Beatlemania

One of the most influential bands of the 20th century is The Beatles. Recently, I was listening to the One album. . . I was blown away. It very much sounded like a totally new album. . . almost as if I was hearing this wonderful music for the first time. I think it was a true representation of the original intention of the songs. Here is one of my favorite shots of the band taken in Paris in the early years:


As you can probably tell. . . I am a Beatles fan! I am not mentally deficient, nor am I severely lonely. I personally think that fandom can be one of the most beneficial things ever devised by mankind. One of the things that humans do best is attempt to escape reality. We do it through a number of things. Some do it through drinking, drugs, sleeping, books, music, movies, games, etc. We all have something that we use to escape.

The beautiful thing that fandom allows us, is that we can do all of those escapist things in a community. In Genesis God saw that it wasn't good that Adam was alone. That very fact emphasizes that people need other people. That is the way that God has made us. Fandom allows us to do that. By coming together over a common passion, people come closer to each other and therefore, I believe, closer to God.

In the words of the Beatles:
"Come together right now over me!"

Education in the 21st Century

Check out this video: //A Vision of Students Today//

I found this video very insightful into how ways of thinking in the academic world are changing as the internet filters into our society. Some of these statements are definitely true about me. I think that while adults tend to often talk about how much more lazy and stupid their kids are, the oposite is actually true. The truth is, the traditional structure of the classroom bores us. It's not all our fault. It's not that we're not disciplined, we just live in a different world than that of our parents. Back when our parents were students, the only real mass media tool used in the classroom was the book, which was hardly a new invention (the first mass printed book appeared in the 1500s).

Our society is changing.

The younger generation, due to the effects of mass media and the pressures of society in general, is a new breed. We often prefer to multi-task. We have been so over-saturated by media that we refuse to give into mantras and propaganda; We are experts at spotting it, as are we cynics. We learn in a plugged in world, and yet we are more alone than ever. We are very pluralistic beings, accepting many different viewpoints, seemingly in contradiction to each other (you judge for yourself whether that is good or bad.)

Why are we still using outdated methods, outdated material, and outdated machinery in our classrooms? Technology isn't something to be afraid of, but instead something to be utilized.

I think the message of this movie is //

Our world has changed, shouldn't our education?

Red, Red, Everywhere!!!!

The color red has become a very highly used sign in our world. You see it everywhere, meaning a host of different things.

Here are some denotative meanings:
It is the color of a tomato
It can be the color of a car
It is the color of the Chinese national flag
It is the color of blood
It is sometimes the color of a rose

Some Connotative meanings
It can be a symbol for power (ie. The red carpet)
It can mean love
It can mean fiery passion
It can be associated with certain political parties
It means stop when seen on a light hanging over an intersection.
It means danger when seen on a flashing light.
It can be associated to communist countries (ie. Soviet, Vietnamese, and Chinese flags)

One specific connotative meaning has seen much slippage over the years. In the area of political parties, Red has not always been associated with the Republican party. The idea of associating color with a political party didn't even originate until the 1950s when it was used for a series of Historical Atlases.

Then, when major news networks began using color to characterize political affiliation during elections, the original color scheme was different for different networks. NBC used blue to represent Republicans and red to represent Democrats. CBS used the opposite colorscheme, while ABC used yellow and blue.

All of this changed in 2000 when all major media networks used the same color scheme to represent the parties. This scheme (which is familiar to the American public today is red for republicans and blue for democrats. So slippage has occured in the meaning of red as applied to politics.

The Diagesis of Conan O'brien

Late Night with Conan O'brien is one of my favorite shows to watch in the whole wide world. For a long time, until school began to catch up with me, I made it a habit of watching the show almost every night. Every time this red-headed host comes out from behind the Blue curtain with his signature quirky dance and hair flip, I am already laughing, even though I have seen it many many times in the past. Well anyways, I digress. In this blog I want to take a look at the diagetical world of Late Night with Conan O'brien.

1. The Timing of the Show- not everyone may know this, but while Late Night and other closely related late night talk shows seem to be broadcast live, they are not. In reality, the show is filmed about 4 oclock in a dark room deep within the massive building that is the headquarters of NBC in New York City. In real life, when the show cuts to a commercial, everything doesn't cease. Instead, the part that the directors choose not to show you is how during the commercial breaks Conan talks to guests, reviews lines, and the how the audience relaxes. All these elements serve to create a diagetical time frame for the show. This leads me into my next point.

