Transport - The Present

Today there are many different forms of transport. Airplanes, Cars, Buses... the list goes on!


Cars
Today the car is the most accessible and probably the most common transport, so I shall start by researching the car.

2012 Ford Focus Titanium Hatchback.
(Ford Motor Company. 2011).

"A road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people." (Google Definition. 2011).

Cars are widespread forms of personal transport and range greatly in price, making them very affordable to most people. Today there are over 52,000,000 cars produced globally every year. (WorldMeters. 2011)

(Snelson, B. 2008).

There are also many different types and forms of cars. From the 'family' car like the Ford Focus to the luxury car like the Bentley Continental. These different types of cars are priced differently and are marketed to different clients. 

Cars are a very popular and common topic in many forms of media today. There are magazines dedicated to a whole range of car activities, from buying cars (Autotrader Magazine), fast and expensive cars in an entertainment magazine (Top Gear Magazine) to even classical cars (Classic Cars Magazine).

(Autotrader. 2011).

(Top Gear Magazine. 2011).

(Classic Cars Magazine. 2011).

A famous and global representation of cars in the media is the TV show Top Gear. There are many TV programs about cars around the world, but Top Gears entertainment approach has made it a global brand with a UK, US and Germany versions of the show, and the British version being played worldwide over the BBC. (Wilman, A. 2008).

The fact that there are many different brands of monthly and even weekly magazines and TV programs catering from the pure entertainment value of cars (such as Top Gear where they perform silly races) to more serious magazines like Autotrader, shows that there is a large market for anything relating to cars.

Racing

Today however cars have evolved from just being a form of transport, they can be seen as a social status icon - the better, faster, more expensive car you have the better you are - and of course have a variety of racing sports. Motorsport is in fact very large, ranging from Off road and Rally racing to the high performance Formula 1. (Motorsport.com. 2011).

(Rosser, L. 2009).

Today Rallying is a fairly big sport, although not with as many followers as Formula 1, and can be seen regularly on TV, although mostly on premium channels such as ESPN. (TVGuide.com 2011) The cars used in rallying today are specially adapted street legal cars, and although these are still relatively high performance, it is a much cheaper form of racing than the millions of pounds spent on Formula 1 cars. The cars racing in the WRC also have to pass certain safety checks, are stripped of all 'fancy' interiors (including the dashboard!) and are fitted with roll cages, racing seats and spoilers - to give the car more downforce and grip on the road. (WRC. 2011).

 (Dickenson, J. 2001).

Along with the WRC many other rally's exist and use a range of cars. Amature rally's usually cater for people who's hobby is rallying and hence use cheaper more affordable and available cars.

 (McArdle, M. 2010).

Formula 1 on the other hand is much more popular and mainstream than rallying and can also be seen on TV in race days on public channels, such as the BBC. Formula 1 is also very popular in the media, not only on TV but especially in national newspapers such as The Guardian. (The Guardian. 2011).

Formula 1 is a much more expensive sport than rallying. The teams involved design multimillion pound cars, with lots of research and design changes year after year to improve aerodynamics and to conform with the slight changes and new additions to the rules. (Formula 1. 2011)

Racing games are also a very popular form of media, especially in video games. The most recent example of a racing video game would be Forza Motorsport 4. Released on the 14th of October it is the 4th game in the Forza  series - a very popular racing game. Forza is well known for its realistic approach. There are many tracks and races for players to take part in, and hundreds of different cars for them to race in. (Kesten, L. 2011).

 

(Turn 10 Studios. 2011).

Another popular racing game is the Burnout series. These take a much less serious approach to racing than Forza. Burnout offers the players a different selection of tracks across many environments - but usually within a city or urban environment. A small selection of about 20 cars is also available to the player, however  the gameplay of Burnout is very different to the serious one of Forza in the way it offers players a 'burnout boost' for driving very close to other cars or driving on the wrong side of the road without crashing.

Burnout Crash
(EA Games. 2009).

