Blog Post 1 - It Takes a Thief

If it wasn't for my avid TV watching friends, I would've never stumbled upon the most interesting show on television. “It Takes a Thief” is a reality TV show on the Discovery Channel that plays off of an everyday fear of home burglary. This intriguing series showcases the vulnerabilities of security (or lack thereof) in typical homes across America. The show is hosted by two ex-cons (burglary) Matt Johnston and Jon Douglas Rainey, and they use each episode to exploit common home security flaws by videotaping the burglaries from different hidden cameras in each house.

The structure of the show is quite simple, yet effective. The main host, Johnston, sits in a van with security monitors while the participating naive homeowners sit next to him, as they watch their valuables get taken from them. Rainey is the thief who does all the work, mainly by himself. Rainey goes around the outside of a house looking for any entrance. Often times, he will find a break-in point within the first minute of the approach, whether it be a negligent screen door or a second story window. If there is a way to get into the house, Rainey will find it. Upon the actual break in, our devious host ransacks the house, looking for any type of valuable while creating a path of destruction along the way.

The loot, as it is referred to, consists of an array of items that range from small to medium sized electronics (laptops, jump drives, etc…) to fine art in precarious “hiding” spots within the house. One episode had Rainey stumbling on a hidden trap door in someone’s closet that held an original Picasso sketch worth thousands of dollars. All of the priceless heirlooms and personal data that are stolen from the homeowner are usually gone within ten minutes.

Having one’s life taken from them in the course of ten minutes is hard to fathom, yet the show’s intent is to open peoples' eyes to the cruel reality of negligence. The show is split into sections of the homeowner’s reactions to Rainey’s thievery while Johnston sits right next to them, provoking their reactions with his sly comments and then cuts back to shots from the hidden cameras inside the house. Once Rainey is finished, the homeowner/s come out to greet him, and they tally up the value of the stolen loot. After they showcase the damage, the ravaged home is given a thorough security renovation. Finally, Rainey goes for round two and tries breaking into the house once more, after the renovation. Often times, he doesn’t make it back in, but there are episodes where he still bypasses all security precautions, as a result of no one locking the front door.

Analysis: As mentioned before, the show plays off an everyday fear that our house is vulnerable to break-ins. This fear is often clouded by being too busy to recognize the issue or relishing in a notion of false security by saying, “it will never happen to us, we live in a good neighborhood.” This show resonates with me as I can relate to the homeowner/s when I witness their laptop getting snatched up, along with all the security codes and information that could change their life/lives forever.

Another thing that I appreciated is how the show uses common sense mixed with security technology to provide simple solutions to the show’s audience. I’ve learned a lot about home security by watching the show, and it is very well structured in a way that is both educational and highly entertaining.

Here is a direct link to a preview for the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDSPyXmM_jo

Blog Post 1 - Carrier

“Carrier” is a ten part ten hour long mini series on the PBS channel based around life on the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. 17 filmmakers went aboard the carrier during a 6 month journey which brought the carrier from its port in Coronado, California to Pearl Harbor Hawaii, Hong Kong China, Guam, Kuala Lumpur, the Persian Gulf, Perth Australia, and then back to port. The show is based around a core group of 18 people from the lowest sailor to the fighter pilot and even the captain of the ship but also you get to see the other 5,000 sailors and marines in action. The series is meant to show the life of the average person in the US Navy, their struggles on the carrier and off and everything these young people are going through while at the same time working on a ship in the middle of war.

The PBS mini series is broken into ten parts all with their own themes. Each theme dives deeper and deeper into the life of the sailors on the ship from themes as large as family, faith, discipline, patriotism, love and war, the rites of passage and the war on terror, the series closely follows the core of characters trough their entire deployment. The mini series tells the stories by private interviews but also with just filming the crew in their regular day to day routines and conversations with their crewmates. It is as if The Real World mixed with the US Navy, it is part documentary part reality show.

“Carrier” as I have stated before follows around a core group of 18 pilots, marines, and sailors through some of their most trying times. Take Chris Altice an E-3/aviation ordnanceman for example. Altice who was 21 at the time of filming and who served in the Navy for 3-and-a-half years found out his new girlfriend was pregnant just 3 weeks before he had to leave for duty. During the full tour the PBS series followed Altice as he matured from an adolescent 21 year old and into a mature 21 year old father of a little girl. Another example is Lieutenant commander Kevin McLaughlin an F/A-18 pilot for Strike Fighter Squadron 94 (VFA-94), also known as “The Hoboes.” Mclaughlin served for 19 years in the Navy and during the mini series went through a lot of family troubles. He left his wife and 2 year old son at home while on deployment and mid way through his mission on the USS Nimitz he found out he was going to be a father again. Only tragedy struck the pilot when he found out his wife had lost the baby. The series follows Mclaughlin as he deals with his pain but at the same time must still fly and protect servicemen on the ground in Iraq. Those are just two of many stories that the mini series “Carrier” provides for its viewers to show the real people inside the US Navy.


Analysis:
My analysis of the mini series from PBS called “Carrier” is that it gives one of the most uncensored looks inside the Navy that has been seen. I am sure the Navy goes through every piece of footage and filters it and makes sure nothing to bad comes out but
the series gives the sailors honest thoughts on the military, on the war, and on themselves. “Carrier” does show some patterns in its hour longs sections such as when ever there is an interview that says something negative about the navy or the war the show makes sure that there is an interview right after it that states someone saying how much they enjoy the navy and how they support the war which usually ends up being an officer of the ship. Another pattern that emerges is the comment of the ship being just like high school. It is said in the series a number amount of times but also shows examples. Since “Carrier” was filmed by PBS there is a sense of trust as well due to the fact that PBS has been around for awhile and provides educational material making the show even more believable.