tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/electronic-media-18538/articlesElectronic media – The Conversation2024-03-06T00:42:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248542024-03-06T00:42:23Z2024-03-06T00:42:23ZBagpipes in space: how Hans Zimmer created the dramatic sound world of the new Dune film<p>Industrial. Mechanical. Brutal. These are the words acclaimed electro-acoustic composer Hans Zimmer uses to describe his music for <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15239678/">Dune: Part Two</a>, released in Australia on Thursday.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419/">Dune: Part One</a> (2021) showcased Zimmer’s expertise in manipulating sound to create timbres that uniquely fit an onscreen environment. The new film is no exception. </p>
<p>By carefully considering the Dune universe and drawing on a range of audio production and editing techniques, Zimmer creates a rich score that breathes life into author <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frank-Herbert">Frank Herbert’s</a> fantasy world.</p>
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<h2>Creating a rich, textured sound world</h2>
<p>Zimmer looks to the film’s visual world – such as the costume colour palette, or the way the cinematographer shoots the film – to inform his sound and instrument choices. </p>
<p>“It starts off with creating that sonic world that I want the tunes or the motifs to live in,” Zimmer said <a href="https://www.wallpaper.com/art/dune-part-two-hans-zimmer-designs-the-sound-of-sand-exclusive-interview">in an interview</a>.</p>
<p>He uses several tools to achieve this, drawing on plugins and audio editing tools to fragment, granulate, stretch, shorten, reverse, repeat and feature certain parts of a sound’s frequency range. He also processes distinct sounds such as metallic scrapes, or <a href="https://www.wallpaper.com/art/dune-part-two-hans-zimmer-designs-the-sound-of-sand-exclusive-interview">sand falling</a> into a metal bowl.</p>
<p>The result is a unique soundscape in keeping with the war-footing narrative at the heart of the film. The militaristic feel of the score is created through the use of deep drums and percussion, repetitive (and at times delicate) vocals and ominous synthesisers that range from warm tones to uncomfortable screeching metallic tonalities. </p>
<p>All combine to draw the viewer into both a deep human narrative and the treacherous environment in which the tensions play out. </p>
<h2>Unrelenting and otherworldly</h2>
<p>Zimmer is very familiar with processing sound to design unique sound worlds – an approach that stems from his lifelong fascination with electronic music. For Dune: Part Two, he composes a sonic landscape that feels as unrelenting as the planet Arrakis itself. </p>
<p>There are several familiar components, such as synthesised real-world elements, vocals and a repeat of melodies used in the first film. Both Paul’s and the Kwisatz Haderach melodies are repeated, as is the House Atreides theme. </p>
<p>In the track Eclipse – which repeats elements of the Holy War cue – ominous deep brass, deep percussion, unnerving vocals and synthesisers work to create a sinister mood.</p>
<p>Added on is an evocative blend of bagpipes, synthesisers and processed sounds invoking an otherworldly atmosphere. Combined with soloist <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/hans-zimmer-dune-score-explained-newsupdate/">Loire Cotler’s ethereal vocals</a>, these disparate musical elements intertwine to build a memorable ambience. </p>
<p>The lines are blurred between the soundtrack and the film’s sound design to create moments of building tension. For the viewer, the dynamic use of these musical elements creates an almost visceral experience.</p>
<h2>A masterful soundtrack</h2>
<p>Compared to the first film, Dune: Part Two expands the atmospheric musical world in a far more foreboding and dramatic style – brought to life by woodwinds and synths. </p>
<p>The soundtrack, which is worth listening to as a complete album, is both a dynamic continuation and expansion of the first film’s quieter, moodier score. There’s a significant shift in tone and a deliberate weaving of melodic themes from the first film. </p>
<p>The first track, Beginnings Are Such Delicate Times, expands on a theme we hear briefly in the first film – played in the bagpipes as the Atreides first arrive on the landing fields of Arrakis. In Dune: Part Two, this theme stands out as Zimmer has transformed it from a military announcement to a moment of pure emotion.</p>
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<p>A Time of Quiet Between the Storms develops this same bagpipe melody with a new purpose: as the romantic love theme between Chani and Paul Atreides. </p>
<p>The track opens with a single wind instrument, synthesisers and percussion. The percussion transports the viewer back to Zimmer’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc8RTc6vKPE">Dream of Arrakis</a> from the first film’s opening. The weaving of this foreboding theme contrasts with a feeling of hope.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syusOjpEl0w&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic">Emperor</a> and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpR4ySXm5f0&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic">Bene Gesserit</a> themes are threaded with a return of the first film’s Holy War theme, which has now been transformed into the theme we hear at the point of Paul’s victory in the film. </p>