2. The Props and backgrounds- There are many ways that props act to create a diageticial world for the Late Night show. One way is through the use of a painted drapery of New York City which hangs behind Conan's Desk. We all know that the city doesn't really look cartoony or folded (as is evidenced by the nature of the drapery). Also, some of the props, such as the theater style entrance way, microphone on Conan's desk, and coffee mugs all serve to give the diageticial world of Late Night with Conan O'brien appeal. The microphone (as Conan has pointed out numerous times) doesn't actually work. The theater style entrance is nothing more than a set piece that gives the illusion of a massive stage, and the coffee cups serve to make the diagetical world closer to a "real life" talk show or news room. All of these things serve to shape the diagesis of the show.

3. The Guests- The guests on the show all seem to be on to have a casual chat with Conan. They come on waving to the audience, smiling and pretending (if not really having) a good time. In reality, the guests on the show have been specially chosen to appear with one sole purpose in mind: to plug something that they have been involved in. The goal of an actor or actress is to get people to go see his or her movie. For a musician, it's to get the audience to buy their album. For the Broadway star, to get their shows' rating up so that they can win a Tony Award.

3. The audience- Another thing that is not consistent in reality but is portrayed in the diagetical reality of the show is the size of the audience. If you have ever been in a taped show, you will know that the audience seating is in actuality very small. On the show, however, the audience looks like a massive theater full of people. This idea is accomplished through clever camera work and sound bites that are used over top of the the real audience to give it a "bigger feel." Also, often shows such as this one will use cue cards for the audience for when they should laugh, awe, or make other noises. Another thing, is that Conan often uses satire in his use of cheesy, unbelievable skits that involve "audience members" who are very obviously, in reality, members of his cast. All these things serve to create the diagesis of the world that is Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Even though I now notice these pieces at play and can recognize that Late Night with Conan O'Brien is not reality, but instead a diagesis, I still thoroughly enjoy watching it. Every day is a new adventure and every new guest brings new insights into a world that is ever expanding as media becomes more complex and more and more stars and starlets rise and fade away. It is kind of my way of keeping in touch with what is happening with popular culture, and I like it very much.

Across the Universe

"I get by with a little help from my friends."
"When I get to the bottom, I go back to the top."

Do you recognize these phrases? I'll give you a hint. They're lyrics. Need another hint? Ok, well they're from a band that is unarguably the biggest band to ever hit stateside. Still don't know? Well, The Beatles of course! Recently these classic songs have been remixed and put into a movie musical in the form of Across the Universe. I personally saw this movie twice already and thought it was a beautiful, haunting, and at the same time disturbing picture of the 1960's.

Across the Universe uses several elements in order to capture the emotionally charged "magic" that is so well exudes:

1. Camera Angles- this movie makes wonderful use of camera angles to portray emotion. I noticed a lot of closeups, which portrayed the joy, depression, and angst of the character in a way that was relative to the audience. In several scenes, wide shots are used to portray the size of New York City (where most of the movie takes place.) The opening shot establishes a lonely scene with the main character (Jude) sitting alone on a beach, with waves crashing in on him in the background. This depressed emotion is conveyed through use of the wide shot, and then a zooming in to establish an eventual closeup.

2. Symbols- The movie is chalked full of symbols. One major distinguishing feature of this movie is what some would call its "artsy-ness." The point of the show is established through its use of colors and extreme characters. In one scene, a group of soldiers are seen trampling over a miniature jungle set while carrying a large model of the statue of liberty on their shoulders. While they are doing this, they are singing "She's so heavy!" All of this portrays the feelings of many Americans about the Vietnam War. In another picture, the main female character's brother walks into the Army recruitment center for a draft summons. Upon entering the room, a large picture of Uncle Sam on the wall comes to life and points at him, all the while singing "I want you, I want you so bad. I want yo-oo-oo-oo-ou. I want you so bad it's driving me mad. Continuing in the scene, the picture of soldiers is dramatized as the soldiers in the building are made to look like the wartime pictures, with plastic faces, chiseled jaws, massively wide eyes, and all the same. There are also some drug trip scenes that are of particular interest and/or will leave you saying you yourself, "What just happened."