Mario Kart is another example of a racing game, however this is very heavily stylized to Nintendo. It offers players the chance to play as their favorite characters from a range of different Nintendo games - not just the Mario universe - and includes lots of different tracks referencing levels from Mario and other Nintendo games. Mario Kart is also primary designed as a multilayer racing game, with different random weapon pickups that can hinder or help players - the game actually lacks a need for driving skill as players can usually win just by going as fast as they can and hoping no one gets a 'blue shell' (a weapon that seeks and automatically hits the person in first place). (Anderson, L. 2008).

Mario Kart Wii.
(Nintendo. 2008). 

I quite like both of these styles of racing games. Forza is very fun (and difficult) racing around real tracks, in cars that are too expensive to ever own. Its a nice challenge and I really like the fact that its a serious racing game as it allows more immersion. Games like Burnout however that mix fun new mechanics, like the 'burnout boost' or weapons to the car, are fun in a different way. They are perhaps more relaxing and forgiving than the serious racing games.

Fast & Furious is a racing film released in 2009. It is the most recent sequel in the series to the original film 2 Fast 2 Furious. This has been a very popular series and concentrates on exciting fast street racing.

Fast & Furious

(Universal Pictures. 2009). 

Racing in all forms is a very exciting activity and keeps people interested. There is a lot of media concentrating on different kinds of racing, from different locations to different cars.

Bicycles and Scooters

 (Jones, A. 2009).

   
I remember seeing in an episode of Top Gear where they went to Vietnam that bicycles and scooters are actually more prominent over there than cars are. This is because they are far cheaper, both to buy and run, than a normal car. Also they take up a lot less space, and in an area that is heavily populated this is an important factor. (TopGear. 2009).

I think this is quite interesting and nice. Its an example of a different culture and how they're transport differs from ours, whereas you probably wouldn't initially think about it.

With fuel prices rising and people worried about global warming bicycles are becoming more popular in the West too. This has also led to more technological developments for safety. A recent example shown in the media is a new helmet for cyclists which is labeled as a 'airbag cycle helmet'. This is designed to increase safety for the rider during an accident. (BBC News. 2011. Designers Create Airbag Cycle Helmet.)

(Ref. -Getty Images. (2011). Designers Create Airbag Cycle Helmet. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-15384480 Last Accessed: 25/10/2011.)

Just like with Cars there is also a large collection of magazines that cater towards people with interests in bikes. Bicycling is one such magazine which tells readers about news, new bikes and gear, training and nutrition and even new routes to ride! (Bicycling Magazine. 2011).

 (Bicycling Magazine. (2011).

The BBC has also been running a radio show saying about the history of the bicycle on Radio 4. (BBC Radio 4. 2011. On Your Bike.)

Planes

 (Krapf, H. 2009)

Another form of travel is the airplane. Airplanes allow people to travel long distances, visit exotic locations and get to their destination much quicker than car or train. However planes are generally a much more expensive form of travel.

(Hunt, A. 2010).

Little single propeller planes such as the Cessna 162 are much cheaper though, and allow for enthusiasts to own them or rent them from a local airport. These are also used for teaching people how to fly in as they are obviously much cheaper and safer than larger aircraft!

Call of Duty 4 Epilogue - "Mile High Club" on Veteran
(Activision. 2007).

Planes are very prominent in films, tv and video games, such as Snakes on a Plane (2006), Con Air (1997), or even the special Mile High Club mission from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I believe that content creators like setting media inside planes, especially action, because it is a different and unusual setting to what most people experience on an everyday life. Therefore it is a very interesting environment for setting your content in.

SOAP Poster.
(New Line Cinema. 2008).

The American TV show 24 also features planes quite frequently in their episodes. The very first episode of the season starts with an airplane blowing up, later seasons have Jack Bauer hijack a plane and land it on the freeway and even Air Force One blown up in the air!

 Air Force One. 
(Fox Network. 2008)

Flight simulator games are also a very popular form of media and game. Although they cater for a niche, and are not a kind of game everyone owns, they are still popular enough for many different games of this kind to be released. Microsoft Flight Simulator X is an example of one of these. The production value of the game is very high, with many planes included and a dedicated online community creating many custom add on's.

