more fruitful. (But I`m glad it was pretty small sized class)

The other thing I wish I should`ve done is reading. I skipped the readings many times, sometimes, I didn`t get much out of Professor leeper`s talking.

Lastly, I wish I could`ve known Professor Leeper in more personal level. But everything take some time. Right?

Well, sadly, this is probably my first and last semester here at Huntington and I am proud to say that this was the best class I took here.

Thanks very much professor Leeper and everyone in class for letting me speak up and feel belonged.

Good Bye.

J.
5.10.2016

Animation transcends the language.

Last post at the end, I talked about how voice over in Korean ruined my experience. Well... maybe that`s either translator did bad job or different nuance problem. 

Despite the fact that translation does not 100% deliver its original language, I believe that animation transcends the language. 

Here are my points.

In films (not animations), actors and actresses are real even though they are acting, They really exist and people know they are alive. But when it comes to animation, people perceive the characters and settings in movie differently. The things in Animations are not real!! And people know it! This allow the animators to create beautiful "metaphors".

For instance, in the little Prince, I liked how little girl`s neighborhood was all square and extremely organized , looks like a machine compare to the old man`s house. I guess this could be done in non-animated movies too but still they are not as effective as animations since people know it`s not real.

Animators create their message and forms. They can do whatever they can do since every bit of scene is under their control. 

For my presentation, I talked about how the form itself has a voice and create new message. Forms matter but in non-animated films, there are limitations to control or change the form since everything is already "set up" While in animations, there`s no limitation.

I know in order to create a "form", it takes very much effort and time. I respect my animation major friends and their immense hard work.


My second point is that in animation, voice over in many languages is possible, you can show one animations in 300 different languages since the characters mouth aren`t really perfectly matching their lines anyways. 

Ok. I was wrong (part 2)

Anyways, I loved the scene when the girl asked the old man how he knows the little prince is up there. And the old man answers that he just knows. And the girl ask many questions of what if he died? what if he is gone?

I can relate this to the existence of God. The old man is faithful enough he knows that the little prince is there.


“The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

I loved how the business men ruin the world but one little girl saves it. She must`ve felt bern.

I am more and more convinced that children are the most innocent and bright and creative creatures.

I am glad I share this view with C.S. Lewis, Saint-Exupéry, and Professor Leeper.

Overall, this movie is definitely worth watching several times and I appreciate Professor Leeper`s faith for this movie.



P. S. I think the biggest reason I did not like this movie first time is because it was Korean voice over. (I know it sounds like an excuse ;))

Ok. I was wrong. (Part 1)

In the beginning of this year, I watched this movie with my mother in a theater. And I did not like it because I thought the story line was so expected and it wasn`t much different than other Animation movies I have watched before. My mother was not interested in movie (I don`t think she likes Animation at all), she fell asleep.

However, watching this movie again today changed my perspective and view of this movie.
I could find some connections(connotations ans symbols) in some parts throughout the movie (Stars in the bowl, flower) that I did not notice last time.

I really liked that we watched this movie on the last day of our Intro to DMA class because this movie kinda sums up what we talked about throughout this semester. (Children`s movie, animation, theology, the beauty of art)
Also, I find this book incredibly philosophical.

“What makes the desert beautiful,' said the little prince, 'is that somewhere it hides a well...” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince


I don`t understand this quote fully but what makes it great is that it is beautiful enough for me to keep wondering. Haha just like the quote!

Media and Politics

    This weekend, I went to Bill Clinton and Donald Trump`s rally, so I want to talk about them.

     In the world of politics, more attention means more brand recognition that directly relates to higher approval rating. Therefore, politicians want their names out on as many media platforms as possible. # matters to them, catchy slogan matters to them, and even their parody video matters to them. They are the species that require attention from the public to survive. 

 Often times, that attention does not have to come from positive quotes or deeds. Provocative words are very sufficient to attract people`s mind. And Trump understands this the most. He intentionally puts provoking words in his speech to get more attention from the media (It`s ironic how he says media are"disgusting and dishonest" while he knows how to use them the best.) 

    In the rally I attended today, Trump argued that "we can't keep allowing China to rape our country." And this happened.

Whatever the context his controversial words are used, he and "his people" know exactly what specific words to be included and emphasized in his speech to create issues and draw more attention. And, people fall into his trick so easily. He understands the nature of media well enough he abuses it in order to get what he wants. 