3. Montage- several times throughout the movie a montage is used to show an overarching picture and historical events condensed into a short sequence of pictures and movie clips. One notable montage takes place in the very beginning of the movie. While one of the most angst driven songs by The Beatles (Helter Skelter) is playing, newspaper clippings and short shots of characters in dramatic positions is shown, giving an overarching picture of the story even before the movie has hardly begun. Another notable montage is near the middle of the movie. A psychedelic writer appears on the scene (played by no other than Bono!!) He is promising everyone that if they come with him on his bus, they will be enlightened among other things. This leads into a drug trip sequence where the film uses an interesting Photoshop-esque element making the colors act crazy in order to simulate a drug trip on film. An entire week long period is condensed into about 4 minutes, as the main characters are whisked away from New York to the palace of a 60's New Age guru. In the end, the montage ends as the bus drives away, leaving the main characters trapped in the middle of nowhere with no transportation. (It makes for an interesting visual experience.)

Overall, I found this movie to be amazing and would recommend it to anyone. It portrays the music of The Beatles in a way that is illuminated in light of the historical and psychological context of the chaos of the 1960s. It is sure to make you think and is not a movie to miss. So in a word (or three to be exact):

GO SEE IT!!!

Dogme 95

Dogme 95 is a very interesting concept for me. Being the heavy media user that I am, I have been exposed to much of the media world and often get bored with everything mainstream because I have seen it hashed and rehashed numerous times. So, when I read about Dogme 95, I was naturally intrigued.
At first, the idea seemed like an excuse to make cheap indie films an accepted artform, but at I read on, I found that it is much more than that. The idea of Dogme 95 is to revitalize the idea that storytelling is central to the art of film. Dogme 95 has several specific rules that any dogme film must maintain in order to be considered dogme. Wikipedia states that:

1. Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed, i.e., diegetic).
3. The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.)
4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The final picture must be transferred to the Academy 35mm film, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, that is, not widescreen. (Originally, the requirement was that the film had to be filmed on Academy 35mm film, but the rule was relaxed to allow low-budget productions.)
10. The director must not be credited.

I was able to find one of the movies on Youtube and was intrigued. Usually when I watch a Youtube video, I am looking at the time to see how much longer the movie is, but with Dogme 95, I was sucked into and pulled along by the storyline. The movie that I watched surrounded around two friends and a phone call. One friend is depressed because he cannot perform sexually and cannot get a girl (yes I know it is not Malopriate, Oh well. . . It's reality) During the conversation when the 1st character is outlining how he will commit suicide because of his sexual frustration, the other character gets a strange phone call from a girl he's never met telling him to come to a hotel room because apparently her boyfriend had just cheated on her with his (nonexistent) girlfriend.
He shows up, only to find out that the girl was just a lonely runaway that dialed a random number and tried to get someone to talk to. In the end, Friend #1 calls Friend #2 and gets him to come and meet this girl.
I was surprised how enthralling this movie way. The artificial rules imposed on this independent means of film making made this movie a good diversion from the monotonous re-hashings seen on the silver screen. I think that from now on I shall follow the new film medium called Dogme 95 much more closely. . .

Smoking Kills? Whudafxup. . .

