Whiplash Scene

Postman and whether my work is escapism, or significant? | Blog post #17

Consider Postman's quote "We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities, but by what it claims as significant." What do you claim as significant in the media you consume, and what do you consider trivial?

A lot of the media that I consume is what I consider trivial and is for entertainment purposes only. Almost all the time I hate myself for spending so much time-consuming nonsense yet I still do it.

I consider any helpful news on “hot” social topics or just updates on what’s happening in the world as significant. As it benefits me and helps me understand more and keeps me up to date with what is happening around me. I also consume educational YouTube videos. I used to watch a lot of “Ted Ed” or “The Infographics Show”, “Vox”, and “Insider” videos which were really interesting and educational but it seems that I get those videos requested not as much nowadays which could be the main reason to why I don’t watch these types of content anymore. I also consume a lot of exam strategy videos, learning methods types of videos and lesson type of videos but not as frequently as I should. I also sometimes watch tutorials and guides to using software like Photoshop or Illustrator to learn how to use them as I’m a beginner.

As I said, a lot of the media that I consume is trivial. Unboxing videos, daily vlogs, compilations, journaling, etc are all things that I watch to entertain myself. It’s fun but it’s not something that I should spend all of my time on. Any type of celebrity gossip is unnecessary and it sometimes even is negative towards my mental health. The continuous scroll through Facebook Watch videos. Something that I’m really into these days is Webtoon/Manhua/Manhwa’s review/recap videos. Also film/tv reviews. It’s called “reviews” but they’re basically recaps of them, I “watched” a lot of movies or shows this way. It makes long and interesting films interesting. Not only on Facebook Watch, but I also subscribe to a few recap channels on YouTube. Because Facebook it’s in Vietnamese with more Asian media and YouTube, it’s in English with Western media. There were also countless times when I got “trapped” in Instagram reels. Short videos of unboxings or journalling, packing videos or these motivational reels, daily logs, etc. It’s really aesthetic and is really customised to my tastes which is why it’s sometimes so hard to stop.

Your music video, short film, or trailer...is it escapism/trivial/mere entertainment, or was it meant to be significant?

My short film was meant to be a significant piece of art and not mere entertainment from the beginning. Up until now, none of my short films is for entertainment purposes as my aim through this medium is to convey my deepest thoughts rather than entertain people. I had another idea before this and I was going to make a trailer for a coming-of-age, comedy, cheesy film inspired by 2000s teen movies like “Mean girls”. But I changed my mind as my mood changed. A lot of my inspiration comes from what I want to get off my mind and so it’s more like art rather than fun.

Neil Postman Quote Poster | 16.01.2023

Something that we did in class for an assignment as well as a mini class competition. The goal of this task was to get familiar with editing software to be able to make the final postcard for the Short film package.

The task was to design a poster including the quote "We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant." - Neil Postman

The poster can be designed in any way to convey that message.

Marking criteria

1. Captures the tone of the message

2. Visual appeal

3. Technical skill

4. Effectiveness of the message

And I won the competition and got a McDonald's Happy Meal as a prize! (Another group came first place as well, it was a draw)