The Representation of Foreign People in Movies

One of the movies I watched recently was Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation. They mostly took place in Europe, specifically Britain. They represent the British in a similar way that they represented the Americans. Another movie I watch recently was Apocalypse Now. They represented the Vietnamese as poor savages and Cambodians as very underdeveloped village people. I also watch a horror movie called VHS 2. The movie had an entire section about an Indonesian cult. This cult was represented in a very frightening way. They all committed suicide and gave birth to the devil.

In these movies, the enemies are usually always foreign, but there are also foreign people that are treated as equals. The environments were treated as alienating in Apocalypse Now and VHS 2 but it wasn't in Rouge Nation. 

The European settings tend to be more friendly compared to the Asian and Middle Eastern environments. This seems to be the case in most films. The "bad guy" is often Russian or British. I believe this is because Americans find foreign accents intimidating. Our nation has a vast history of Xenophobia and its still apparent in our sources of entertainment. 

We see foreigners through the lens of an American. Foreigners don't view themselves as evil people from dangerous lands. Most mainstream movies have a target audience to include the lowest common denominator. By having these stereotypical foreign characters, it allows a wider group of people to enjoy these movies, therefore generating a larger profit. 

Internet Radio killed the Radio Star

Station             Sum P2      Format                    Owner

97.5 WAMZ             8.5              Country                        iHeartMedia

840 WHAS-AM     6.0              News/Talk                   iHeartMedia  

107.7 WSFR-FM     5.3              Classic Hits                  Summit Media

98.9 WNRW-FM     4.5              Rhythmic CHR            iHeartMedia

103.9 WRKA-FM     4.2              Classic Country            Summit Media

(http://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb055)

There is two main station groups that operate the top stations: iHeartMedia and Summit Media. There are also stations serving the same format. The majority of the stations are either country or classic hits. The main format that is missing is an independent music station. There is really only stations that play popular hits to get higher ratings. The market becomes saturated with stations producing the same content. 

There are a few companies that own all of the popular radio stations and the radio stations produce relatively the same content, with the exception of WHAS talk radio. The younger generation seems to be moving away from radio because they are under-served by the stations. As a result they are turning to streaming services that allow them to play music on-demand.

I think newer alternatives are the better option. Podcast make it easier for the listener to get a more personalized experience. This platform is also uncensored and has less commercials. Listeners now have the best listening experience since the invention of the radio.

The Local News

The local paper in my home town is the Pioneer News, It isn't a very profitable paper. They usually sell ads to local businesses. The page is almost completely covered in advertisements. There is no online version of the paper. Considering the fact that most of their readers are among the older generation, they don't have much of an online presence.

The problem commonly mentioned is the rampant spelling errors and inaccurate facts. Every issue of the paper is full of them. Their editing system isn't the greatest. People tend to like the proximity of the news that is reported. It is a big deal when their friends are in the paper for something they did. They also enjoy that the paper is unbiased.

The older generation is best served by the paper. The Pioneer News discusses issues such as local politics and the obituary. They don't cater to the younger generation. The lack of online presence and stories for youth makes the paper less attractive to the younger generation.

The newspaper should find a way to attract the younger generation. They can do this by establishing an online presence and making articles that the youth want to read. They should also make an opinion column This would get more buzz around the community.

Nick Higdon- The State of Movies and Books

Top Grossing Movies of 2015
1 Jurassic World
2 Avengers: Age of Ultron
3 Furious 7
4 Inside Out
5 Minions
6 Cinderella (2015)
7 Pitch Perfect 2
8 Home (2015)
9 Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
10 Ant-Man
11 Fifty Shades of Grey
12 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
13 San Andreas
14 Mad Max: Fury Road
15 Straight Outta Compton
16 The Divergent Series: Insurgent
17 Kingsman: The Secret Service
19 Trainwreck
20 Tomorrowland

Based on Books:
Avengers
Cinderella
Ant-Man
Fifty Shades of Grey
Divergent
Kingsman: The Secret Service

Popular Books aren't the only ones to be turned into movies, but the majority of the popular books are made into movies. They temporarily increase the sales of the books, but then the movies over shadow the books. Movies will always be more popular than the books.