The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 99, No. 7, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Page: 3 of 6
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The Rambler
Opinions
October 17, 2007 3
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Hollywood enters another golden age of cinema
Shawn R.
Poling
This past summer was not
just a big season for
Hollywood, it was the
biggest. For the first time in
history, American cinema
generated $4 billion in ticket
sales in one summer. This
comes at a great time for
Hollywood, which has been
stuck in a ticket sales nit
for nearly a decade, accord-
^ing to movies.com.
Audiences seemed to never stop going to
the movies during the warm summer months,
causing record-breaking revenue for both fran-
chises and original projects alike. That being
said, although it's a great thing for the movie
world, why now?
Just a few years ago production companies
feared for their futures after the debut of file-
sharing programs like Napster and Limewire
dealt a significant blow to music
sales. In no time at all computer
geeks went from illegally copying
and downloading single songs to
flooding the Internet with complete
films and albums available for a
free (and illegal) download.
Although Napster was shut
down and turned into a pay-pro-
gram, free programs like Limewire
mange to escape the law with a
variety of disclaimers and warnings
to users.
Now anyone with a DVD burn-
er and a printer connected to their
computer can create near-perfect-looking DVDs,
complete with high-quality, full-color discs and
inserts. Even the plastic DVD cases can now be
bought in bulk.
"I haven't actually paid for a CD or song in
over five years. It's enough that I had to pay for
my iPod. I was able to download Spider man 3
and make copies for my friends before the
movie came out in theaters," said an anonymous
Wesleyan student.
So if it's so easy to get new movies for free
without ever leaving your home, why are people
flocking to the theaters?
Many critics and publications are giving
credit to the abundance of sequels and remakes
that filled screens this summer. Sequels for the
Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean and Spiderman
franchises all topped $300 million this summer
in the U.S. alone, while installments in other
series' such as Harry Potter and Bourne topped
200.
It would be easy to say that sequels are to
thank for Hollywood's success, but that just isn't
true. Neither is Entertainment Weekly's claim
that audiences just turned out for the special
\
Courtesy ol Google Images
effects and noth-
ing more.
I think film-
makers found
themselves in dan-
ger over the last
few years and
finally learned
some lessons.
First and foremost: quality is always impor-
tant, no matter how big your budget is. Take for
instance some of the high-profile "blockbusters"
of the past decade: Van Helsing and Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Both films cost
more than $200 million to produce (not counting
millions in advertising) and featured big names
such as Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Alec
Baldwin and Ving Rliames.
Both films were huge bombs (FF has the
distinction of being the biggest movie bomb of
all time and drove Square Pictures right into
bankruptcy) and to this day continue to come up
in jokes about Hollywood.
I was shocked enough, never mind how the
filmmakers felt. At that point the ticket sales rut
had already taken hold, and bombs (technically,
a film needs to break twice its budget in ticket
sales to be declared a success) were nothing to
joke about.
Looking at this past summer's special-
effects movies, it seems like the majority (save
for the latest Fantastic 4 installments) have also
featured solid plot and decent acting. Franchises
like Pirates are now rivaling the complex and
in-depth storytelling
of films like Harry!
Potter.
The other factor
that has helped
Hollywood this year
is a greater reliance
on star power and
less reliance on
trends. From 2004 to
2006 a new thrown-
together horror film
featuring a fresh
(and cheap) young
face debuted almost
every week. If it
wasn't that, audi-
ences were bombard-
ed with nothing to
see but pointless
video game adapta-
tions. I'm an avid horror movie buff, and even I
was uninspired by some of the dredge dished out
over the past couple of years.
Now days it seems to me that a slew of new
stars, screenwriters and directors are solidifying
their places in popular film. Our society's
celebrity obsession has taken a turn for the bet-
ter, and more people are turning out to movies
simply because of their stars. "Younger" stars
like Jessica Alba, Christina Bale, Scarlett
Johanssen, Naomi Watts, Anne Hathaway, Steve
Carrell and Shia LeBouf are showing that they
can cany a film to the No. 1 spot just by show-
ing up and providing a quality performance.
Directors and screenwriters like Dave
Cronenburg, Michael Bay, Ehrin Kruger and
Judd Apatow are now getting more mentions in
previews than the stars of their films. And better
yet, audiences are responding and showing up at
ticket windows.
We are entering another golden age of cine-
ma. We may not be there quite yet, but I can see
the horizon before us. Let's hope Hollywood can
keep it up. May the films please, the effects daz-
zle and the stars bring it!