"Hi. My name is Ben and I am a heavy user."
"Hi Ben."
Ok, so that was a little cheesy. . . oh well. . . After much evaluation, I have discovered that I am what media experts such as the most revered Dr. Andrew Rudd have described as a heavy user. I spend a lot of time watching t.v. every day. Maybe it's because I'm lazy; maybe I'm just bored far too often. Either way, I am well acquainted with the television unit. Just as I am acquainted with shows such as Heroes, 24, The Big Bang Theory, Seinfeld, and Conan Obrien, I have much knowledge in the wide world of advertisements.
One particular slew of advertisements that have captured my attention (and subsequent annoyance) are the "truth" campaigns by a group called Whudafxup. These commercials present "facts" about the tobacco industry that are done in a way that people are prone to listen to and accept.
First off, the commercials use a film format that suggests that they know what they are talking about. This format is one of a documentary. It consists entirely of a shoulder camera following around a "learned" informer named Derrek. While the camera man is following Derrek through random places in America, Derrek recites lots of "facts" about smoking and tobacco companies that paint all tobacco companies as evil enterprises spurned from Satan himself. Throughout the commercial, the camera angles are extreme. They use closeups on the speaker and interviewees to show their innocence and goodness. Then, there are the evil corporations. By using long shots of buildings and other inanimate objects, they project tobacco companies as inhuman, evil institutions bent on destroying the world. They rely on shock tactics that present studies and memos from three decades ago as if they were written yesterday. The real life feel and authoritative nature of the commercials further the image by presenting the Truth logo at the beginning and end of the commercial in bright orange letters, thus painting the picture that tobacco companies really are evil and run by the prince of darkness himself.
This show propagates a very populist philosophy. It says to its viewers, "the institution is evil. We have to get a grassroots effort out there to stop this evil from propagating further. We, not big corporations are the power." It also relies heavily on a derivative of the magic silver bullet theory, by coming up with statistics to fit their desires. A lot of times their metaphors and examples are stretched and taken out of context. Every commercial is filled with "facts" that are decades old. Still though, they get the point across.
We all know that cigarettes are bad for us, but I wish that Whudafxup would just shut the fx up. (No the letters fx in their slogan do not mean effects either.) I don't know one person who has seen their ads and said to themselves, "wow these things really are bad for me. I'm never doing this again." I would say that overall, while these pictures have been very successful in getting the word out there, they are no longer effective, and are just annoying people. It's time that the Truth campaign goes cool hunting so that they can find more effective ways of reaching people with the real truth that smoking kills.

Genre(ization)

Rock
Pop/Rock
Piano Rock
Glam Rock
Metal
Hair Metal
Metalcore
Hardcore
Country
Bluegrass
Classical
Baroque
Gregorian Chants
Deathcore
Grindcore
Happy Hardcore
Nintendocore
Transcore
Industrial
Alternative
Experimental
Ambient
Death Metal
Pop
Power Pop
J-Pop
Trance
Techno
Electronica
Classic Rock
World
Reggae
Polka
Rap
Hip Hop
R&B
Screamo
Emo
Emocore
Indie
Jazz
Blues
80's Pop
Disco
Hard Rock

Rock
Classic Rock
Hard Rock
Rock
Pop/Rock
Piano Rock
Glam Rock

Pop
Mainstream Pop
Power Pop
J-Pop
80's Pop
Disco

Country
Country
Bluegrass

Classical
Opera
Classical
Baroque
Gregorian Chants

Alternative
Emo
Trance
Techno
Electronica
Alternative
Experimental
Ambient
Indie

Metal
Emocore
Screamo
Death Metal
Deathcore
Grindcore
Happy Hardcore
Nintendocore
Transcore
Industrial
Metal
Hair Metal
Metalcore
Hardcore

Jazz
Jazz
Blues

Hip Hop
Rap
Hip Hop
R&B

World
World
Reggae
Polka
Asian

I found that it was hard to classify things into categories. A lot of these more specified genres had roots in more than one category. Also, classifying music into genre is something that not everyone will agree on. For instance, while some may differentiate between happy hardcore and nintendocore, others may choose to lump them into one genre. Others still would define all of the ____cores as hardcore. Again, it depends on the individual communities classifying the music as to what it's genre will be. I found that the classifications, while easy to understand do not fully articulate the music. It seems to me that the best way to experience music would be to simply try all things and see if you like it.

SCAPEGOAT

In a recent class, we discussed a historical phenomenon called the Payne Fund studies. The Payne Fund Studies were directed to find out if children and teens were affected in a negative way by movies that were coming out at the turn of the century. The study was very obviously biased towards an answer that would accommodate people of this position, yet it did not appear to be so to a majority of the population. As a result, a large percentage thought that the movies influenced the youth in a direct and negative way.

The magic silver bullet theory developed as a result of these findings. The Magic Silver Bullet Theory is a a way of thinking of media that is a common cultural perspective that many people attribute to the Payne Fund Studies. It says that media is powerful; it's effects are uniform; and works in an immediate way. It seems to me that this view, however flawed and un-erudite it may be, still pervades our culture in its views of media.

