Day and the Life of Joey Rinaldi’s viewing patterns and needs!

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My viewing habits are based off of Monday April, 6th- Friday April, 10th. My viewing habits have been very similar throughout the past few years and throughout College. As for shows and live television I watch sports and the news. As well as going on free on demand and choosing from various different networks and just picking out TV shows that way. Sometimes I will throw on channels like BET or MTV or Cartoon Network. This is what I do to entertain myself when I’m watching TV in my living room at school when I have cable. I do a lot of media viewing and film viewing on Netflix Hulu and Disney plus as well. The reason I separate these two is because when I watch TV I can watch things like sports or the news that are taking place currently and that involve Society basically. So when I switch over to Hulu Netflix and Disney plus I watch different things sort of like what I watch on TV sometimes like MTV BET for example but it’s mainly movies and funny shows and crime shows that have nothing to do with engaging other people in societies or just the plain old news. On top of this my media videos and film watching also take place on my phone. Instagram Snapchat Facebook or another type of platform I watch media and videos on. For an unrelated school job I do a lot of media viewing on Instagram that helps me learn a lot and keep up-to-date on an account with my own personal goals. So that is completely different although it still is entertaining and me consuming media. The reason I wanted to describe the platforms and films I used this week and pretty much all the time before I dove into reflecting on when I watch them is because they’re all different and I feel like this makes me watch them at different times. So Monday through Thursday I typically went to all my in class classes which are now online and went to work and then would more school work out of the classroom following that. Although we don’t have class anymore inside the classroom the schedule still kind of is the same and pretty much is still the same with my viewing patterns. During the day when I would have free time and time in between classes during normal school days I would watch sports live on TV for example ESPN. As well as the news and I would do this at like 1 after waking up going to a class or two and then just taking a moment breather. Putting on ESPN or the news or just flicking to a quick show I like on free on demand is the way I like to watch media during the day. Throughout the day if I have to go to the doctors or I’m forced to wait an extra 30 minutes before I can go to the gym or if a professor is running late to a meeting I spend that time on Facebook Instagram and Snapchat on social media platforms to fulfill my viewing needs. Not only am I leisurely exploring videos and content but like I said before I actually have a page on Instagram where I don’t post that much but I like all these accounts that have to do with exercise science and it’s built up basically just an app for me with tons and tons of information and videos that I read everyday. The reason I described these times throughout my schedule is because this is when I view this type of media. For example this week Monday through Thursday that type of Ewing typically happened anywhere sporadically from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon 5 at night. Last but not least Netflix Hulu and Disney plus are what I view in the evening. I separated from the TV and TV programs are typically pick to watch during the day because I feel like it’s just different vibes. I’m done with all my work and weekly responsibilities and activities so then I can just throw on movies that are serious not so serious whatever I really like. Usually this would happen at the end of busy days during the school week this semester but now that we’ve moved online it’s kind of just like every day I watch Netflix and Hulu. Although this week specifically I watched Hulu and Disney plush Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday night although on Monday night I walked Everybody Hates Chris on Hulu. In regards to covid-19 yes my viewing patterns have changed although not too drastically like I described. Obviously a million things have changed in and throughout the US at the moment so it wouldn’t be too far off if individuals weirdly started to change their media habits whether that’s increasing the amount you watch or decreasing. Or changing what you watch at certain times or changing what you watch in general and deciding to use different platforms.

She is made of money

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The last scene of Joy showed her selling bands of bills to people to throw on dancing women. The people shown dropping money on the dancing women are men and other well-dressed women who we can assume are Madam type since they hold power. This shows the cyclic nature of the livelihood Joy has to make for herself which we discussed on the voice thread. In the screencap, one of the ladies is lines up with the money in Joy’s hand symbolizing their connection. Money and the role that woman throwing money play in society trickle down money to the ones who dance or do sex work. These women and men literally dropping money on the dancers is a closer look to the broader scale of oppression. And Joy is there, trying to sell the money that is used to be thrown at women. She is forced to be a part of this economy because of patriarchal structures that exist in societies, not to mention globalism in general. Since the opprotunity for lucrative sex work exists in these other countries.

Power Imbalance and Camera in Joy

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In this scene from Joy, a power imbalance is depicted using the positioning of the camera which explicitly involves the viewer. To the audience, the camera is the lens with which they view the world created and presented before them. To that degree, the positioning of a camera on set can also be used to position the viewer inside the world itself and become immersed. By placing the camera at eye level, the film adds to an immersive effect and the viewer may feel as if they are actually behind the counter.

This positioning is done intentionally to compare Joy’s situation with the viewer’s own, demonstrating an imbalance of power which calls to attention the issues and themes of the movie while drawing in sympathy for the character from the viewer. As she sends what little money she has left to her family, it draws nearer to the camera and makes the audience feel as if they are taking it themselves, implicating them in a balance of power and involving themselves in the scene a little more personally.

I Thought He Had Cancer

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This was one of the most impactful scenes to me in the movie that truly shows how this system works. Not only are these women being used by the Madame and the whole system but these women are made to believe that they have to take on the burden of sending tons of money to their families.  Joy was made out to believe that she had to send tons of money for her Father’s cancer treatment but upon Madame’s return from Nigeria, she learns that her father is healthy and her brother has a new shiny car.  Joy is being used by her family so that they can live comfortably in Nigeria while she has to do all the work and be used in order to scrape by with all that she owes every week.  In Joy’s case if her family was in fact lying to her, she could of taken the man’s money to live with him and gotten out of this situation sooner.  This aspect plays into why it is so hard to break out of the system.  Joy is sending all of her extra money to her family, who claims they are in such need of it, when in reality they have luxurious things that Joy does not have herself, which causes her to not have money stored away for when she is finally free. This causes the women in her situation to be more attracted to becoming a madame themselves because it’s a business that they know and can make a lot of money doing.

