Nathan Allan
Bio
A student at the University of Sunderland studying film and media. I'm interested in a whole lot of things. I'd appreciate it if you stick around and read some of my articles on a variety of things!
Stories (9/0)
Working in the New Media Industry in the Age of Web 2.0
The CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, said; “This is the internet age, where content blends through boundaries” (Murgia, 2016, online). New media and the internet have allowed for content “to flow through many different channels and assume many different forms at the point of reception” (Jenkins, 2006, p. 11) and Web 2.0 has enabled the evolution of the online sphere where users can contribute and distribute their own content alongside traditional publishers instead of a place where users can only retrieve information (Creeber & Martin, 2009, p. 3). In this essay, I will discuss Hastings’ claim in relation to the media industry, its production sector and how new media and Web 2.0 have allowed for these changes.
By Nathan Allan4 years ago in Geeks
Micro-Celebrities and Reality TV: YouTubers as a New Source of Reality Content
As our society evolves, so does our media, creating new mediums and content. As reality TV, a relatively new genre of TV content compared to others, became prevalent, it brought new ideas, codes, conventions, as well as the ‘ordinary person’ to our screens and therefore, new expectations from audiences (Biressi & Nunn, 2005, p2). As the Internet became more accessible and a place for entertainment media to be consumed, similar changes also occurred. It saw the rise of the ‘micro-celebrity’ on social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram and the creation of Web 2.0 allowed for a productive Internet where people could upload their content as well as actively interact with other content through clicking, sharing and linking (Senft, 2013, p350) which could not be controlled through “gatekeeping” from producers and editors (Ang, Khamis & Welling, 2016, p8). The ordinary person now had a platform to speak, create, share and gain a following. This is where my argument comes into play. Could the Internet and websites such as YouTube, where users create their own content and commonly be themselves, be considered a new home of reality content, co-existing with reality TV shows? Similarities between reality TV and micro-celebrities suggest so. In this essay, I will briefly discuss the beginnings of reality TV and the micro-celebrity, and analyse texts to argue that the online sphere has led to a new type of content similar to reality TV, reality stars and their traits.
By Nathan Allan4 years ago in Geeks
The Representation of Race in Doctor Who: 'Rosa'
In ‘Rosa’, the main protagonists, the Doctor and her three friends (two of which are people of colour) land in 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, a day before the events which start the Montgomery bus boycott when brought there by the Doctor’s time machine. They soon realise that the town is unfriendly to ‘coloureds’ when Ryan Sinclair, a black teenager and friend of the Doctor, is assaulted. They soon encounter Rosa Parks and a white racist time-travelling criminal that attempts to prevent Rosa’s actions to divert the course of history to create a future where civil rights do not exist.
By Nathan Allan4 years ago in The Swamp
Soap Operas - How Do They Survive So Long? - A Definition of the Soap Opera
Originating in the 1930s by a combination of advertising industries and American radio, the soap opera was a fictional show for “daytime… homebound housewives” used to pitch products to (Gledhill & Ball, 2013, p362). Since its origins, the genre has had decades to develop its conventions. In 1981, Christine Geraghty wrote ‘The Continuous Serial – A Definition’, an essay defining these conventions using the soap opera; Coronation Street (ITV, 1960 – Present). In this essay, I will be discussing Geraghty’s definitions of the organisation of time, the sense of future, the interweaving of stories and cliff-hangers that affect the texts of continuous serials using examples from texts of contemporary soap operas and determining if they are still relevant today.
By Nathan Allan5 years ago in Geeks
Understanding Genre in 'My Darling Clementine'
My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946) follows the story of Wyatt Earp, an ex-marshal from Dodge city, and his brothers who heard a large flock of cattle across the wild west, the frontier, to California. They stop at the lawless town of Tombstone, leaving his brother, James, at their camp to watch over their cattle. When they return, they find James murdered and their cattle stolen. Earp suspects ‘Old Man’ Clanton and his sons and returns to Tombstone, becoming the Sheriff in an attempt to bring law to the land and get his revenge legally. While staying in Tombstone, Earp builds a life there and also falls in love with a woman, Clementine.
By Nathan Allan5 years ago in Geeks
Metropolis, Nosferatu, and German Expressionism
Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922) and Metropolis (Lang, 1927) are both very distinct films in several ways. One is set in the future, the other is set in the past. Both of these iconic expressionist films include similarities and differences in their themes and styles, and how they are used, which provide closure on the consistencies, and varieties of the German Expressionist film movement of the 1920s—and also their historical and cultural significance to Germany and World War One.
By Nathan Allan5 years ago in Geeks
Analysis of Lola Rennt ('Run Lola Run')
Lola Rennt in Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998) is an ‘experimental’ crime, drama and action film, which Tykwer said was “going to be an experimental film for a mass audience” (McCarthy & Halle, 2003, 401). The film’s post-modern narrative begins when Manni, Lola’s boyfriend, loses a bag containing 100,000 Marks that was meant to be delivered to a crime boss on a Berlin subway train, which is then stolen by a homeless man. Lola has 20 minutes to obtain 100,000 Marks, or her boyfriend will be killed for his blunder.
By Nathan Allan5 years ago in Geeks
The Importance of Coming Out
If you're gay, lesbian, bi, or anyone who may be struggling to come to terms with their sexuality, at the beginning of your journey, you may have a humungous mountain to climb before you get to the top. For some people, they will have to simply walk up a hill, while others will need to climb Everest. Coming out to others is a different experience for everyone who faces the challenge depending on who they are coming out to, where they are coming out, and of course their own thoughts and feelings.
By Nathan Allan6 years ago in Filthy
Film Equipment for Beginners
Filmmaking is a challenging art to create, it takes heavy and hard work in every single aspect, you rely on others a lot for many of those aspects, and even if you do manage to create your art to your vision perfectly (which is a slow and unlikely process for beginners), you still have the pressure of the people critiquing the product your put your heart and soul into. As a college graduate in creative media production, I am an amateur and still have a long way to go...
By Nathan Allan7 years ago in 01