TedTalk

The Future of News? Virtual Reality

This TedTalk was spoken by journalist Nonny de la Pena, known primarily for her work in immersive journalism. She is now widely referred to as the "Godmother of Virtual Reality." Her credibility as a seasoned and experienced journalist is established almost immediately when she says, "I've worked in print. I've worked in documentary. I've worked in broadcast."From then on. the audience, which is most likely people who are interested in improving the world of journalism, knows that they can trust that what she's saying is accurate and that she is genuinely concerned with the matters that she is discussing. 

In this particular talk, Nonny discusses how she came up with the idea of implementing virtual reality into the world of journalism to put the audience "inside" of the story in hopes that people will understand the news in a brand new way. What most likely inspired this journalist was the fact that often times people see the events broadcasted through various media outlets as just an inevitable part of daily life and they don't believe that they can do anything to help these situations. Furthermore, a lot of people don't even really care about half of the information they acquire because they feel like it doesn't affect them. Nonny explains that her desire is "to try to make stories that can make a difference and maybe inspire people to care." Her main point is that if people could actually feel like they're experiencing the stories that are told on the news daily, maybe they will feel more connected to the reality of these events and will be encouraged to do what they can to help. 

De la Pena supports her idea by saying that the conventions of journalism would not be the change made here, but rather the way it is delivered by giving the audience a "sense of being on scene." Virtual reality journalism would not ignore the basic principals followed throughout the industry. However, the method in which people gather information about what's going on in the world would be improved for more effective news informing for the 21st century. Nonny also uses a variety of examples of her idea put into effect and the reactions that came with them. For example, she had a video of actress Gina Rodriguez crying after experiencing the virtual video of a little girl singing and then a bomb going off seconds later. She most likely used these examples to prove to the audience that this method is full proof and actually has the great potential of forever changing the world of journalism. Moreover, these examples, being that they reference very recent events such as the Syrian refugee crisis and the Treyvon Martin case, appeal to the audience's emotions. This is especially true with the simulation de la Pena used with the little girl singing seconds before a bomb went off because the audience is able to sympathize with the feeling of terror that the little girl most likely had.

Now, for this particular talk, Nonny uses a particularly common structure of speech. She starts with a basic "What if?" statement and then proceeds to go back and forth between what currently is the situation with modern journalism and where we could go with the invention of virtual reality. While doing this, she includes real-life examples of her ideas in action using  situations that have become huge stories in the news recently and couples these with actual video footage or photo evidence from these scenes. She also supports her statements with facts (logos) about how the process of virtual reality works. So this is the basic structure of a thesis or an idea supported with various types of credible evidence.

I chose this TedTalk for the reason that I desire to become a broadcast journalist and documentary producer in my career path and as soon as I saw the word "news" in the title, I knew the talk would appeal to me. I also have the desire to be the type of journalist that inspires people contribute to changing the world through any influence. This woman definitely appealed to my interests through her huge contribution to the transformation of 21st century journalism. 

Double Indemnity as "Black Film"

Double Indemnity is considered film noir because of a variety of elements present that scream, "black film." The first aspect you might notice is that the film occurs at night in a very foggy urban environment, which we shortly find out is Los Angeles. Almost as soon as the first scene opens there is car speeding recklessly, immediately creating a sense of danger and uncertainty. Then, throughout the rest of the film, there are excellent examples of the visual conventions that make it considered a "black film," much of which were derived from German expressionism. These include dark interiors, heavy shadow, high contrast, bars or slashed of light (often created by often created by the shadow of slatted blinds), mirrors, lots of fog and rain, odd angles and disorienting compositions, and staircases, just to name a few. Furthermore, the shadows of the slatted blinds created a "prison" effect and always fell on the characters who had done wrong or were going to do wrong at some point (foreshadowing or nah?). For example, when Phyllis visits Walter's house for the first time, they sit on the couch and, almost immediately, a shadow of blinds falls on both characters, signifying that they will both do something bad at some point.
Another aspect of Double Indemnity that makes it film noir is the flashback structure, which emphasizes the noir theme of fate. The dialogue summarized the story from the start when Walter says, "I killed Deitrichson...Yes I killed him. I killed him for money, and for a woman, I didn't get the money, and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it?" From there, we see that the film begins near the end of the murder story and tells the story through voice-over and flashback. By having Walter narrate through an office machine, the director made the voice-over diegetic. An example of fate as a theme of the film is near the climax when Walter says, "I remembered what you had told me, Keyes, about that trolley-car ride, and how there was no getting off until the end of the line, where the cemetery was." The line, "straight down the line" is a metaphor for fate.
Overall, these elements of film noir, or "black film" gives the effect of a dark and depressing murder mystery story. The story really has no happy ending and no certain hero. In the end, the insurance investigator, Barton Keys, prompted by Mr. Deitrichson's daughter Lola, uncovers the truth of his death through clues left by Walter and Phyllis. Also, as Walter admits at the very beginning, his motivation for his actions did not go through, He "didn't get the money" that he had hoped for and he "didn't get the woman" (Phyllis) that he fell in love with (and rather quickly, at that).