Toy Story 3

The rootinest tootinest film of 2010!

Both Vicky and myself went to see this film on its opening in the UK on Monday 19th July. I went with my youngest daughter in Kettering, while Vicky went to watch it in Lincoln. As we are both Toy Story fans, we thought it would be a great idea if we wrote a blog about the film, giving our contrasting views of it. So here it is....

Vicky's Toy Story 3

As a huge fan of the previous two Toy Story films, I had very high expectations for the third one – and it definitely didn’t disappoint!

I was Buzzing with excitement as the trailers rolled wondering what adventure Andy’s toys would embark on 15 years after the original film was released and just as Andy is all set to leave home for college.

As Andy is packing his boxes for college, his Mum says whatever he doesn’t take with him or puts in the attic goes out with the trash. As Andy opens his old toy chest, the audience is glued to the screen wondering....Woody or wouldn’t he?

As with any Toy Story plot, the plan never works out as intended and this is where the adventure really begins (don’t worry – I won’t ruin it if you’ve not yet seen it).

As Dom outlined in his section, there are some very Slinky themes intertwined throughout the film; separation, friendship and loss. These are very well received by adults and children alike as there is always some concern, especially with kid’s movies, that the makers try to Hamm up the storylines too much which results in a loss of interest or a very drawn out plot.

After the drama, twists, turns and turmoil at Sunnyside Daycare, the pals are finally back in Andy’s room just in the nick of time (as always). As he leaves his Mum and sister to embark on his college journey, Andy has a few heart wrenching decisions to make.... And he (Andy, gettit?) makes all the right ones in a very emotional final scene. Does the film’s ending set it up for a Toy Story 4? Absolutely! In my opinion this is one of the greatest films of the year and it is surely destined to win many awards.

Dominic's Toy Story

As anyone who knows me will testify, I am a huge Toy Story fan. They are amongst the best films made, and I’m not just talking about kid’s films. I have a collection of Toy Story figures next to me at work. It was with much anticipation that I went with my youngest daughter to see the latest (and last) in the Toy Story trilogy. We went for the option of watching the film in 3D.

This is not a blow by blow account of the film. If you want a review of Toy Story 3, then you’ve come to the wrong place. I want to concentrate on the themes the film raises. It may seem odd to write an article about these themes, seeing as the film is a kid’s film. However, that is where the deception starts. Toy Story 3 is not just a kid’s film. It is obvious the film was written as much with the older audience and parents in mind, as for the younger audience.

I had heard reviews of the film stating that it hits many emotionally sensitive issues including friendship, love, loss and separation. It was even reported that grown men were finding themselves having a cry to the film. In all honesty, I didn’t find this in the least bit surprising, seeing as this was a Pixar film. As anyone who has watched their films, you cannot have failed to notice the sentimentality that they frequently put into their films. In the film Wall-E, the little truck based robot falls in love with the sophisticated modern robot. They hold hands and fly through space in wanton abandon. Parental loyalty and letting your child grow up and make their own decisions is tackled in Finding Nemo. Many of their films tackle themes that a younger audience would either not detect, or ignore. These are deliberately interwoven into the film for the older audience.

This is one of the reasons why Pixar make such good films. They work so effortlessly on multiple levels. The younger audience see the cute characters, while the older audience sees the deeper themes that are at work.

So as this was the last Toy Story film, I was fully expecting to see themes of separation and friendship being brought into the film. The boy in the film Andy, who was 10 years old in the previous films is now 17 and getting ready to leave home for college. While clearing out his room, he comes across all his old toys (or the ones that still remain as many are no longer in the film as they’ve been sold at garage sales, given to charity etc). Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Hamm et al still remain, but are all now kept in a chest as they are no longer played with on a regular basis. Even at this early point in the film, we are headlong into the theme of loss, as Woody discusses with the other toys that he’s sad that he’s had to say goodbye to many of his friends, including Bo Peep (his one true love).

