theatre

According to dictionary, theatre is a building designed for the performance of plays, operas and etc. Theatre is a story that comes alive, it is tragedy, drama, mystery, musical, dance and many more. Many people does the theatre, there are different talent such as the playwright, the director, actors, stage manager, costume designer, set designer, make up artists, sound designer, lighting designer, running crew, light board operator, sound board operator and the publicity. 

Usually people do the theatre for entertainment, to communicate and to educate other people. The playwright takes the idea and used theatre to deliver the message. To deliver the message is not easy, the actors that play a role in that theatre have to make it naturally so people can catch the meaning of the story. The help from the prop like the clothes and sets is useful too. By using the elements of characterization, design, and technology, the actors and actresses are able to provide insights into the human condition. 

                                 Elizabethan Theatre at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

In a theatre, the message can be easily delivered if the music that played is support the situation. Also, the decoration in the theatre takes an important role to make people or audience feel immerse with the story. If the audience already knows the story very well, then the delivering message from the story is successful. That is how theatre can be one of media form. Theatre can be loosely defined as the branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle.  Theatre contains both visual and audio elements, and is a shared experience between audience and performers. Overall, theatre is a dynamic and vibrant art form, which is constantly changing to include current affairs and new media. 

Like from my country, Indonesia, Wayang is a generic term of denoting traditional theatre. It is one example form of theatre that employing light and shadow. Wayang used puppets that crafted from buffalo hide and mounted on bamboo sticks. It is held up behind a piece of white cloth, with an electric bulb or an oil lamp as the light source, shadows are cast on the screen. Wayang plays are invariably based on romantic tales, especially adaptations of the classic indian epics, "The Mahabrata" and "The Ramayana". Some of the plays are also based on local happenings (current issues) or other local secular stories. It is up to the conductor or "Tok Dalang" to decide his direction. From Wayang, people or audience usually gets a historical stories, and the message purely delivered by the conductor and the puppets.

Wayang today is both the most ancient and most popular form of puppet theatre in the world. Hundreds of people will stay up all night long to watch the superstar performers, Dalang, who command extravagant fees and are international celebrities. The Conductor or Dalang is the genius behind the entire performance. It is he who sits behind the screen and narrates the story. With a traditional orchestra in the background to provide a resonant melody and its conventional rhythm, the Dalang modulates his voice to create suspense thus heightening the drama. Invariably, the play climaxes with the triumph of good over evil.

References:

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=97713

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theater

http://ee.dramaturgy.co.uk/index.php/site/front/

http://shakespeare.about.com/od/theglobe/ig/Globe-Theatre-Pictures/Elizabethan-Theatre-at-Shakespeare-s-Globe-Theatre.htm

http://jamaluddinab.blogspot.com/2011/02/makhluk-dan-khalik-ibarat-falsafah.html

Social groups and their media

Basically, a group is a subset of a universe of people, it can only be conceptualized within a context which is itself composed of social entities, at least one other group. So there is a social group, which is a group consists of at least two persons who interact with one another and who recognized themselves as a different social unit. The frequent interaction in social groups, leads these people to share values and beliefs. To share understanding of their world and of the objects composing it provides the ground for communication. The result of the interaction between people in social groups is that they can identify with each other, identify the causes, in turn, a more intense interaction and etc.

A social group is initially formed by interest of the groups members. It work toward the same common goal, which can be anything at all. The common interest is the bigger purpose or calling of the group. This characteristic is what mainly attracts the group members, and it's what people outside of the group may know or see them for. There are rules and definitions within the idea of social groupings, but in the end, social groups are made up because of common interests, beliefs or identity. 

There are many types of social groups, but obviously younger generation with age range 10-22 years old is the most groups that actively sharing their ideas and stories of their lives. They are nowadays already have the facility to share their stories, like internet, smart phones, laptop, computer and any other modern gadgets. They can interact with their peer groups easily, anytime and anywhere. The most popular site that they use are like facebook, twitter, myspace or youtube.

Older generation tend to choose a simpler media for their communication, if the younger use the modern and sophisticated gadget, the older might be just choose the phone with limited facilities. They just want to use the phone to text or calling their friends. Although a small part from them already wants to learn to use modern technology but they preferred to meet and talk face to face with their groups.

