Friday, December 14, 2018

Radio Plays

Your answers are due for Chapter 5: Part 1: Radio & Broadcasting. Please submit your work to our Google Classroom.

Today, please complete the following assignments/tasks:

Originally, radio was filled with news and entertainment, along with music. Music, of course, has overwhelmed radio and is the most common form of entertainment sent through the airwaves to us. To begin our radio media unit let's take a look at the scripts and listen to the following plays:

Jess O'Callaghan's article: "Podcast Nerds Rejoice: Radio Plays Are Making a Comeback"
Please read this linked article. Then answer the 4 questions (turn these in today if we have time, otherwise, it's homework. Complete and turn in by next class, regardless...)
1. Why does how we listen to radio/podcasts matter according to O'Callaghan?
2. What kinds of podcasts are "out there"?
3.  Summarize the basic plots (1-3 sentences, for example, for each radio play: "Who's on First," "The Hitchhiker," and "Murder by the Book."
4. How are new wave radio plays distinguishing themselves from the old ones? (Abbott & Costello, Lucille Fletcher's Hitchhiker (OLD) with Stephan Sheridan's Murder by the Book for example.) Use specific examples from the article and handouts you have today and by listening to the radio plays below (please use headphones!):
HOMEWORK: Finish anything you haven't completed during class. Complete listening to the radio plays and answer the questions if you did not finish them in class. Answers are due by next class (Wednesday). 

7 comments:

  1. (1) According to O’Callaghan, the way we access radio and audio mediums today greatly affects our perception of it. Modern podcasts aid in our view of thinking about radio as an ancient medium. Although radio may be becoming cool once more, most still view it as ancient and primitive technology.
    (2) There are all types of podcasts out there some with only audio. Some podcasts focus on perspective and narrative, and others focus on the lives of the speaker. Some podcasts out there include Serial and Welcome to NightVale.
    (3) “Who’s on first?” is a rather annoying bit of comedy between Abbot and Costello; they try to figure out who is who on the baseball team. Classic personalities that I dislike. In “The Hitchhiker” there is a thriller plot based on, well, a hitchhiker. The story uses multiple narrators aka lots of switching between somewhat generic first person lines. “Murder By the Book” uses music and very narrative, the plot revolves around character relationship (Uncle Langston and nephew have an interesting relationship) and a rivalry between the bookstore and library; it was the quest to find out who murdered Mr.Langston.
    (4) I feel that the older radio plays use playful banter (as in “Who’s on first?”) and focus on the words that are being said as well as the characters (as in “The Hitchhiker”). More importantly, I feel that “Murder By the Book” makes good use of music and audio effects in their more modern radio drama. Examples of this include the chiming of a clock, introductory music, or a glass eye rolling across the floor (Mr.Langston’s). I suppose one could say that the radio play has evolved over time to adapt to new technology and to suit people’s needs.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, some typos in the plot description of Murder By the Book. Ernest is Colin's uncle and he was the murdered being. I made it a bit confusing, sorry!

      Delete
  2. 1. Why does how we listen to radio/podcasts matter according to O'Callaghan?


    It shapes our mindset of the modern world and modern-day podcasts.

    2. What kinds of podcasts are "out there"?

    There are podcasts that are solely audio and there are storytelling podcasts and radio plays with people reading narratives in the voices of characters.

    3. Summarize the basic plots (1-3 sentences, for example, for each radio play: "Who's on First," "The Hitchhiker," and "Murder by the Book."

    ”Who’s on it First” is essentially about Costello asking Abbot of the names of the baseball players. Unfortunately, Abbot has no knowledge of the players’ names and they proceed to go back and forth with one another about the players’ names. “The Hitchhiker” is a thriller based story told from the first person point of view in the form of multiple narratives. “Murder by the Book” a storytelling/narrative podcast that has people speaking in character and uses music and sound effects in the background of the narrating as a way to drive the plot forward

    4. How are new wave radio plays distinguishing themselves from the old ones? (Abbott & Costello, Lucille Fletcher's Hitchhiker (OLD) with Stephan Sheridan's Murder by the Book for example.) Use specific examples from the article and handouts you have today and by listening to the radio plays below (please use headphones)

    Radio plays distinguish themselves from the old ones by sound and visual quality. In Hitchhiker, the visual was in grey and it was very difficult to distinguish the scenes unless they had specific details that made it stood out. Newer plays music and sound is a lot clearer and less warbled than that of old radio plays which meet our need as the human race to evolve and to adapt to our surroundings.

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  3. I shared a document with you with the answers on it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I shared my answer with you through gmail.

    ReplyDelete

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