Friday, February 25, 2011

Horvath post #3

While listening while the Mexico presentation was given, something caught my attention and immediately I thought back to something I saw on a TV show. It was briefly touched upon that a lot of the Mexico television networks don't report what happens with the cartels because they fear for their lives as well as their families. I’m not sure how many of you have ever watched the TV show “Border Wars” on the Natgeo channel, but there was an episode that directly related to this issue. There was a well known Mexican reporter who reported for both Mexico and U.S. channels. One day while he was sitting near a bordering river he observed and recorded a human smuggling operation going down. When the guy leading the illegals, known as a coyote, saw him and said “are you a report? –don’t report this I know who you are,” or something to that effect. Because of this, he ended up taking time off from reporting all together because he knew numerous reporters who were killed for reporting things the cartel had involvement, especially when dealing with the border police uncovering a vehicle trying to smuggle across weapons and money. That is something that I cannot wrap my mind around… It’s not something I’ve had to deal with or ever imagine. It’s almost as if it is something you think only happens in movies.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Horvath Post #2

I think Hollywood dominates the film industry for multiple reasons. Mainly the fact of its location and what it has made for itself. It is similar to fashion, which I do not claim to know anything about, New York, for example is fashion hub of the United States. It is all about what you have to offer, and for Hollywood they make it seem like a pretty darn good deal. I actually had a friend move to LA a couple of years ago to pursue her dream of being a musician and since moving out there she has gotten involved in numerous plays. Everyone loves to root for the underdogs, and Hollywood gives us that opportunity because young aspiring people have the ability to pursue such opportunities. As obnoxious and self-centered as this sounds, I think a lot of the reason Hollywood dominates the film industry has a lot to do with the fact that it is located in the United States. While there are a lot of countries that do not like the United States, there will always be some who strive to achieve one accomplishment or another by comparing themselves to the U.S. Look at Bollywood for example, it is growing in popularity, even in U.S. I’m sure Hollywood will never be overrun but if it was one thing that will give it a run for its money it is, in my opinion, Bollywood films.