A perfect example would be a political incident that happened in 1993 which still has ramifications today. In 1993 a video game called Mortal Kombat. By todays standards, this game was far from the bloody, gory, "evil" game that it was proclaimed by the older media to be. Bedlem them ensued. Studies came out claiming to prove a link between video game violence and real world violence. (These studies have since been discredited). One specific senator, Joe Lieberman, spoke out vehemently, not just against Mortal Kombat, but against ALL video games in general. As a result, legislation was passed to put a rating system in place that would let parents know by content what their children were playing. Several years later, it would be this very man who would lobby for a mandatory age restriction on M (Mature) rated games. This passed, but the constitutionality of this legislation is still under much scrutiny. To this day, there are still several controversies surrounding video games a year. The most recent would be the Grand Theft Auto controversy, where many religious conservative groups called for a total ban on the game. Greece even passed a law outlawing all video games (even though it only lasted for several weeks before it was repealed by one of the countries high courts.)

The problem with this theory is that it is inherently wrong. The original study conducted by the Payne Fund set out to prove a point. They did not use any true or accurate science, and I would go so far as to say that every "study" claiming to link real life behavior to video games will always be flawed. Scientific analysis leaves out a key component that cannot be classified in any sociological study. That component is the free will of man to choose his actions. The school shootings that were blamed on games like DOOM and GTA were not the fault of these video games, it was the fault of the people who shot the guns. I believe that regardless of whether they were to play these video games or not, they still would have commited these crimes, because all man has a sin nature. We are human. We are above our creations. So let's stop blaming our creations on our problems. It is time that people start blaming themselves, and not looking for a scapegoat to their problems. Because, remember, like the Movies of so long ago, standards will continue to change. Movies will always seem to be more Moral in the "good ol' days" than today. That won't change

But perhaps, just maybe, we can learn to change our sociological views of the media that we make that surrounds us. . .

Aida

I have recently had the deepest pleasure of being in the Massillon production of Aida. For those of you who don't know, Aida is a Broadway play written by Elton John and Tim Rice. It is superb in every fashion, from the story about a love affair between a Nubian slave and Egyptian prince, to the wonderful music written by the flamboyant king of piano pop music himself. The show is being sponsored by Rivertree Christian Church and directed by Broadway actor/director Jon Tisevich. It opens on October 12th and runs for 2 weekends. . . *cough* you should all come out and see it *cough!* Anyways, enough personal banter, on to the show!

I have noticed some very interesting things having to do with semiotics at work in both the cast of Aida and also the musical itself. First off, I guess I'll address interesting semiotic understandings at work in the cast of Aida.

1. The musical backgrounds of the cast- while Aida features primarily gospel music with a couple of pop rock songs thrown in, the cast brings to the table a vast range of different musical tastes and understandings. We did an exercise as a cast when we began our time together in which we got to know each other's musical backgrounds. A good way of understanding it according to the study of semiotics would be that all of the people in the cast come from different musical affinity groups. Some belong to the Rock affinity group, while others still belong to the hip hop affinity group. Our lead character, Aida (played by a woman named Joy) belongs almost entirely to the Gospel affinity group. One girl belongs to the 70's Hair Rock affinity group, while another girl belongs to the Reggae affinity group. All of these affinity groups fall under the larger semiotic domain of music. They use the signs and symbols, language and methods of music. The various different design grammars, while conflictive in nature, act to give the cast a unique view on the show and make it the spectacular production that it is.

2. The different cultural understandings of music, emotion, and expression- I have also noticed that people in the cast have different understandings of the world based on the cultures in which they have been raised. We have a very culturally diverse group. There are Irish, English, Russian, Czech, German, as well as African American heritage. These two groups (Caucasian and African American) each have a very different understanding of the world around them. I personally have noticed that when people are stressed, it is much more obvious to see that an African American girl named Gia is much more visible than a Caucasian girl named Jane. This comes partially from the different understandings of expressing ones feelings and emotions. In the Caucasian affinity group, often children are more encouraged to hold their feelings in. The Caucasian/European culture is a very reserved one, while the African American affinity group is a very open and expressive group.This is evident in how we have sang, in the movements and facial expressions, and also in the basic every day reactions to practice.

Now on to the show itself.

