Media Meditation: Black and White

            I’m not really one for anime, typically, but I got talked into watching the movie Tekkon Kinkreet recently. The title is a play on the Japanese tekkin konkurito, meaning steel-reinforced concrete, as if mispronounced by a child. The story follows two children in the fictional Treasure town—Black, who’s tough and jaded; and White, who’s childish and innocent—who live on the streets and know them better than anyone in the city. The movie follows their struggle against the yakuza that try to take over the town, and eventually Black’s struggle against his own psyche. It’s brilliantly written, and the characters are brutally relatable.

            The movie is really adept at striking chords on the limbic level. The music does a really good job of conveying the atmosphere of the grandeur of the city while still matching the tone of whatever’s going on with the plot or within the character’s minds at the time. Listen to one of the tracks here.

            Less about the movie and more about how I watched it, the whole experience is generally a good example of both aesthetic and digital shifts. I watched this movie on the Internet, after a bit of digging, which shows how media platforms are converging—I can use the same medium I use for communicating with friends and doing research, for example, to watch a movie on a whim. It also indicates a technological shift because not only does this movie use a lot of obviously digitally-created sequences (I don’t know how much of it was actually digitally done), but it’s also being delivered on a platform that’s entirely digital.

            As a creative medium, this movie is obviously an example of individual meaning. There are a lot of subtleties involved with the characters’ actions and relationships that can be interpreted in a number of ways. I think this is part of what separates good movies, books, etc. from bad ones. It’s also a really strong example of emotional transfer—the characters are very tangible, and the movie touches the limbic brain in all the right ways to really convey their emotions to the viewer.

            Again, the movie is a creative medium, so it doesn’t necessarily have an argument to make. It does, however, display some common persuasive techniques. One of these is "warm fuzzies"—White is adorable both in appearance and character, and that does a lot to establish an emotional connection with the viewer. The technique of timing is also present, though it could probably be more accurately described as pacing. The plot moves forward at such a pace as to keep the viewer interested while also establishing the characters really well.

            Like I said, I don’t watch too much anime, but I was really glad I spent the two hours on this one. Both the visuals and writing are phenomenal, and it was one of the more unique movies I’ve seen in a while. Definitely a worthwhile watch, even  for those who aren’t anime fans.

Media Meditation: The No Longer Secret Knots

I discovered the webcomic The Secret Knots through StumbleUpon, a web service that uses your personal interests to deliver pages it thinks you’ll like—and it’s scarily good at it. I had it set to a variety of things—poetry, indie music, video games, etc. and found this comic. I assumed it had shown it to me based on the “video games” subject, but it piqued my interest on a neocortical level for a different reason. I’m a big film and literary geek, so I get really excited when I see good writing, and it seemed like this comic had it. It was really well-structured and incredibly unique. When I see this kind of thing, I’m driven to read more not because it’s entertaining, but because it’s well done. I have a nigh-uncontrollable urge to explore things that I think are what I consider “brilliant,” a descriptor I don’t assign lightly.

The comic, and the rise in popularity of webcomics in general, indicates an epistemological shift. Internet users tend to have short attention spans, and image-based media tend to be more effective at grabbing our attention. This comic is especially good at it, with is distinct color schemes and unique art style.

One of the strengths of this comic is the principle of individual meaning. A lot of the comic’s appeal comes from its writing—specifically, how open it is to interpretation. This one is a particularly good example. The people commenting generate a really great discussion about what the ending could potentially mean, which is a sign of really good writing, because it gives the reader a real sense of involvement.

As a medium based in entertainment, this comic doesn’t necessarily have a point to prove. However, it does display some elements of persuasive techniques. For example, it, like any good piece of creative writing, is packed with value messages for the reader to uncover. Many of the strips, like this one, could be interpreted as societal commentaries, while others operate on a more personal level.

Unfortunately, The Secret Knots doesn’t update as often as I’d like (only a few times a year), because whenever I read it I’m simultaneously stunned and inspired. It takes real talent to write like that, and this comic nails it.