Neil Postman argues that "Entertainment is the supra-ideology of all discourse on TV -- the overarching presumption is that it is there for our amusement and pleasure."

The problem is not Donald Trump, he just knows how to play with the system. This "Trump" phenomenon was ultimately inevitable. The problem is the medium itself that "pollutes public communication and its surrounding landscape."

Donald Trump does not deserve or expect serious political discourse or dedicated comprehension from his audience. What his performance expects and deserves is a comfy chair with spicy boneless wing and medium mountain dew.

Snapchat and Virtual Reality

  Snapchat disturbs me the most these days. But weeds don`t really bother me much though.
What so disturbing about snapchat is that it distracts people from reality. When funny things happen, people instantly turn on their snapchat and try to capture the moments. The problem is that they are not freely embracing the moments. That is very ungodly. Snapchat is a virtual reality. People are in a virtual reality where things aren`t real. People don`t take virtual reality seriously as much as they take their reality.

I just don`t want technology getting in our ways. I want people to "snapchat" their moments themselves and commemorate them within themselves rather than sharing it with everyone else. Make it special! Make your secrets just to yourself and your friends and let those memories be memories, rather than mere pictures of "moments". 

Classics

       I just finished the reading about the Era of Censorship. This reading reminds me of Catholic influence on literature and music. For a long time, I have been interested in Classical literature (Canon) and music. They stood the test of time and place. They are the most basic fundamental studies of humanity. Today`s pop culture seems to be outrageously different from them.

   Maybe after all, censorship isn`t that bad. The problem of democracy is that when people are stupid, they cannot nurture and nourish themselves. They don`t know what is good for them. They need someone who is wiser to tell them what to do and what to watch. I understand the virtue of freedom, but also I see many limitations of it as well. Like the book Amusing ourselves to Death I introduced in the previous blog, people would distract themselves and ruin themselves. It`s not technology that does that to people. It`s people who make that conscious decision to use technology in their life.

In the era of censorship, under great oppression from Catholic Church, numerous masterpieces were born. And I begin to get convinced that maybe censorship isn`t that bad after all. I love the idea of theocracy where a few "Godly people" rule the nation. Unfortunately, even those people have human nature of corruption and sinful heart.

I guess my point here is that it`s not like one of those dichotomies Freedom is good, Censorship is bad. There`s so much into it, and I hope people see that.

Technology and weeds.

Using technology is like smoking weeds. It`s kind of addictive but some people say it depends on who does it. Neil Postman argues,

                  “What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than from one whose countenance exudes suspicion and hate. In the Huxleyan prophecy, Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; a culture-death is a clear possibility.” ― Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.

We just use technology, but we never learned how to use it properly. Only thing we learned in school and home is that too much computer games are bad or controlling ourselves is important. WE never learned what technology does it to us. We just use it. And we believe any development of technology is good thing. Whether we are Liberals or conservatives, Christians or atheists, Asians or Caucasians, we do not debate about stopping scientific development. The technology`s evolution deemed to be natural.

Virtual Reality and Weeds

     There are common things between virtual reality and weeds: people can experience something besides their reality. The studies may show that experiencing virtual reality produces similar psychological effects as smoking weeds. I believe God created world for its beauty and purpose. We ought to enjoy and embrace them. Virtual reality is ungodly thing. It`s basically same as "Frankenshetin"`s monster.

We should interact with each other in reality, not virtual reality. More and more this technology separates humans from each other, more and more we know it`s the time Jesus soon will return to this Earth. Virtual reality does nothing good but boosting pornography industry. Facebook says virtual reality is the next new thing. I do not agree or disagree with it. It might be the next new thing. But it doesn`t matter it gets popular or not. But it does matter what it does to the people and communities. I think virtual reality would destroy communities and our virtues we held on for a long time. It`s time for us to say NO to virtual reality and start talking to our neighbors and families and friends and strangers. That`s how God intended to create this world.

My struggles with music and video

Music and video work together so well. That`s the problem. It`s hard not for me to put music into the videos I make. I feel like I am depending on music too much sometimes. I always need to figure out a way to balance them out.

Last weekend, my friend and I made video of me rollerblading on the campus. 

I think it was success in terms of balancing out the music and the sound. I just struggle with where to put it. But there is a part when music is desperately needed in video and our life. 