Shawn R. Poling is a senior writing major and is the
news editor for The Rambler.
Diligence important to self 'and others in group work
Group work seems to always hold a love/hate rela-
t
Joseph
Savage
I tionship. You either find yourself paired with the
brilliant micro-manager who is willing to take it all on
(so that you are both guaran-
teed an A, of course) or you
are that manager, cleaning
up the mistakes of your part-
ners' less than worthy excus-
es for 'their share.' But
sometimes, in its most daz-
zling form, group work pro-
duces wonders.
Dr. Stacia Neely,. associate professor of
English, speaks regularly of "the miracle" of
fall 2007, when a group of grammatical gurus
achieved record greatness for an entire semester
in an advanced grammar class. Neely describes
the group's interaction with the principle of
"accountability as a collaborative entity," which
enhances organization, negotiation and delega-
tion skills. Teamwork, cooperation and leader-
ship become second-hand through adherence to
integrity principles.
'"Group work is beneficial to the education
of students because it's helpful to communicate
ideas with one another," said Ross Mullens, a
Wesleyan senior studying English.
Self-evaluation comes almost naturally with
an assignment's completion, including that group presentation to be
reviewed. This interaction pushes students forward to learn more about
their own views of the world and produce greater works. Through commu-
nicating our ideas we understand their 'real world value' when receiving
feedback, thus preparing us for 'real life' corporate jobs.
In an article titled Communicating Ideas published by The Insider in
July 2002, Ron Nehring said that the ultimate goal in communication is to
"recognize that you are competing in a market
place of ideas and you have a narrow window of
opportunity to obtain and hold a [listener's] atten-
tion before he or she moves on to another issue."
With group work the student can increase meta-
cognitive awareness, students can begin to learn
something about the way they think and, in turn,
how the listener thinks as well.
Group work is one pedagogical strategy that pro-
motes participation and interaction, saving students
from hours of long-winded lectures where no one is
interacting and learning. It breaks up the pace of
the traditional classroom and keeps everyone hon-
est, fostering a deeper and more active learning
process that renders long term results. Skills
acquired through group work prepare students for a
corporate life of human interaction, as well as acts
like a gateway to our own cognitive processes.
So whether your group work consists of a study
group, class presentation or some tangible project,
throw your all into it. Don't show up to a group
session with a passive attitude; challenge your
group mates to set the bar high. Not only will you
gain more out of the experience yourself - includ-
eomtesy of ctoogie images mg tYlcndships learning and good grades - but you
may also invest in a fellow student.
In short, "Ask not what your study group can give to you, but what
you can give to your study group."
Joseph Savage is a senior litemture major and is a staff writer for The Rambler.
Kelli Lamers, adviser
Zainah Usman, photo editor
Bryce Wilks, sports editor
Skyla Claxton, advertising manager
The Rambler
Founded in 1917 as The Handout
Harold G. Jeff coat, Publisher
Member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.
Shawn R Poling, editor-in-chief
Tiara Nugent, managing/college life editor
Colleen Burnie, entertainment editor
Amanda May, Web editor
Opinions expressed in The Rambler are those of the individual author only
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas Wesleyan community as a whole.
Letters to the editor: The Rambler, a weekly publication, welcomes all letters.
All submissions must have a full printed name, phone number and signature; however, confidentiality will be granted if requested.
While every consideration is made to publish letters, publication is limited by time and space.
The editors reserve the right to edit all submissions for space, grammar, clarity and style.
Letters to the editor may be subject to response from editors and students on the opinions page.
"We are not afraid to follow the truth...wherever it may lead." -Thomas Jefferson
Address all correspondence to:
Texas Wesleyan University, The Rambler, 1201 Wesleyan St., Fort Worth, TX 76105.
Newsroom: 531-7552 Advertising: 531-7582 Fax: 531-4878
E-mail: twurambler@yahoo.com
Rambler Ratings
Thumbs up to each of
Wesleyan's international
students.
Thumbs up to people who get
flu shots.
Thumbs down to being
disconnected by the
switchboard.
Thumbs up to Betsy Johnson.
Ashley Porterfield and all
others who sponsored activi-
ties for International Week.
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Poling, Shawn R. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 99, No. 7, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 17, 2007, newspaper, October 17, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201244/m1/3/?q=%22Education+-+Colleges+and+Universities+-+Faculty+and+Staff%22: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.