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<p>By exploring the relationship between a film’s soundtrack and sound design, Zimmer creates a sound world full of personality and new timbral possibilities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224854/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Cole does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Zimmer creates a sound world full of texture, personality and new timbral possibilities.Alison Cole, Composer and Lecturer in Screen Composition, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1450952020-09-02T19:59:50Z2020-09-02T19:59:50Z2 hours of TV a day in late childhood linked to lower test scores later<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355755/original/file-20200901-16-5pm8lg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-boy-expressive-face-using-digital-187404281">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children aged 8 and 9 who watched more than two hours of TV a day or spent more than one hour a day on a computer had lower scores than their peers on reading and numeracy at ages 10 and 11, our study has found.</p>
<p>Our results, published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237908">PLOS ONE</a>, were collected as part of the <a href="https://cats.mcri.edu.au/">Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS)</a> based at the <a href="https://www.mcri.edu.au/">Murdoch Children’s Research Institute</a>. </p>
<p>We found children who watched TV two hours per day at 8 and 9 years of age performed lower in reading two years later compared with children who had watched little TV. This was equivalent to the loss of a third of a year in learning. There was no impact of watching TV on numeracy.</p>
<p>Children who used a computer for at least one hour per day had a similar loss in numeracy scores two years later compared with their peers. There was no association between computer use and reading.</p>
<p>In contrast, we found no links between playing video games and children’s learning.</p>
<p>Although much has been written about the consequences of digital media use for kids’ physical and mental health, little attention has been paid to its potential impact on education. </p>
<h2>How we conducted our study</h2>
<p>The Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS) includes 1,239 children. These children entered the study in 2012 when they were 8 years old. </p>
<p>For our study, we used information collected across the first three years of CATS when the children were 8 to 11 years old. We asked parents to report on their child’s use of TV (including streaming on the computer), computer use (for email, school work, internet access and chat) and video games.</p>
<p>We obtained information about the academic scores by linking with <a href="https://www.nap.edu.au/">NAPLAN, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy</a>. </p>
<p>In our analyses, we took into account the child’s age, gender, earlier emotional and behavioural problems and their socioeconomic status. We also accounted for previous academic performance, which is important because children struggling with school work may choose to use more media. </p>
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<p>The time children spend using electronic media tends to increase in late primary school (from around age 10) and with the move to secondary school. During these years children typically have more control over the types of media they use. </p>
<p>Academic problems often first emerge during these years too, predicting school dropout and longer-term academic performance.</p>
<p>At ages 8 to 9 and 10 to 11, around 40% of children watched more than two hours of TV a day.</p>
<p>Around 17% of 8 to 9 year olds used a computer for more than an hour a day — two years later, this had almost doubled to 30%. </p>
<p>One in four 8 to 9 year olds played video games for more than one hour a day — this rose to one in three in 10 to 11 year olds.</p>
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<span class="caption">Playing video games didn’t have the same association with lower scores as more passive screen time.</span>
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<p>We also looked at the short-term effect of using media on learning. Children aged 10 to 11 who watched more than two hours of TV or used a computer for more than an hour a day had lower scores in numeracy compared with their peers (but none on reading) — equivalent to the loss of a third of a year of learning. </p>
<p>These findings remained even when accounting for prior media use. There was no evidence of short-term links between video games and academic performance.</p>
<p>These results suggest it is cumulative (or long-term) TV use that is linked with effects on reading rather than short-term. </p>