Also after watching many music videos in the class, I realize how music in the video should go along with the message of the video. They can`t go separately. They need to go together. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1qBes5Yll0

I love Wes Anderson

Fantastic Mr. Fox is fantastic.

My first experience with the director Wes Anderson is the movie "Rushmore". It`s about a quirky highschooler`s love story with his high school teacher. As much it sounds pretty sketchy, his unexpected sense of humor shocks the audience. His style of film and sense of humor fascinated me very much I had to watch his animation. In this animation, he still uses his techniques of focusing things in the middle of the frame. That`s his unique style and way of making films. 

So, what I love about this movie is that Wes Anderson used his style of filmmaking into the original story of book. Even though this is not his writing, I could clearly tell that this was his movie. He played with those animated characters as if he works with real actors and actresses. I have no clue how he made this movie, but for sure, he never let down his audiences. 

Quiz2

       I would like to explore on the latest reading we did about making short animated films. I believe the core heart of animation is its message. Techniques and skills matter but if the story is not at that level, it`s worthless. Animations we watched in our classes had thought provoking messages and beautiful imageries.

      From the deep struggles of Russians to the simple metaphor of inflatable world, animation can create metaphors of our world. It can do the things movie can`t do. I honestly think Pixar not only  values perfection of techniques but also the core value of animation. My point is that man hours don`t necessarily correlate to the theme of masterpiece. At the end of the day, all it matter is your heart and where it`s at.

Translating issues in movies

I am from Korea and I am Korean.

When I was in Korea, I watched a lot of Hollywood movies in the theater and read the subtitles on the screen. The audiences were busy reading the subtitles, watching the screen, and understanding the movies. The problem is that sometimes, the translators miss the point or misrepresent what the screenwriters are originally intended to say. This can be very bad in some crucial scenes.

It`s like a Bible. If you translate the words wrong, you are misinterpreting the meaning of the words, that lead to the learning of falsity, not the truth.

I agree with Professor Leeper about why Hollywood movies make more action movies now. They want to make something that international audiences can comprehend all. But the truth is that it doesn`t have to be shallow to attract international audiences. It doesn`t have to be bunch of exploding scenes and car crashes.

Silent film is a great example. You can communicate with the audiences from all different places without much words. You just gotta be creative about it. Exploding trains, killing people, and earthquake are easy way out.

Everything is actually awesome.

I`ve been thinking about the LEGO movie and the sound track "Everything is awesome." When I was writing about that post, I couldn`t stop asking myself, "Is everything really awesome? really?" And my final answer is YES!

I`m an very optimistic guy after taking a good quality nap or drinking coffee. And guess what? Everything is AWESOMEEEEE. It does not last any longer than 5 hours but it`s still there! When I walked away from the Lego movie, I felt as if everything is awesome.

And I am sure kids feel the same way.

What I found out over the course of my life is that when I am down, everything is awful, when I am up, everything is awesome. It`s all about the perspectives. Of course, I understand that we can`t change the perspective whenever we want. We are set up under circumstances and environments that we cannot control.

My point is that everything is actually awesome or awful depends what time of the day you ask me. :)

Animation we watched.

What was interesting about the animation was that even though the characters are non-humans (ex. animals, plants, objects) they can talk like humans through voice over. I think that is fascinating. Don`t you think non-human characters would speak different "language"?

   The movie makers try to find a way of communication between the characters in their animations and the audiences. Sometimes, it`s just ah, oh, ha, sometimes just like humans talk. 

I wonder if it would be good if the characters on the screen speak different accent. British accent, Southern accent, Boston accent, and New York accent can create more sense of intimacy and interactions with the audiences. 

Say, in the grocery store, there are many kinds of fruits and vegetables from all over the places. It`d be very funny if someone from Florida  does voice over for the orange from Florida. Crawfish from Louisiana have some Southern accent and they can share their experiences from their home town and talk about their own cultures. 

This is a thing about animations. There is so much room for creativity and innovation for them. 

Everything is awesome

Lego movie is pretty awesome.




Watching Thou thous reminded me of Lego Movie.

