46th Bliss Street Web Series: http://youtu.be/Kqv4yG6OKg0
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Author Archives: James Binninger 2415
Assignment # 11 Ethnicity on Television
The trip to the Paley Center for Media was very informative and an enjoyable trip overall. Ethnicity on television during that 40 year time span had a huge impact on our country as a whole. It ironed out stereo-types such as racism and bigotry as we explored with Archie Bunker and opportunities for socio-economic advancement viewed on The Cosby Show. I believe we are all still bias in our own ways but at least we are able to recognize it more.
West Side Story
West Side Story was boring. I would commend it for sticking to our course syllabus as an entertaining story detailing ongoing themes in our class such as immigration, assimilation and gangs. However, I must say i did not enjoy the West Side Story. I guess just too much singing at times. What I did find interesting was that that Maria and Tony both did not have their original voice in the film and I find it funny that the casting director placed a man of Greek ethnicity for Bernardo instead of a Puerto Rican ethnicity. Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with ither race. As for the Library of Congress deeming the film “Culturally Significant” I find mind blowing
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“pass the Santorini”
PowerPoint by James Binninger
Assignment #9 The New York Library for the Performing Arts by James Binnninger
Nipper
Born in 1884
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipper
Being late and locked outside due to a wrong subway stop had me discouraged at first. However, while I was walking around figuring how I was going to get inside I found myself asking “ What will I learn once I am inside, it’s a library, right? So it cant be that interesting”
The New York Public Library opened on November 30, 1965. Manuscripts, film, audio, memorabilia and clippings are all sourced inside the behemoth. Our host explained that movie reviews were all cataloged by hand due to the opening day I remember thinking what a tedious task. The thought that every review could be found inside a book was simply amazing. What I mean is that someone would cut out the newspaper review and then put that article into a book and catalog it. A question I had for our host which I failed to answer was how the library would deal with a digital preservation. John Passmore, an archive manager at New York Public Radio states in regards to the huge amount of archived materials on CD-R’s we are finding that some of the “older dics exhibit end of life symptoms”. The frailty of a CD is not a reliable source for archiving material anymore and I am sure The New York Public Library has already begun preserving those audio files. Overall, a fascinating experience and a real eye opener to how much information that is just as important that can not be found online.
Walking Tour and Tenement Museum #6 James Binninger
Assignment #6 “Tenement Museum” James Binninger
One of the best things about New York City is that you can walk around a different street and learn about the past of this cultured city. That and the food. The Tenement Museum was once the home of over 7,000 people. 6 times the amount of people that you went to high school with. it’s a staggering figure when you think about all those people crammed into the building, and you thought your neighbors were loud! To make matter worse, John Schiender established a a saloon on the bottom floor ran by him and his wife. The bar was a meeting place for German speaking immigrants and was ran by John and his wife. His wife would later succumb to Tuberculosis and John would eventually close the bar. However, during the time the bar was running was a very important time for immigrants. The bar itself has been referred to as a “ cultural gathering spot” , have you ever heard of a bar being called that??
The walking tour was equally exciting as the Museum because 200 years ago we were walking in the same steps as our ancestors were. The synagogues are now abandoned and replaced by such as Temple Shaaray Tefila 1845 located in the Upper Eastside.
Hester Street # 5
Gitl and Jake adapt to the “new world” of New York City’s Lower eastside at the end of the 19th century the best they can. Gitl adapts very slowly because she is still accustomed to her ways of the homeland while Jake adapts to blend into his environment much like a chameleon. In my opinion, Jake was acting in the right manner in order to survive. The Washington Post writes “ ..differences in the way immigrants adapt these days, and the influences on them can be double -edged. Gaps in income, education and poverty levels between new immigrants and the native-born are widening, and many of the newcomers are becoming stuck in dead-end jobs with little upward mobility” . Jake does not waste time and scolds those who do not take the issue seriously such as his wife. He immediately changes the name of his son to Joey from Yossele. Jake relinquishes his parts fully with the change of name for his child and Gitl relinquishes gradually with the acceptance of her sons new name.
