Week 12

This week we listened to a audio piece based on the Irish slaughter houses. The piece is a radio documentary with the narrator being someone who used to work and grow up on these slaughter houses. The main elements that stuck out in this piece included Irish folk music, and especially the cutting, sharpening of the knives and squealing of the pig. The part of this piece that had the most effect amonst the audience is the casual squealing of the pig as the narrator is talking about meat. It gives a light headed and sickly feeling to the way you can hear the animal being slaughtered in the background. Can even go as far to make the audience reflect on their diet from a meat point of view. Although I did not find the piece interesting from an entertainment perspective. I felt it did its job on an audience reaction. Not just making the audience feel queasy with the slaughter sounds but maybe even nostalgic with the classical Irish folk music. If any of the audience are from an Irish background they might be able to relate to the nostalgia the narrator is trying to show to the audience.

Week 11

Today we watched a short film during the session called High Rise. Which is a film about a mother watching tv while in neglect of her baby near the open high rise window. It is a very suspenseful film as the it has you on edge during the whole narrative weather or not the baby will fall from the window. Their are many subliminal messages this film could be giving off, and it is really up to audience interpretation. For my own personal perspective at first watch I thought the mother was a drug addict who didn't care for her child, saw it more of a weight on her shoulders she didnt want and only showed actual interest when she thought the baby fell out the window. It could also be argued she is using the TV as a sense of escapism, watching typical daytime TV while ignoring her life problems. I personally thought for a short film, it was a very interesting approach. I personally enjoyed it as it had me on edge at the whole time not knowing what was going to happen.