     The thing about children`s movie is that all ages can enjoy and appreciate it together. The old ones and the young ones have experienced "the lego" together that this offers common ground for them to connect each other. The characters in the Lego movie were old enough that parents understand about them and the kids are, of course, very into them as well.
     There is a reason why those Children`s movies are rated "All Ages" because it was literally made for all ages. Children`s movies show hope, love, and innocence to us that other movies don`t. While the others present human struggles, despairs, wickedness of the world, depravity of humans, evilness, and unrighteousness to the audience, Children`s movies have a different guideline for us.
     I think that`s what really make these great. Of course, there are some struggles and conflicts in Children`s movies just like any other stories but what differentiate themselves from the other stories is the "simplicity". I love how the characters in the Children`s movie don`t question the others` motives and overthink. I realize that the wise people are tend to be the old ones and the very young ones. These movies remind me of the simple truth of the world and convince me not to overthink.

:)

   

Defending faith

Yes... It`s about God`s not dead again.

Discussing the movie God`s not dead in our class really got me to thinking about "defending my faith". In a "real" world, there are many atheists, unbelievers and, skeptics that we will eventually face. The question is how are we going to defend our belief and preach the Gospels? Recently, talking to my friend has made me realize that it is incredibly difficult to defend what I believe. I always thought my belief "makes sense". But when I talk to my friend about our faith, the realization comes to me that my friend who is atheist has just as much "logic" as I do. Sometimes, her arguments are more convincing than mine. And there are many moments where I just lose word to say because I really don`t know how to respond to her "deep" questions.

Many times, atheists  have a "better" idea of what they believe than Christian do. I recognize those atheists know how to defend their faith very well. They have spent much time to deepen their belief and struggled tremendously to come to the conclusions whether their belief is true or not.

In our culture, we do it because that`s what we have been told. We go to Church, college because that`s what people do. We believe in God because that`s what our family has been doing or have been told that`s the right thing to do. We rarely question why we do the things that we do. But I believe Christians are ought to understand, challenge their faith, and should be able to defend their faith.  ;)

Christian movies

I happened to watch this movie. "GOD`S NOT DEAD". 

            

             It was fun to watch this movie with my brother in the theater. Not because this movie was

funny or humorous, but it was rather entertaining to see people`s reactions and their expressions in the theater and laugh at them.  Most of audiences who were watching the movie seemed to be delighted and satisfied throughout the scenes. I recognized a lot of Christians at my church there. It seemed to me that I and my brother were the minority in the crowd. It was hard to find things that we liked about the movie, especially as the movie went on and on, it just got worse. Besides many fallacies of arguments and messages of the movie, I would like to point out the techniques of production, acting, and writings (scripts) that were poorly done. This was a kind of movie I would expect to find on Christian channel on cable TV at 2am, NOT on a movie theater where professionally made movies compete everyday. I wonder if the movie makers of this movie were actually smart enough to knew that producing this quality of movie with low budget, targeting Christian audiences would make much profits. 

Delight or Challenge

I think intellectual and spiritual struggles and ponderings can occur through watching “Entertaining movies”. Those movies can entertain your soul and brain. Your intelligence would be delighted when your stupidity is challenged. It`s like a fight club. We all have two sides of ourselves.

I like ice cream so I eat a lot of ice cream, therefore, I am fat. But I feel good till I was diagnosed with acid re-flux and belly fat. It`s killing me now. Watching entertaining movies is the same. Entertaining movies are like Friday night. When you get pumped up, some pizzas and  Mountain Dews that make you fat are needed. But if you eat them everyday, you will face the consequences and struggle just like I do now.

안녕하세요!

Hello, my name is Jae hyun Cho. People in America often unconsciously assume that I`m from China, but I`m not. I was actually born and raised in Korea.

I came to the States (Mississippi) when I was 15. My first host mother was transgender. She claimed that the chemical in the army changed her gender in three days during her military service in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, she had some personality issue so I managed to find other host family now turned out to be my real family.

Later, I moved to Michigan, lived there for two years, graduated from Lenawee Christian School in Adrian. I shoveled snow a lot there during the winter so I got severe herniated disk. It was pretty tough to get a surgery. :(

After high school, I decided to go to Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Just because no one in my high school went there. (I wanted to be a pioneer at the time.) I realized that living there for a year and a half year was enough, decided to move to Huntington, Indiana.

Spending a decent amount of time in the South, Midwest, and the East got me some perspective of girls in the U.S.A. And I finally came to the conclusion that I will have a better chance to meet “the one” in the Midwest than any other regions of the States.

Oh well,

let`s see how it goes.

;)

Interesting Fact: 

I took Freddie`s wife to prom.