OBri

Magazine editor turned university instructor. Film is my main focus, but I'm also interested in general media studies & pretty much everything in the arts.

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Latest Articles

Film

Identity in Eastern Promises (2007) and Gone Girl (2014)

If anything can be considered both timely and timeless, it’s identity. Loosely defined as a conception constantly created and developed...

OBri Dec 11, 2016

Latest Topics

Web-Videos

social media

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Twitter and Election 2016

Today, many U.S. politicians are extending their public reach through Twitter accounts, and many other public figures are using Twitter as a platform to voice their opinions about those politicians. I think it would be interesting to explore the extent to which these Twitter presences affect broader public opinions of politicians. This topic could be applied to any current political figure or situation, but I think it could be particularly interesting to focus on Election 2016, given the consistent media attention devoted to tweets both by and about Trump, Clinton, and the other candidates throughout the process.

I think this would be interesting to talk about! Because of social media, certain candidates have become memes, and their reputations have gone up/down. One example is Tim Kaine; many tweets have described as a "soccer dad" which made him seem more affable. – seouljustice 8 years ago
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Although, this day and age are technologically advanced, the thought of candidates trying to extend their reach through twitter is very strange. This would be an article I would like to read about. – OrangeCitris 8 years ago
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Great topic. I'd love to see a chart showing numbers and trends of tweets reacting to some of the major bombshells, such as news of Hillary receiving debate questions prior to facing Sanders and Trump. Also, we may have seen another major shift in U.S. political strategy: Obama, a relative unknown, was elected president in 2008 and 2012. In 2016, Trump - a businessman with no public service track record - won the U.S. presidential election. In 2020, Waldo (of "Where's Waldo" fame) might be facing The Invisible Man for the Dem nod. No history it seems is better than bad history, ala the history of the Clintons as perceived by many U.S. citizens. The apparent new mantra: don't tweet 'til elected, don't tweet 'til elected. – Tigey 8 years ago
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Great topic. It is doable to collect all tweets talking about Trump and Hilary using Twitter stream API during a time. To gain a basic feeling of these comments, we can use machine learning to do sentiment analysis, and see whether people think them positively or negatively. – cicirao 8 years ago
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Don't forget Turkey's Erdagon deftly handling his country's uprising with Twitter. It is a powerful tool that allows politicians to bypass mainstream media. It seems as if whoever rules on Twitter wins. – Munjeera 8 years ago
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film

horror film

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Comparisons to Classics in Modern Horror Film Marketing

In both formal and informal marketing efforts, modern horror films are often compared to classic horror films. It's not uncommon to see statements that a new horror film, for example, "evokes" or "is the scariest film since" a classic like The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973) or The Shining (Kubrick, 1980). But do these comparisons ultimately help or hurt modern horror films? And how, specifically, do these comparisons contribute to marketing efforts that are effective (or not)? I think the role of factors such as hype and viewer expectation may be particularly interesting to consider.

I think this is a good topic. I expect the comparisons to the classics will form certain expectation for the audiences, and failing to do so would hurt the sale. It would also be important to examine the cases of success and failure in such marketing and what contributed to the results. – idleric 8 years ago
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As you mentioned comparisons to classics are marketing tools to inspire hype so at what point does it become ineffective? It would be neat to find examples or modern horror advertised in this way and review two case studies where audiences felt completely differently about the films themselves. Does claiming something is "like" a classic become diluted the more it's said or just when audiences respond negatively to the claim? Has these kid of claims ruined any third party rating or review sites? – Slaidey 8 years ago
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Amazing idea! Might also be interesting to throw in a couple of examples when horror films claim to be "like nothing you've seen before!" for comparison and see how they've succeeded. For example, I think the marketing for Paranormal Activity (although not an entirely new concept at the time) really played on the idea that the film was the scariest thing anyone will ever see, with those videos of audience reactions in the cinema. – Sonia Charlotta Reini 8 years ago
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I think the shifting of subgenres in horror provides an interesting counterpoint to go against the need to compare the old with the new. There will always inherently be comparisons, but Saw and Rosemary's Baby are two completely different types of horror, and even looking at the box office takeover Paranormal Activity had against Saw, there's less of a comparison of content and more so a comparison of what audiences want to see. – SarahKnauf 8 years ago
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Latest Comments

Jun 6, 2017 OBri Great article! As a horror junky, I’m glad to see this evolution in the genre. Of the films mentioned here, I really liked both It Follows and The Babadook. Still need to see Pontypool and Get Out, but they’re both high on the list!	New Horror: An Evolving Genre
Jun 1, 2017 OBri Great article! The Shining is one of my favorite horror films, and I read the book a few years ago. While I actually prefer the film to the book, I think the book did provide some interesting insight into some of the more ambiguous/seemingly random things that come up in the film. Still need to read Dr. Sleep!	Where’s Johnny? Questions left over from Stanley Kubrick’s "The Shining"
Jan 22, 2017 OBri Very interesting article! I’m just thinking aloud here, but it might be fun to apply an analysis like this to Ich Seh, Ich Seh/Goodnight Mommy (Fiala & Franz, 2014). I don’t know if you’ve seen that film or not, but it’s another one that seems to explore these themes – although in different ways.	Maternal Horror Films: Understanding the 'Dysfunctional' Mother
Dec 19, 2016 OBri Thanks! Yeah, I really enjoyed the “cool girl” detail in the book, and I’m glad they included at least a bit of it in the film. Crazy as it is, I think there’s actually quite a bit of truth in it, LOL.	Identity in Eastern Promises (2007) and Gone Girl (2014)
Dec 15, 2016 OBri I understand the desire to look to other nations and cultures for new material, settings, etc., but I see what you mean. One related thing I notice a lot has to do with language: For example, an American film will be set in France and consist of French characters, but the cast will all speak English with a French(ish) accent. This is, of course, not exclusive to an American-French dynamic, but it seems to be a very common practice within predominantly English-speaking countries. I haven’t done the research, but off the top of my head, I suspect this is popular because general audiences in places like the States don’t like to read subtitles. Also, most of the actors who can get people into theaters in these countries may not be able to speak the languages in question.	Identity in Eastern Promises (2007) and Gone Girl (2014)
Dec 15, 2016 OBri I think Amy definitely has some psychological issues, but I don’t think she’s actually psychotic. Diagnosis aside, though, I think she’s a great character. Very interesting.	Identity in Eastern Promises (2007) and Gone Girl (2014)
Dec 15, 2016 OBri I know what you mean about the ending. I actually saw the film before I read the book, but I remember thinking initially that the ending seemed a little far-fetched. It’s grown on me more with subsequent viewings.	Identity in Eastern Promises (2007) and Gone Girl (2014)
Dec 14, 2016 OBri This makes me think of the practically back-to-back Spider-man franchises from the 2000s/early 2010s. I mean, Spider-man 3 WAS pretty awful, and I don’t blame them for cutting the cord on the franchise at that point – but was a complete “reboot” only five years later really necessary? Personally, I’m thinking we could’ve just done without Spider-man for a few more years – especially since Spider-man has been reintroduced AGAIN as part of the Avengers … two whole years after The Amazing Spider-man 2 and still not even 10 years after Spider-man 3.	Should Superhero Franchises have a Definite Ending

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