West End theatre is considered to represent the highest level mainstream commercial theatre and is a common activity in London. Reportedly, attendance records have surpassed the 13 million mark in the year 2007. Modern theatre includes: drama, comedy, dance and musicals. There are currently around 40 different theaters running in London and a good portion of these hold shows every night.Popular west end shows currently include: Billy Elliot, Avenue Q, Wicked, Enron, We Will Rock You and Phantom of the Opera. Billy Elliot is a great piece to focus on.Based on the 2000 film of the same name, Billy Elliot is running for its 5th year and includes elements of musical, dance, comedy and drama all in one. The music was produced by Elton John and has been directed by the same director of the film, Stephen Daldry.The play has been nominated for multiple Laurence Olivier Awards and has won four including Best New Musical. It is currently planning multiple international tours in US, Canada and South Korea.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_End_theatre | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Elliot_the_Musical
There is one obvious playwright to think of when the topic of traditional British theatre is brought up, William Shakespeare. His works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems and many more. All these works have made many regard Shakespeare as the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare has numerous plays that a world famous including: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and Hamlet.In the 16th century, these plays were a form of mass communication. Each play held some sort of message that involved political and social issues. Within the Globe Theatre in London, up to 3000 spectators would view a play every night. During this day, that was 1% of the population, so it was not hard to move a strong political message to a wide audience in this time.Shakespeare has made a lasting impression on many theatre productions after his time. He took part in expanding characterization, plot, language and genre. He has also influenced the works of famous literary writers, Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner and Charles Dickens. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, he never received much praise, this was due to theatre not being held high in society, but in modern day theatre, he is held as a pioneer and master of his craft.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_theatre
Stained glass windows aren’t usually what one would think of as a mass communication, but when you really think about the message these pieces share and the number of people have seen them, I believe they can be in the same field. In every cathedral you go to in Europe, you are sure to run into a stained glass window of some sort, and mostly all have some sort of message behind them (usually involves important figures in the church or The Bible).Creating stained glass pieces is a difficult process which includes staining the glass in specific metallic salts, perfectly designing the pieces to fit together snugly and binding them all together to create a finished work.The window accompanied with this post is located in St. Patrick’s Church in Dublin, Ireland. This particular pieces simply titled “West Window” which depicts 39 scenes of the life of St. Patrick. For example, the burial of St. Patrick is depicted at the very top. This particular window was created in Newcastle. Modern uses of stained glass can be seen in many different areas, varying from metro stations to libraries.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stained_glass
While the previous post focused on “The Lord of the Rings” as literature, the focus of this post will be more cinematic in nature. Based off of J.K. Rowling’s series of the same name, the film series has become the highest grossing film series of all time and still has two more films to be released, The Deathly Hollows Parts 1 and 2. There are eight films in the series total, six of them already released.Rowling has had a heavy hand in the production of these films, insisting the cast be kept all British in keeping up the setting the books were based in. While most of the films stick true to the story, the producers have taken liberty in adding small elements to the film such as in “The Half Blood Prince” where the millennium bridge was destroyed. Reception for the film has been generally well, with every film scoring relatively high amongst top critics and fan reviews. There has been discourse amongst fans of the book series though due to the elements added and omitted though.The series has undergone four directors, each focusing on different elements for their films. While there has been disagreement/praise for each director, the series has no doubt been a huge success even with its different styles throughout.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_potter
The picture here is of a tree, but what is its importance in media? This tree has been reported to be J.R.R. Tolkien’s favorite tree while studying in Oxford. Tolkien was one of the more prolific modern writers in Britain, namely in the fantasy genre with “The Lord of the Rings” series. He was part of a literary discussion group known as “The Inklings” with another notable English writer, C.S. Lewis. His works of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” led to a resurgence of the fantasy genre in both Britain and America. He is labeled as the “father” of modern fantasy literature and his work has inspired like literature, music, film and video games.The Lord of the Rings can be considered Tolkien’s best work and has been labeled by the Sunday Telegraph as "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." The series was recently adapted into a Hollywood film series that was highly acclaimed as well, but it there was debate amongst critics if it dumbed down the literary elements too much for mass appeal.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkein | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_rings
Folk music has its origins in the earliest periods of British history. Folk music has traditionally consisted of stories told to music. This music is distinct to different regions and various styles can be seen in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.Folk music has a variety of different forms including: ballads, carols, children’s songs, jigs, protest songs, sea shanties and many others. All share one thing in a common, they share a story that can be retold again and again to reach a mass audience.The accompanied picture is of a folk music group performing in a pub in the Republic of Ireland. They performed traditional Irish folk songs along with more modern pieces with their own distinct style.Folk has also had influence in many modern genres of music as well including metal, punk and electric. Many of these types of music and traditional folk are performed today in pubs and festivals such as the Cambridge Folk Festival, held annually.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_folk_music
Music in some form has been present throughout all of history, but it wasn’t till the early 20th century when it could be broadcasted on a large scale. Radio gave rise to many modern music idols and in the context of England the most obvious artists to cover would have to be The Beatles.The story of The Beatles is well known and so I will only cover the important aspects of their history. Lennon and McCartney were initially in a band called “The Quarrymen” which played skiffle music, a blend of rock and roll and country of sorts. Soon after, McCartney’s friend Harrison would eventually join. Upon being signed with a label their drummer would be replaced with Starr. The band would continue to make music for 10 years but would break up due to disagreements on how to manage themselves.The Beatles throughout their 10 year run would help shape modern rock’s style and presentation. They have had countless songs in the top 10 charts and their albums continue to sell well to this day. Products such as the video game “The Beatles: Rock Band” continue to introduce their music to new generations and creating new interest in the band. Located in the band’s hometown of Liverpool is a museum that tells the entire story of The Beatles and the famous Cavern Club where the band played more than 300 shows.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_beatles