1. The mixing of musical genres- Within Aida, as i've touched on very briefly earlier on, there are different musical genres at work. While the play is overtly Gospel in nature, there are many elements of Rock, Pop, African Tribal, and Arabic influences within the music. For instance, while Gods of Nubia is a very straightforward Gospel song, the prelude that leads up to it has many middle eastern/Arabic elements to it. This seamless integration of musical genres can be known as hybridity. It is very interesting to see how this is put into play in Aida.

2. How different historical cultural values are related to modern understandings- In Aida, the song Gods of Nubia, the lyrics are polytheistic in nature. The lyrics state, "The gods love Nubia, their beautiful creation. Their songs roll sweetly across the harvest plain." The interesting thing here is that this polytheistic understanding is expressed in a very monotheistic way, describing the gods in a way that would never be understood or communicated in historic Egyptian culture, but instead in a modern way like the one that Judeo/Christianity describes the monotheistic God.

These things were very interesting to me, I look forward to seeing how the show plays out. Again, shamelessly I must state, YOU MUST COME SEE THIS PLAY

Massilon Lincoln Theatre
October 12-14, 19-21

Hope to see you there!

P.S. Look for these interesting semiotic objects at play in the musical! It will liven up your mind!

Horror anyone?

Yesterday I got the chance to watch Vacancy with my girlfriend. Vacancy is a new horror movie about a couple going through marriage trouble who get stranded in a dead end town with nowhere to go. The characters, having exhausted all other options, decide to stay at a rundown motel which will prove to be a huge mistake. After some creepy door knocking and a tape, that shows people being murdered in the room in which they are staying, the couple realize their mistake. The rest of the movie surrounds around their attempt to stay alive through a slew of onslaughts by crazed maniacs bent on murder and mayhem. In the end (yes I will give away the ending, since I really wouldn't advise seeing this movie in the first place), the husband fakes his death, the wife kills all of the bad guys, everyone else is dead, and they walk into the sunset together, having worked through their marriage problems.

While the movie has its moments of fright, it seemed to come across as a big budget attempt to exhaust nearly every cliche known to the horror genre.

I noticed things by watching this movie. First, I think that I have watched enough horror movies by now to be able to say that I am well acquainted with them. I could probably claim to be apart of, if not just associated to, this affinity group. A person who had never seen a horror movie would have never have noticed the things which I noticed, which made the movie very cliche and mundane in my eyes. They would have perhaps seen this movie as a scary representation of reality. This made me realize how affinity groups have specific definitions for excellence.

Within the horror genre, it is expected for a horror movie to be truly influential, it must push the boundaries. It must be original. Originality is apart of all great horror movies. The Exorcist was the first major picture to explore the paranormal world of demon possession; Chucky was the first to explore the fear of inanimate objects taking on life in its purely evil form; The great Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds was the first to play on the human fear of wild animals. All of these movies had something that made them unique; something that set them apart from the rest, and thus, made them scary in relation to all other competing horror movies. Originality is what made these movies truly excellent in the eyes of the horror movie affinity group.

In order to understand why this movie was so cliche, you must first understand a recent trend in horror movies. There have been several movies as of late that have played on the very fear that this movie exploits. In fact there have been SO many movies as of late that it has, in my not so humble opinion, killed this plot line. Last years Hostel surrounded around a creepy hostel where travelers come for rest and never end up leaving. The successful Saw I, II, III, and soon to be IV have all played on the fears of being stuck in a place of horror where they are forced to kill each other to survive. These movies have single handedly exhausted exhausted the "let's get stranded in a creepy place where everyone tries to kill us," sub-genre of horror. Perhaps, if this movie had come along 10 years earlier, it would have been received better. Instead it is reserved to be a dollar theatre movie at best.

I also noticed a plot line in this movie that is a typical myth of society. The myth of the value of a challenge is very prevalent in this movie. The couple faced insurmountable odds (almost TOO insurmountable and perfectly crafted in most places). Their marriage is failing and they are stranded in the the middle of nowhere, with the added fact that everyone is trying to kill them. They overcome these odds, piece back together their marriage, kill the bad-guys, save the good-guys, and walk off into the sunset; having learned never to stay in a crappy motel again and to never go off the beaten path.

Overall, I learned a lot of things by observing this movie, but still found it mundane, overproduced, and cliche. I would give it a C- in rating, and would not recommend it to anyone who knows horror movies and wants something new and origial. That is something Vacancy is not, new and original.