(Microsoft Game Studios. 2010). 

Aqua Bus

London Duck Tours.
(London Duck Tours. 2005).

An interesting form of transport I can remember from a BBC news broadcast a few years ago was about a special aqua bus in London. This amphibious vehicle can drive on both land and water and offers a unique tour around Westminster, although as to be expected for a very expensive 'tourist' price. (Conciergedesk. 2005).

 Frog Tours Picture 5.

(London Duck Tours. 2005).

I think this is an interesting thing for tourists to have a go on, not only do they get to see the sights, and sometimes from a unique angle on the Thames, but they also experience a unique way of traveling. However I don't think this form of transport would be suited for everyday life in London, although an amphibious vehicle such as this might be useful in a jungle/river environment such as The Amazon.

Segway PT

(aleehk82. 2010)

"The Segway PT represents the next generation in clean, personal mobility, offering several advancements beyond our first generation models that make the ride even more intuitive and productive than ever before."  (Segway Inc. 2011). About Segway.)

The Segway is an interesting recent form of personal transport that is emerging into many different markets. It's a 'smart' scooter; it uses a battery and gyroscope to keep the scooter balanced on its two wheels, even with a human balancing on it. The user uses their weight and balance to control the Segway and move it in the direction they want. (Segway Inc. 2011. About Segway.)
  

Segway Patrol.
(Segway. 2011). 

The Segway is marketed to different people depending on the different models. The public are able to buy a Segway for personal transport from an approved dealer, however there are also a large range of models being marketed for private use, for example for the police. (Segway Inc. 2011. Segway Patrol.)

Segway Patrol.
(Segway. 2011). 

Segway are also famous for being offered for Segway Tours in cities - particularly in Europe. This allows tourists to see the sights of the city and have the experience of a Segway at the same time and proves an interesting experience.

(Howell, D. 2011).

I certainly found it interesting when I got to have a go on a Segway at The Gadget Show Live in March 2011 (pictured above). The machines work very well, however its a very weird feeling having to lean forward to push the Segway to move. During my short 5 minute experience I could definitely see how powerful the Segway is and it's potential for other markets, such as private security. However it's not an easy machine to pick up, and people definitely need proper training on it before hand (hence why we had people walking beside us).

Advertising
I want to think a little about advertising in sports.

Every Advantage. Every Condition.

(Nike. 2009). 

Advertising in sports is a very big business. Companies (for example Nike) like to sponsor top performing athletes and get them to not only appear in their adverts, but also use their equipment. This will hopefully boost sales of their items. (Jose, M. 2003).

The most recent example of this would be Tiger Woods. He was the worlds best golfer for many years and as a result had sponsorship deals with Nike. (Official World Golf Rankings. 2011). He was featured in many television adverts and even had a deal with EA to use his name for Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour. 
(EA Sports. 2010).

However when it came out about his affair in December 2009 it damaged his name very badly. The bad press was so bad that Tiger Woods had to make a public apology:

(AssociatedPress. 2010).

 He did this infront of an audience of about 40 people whilst it was also being broadcast on TV. However half of the audience was in fact representatives from Tiger Woods sponsors. (CNN. 2010. Tiger Woods says, 'I am so sorry'.)
 
Tiger Woods has semi recovered from the whole affair, he still has his sponsors and the EA Tiger Woods line is still continuing. However he is not performing as he once did, now ranked the 52nd best golfer in the world. (Official World Gold Ranking. 2011).

Nowadays advertising is everywhere, and media - especially TV - is a very popular form of distributing it. Advert breaks occur regularly on most TV channels to advertise different products aimed at the audience watching the program.

(Coke Cola. 2006).

Radio also tends to have a lot of adverts on it, usually for local businesses or large companies. Radio is much popular for local advertising because it is easier to estimate who is listening (with less of a range than TV) and radio adverts are much cheaper than producing and airing a TV advert.