Mamie is different than Gitl because she is less cultured in homage to her religion. She frequents the dance room and even courts Jakes friend Joe which is evident to how she becomes assimilated to American culture. Bernstein is different then Jake because he still follows the ways of the old. Jake may not totally dislike the ways of the old because he lets Bernstein still be his roommate. However, I believe it is just a way to be liked by all.
The traditions of the old Russian/Polish Jewish country are different then the L.E.S. ghetto in many ways. Religion is a major difference as well as adherence. In many scenes we see Jake practicing flirtation with women with Ann and drinking with new arrivals which is not accepted in the “old ways”. We also see Jake participating in extramarital affairs as well which are looked down in the “ old country”.
After I had a chance upon visiting “The Tenement Museum” and picking up a copy of Jacob Riis’s works I would not agree with the description of the film. The majority of his pictures in the book were more decrypt in comparison to the livelihood and opportunity in the film as having more opportunities like Gitl.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/meltingpot/melt0525a.htm
“The Crowd” #4
The Crowd is a film directed by King Vidor who received a nomination for Best-Director and Best Picture. He cast James Murray as the average Joe (John) and Eleanor Boardman as Mary who played his wife. The film was not an escapist fantasy or a romance flick but was more so detailed to the average American’s daily struggle. King Vidor had trouble himself upon getting the film produced but ultimately it earned back double its production value. A number of years later King Vidor produced a sequel to The Crowd entitled Our Daily Bread.
I was really impressed with King Vidor’s film The Crowd and how it portrayed the average American’s day-to-day struggles. The lead protagonist played by James Murray really displayed the triumphs and the defeats that were expected during those times. James Murray was just another face on the MGM lot when King Vidor offered him the part. Brilliant casting in my opinion.
Another thing I noticed was the number of superstitions that King Vidor used in his film. Mary opening the umbrella while indoors was one example as we see John scolding her for this. Another superstition is dealing with fortune. An old superstition that I heard from my mother related to receiving money and tragedy. If you immediately receive a fortune, tragedy soon will follow. This is illustrated when John receives award money and calls in his children only to loose his daughter in a car accident while she was crossing the street. The film also did a great job chronically the psychological impact that a death of a child can have on a family. Point of views from the mother and the father and even the neglected child as well. The director did not side with any point of view but instead let life lead its course.
The Immigrant
Charlie Chaplin’s “The Immigrant” was the second film I ever watched by this talented actor in a theater. For the experience to watch the film in a theater opposed to a flat screen was equally exciting as well. I can now say I have seen a Chaplin film in the theater. Besides that, this film portrays an Italian Immigrant or an immigrant dealing with the harsh realities of immigration. Realities such as people still experience today as language barriers and cultural shock. But more importantly the film gave glimmers of hope such as finding good fortune and finding a wife. Overall a very enjoyable film and I do hope we have a chance to see “The Kid”.
More importantly from my experience in the theater with my fellow viewers was how the audience viewed Chaplins craft. From what I remember is during a funny or sarcastic scene we the audience still laughed at the same time. What this means is that the comedy from yesterday still appeals to the people of today. 
Go Pro!!
click to enlarge
The progress of the video camera has had a huge impact “ on the look of the image and how it is seen by audiences”. On our way to school we pass by hundreds and hundred if not a thousand cameras a day and we don’t even realize it. I’m not talking about a professional video camera or a television camera that is used for television or a movie camera. I’m talking about the camera you have in your pocket, your cell phone camera or more commonly known as a digital camera. The digital camera is unique because it converts the signal or picture taken directly to digital output. This is almost the same as the Webcam however a difference in this is that it is a live stream which is much like the Closed Circuit Television(CCTV). You probably saw one of these cameras when you were picking up your coffee or when you passed a security check point to get into school. Banks utilize this technology frequently. Before all of these inventions we had the camcorder and the pocket video cameras which were very popular back in 2006.
This medium in particular has changed through time and I didn’t even get into the new cameras that we are able to view distant galaxies with but I will mention a specific one later. The change of this medium is in relation to size and to a stand alone power input. The medium does not require an external power sources because they are all now equipped internally. These camera’s have batteries the size of a small rectangle such as the Google Glass and Go Pro. Google Glass has been utilized in investigative reporting and Go Pro has been utilized in free-fall space jumps. That free-fall space jump is a perfect example of the impact over look and how the audiences views the images.
Film and NYC 2014 