 

Just Another Day on Lampedusa

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At first I was very confused by the addition of this scene into the movie.  What does this fisherman/diver have to do with the refugees and migrants of the island of Lampedusa, but upon looking deeper into this scene and others like it you can see that this movie is not only about the migrants but the island as a whole.  The movie does not include any interviews with the people of Lampedusa but through this scene and those like it you can see the simple life that these people live. You can also see how the people just seem to go throughout their days as they normally would with no real acknowledgement of the migrants and hundreds of people dying right off their coast.  The fisherman and other people from Lampedusa talk only about their problems, bad weather not allowing them to go fishing and not being able to breathe due to anxiety. From first look this seems very selfish and you can see how entitled these people are but from further examination, ignoring these things might be the best thing for these Lampedusans as they are surrounded by death and can not do much themselves to change that fact or help the situation.  Instead of letting this situation overwhelm their lives, they just choose to go about their days whether that is productive in dealing with the migrant crisis is up to interpretation however I think it is a way for them to deal with this trauma.

 

Moment of Realization and Understanding

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This film did a good job of emphasizing; without glamorizing, the real life moment in everyone’s lives where one is faced head on with a reality that they cannot change or easily change without a lot of work that one necessarily does not want to do for a multitude of reasons. In this case the work was prostitution and extortion for a better life in the end far away from their homeland. The fact that they know what they are coming to Austria and other countries in Europe and choose this path because of how bad it is where they are originally from also magnifies this scenario. The film and the expressions on the actors face really did a good job capturing that emotion and moment of realization that in order to get out of this situation,  they must also accept it as reality for now and bear the weight of the struggle until the goal is reached. In this shot, the mirror and the reflection shows us; vaguely, the other side of the conversation and how serious her delivery is. This effect gives the viewer a more well rounded insight to the scene and the feelings the director is trying to convey.

Post 9: Where is the Joy

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This post will be going over some of the naming aspects of some of the characters in Joy tend to show the opposite of what they were intended. The names used in Joy seems to describe their characters to a point but there are some major parts where they act the opposite of their title. In this scene is where Precious starts to adapt to her new life as a worker for the Madame. Her appearance has change and see seems to be having a good time with the other workers, dancing, listening to music, and just over all being a young adult. While they are having fun in the back we see Joy looking to be bored and looking at her phone. For a character to be named Joy but barley show that emotions. Seem to me that the film has that title and gave that character that specific name. As a form of dark irony, that Joy current life really has no joy and that this is what life will seem to be for rest of her life and that she has been doing this for a long time now. That she barely shows any joy possible out of fear that something devastating may happen to her.

Behind Open Bars

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This still from Joy shows a visceral scene of a woman trapped out in the public, unable to partake in the basic human right and experience of playing with your child. The longing to want that sense of normalcy is unimaginable at this moment. The iron bars trapping her on the outside of the children’s world show us that even in broad daylight, where all can see, we do not know the serious situations people can be entrapped in.

The camera has placed her in the very middle of the screen forcing us to bear witness to her sadness as a barrier separates not only her from the real world but also the viewer. From this screenshot, without context, we see simply a woman of color staring defeated at something we cannot see. This is very much what all of the other people in the scene also see. Just a woman. Both us and them truly have not experienced the hardships and humiliation that this person has faced.

As we see later in the film, she returns to her home. I think to some degree this might be the case of wanting some familiarity, even if it is for a temporary amount of time. At times it is comforting to be in a place in which you understand. You know the rules and how you can go back to Europe. All of this. This horrendous system all exists without the majority of people even knowing it exists. Many will never know. As cliche as it sounds, we simply need to realize that for every situation there is more than meets the eye. Implementing that into your life is harder than it sounds…

Greed is Green

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In the film Joy, money is a major theme. It’s the driving force of the decision to go to Europe and it’s the reason madame’s exist. The women in the film go to Europe to find jobs that pay well in order to send money back for their families, but they are extorted by the system set up that the madame’s run. The madame’s take part in this in order to make their own small fortune, some even though they were brought through the system itself and know the difficulties and pain these young women go through, but do it anyway to make good money. This scene in particular along with a few others in the film use close up shots of money and exchanges of money to reinforce this theme. The money is of such significance that there are no faces in frame and all the focus is on it.  The close up of the money gives it power in the shot, and the two exchanging the money are at its will, for Joy it is getting back to Europe, as for the other lady it is not explained. Another part of the film that helps reinforce the power of money in the film is when Joy earns her freedom from the madame, she has earned enough money to pay off her debt and now has free will again.

Family Burden

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While watching Joy this scene stuck with me more than most. The Madame just came back from Nigeria after Joy had been assaulted and found out that her Father was very sick. She brings news of how great her family is doing back in Nigeria because she’s rich. These women travel to other countries to work as prostitutes and live in a house with multiple women sleeping in each room. These women are being mentally twisted to think that they have to bear the load for their families back home. The Madame mentions that Joy’s brother has a brand new shiny car but Joy doesn’t have a car from what I could tell. Why must their families enjoy all of the rewards but share none of the burden. Women like Joy are indentured servants to their madames and the rest of the money they make they send back home to support their families. Scenes like this one really show that these women are conditioned to believe that this is normal by everyone around them. At one point in the movie Precious’ mom is yelling at her because she isn’t making enough money. That she needs to sleep with more random men because it’s easy. All so that they can live luxurious lives back in Nigeria.