Thoughts on the First Season of Star Trek: TNG

Over the past couple of days, I have been watching the first season of Star Trek: the Next Generation, and a couple of thoughts stand out to me. First of all, in comparison to the other seasons of the series, this one is terrible, yet it actually isn't that bad. I think the best way to describe the episodes is uneven. The writers, producers, and actors have yet to really discover who the characters are.

For example, Picard is a jackass this season. He seems much more aloof, and superior feeling. In the episodes I have been watching he has not reached that more fatherly figure he becomes later in the series. It is kind of disappointing.

Then for the episodes, they are very mixed. Within one episode, there are some really great moments and then some bad ones. In "Where No One Has Gone Before," there is a great montage of characters having hallucinations within the strange universe they explore. It is extremely well done, but then the rest of the episode is not as strong. Of course, other episodes are real clunkers like the first appearance of the Ferengi in "Last Outpost" and the one with the African tribe.

As for the character of Wesley Crusher, he had such potential, but it is so annoying that he notices things before the senior staff. How is that believable? However, I want to like Wesley because as a kid I would have loved to have his experience. Who wouldn't want to be a kid on a Starship?

Anyway, I'm only halfway through the first season. Perhaps, I will find some more observations worth writing about. Then again with this seasons... perhaps not.

Living with The Godfather: The Uses of Copolla’s Masterpiece by the Characters in The Sopranos

Throughout the HBO television series The Sopranos, the characters continuously discuss and emulate The Godfather series of films. Tony and his crew revere these movies and feely deeply emotionally connected to them. For the characters, the movies are a way for them to connect with each other and attempt to justify and explain their lifestyle choice. This use of The Godfather by the characters represents the classic media paradigm of audience uses and gratifications.

Perhaps some of the preeminent scholars in this realm of research are Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch. Their article “Utilization of Mass Communication by the Individual” summarizes much of the field of research into this approach. At the core of this paradigm is the notion that audience members choose and use certain media texts or outlets to fulfill needs or gratifications they may have such as personal reference. There are three key sources of gratification from the media: the content, the exposure, and social context of exposure.

Based on these ideas, it is easy to see why the characters of The Sopranos are drawn to The Godfather. The movies romanticizes the gritty, dark, and violent world in which they have chosen to operate. The movies serve as a way for the characters to rationalize what they do and as a way for them to base their behavior. Often times in the show, it feels like the characters complain when their world is not like The Godfather. However, based on flashbacks in the series, the viewer can surmise that the world of The Sopranos was never like The Godfather. The scenes of the 50s and 60s in The Sopranos do not seem any where as glamorized as in The Godfather movies. In fact, the world looks much more like the modern day one of the show. It is reasonable to believe the movies have created a false belief of how the past was for the characters. This alternate reality goes into cultivation theory, but I will not go into more detail on it in this paper because it still also works within the paradigm of uses and gratifications. The characters use these texts to reinforce their beliefs of how the mafia should exist.

Within the series, we see moments of how the characters use The Godfather. One of the key examples is how the characters use the movies to relate with each other. In the second season episode “Commendatori,” Tony and the gang attempt to watch The Godfather Part II, but Tony complains about watching the movie again and having the same discussion about the movie. From this exchange, the view is able to conclude that the movies have been viewed multiple times by the gang as an almost group ritual. Clearly, the movies demonstrate a way for them to satisfy some level of camaraderie. It is a clear example of gratification coming from the social context of the movie.: viewing a movie with friends In other scenes in the series, the character of Silvio does an impression of Al Pachino from The Godfather Part III that makes the other characters usually laugh demonstrating another way the movies connect the characters and aid in creating emotional connections.

During multiple parts of the series, characters attempt to emulate scenes from the movies. In the first episode of The Sopranos, Christopher “whacks” a rival gang member in an attempt to send a message similar to the quote from The Godfather, “Luco Brasi sleeps with the fishes." He is then informed by another character that it does not work like that in the mafia; in fact, it would be disastrous. Christopher has based his assumptions and personal reference of the mafia on his use of The Godfather.