The majority of street art is vandalism, but it still holds a message to tell to those who view it. I have observed the majority of street art mainly around the rail areas of London and Europe, I assume this is because of minimal CCTV in the area. There is one artist who ventures into the heart of London to create his art though, this artist goes by the alias of “Banksy”. Banksy has a unique style that combines graffiti writing with a distinct stenciling aesthetic. The resulting artworks are usually satirical on politics, culture and ethics. According to one author, Banksy was born in Bristol in the late 1970’s and was part of the underground scene. In the late 1980’s Bristol experienced aerosol paint boom, this is where Banksy first picked up the craft. His more famous works include: a “Pulp Fiction” inspired piece where bananas are in place of guns in the hands of Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta, “One Nation Under CCTV” printed on a large wall in Westminster (removed in 2009), and a series of paintings on the wall that divides Israel and Palestine. The picture accompanied with this post is a recent work at the Princess of Wales pub located in Chalk Town. It is currently unknown if this is a legit work of Banksy or a result of street artists recreating his styles, which has been coined as “The Banksy-Effect”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
Branding is very important in any business because it can creates the image that the company wants to be conveyed to their audience. Branding is accomplished through many means: logos, mascots and advertisements. One company that has made a popular name for itself, especially in Ireland, is Guinness. Guinness is a beer brewer that specializes in porter style beer. The company was founded by Arthur Guinness in Dublin during 1759. The site of the original brewery at St. James Gate had a 9,000 year lease signed on it for 45 pounds a year. Since then, Guinness has become a internationally popular beer. This couldn’t be achieved by their mastery of brewing along though, marketing their brand has also made a big impact on what makes Guinness such a recognizable beer. The logo of the Guinness Brewery is very recognizable as it is a harp, which is already a well known symbol in Irish history. The harp of Brian Boru has been a symbol of Ireland since the reign of Henry VIII, but there is a major difference between this harp and the logo, the direction it faces. Advertisements and commercials by Guinness are also very recognizable and how also won many awards. Notable ones include: John Gilroy’s toucan posters, dark humored commercials featuring Rutger Hauer and most recently a advert titled “Tipping Point” that resembled a domino effect. This latest commercial was shot in Argentina and had a 10 million pound budget. While the success of Guinness has lasted for generations, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the company as reportedly sales for the drink dropped in the UK and Ireland by 6% in 2006.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness
While many newspapers in America are failing, the case is quite opposite in England. Every morning and evening during rush-hour, the streets and the tube is filled with commuters reading their daily newspaper. One paper that I frequently read while in London was the “London Evening Standard”. This is a free publication that I found mainly distributed around the tube stations. It consists mainly of national and international news along with a strong emphasis on finance for the London area. The Evening Standard was founded in 1827 and gained its notoriety for its strong foreign news reporting such as the American Civil War. It is interesting to note that this was formally a paid publication, its change to a free publication came about in October 2009. This was due to its new owner, former Russian KGB agent, Alexander Lebedev. The Evening Standard is only one of many other publications in London, other notable papers include; “The Times” and “The Sun”.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Evening_Standard
The previous entry was about the BBC in general, this entry will focus on one of its more popular and long running program, Doctor Who. Doctor Who began to be broadcast on the BBC on November 23, 1963. It starts the mysterious and over enthusiastic Doctor who is a humanoid known as a Time Lord. It is his duty as a time lord to protect the space time continuum by encountering numerous enemies and fixing glitches in the time field. Doctor Who is known to be the longest running science-fiction show in broadcast history and holds the title of the most popular science-fiction show when media sales, ratings and merchandise sales are compared. Since the show’s creation in 1963, 26 seasons have run. In 1989 production halted for the series and attempts to reboot it via a 1996 television film failed. It wouldn’t be until 2005 when the production for the show would once again commence. One who hasn’t seen this series will wonder, how do the writers work with actors with a show that has been running for a near 50 years? To simply put it, the only consistent character in the series is the doctor himself and the writers write in actor changes with the element of “regeneration.” This regeneration ability allows the Doctor to change bodies and to an extent his personality whenever he becomes hurt, “too old”, etc... The show has seen major success with its innovative stories. Because of the ability to travel through time and space to other dimensions, the possibility for stories are endless. Doctor Who is currently on it’s 11th doctor, Matt Smith and the 27th season is currently in production. Doctor Who aires on BBC 1 and BBC America. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_who
The BBC is possibly one of the most well recognized media outlets not only in Europe but the world. Its original programming and news on television and radio make up the largest broadcasting corporation in the world. It operates under as a public service to the United Kingdom, that is to say, it works to give something for everyone.
Unlike traditional broadcasting networks in the United States, the BBC earns its income via a licensing fee rather than through advertisers. Anyone who owns a television must pay this fee. The BBC has two television stations that are “free” along with multiple others on digital television. Along with its television stations, it owns multiple popular radio stations and broadcasts all of its transmission online via the BBC iPlayer.
The BBC has a very rich history to explore and an equally interesting future to look at. With the rise of viewing television on the internet along with competition with satellite providers, such as Sky, the future of the BBC is cloudy.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bbc
Everywhere you go in London there is some form of mass media being broadcasted towards you in some form or fashion. Whether you are walking in the streets or sitting in the tubes, there is a source of media for you to see, some are not as obvious as others. This blog is being created to highlight the different types of media that are located in London and the surrounding European area. The goal of this blog is to raise awareness of the obvious and inconspicuous forms of media that are seen in everyday life and also point out any historical and cultural importances that lie within them.