Different occupation would also give impact with types of media that they might used. It is also includes the income of each individual. If they have a good income, they will choose a better media in their social group rather than the groups with lower income. Same like people with different education background, if someone having a higher education status, they will automatically have a better media in their social groups than the group with lower education. For example, people in higher education might be know what is best for them to use in daily life. Social groups of higher education people will more look expensive than the lower, but this situation does not always happen because we do not know what is the capability of people except from their education.

Forms of Media

On week 2, we have to find at least 10 forms of media. Here are some of them:

1. Typewriter

An electric, electronic, or manual machine with keys for producing print like characters one at a time on paper       inserted around a roller

2. Telephone

A system that converts acoustic vibrations to electrical signals in order to transmit sound, typically voices

3. Brochures

A small book or magazine containing pictures and information about a product or service

4. Fax Machine

A fax (short for facsimile) is a document sent over a telephone line

5. Magazines

A periodical publication containing articles and illustrations, typically covering a particular subject

6. Radio

The transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves of radio frequency, esp. those carrying sound messages

7. Newspaper

A printed publication consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news, feature articles, advertisements, and correspondence

8. Poster

A large printed picture, notice, or advertisement displayed in a public place

9. Telegraph

A system for transmitting messages from a distance along a wire, esp. one creating signals by making and breaking an electrical connection

10. Television

A system for transmitting visual images and sound that are reproduced on screens, chiefly used to broadcast programs for entertainment, information, and education

Images Source:

http://backporchgraphics.blogspot.com/2010/08/freebie-image-assortment-and-just.html

http://philosophy.colostate.edu/contact

http://funnytogo.com/pictures/tv/retro-gadgets-fair.htm

https://www.prevostcar.com/content/publications

http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/File:Posters.png

http://innovativehealingtouch.com/ettia/

http://www.crrc.org.my/crrc/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=223:radio-ads-stay-strong

http://www.teckheng.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/87_161_31

http://www.dvafoto.com/2010/11/same-photo-different-story-an-analysis-of-newspapers-coverage-of-recent-student-protests/

Transformation

 

Definitions

In week 1, our tasks in media anthropology class are to find the definitions of cross disciplinary, trans disciplinary, qualitative research and ethnographic studies/research and also to write an essay about our thought in media use. Here is the definitions of:

1. Cross Disciplinary

Cross disciplinary refers to knowledge that explains aspects of one discipline in terms of another. Common   examples of cross disciplinary approaches are studies of the physics of music or the politics of literature. With a cross disciplinary approach, we remain rooted in a particular discipline as we make a leap into, say, one other discipline to study some aspects of it from our original point of view. The aim is not integration, but to highlight aspects of the first discipline by means of studying the other. Cross disciplinarity describes any method, project and research activity that examines a subject outside the scope of its own discipline without cooperation or integration from other relevant disciplines. In cross disciplinarity, topics are studied using foreign methodologies of unrelated disciplines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disciplinary

2. Trans Disciplinary

Approaches that transcend boundaries of conventional disciplines. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines, such as research on effective information system for bio medical research, and can refer to concepts or methods that were originally developed by one discipline, but are now used by several others, such as ethnography, a field research method originally developed in anthropology but now widely used by other disciplines.

http://www.vision2lead.com/Crossing.pdf

3. Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is by definition exploratory, and it is used when we don’t know what to expect, to define the problem or develop an approach to the problem. It’s also used to go deeper into issues of interest and explore nuances related to the problem at hand. Common data collection methods used in qualitative research are focus groups, triads,  in depth interviews, uninterrupted observation, bulletin boards, and ethnographic participation/observation. It is intended to penetrate to the deeper significance that the subject of the research ascribes to the topic being researched. It involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter and gives priority to what the data contribute to important research questions or existing information. Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. 

http://www.mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk/cochrane/handbook500/chapter_20/20_2_1_definition_of_qualitative_research.htm

4. Ethnographic Studies/Research

Ethnography is the study of cultures through close observation, reading, and interpretation. Ethnographic studies is a methods of qualitative research developed by anthropologists, in which the researcher attends to and interprets communication while participating in the research context. It is also known as participant observation, in which the researcher lives within the setting and among the people she studies. Ethnographic research provides richly detailed, descriptive portraits of other cultures, groups and institutions. Such research often provides a basis for future studies, including comparative work.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ethnographic+studies