Adverts have also started to appear in video games now. Battlefield 2142 was very well known for its controversial use of adverts in game. Although this provides a boost of money for the developer, players are worried that they detract from the game, and the use of players data to target adverts has also been questioned. However I think as long as companies make sure the adverts fit into the game and don't blatantly stand out its a good idea. I think as time goes on more in game adverts will be seen.

Battlefield 2142.(EA Games. 2010). 

After researching about planes as a form of transport I would like to look at them being used by the military.

Typhoon.
(BAE Systems. 2008).

The Eurofighter Typhoon is made by BAE Systems (assembled in Warton, not far from Preston) and is currently used by the Royal Air Force along with forces in Germany, Italy, Spain and Austria. They are fitted to be an advanced fighter jet, with air to air combat and air to ground capabilities - the Typhoon is a powerful aircraft simply because it is not just suited to one role, it can be fitted and modified quickly on the ground before take off to adapt to changing situations. (BAE Systems. 2011. Typhoon.). 

Eurofighter - Nothing Comes Close.
(BAE Systems. 2009.)

The film above was created by BAE Systems in 2002 to advertise the Eurofighter Typhoon's abilities and gain interest in not only the Typhoon but BAE Systems itself. The film also features the Nimrod - a large support aircraft developed by BAE Systems designed to deliver critical mission support information (with its large radar dish able to detect enemy positions). However the Nimrod has been completely grounded and scrapped after a fatal accident (BBC News. 2011. Nimrod aircraft scrapped at Stockport BAE factory.)

Military planes are very popular in media today. They are an exciting topic for content producers to use. The film Behind Enemy Lines (2001) is a realistic depiction of what if a fighter pilot was shot down in Bosnia in the final stages of the Bosnian war. It shows how he has to sneak and use his survival skills to get to a safe zone before he can be rescued. (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 2001. Behind Enemy Lines.)

Behind Enemy Lines Trailer.

(Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 2001). 

Another very similar film about a military aircraft being shot down (this time a helicopter) is Black Hawk Down (2001) which was actually based on real events.

Black Hawk Down Trailer.
(Revolution Studios. 2007). 

Another interesting representation of military aircraft in media is the 'Airfix' models. These are plastic models of real airplanes that the customer puts together them self. Along with having models of old spitfires and planes from the second world war, they also have modern fighter planes, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Eurofighter Typhoon.
(Airfix. 2011).

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2 is a recent example of a fighter plane game. Players play through a campaign of missions where they take part in dogfights in the sky in a variety of modern combat aircraft. The game has proved fairly popular on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 Debut Trailer.
(Ubisoft. 2010).

Fighter planes and helicopters also feature heavily in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - especially in multiplayer where players can call airstrikes and attack helicopters in for support if they earn enough kills. Players can also take control of these gunners if they earn even more kills!

Modern Warfare 2 Harrier + Chopper Gunner + Nuke in Scrapyard.
(Activision. 2009). 

Fighter planes and helicopters are a common theme in quite a lot of media, especially video games. I believe this is because people find them interesting, especially to play as/use, because they are a very rare thing to see in real life.
War

(Pendracki, A.Sgt. 2007).

War is a very common theme in media today.  Ever since that start of the Iraq war back in 2003 the news on TV and in the papers has been saturated with stories of conflict, especially centered in the middle east. (BBC News. 2011. Libya Conflict.) Recent examples don't just include the Iraq War however, the Libya Conflict has also attracted much media attention, along with tensions between the Korea's.

I believe that the media like to publish stories about war and conflict because it gets people worried. People will also buy and watch the news if they believe a large event or interesting event is happening. However whereas this conflict was 'new' back in 2003 I believe that the media has been so over saturated by this kind of conflict that it no longer has much of an impact on modern society.

Gothic - The Present

Gothic Architecture

Ever since the end of the Gothic Revival period (~1930 - 1960) the use of Gothic to make new buildings has declined. However the influence of Gothic Architecture has stayed and especially influenced some post modernism designs. (Martindale, A. 1985) Whilst trying to find examples of new modern Gothic architecture I found some interesting things;

The Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, Canada

(SimonP. 2007).