There is a very touching scene in the film, where the toys are in a recycling plant, and end up on a conveyor belt that has tipped them into a furnace. As they slide down the side towards almost certain death, we see them resign themselves to their fate, and all reach out to hold each other’s hands. This was a truly touching moment. That even in death, they had each other.

Along the way during the film, we encounter a lovely little girl called Bonnie who takes really good care of her toys, and spends all her free time playing with them. When it finally comes time for Andy to clear out his room and leave for college, Woody leaves a note on the cardboard box where they’re all being kept, that he should give his old toys to Bonnie. Andy drives over to Bonnie’s house to give her the last of his toys. He takes them out of the cardboard box one by one and describes them to her, and why he loved playing with them. In another lovely scene, we see Andy and Bonnie playing with all of his toys outside in the garden. Even Andy, who is 17, gets caught up in the moment of playing with all his old toys. For Andy however, this will be his last time he does so.

As the film closes, we see Andy driving away to college while his old toys look on after him. It’s a scene reminiscent of disappearing over the horizon, and deliberately so, for it is intended to reflect the sadness of losing someone you’ve been close to. For Woody and the other toys, they’ve grown up with Andy, and now have to see him drive away as he grows up and leaves them behind. For Andy, he has to come to terms with the fact that’s now a young man and needs to mature into an adult, and all that entails.

For the record, yes I did have a cry at the film, and have absolutely no issue with admitting it. It’s a wonderfully sentimental and emotional film, not to mention hilarious too. I absolutely loved it!

Is blogging a form of Journalism?

This blog is on a topic close to our hearts, as Dom is an experienced blogger and I have a background in Journalism. A blog is described as being a type or part of a website that is written and maintained by an individual with regular posts which can be discussion on a particular topic, current news event or simply a series of journal entries. Another form is microblogging, which involves much shorter posts or updates, like Twitter. Blogging is a collection of one or several authors own thoughts, opinions, musings or personal day-to-day experiences. Bloggers may choose to support the opinions by linking to relevant research articles, other blogs or current news stories.

A journalist collects factual information on current events, trends, people and pressing issues and is expected to report on them in an unbiased and objective way for the mass media; newspapers, radio, broadcast and magazines.

One of the key differences between the two is the level of accountability. A journalist works to codes of conduct and best practices, and can face sanctions such as libel or defamation if they get it wrong. A blogger is expressing an opinion, and so works to a lesser degree of formality and accountability.

The different levels of accountability can work in accord or against the content. A blogger can raise issues or thoughts that may be controversial, and so can get away with bringing these to the public's attention without necessarily worrying about legal implications of their work. A journalist, while having to substantiate their claims, is more constrained in the topics they are able to raise.

A blogger is much freer to openly criticise a story. I think this is one of the key differences between blogging and journalism; the freedom to openly criticise without fear of being held accountable.

There is much disagreement within the industry about whether blogging can constitute a form of journalism. Dr. Ben Goldacre is a British doctor, journalist, and author of The Guardian’s weekly ‘Bad Science’ column. An article on Jounalism.co.uk shows a video he made about ‘Bad Science’, he expressed his thoughts on media reliability: “..blogs are potentially more reliable than mainstream media ever was - mainly because you can check for each individual blog author, how credible they are, because bloggers link to primary resources…” Goldacre feels that bloggers are more reliable than mainstream media, because bloggers will express their honest opinion on an issue and then link to someone else’s article to back it up. He feels that journalists can sometimes “go out of their way” to disguise where their facts have come from.

Scott Karp wrote a post on his blog ‘Publishing 2.0’ arguing that a blog is merely a content management system (CMS) and is revolutionary because it is [mainly] free and available for anyone to publish content on. Karp states that if a blog is used by a journalist, for example if a Journalist for The Times has their own featured blog, then yes – blogging is a form of journalism. Karp also coined the phrase ‘Link Journalism’ in 2008. This is a form of collaborative journalism in which the author of a news story provides external links within the story’s text to other articles or sources on the Internet. These links are meant to complement, enhance or add context to the original reporting – something which many bloggers do to back up their own opinions, thoughts and arguments.