Later in the series after Tony is shot by his uncle, Tony’s son, A.J, vows revenge. In the episode “Johnny Cakes," he plans to murder Uncle Junior based on Tony’s love of the classic scene from The Godfather where Michael avenges the failed hit on his father in the Italian restaurant. Although touched, Tony informs his son that it is just a movie! It should not be used as an instruction guide how to handle personal and family problems.

Perhaps it is in this last scene why HBO would have allowed the executive producer and creator of The Sopranos, David Chase, to flirt so clearly with this apparent critique and representation of audience uses and gratifications. HBO, a subsidiary of the publicly traded Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), makes its revenue by airing nonstop entertainment on its channels. Often its content, including The Sopranos, creates controversy due to its graphic depictions of topics such as sex and violence. The cable channel may have possibly approved of these scenes as a way to counter-criticize attacks against the channel and people’s belief it corrupts youth and/or our society. Realizing the uses and gratifications paradigm, HBO is trying to remind people that what they do is used for entertainment purposes. Although the creative team behind The Sopranos may agree with this statement to some extent, they also show a slightly darker side of the argument through their other uses of the characters love of The Godfather.

Collaborating for the Soul Food Dinner

On Janurary 30th, I attended the 5th Annual Soul Food Dinner at Portland State University in the Smith Ball Room. The Soul Food Dinner is a celebration of African American history, culture, and accomplishments. Coinciding with African American History Month, the Soul Food Dinner features traditional African American food, prominent African American Oregonians, and African American art. While attendees try traditional food found in black homes around the holidays, artists perform and presenters showcase achievements of African Americans.

When the program began, it was solely put on by the Department of Residence Life. The program was created by Dementro “Debo” Powell, an Area Coordinator in the department, as a way to share the traditional food he grow up with students at Portland State. During the first year, the program had an estimated 100 people attend, and this year it fed, educated, and entertained over 800 individuals.

During its five year history, the Soul Food Dinner has grown into a massive collaborative process. It has grown from only having Residence Life to including multiple other departments from the Division of Student Affairs including PSU Ambassadors, Student Legal & Mediation Services, the Dean of Student Affairs, and more. The program is such a premier event at PSU that even the Attorney General for the state of Oregon helped out. He secured this year’s keynote speaker: Terry Porter.

In addition to the various departments, the Soul Food dinner includes multiple student groups including Black Cultural Affairs, fraternities, Residence Housing Association, and more. In a large university, this level of collaboration is quite stunning because due to scarce resources departments are usually more prone to isolation. It would not be possible without the incredible vision and devotion of Debo. He is emotionally invested in this program, and people are drawn to work with him on this successful endeavor.

Of course, the program involves more than just people at the university. Additionally, Debo works closely with the African American artist, Mo. Mo was the first African American to receive a scholarship in the visual arts at PSU and has remained connected with the school through the Soul Dinner.

Mo’s involvement brings in another level of collaboration on her part. By being actively involved in the Portland African American Arts community, Mo brings in several other artists as well. While she is primarily a visual artist, Mo invites several spoken word performers to exhibit at the Soul Food Dinner. These individuals discuss issues relevant to African American men and women in an attempt to educate all races about the struggles of these people in the United States. The works are powerful, emotional, angry, and occasionally humorous as demonstrated by Good Sista/Bad Sista.

In addition to the professional artists, the Soul Food Dinner showcases student performers. One of the African American fraternities demonstrated stepping. While a university dance group performed a piece, and there were students singers.

With Debo actively job searching and planning on leaving the Portland area, it will be interesting to see how successful this program will be without. Although he has included so many people in the process, so much of the work and relationships depend simply on his charisma and personality. I sincerely hope this program continues to succeed in the future because it always an incredibly powerful event.