The hotel was closed down in 1991 after years of neglect. However it was bought in 1995 by George Friedman who hired an architect to reconstruct the hotel in its original Gothic style. (Windsor Arms Hotel. 2011). 

I found this quite interesting and nice that the hotel was redesigned in its original Gothic styling. Rather than just becoming another 'modern' hotel the building should now retain character and stand out from its surroundings. 

An interesting note is the history of the hotel - as it has been featured in many films, most recently Chloe (2010).  (Windsor Arms Hotel. 2011).

Gare de Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal

(Putz, M. 2010). 

This is a good example of how some Gothic themes and styling have affected modern day architecture. This post modern train station clearly has Gothic influence in its large iron arches constructed resembling the ribbed vaults of the past Gothic cathedrals. I'm not sure I particularly like the building, although I can see it being very impressive in person from the scale of it.

(Amscan. 2011). 

Looking on Amazon you can buy many Gothic related items, most of which are Halloween costumes, however one weird item that peaked my interest was the Room Setter - Gothic Mansion. This is a very weird Halloween themed item for you to decorate your walls with to make them look like their out of an old horror film. This item interested me because it's quite a unique weird one.

(Character Options. 2011).

Whilst having a look at Amazon I also found a Scooby Doo toy that had certain elements of the Gothic styling incorporated into it. This cartoonised mansion playset shows that the Gothic architecture is still used today in many different items.

A very popular and well used source of 'Gothic' is in film. Many horror or science fiction films borrow heavily from the Gothic art styling. 

(FilmDistrict. 2010)

The film Insidious (2010) has a heavy gothic atmosphere running throughout the entire film, making it much more scary.

The Goth Subculture

Today the term Gothic will also be associated with the goth subculture;

(Intothewind. 2008)

 

Today 'Goth' is recognized as a subculture, just like the Mods and Rockers or Punks of previous generations. The followers listen to music and dress in the same fashion, usually all black clothing and makeup.  However these fashion rules are still open as to what materials they wear - with many goths being from many different backgrounds and jobs. (Scathe, P. 2001). 

(Pogrzzebra, N. 2006).

The goth subculture also say they are open and accepting of new people. They also take pride in saying that subjects that are usually taboo in normal society - such as death, magic, etc - are openly discussed. (Elder, P. 2001).

Overall the goth subculture has evolved from the punk subculture. 

Gothic Rock
Gothic Rock is a form of rock music with dark themes such as death and more recently satanic rituals. The genre evolved from Punk era music of the 1970's and twisted the British 'glam' rock fashion into the darker sense. (Rhodes, P. 2011).

 (Evanescence. 2011)

Examples of Goth Rock bands are Evanescence and Nightwish.

Horror
From researching gothic and goths I have decided to do a bit of research into the 'horror' genre.

Horror seems to be a very popular genre today for media, especially films and games.

Condemned: Criminal Origins

(Sega. 2005).

Even in this genre these differ quite a bit, tending to either try to induce fear with excessive amounts of gore (Saw 2) or as a psychological horror. 

In horror there is also a lot of different but common settings such as alien planets, abandoned buildings or industrial locations. 

I think that there are many different ways of inducing fear in horror genres. It can be most scary when you can't actually see the 'attacker' although you know they are close by. I however don't like the way that most modern horror films just flood themselves with needless gore, violence and sex. The Shining is an amazing horror film because it doesn't have some unbelievable or out of this world enemy, but it is more of how a family member could turn crazy. I believe the setting is also perfect as an empty large hotel would be creepy, and the fact they are secluded with no (or little) help nearby.

I also believe that the game Condemned: Criminal Origins is a perfect example of good horror. Although the game is very violent it creates the fear in its players through the psycological aspect. Dark settings, errie sounds and the combat is more melee based creates a fear of running into conflict. The enemies are never really explained either and there are many locations where an enemy will jump out at you unexpectedly. 