Internet entrepreneur Chris Pirillo makes a very clear differentiation between journalism and blogging on his personal blog. He believes that blogging is not a form of journalism, but that it is a “newer type of writing style.” His main train of thought for this is that the only difference between them is content. He believes that bloggers and journalists are both there to produce content, but that “bloggers write because they want to. Journalists write to get paid, because it is their job.” He also makes a very valid point that bloggers write about what they know, feel and think about a topic, but journalists will [usually] get told what to right about and are supposed to support this with relevant and accurate facts.

A fundamental point to keep in mind is that anyone can go online and set up a blog using platforms such as Blogger or WordPress without having any previous experience of blogging or indeed writing. Journalists, however, will have some form of training behind them, whether this is a degree, NUJ (National Union of Journalists)training or having worked as a junior reporter after leaving school. So in my opinion and drawing on my own personal experience, I would have to agree with Chris Pirillo; I think that blogging is not a form of journalism, although it can be used by journalists in a similar way to a column, blogging is its own definitive type of writing style. Being trained in journalism and working in PR, I have found it difficult to make the changeover from journalist to blogger. Then again, it depends on people’s own definitions of journalists and bloggers.

Our first Green Eyes blog

Introduction

This is our first blog together. The idea for creating this joint blog came about when we both partnered together on Dominic's Little Blog. The process of working together, the ideas we generated, and the fun we both had has resulted in this blog. A joint venture which we hope you will enjoy reading as much as we enjoy writing it.

Our first post is really an introduction - to tell you who we are, and what you can expect from our blog.......

Dominic 'The Original Geek' Burford

I'm a software developer who is passionate about technology. I've worked in the field of software development for over a decade, working on a huge range of different technologies, tools and applications, and in a large variety of industries including health, manufacturing, accountancy and payroll.

I enjoy listening to a huge range of music including Coldplay, Radiohead, Snow Patrol, Moby, Frank Zappa, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rush, Editors, Muse, Weather Report, Miles Davis....you get the idea! I have broad and eclectic tastes in music which includes Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Bauhaus and God Speed You Black Emperor to name just a few.

I love cycling, and regularly ride long distance cycling events, and have ridden distances going up to 400km (250 miles). I have ridden at least one 200km event every month for the last 30 months.

I'm a vegetarian and have been so since I was 18 years old. I regularly campaign for the rights of animals, and am a member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

I'm an atheist, sceptic and logical thinker. I am passionate, caring and fun!

Vicky 'Girly Geek' Perry

I am a Service Delivery Executive for an online news distribution company. I have worked in PR for 2 years and love it! I graduated from the University of Lincoln with a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism. I am interested in Social Media, Journalism, blogging and in-depth research projects.

I am passionate about football and follow the mighty Gillingham, who were my local club when growing up in Kent. I also enjoy singing along (poorly) to a variety of music including Coldplay, Dizzee Rascal, Muse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Russell Watson.

My selfless support of charities is part of my generous personality, which has led me to undertake many challenges including a 5km row on the Thames, a 5km run dressed as Santa, abseiling down the Humber Bridge, the Silverstone half Marathon and the London Marathon. If it's something crazy.....I will do it! The main two charities I do a lot of fund-raising for are the Teenage Cancer Trust and Action for M.E. - both of whom have helped and supported people close to my heart.

I am fun-loving, crazy, outgoing, selfless and caring....I am Vicky!

About our blog

The name for our blog was inspired by our shared love of the band Coldplay, in particular the song Green Eyes (we both have green eyes, and like this song in particular as it's one of their lesser known tracks but contains some wonderful lyrics that we both appreciate).

We want to use our blog to express our opinions and thoughts on a range of subjects which we find interesting and are passionate about, and which we hope you will too. We'll be writing about all manner of subjects including social media, music, current affairs and politics to name a few.

We hope you stop by and take the time to read and enjoy our blog. You are most welcome to follow our blog, or leave a comment on one of our posts.