Should Movies Really Be Spending So Much Money?

With the release of Paranormal Activity 3, I thought I would discuss the amount of money that is spent on movies today.

When Paranormal Activity was filmed, they spent $15,000 on everything they needed for the movie. The actors were paid a mere $500. However, after it began to gain popularity after its first release at the Screamfest Film Festival in October of 2007, it began to gain popularity. It then had a limited release at certain theaters in September of 2009. By October of 2009, Paranormal activity was playing in theaters worldwide, grossing nearly $200 million. It was said before the movie was released worldwide, they thought about pulling it out of theaters early. But then there were reports of people leaving the theaters early they were so scared.

Audience members watching Paranormal Activity

So how does such a low budget movie gain such popularity and revenue? This is why my opinion comes into play. After watching Paranormal Activity, I didn't sleep well for three or four days. For a movie that doesn't have all the bangs and whistles, that's pretty impressive. I'm a fan of scary movies, but lately it seems as though Hollywood has been failing to come up with new ideas. They have started remaking movies or doing sequels to many movies that were previously popular.

Why did Paranormal Activity scare me so much? Simple. Throughout the movie, there is a spirit, ghost, or monster of some kind tormenting and terrorizing a couple. However, this movie played off of its viewer's imagination. If I remember correctly, this movie never physically presented this "being" that was terrorizing the couple. The viewer cognitively manifested their own fears to create what this monster was. I also think this movie plays off of very common fears. The dark, spirits, and the unknown. During the movie, the female, Katie, is seen standing at the end of the bed watching her boyfriend sleeping for a long period of time. It was this that really scared me. How do you know if someone is watching you when you're sleeping?!

Katie watching her boyfriend sleep.

But what does this mean to me? Hollywood goes to extreme lengths to create a movie that makes a lot of money, spending an abundance of money in the process. However, sometimes less is more. In this case, that holds true.

Paranormal Activity is now a 3 movie series spending about $8 million and grossing nearly $550 million all together.

What do you think of the series itself? Is less more?

Will Cable Become Obsolete?

In a USA Weekend article that I got out of the paper, it stated "Some people are ditching cable and satellite television- and their $75 average monthly tab. Instead, they're signing up for HULU Plus ($8 a month), Netflix streaming (another $8) for movies, and renting $1 DVDs from the Redbox in the supermarket. Not for you? You could still save by shedding premium channels and supplementing with some of these services - particularly if you are not watching many of them anyway. A recent Neilsen study showed Americans now have about 130 channels available on average, but they watch only 18."

So my question is this, with all of the new, more cost-friendly services that are available, will this have an impact on cable? Personally, I think this could be the case. Recently, all cable switched to digital from analog. Analog has become a thing of the past. This could happen to cable as well.

Halloween Favorites From the Past

Yay Halloween!

Breast Cancer Awareness

Since this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I wanted to take the time to blog about it and how important it is to me. Right around Christmas of last year, my grandma was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. My grandma has lived with my family since I was born and we are incredibly close. Luckily, she didn't have to undergo any serious treatment. She is currently taking medication and getting much better!

However, this isn't a blog just about my grandma. I never thought something so serious would hit close to home. I think this month is a great time to think of breast cancer awareness, but I think it's really important for people to think about it all year around. It can happen to anyone, cancer doesn't discriminate. As a young female, I think being aware of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or any other prominent feminine sickness is important to be aware of. Educate yourselves! And that goes for men too. There are a lot of things people are unaware of that can have a large impact on their life at some point. So continue to get your yearly check-ups! It's very important. And don't forget to wear pink this month. :]

The breast cancer ribbon tattoo I got for my grandma!

Midterm Review

List of Online Readings/Articles:
How Students Use Technology
Is Social Media Ruining Students?
Did Pencils Make Us Dumber?
On the New Literacy
Tech Support Cheat Sheet
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Does the Internet Make You Smarter?
What do We Need to Teach About Knowledge Work?
How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?
Social Media is Here to Stay...Now What?

List of Books:
The Medium is the Massage- McLuhan
Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century- Selfe
Here Comes Everybody- Shirky
Sams Teach Yourslef HTM and CSS in 24 Hours- Meloni

List of Class Articles:The Coming of the New Organization- Drucker
Three Meanings of Epistemic Rhetoric- Brummett
The Aggressive Egg- Freedman
Inquiry Paradigms and Writing- Emig

A Few Things I Love

Description		Why I Love Them	When it Started	Where I Get Them
	Hello Kitty	She's adorable.	Elementary School.	Everywhere! I get her as gifts or pick them up for myself.
	Elephants	They are so magestic.	Highschool.	Goodwill, mostly. But I have got them as gifts, too.
	White Powerade	It tastes amazing!	Middle School.	The only place I've been able to find them is Marsh. They are hard to find, but they're my favorite drink.

My Life: My Family