First Informal Post

Hello Everyone,

My name is Brittnee Alford and I am proud to say that I am a freshmen here at Pitt. I have not yet declared a major, but I'm interested in the Business, A&S Dual Major and I want to apply to the program by the end of this spring semester. I was born and raised in the nation's capital, Washington D.C., and that is the place that I will call home for life! No matter where I go there never seems to be a greater place than the D.C. Metropolitan Area, which includes Maryland and Northern Virginia. Some of the things I like to do include writing, traveling, listening to music, and surfing the Internet. I also have a new found passion for the piano, which I am so diligently learning how to play. I have to admit, I'm not really big on video games, but at the same time I'm excited to try something different when the time comes! Some of my future plans include graduating from Pitt of course, going to grad school and eventually I want to write my own book(s) along with whatever career path I choose.
Enough about me, and moving on to the subject of the film, Modern Times. I felt that the movie was a good start to prepare the class for what Narrative and Technology will be all about. First, the fact that there were no words from the actors emphasizes the major role that technology plays in this movie. The use of music, written words, and the dramatic actions and expressions of the actors were techniques that were necessary in order to replace the absence of spoken words. The storyline was easy to follow and it was clear what was going on in every scene, so this shows how powerful facial expressions and emotions are in conveying certain messages to the audience. Secondly, it was important that the movie points out that one can tell a story with just body movements and a change in facial expressions. I agree with what others have already said about Charlie Chaplin speaking in a foreign language; it was a bit random. However, maybe the directors wanted something overly dramatic and thought that on top of the singing a foreign language would grab the attention of the audience even more. Overall, I like the movie and it was something different, since I had never seen a black and white film without words.