 Condemned Scary Moments and Sick Scenes - Part 1

Sega. (2005).

Darksiders (2010)

Darksiders is a video game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 released in 2010. It is a story about the apocalypse and War - one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. (Darksiders. IGN. 2010).

  Darksiders Screen
(THQ. 2010)

The reason why I've diverted to Darksiders is because the art style has a heavy Gothic influence to it as you can see in the screenshots. This gives the game quite a unique look and art style, and is an example of gothic in present day times. The game as a whole has an 'overly designed' and detailed look and feel to it.

 Darksiders

(THQ. 2010). 

Although I didn't like the game - the control systems felt a bit clunky - I do like the idea of the story. I think it would be interesting if more media would base itself on the past mythological stories from the bible and different texts. 

Judgement Day (The Apocalypse)

After thinking about Darksiders I have decided it could be interesting to have a look at the topic of Judgement Day. 

 (htn06. 2007).

I was interested to find that Judgement Day is the title of a play coming to The Print Room in West London in November of this year (2011). However the play itself doesn't contain anything to do with Judgement Day and is infact about the strange human behaviors surrounding love. (Foreman, G. 2011). 

 (Reuters. 2011).

 A popular representation of Judgement Day in the media is when Christian or other religious groups predict the end of the world is coming. A very recent example of this would be the Family Radio Worldwide followers (an American christian group) saying the world will end on October the 21st this year. The 'family' had previously predicted that the world would end on May the 21st. (Reimink, T. 2011).

I find it funny when these groups try to predict this kind of event happening as they (or at least so far) have always gotten it wrong. These groups then have to try to explain why what they predicted never happened, usually making up some ridiculous excuse. I have to question how people can believe in this kind of thing. I presume that the leaders of these 'movements' are either clever at exploiting people and wanting the publicity or they are just insane!

Judgement Day is interestingly used in films. I thought that there would be quite a few films that tackle the subject head on, however I cannot actually find a film that tackles it from a religious point of view (at least not for the past 10 years). I believe that this is probably because religion can be a very sensitive matter, especially in the USA, and so film companies are possibly uneasy about depicted the end of the world in this fashion.

The Day the Earth Stood Still
 (20th Century Fox. 2008).

However that is not to say that Judgement Day is not a popular topic in films today, films tend to depict it in other (perhaps more believable?) ways. For example: The Core (2003) is about the world stopping rotating and hence slowly start to die from longer exposure to the sun. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) is about the world changing dramatically through global warming and life as we know it ending (and adapting). Sunshine (2007) is about the sun dimming too much and the world freezing over. Whereas The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) takes a more literal approach to Judgement Day - although instead of being judged by god humanity is judged by aliens of a higher intelligence. 

Raptures Delight

(Fox Network. 2011).

Judgement Day was also very recently covered in an episode of American Dad. This episode started with The Rapture (where good Christians are lifted to heaven) and sets the whole episode in the war between heaven and hell. (TV.com. 2011).

Cults
After doing research on Judgement Day and how some religious organizations try to predict it I would like to have a look at cults.

"A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader." (Dictionary Definition. 2011).

I believe in the present day that Scientology (or The Church of Scientology) is one of the most well popularized cults currently in existence. 

(Hubbard, R. 2004).

 
"Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion" -L. Ron. Hubbard (1940), Founder of The Church of Scientology.
(Methvin, E. 1980).

(Shankbone, D. 2008).

Scientology has been, and keeps appearing, in media all around the world. It has been attacked and questioned quite a bit for its methods and actions, and especially for past illegal actions taken by its members who were apparently working for the church, these include burglary, espionage and kidnapping! (Methvin, E. 1980).  Most recently on the 6th of October 2011 Moscow police admitted they had been searching the Scientology office in Moscow, most likely looking for material of an extremist nature that the church has been handing out previously. (Interfax. 2011). 

However when confronted the Church of Scientology denies that it is a cult. They are trying to become recognized as a religion throughout the world, although certain countries like the United Kingdom have not recognized this status. (Atack, J. 1995).