<h2>We don’t have all the answers</h2>
<p>This study doesn’t answer all the questions about electronic media and children’s learning. Because we relied on parents to report on their children’s media use, we don’t know as much about how and why children were using media heavily. This is significant because actively engaging with and producing content rather than just passively viewing media, is likely to be <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0027030">positive</a> compared with just passively viewing media.</p>
<p>This will continue to be important as children get older and start to use <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/138/5/e20162592.full#ref-48">social media</a> more (most social media accounts specifying users must be at least 13 years old). Using social media to create and post material online, as well as connecting with friends can bring mental health benefits.</p>
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<p>This may also explain why heavy use of television, which is passive, predicted poor learning but there were no effects when it came to gaming, which is an active use. Our study didn’t capture how computers were used but browsing the internet and watching online videos are also passive activities, possibly explaining the link between computer use and learning.</p>
<p>Other possible reasons for the link between heavy TV and computer use and learning could be because they reduce time spent doing other activities such as physical activity, sleep or homework. They also have the potential to diminish concentration. </p>
<h2>What our study means</h2>
<p>Before the pandemic, electronic media use was already the most <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2751330?casa_token=UqGnnJxQLQ0AAAAA:OAAOLL5ApPs7Nl4sFPB_5C5kq_cd54lYWV4ql6HHSWMTrZ7EukrmUB-Z0ayzPXywGfiQ5kMTtxk">popular leisure-time activity</a> for 7 to 18 year olds but the pandemic has meant children now spend around <a href="https://www.axios.com/kids-screen-time-coronavirus-562073f6-0638-47f2-8ea3-4f8781d6b31b.html">50% more time with screens</a>.</p>
<p>Electronic media have been essential for us all in coping with the pandemic. It allows us to work from home, access information and services, and maintain relationships with family and friends. For children, it has meant being able to continue their education through lockdowns and school closures. </p>
<p>Yet, our findings highlight the challenges for parents and teachers in guiding children in their use of electronic media. For parents, a family <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx">media plan</a> is a useful tool where they can set limits on use, rules around when and where devices can be used, and help a child select <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/play-media-technology/media/good-apps-games-movies-school-age">quality content</a> where they are more actively engaged. </p>
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<p>Not all media use is the same in terms of benefits and risks. With active use, electronic media can become tools to create, to connect and to learn, bringing great benefits. However, where electronic media takes on merely a childminding role, poorer health, social and emotional development, and learning seem likely to follow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Mundy receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment. Previous funding has been from the Victorian Department of Education and Training, Australian Rotary Health Research, the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation and the Invergowrie Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Patton receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and, the Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment. Previous funding has been from the Victorian Department of Education and Training, Australian Rotary Health Research, and the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
</span></em></p>Children who ‘passively’ use screens are more likely to suffer academically, a study found. But there was no evidence of a link between video games and academic performance.Lisa Mundy, Research Fellow, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteGeorge Patton, Professor of Adolescent Health Research, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/606992016-06-09T04:54:10Z2016-06-09T04:54:10ZCan The Avalanches flourish in a pop music world remade in their own image?<p>Legendary Melbourne-based band The Avalanches are returning with a new record – 16 years after their only major release. Their first album, 2000’s Since I Left You, has been <a href="http://www.beat.com.au/music/i-left-you">dubbed a modern classic</a>. A joyous, witty and funky melange of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/23/was-the-avalanches-since-i-left-you-too-good-to-follow-up">more than 3,500 samples</a>, taken from vinyl albums bought in op shops, it sold more than 600,000 copies and influenced a generation of musicians.</p>
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<span class="caption">Wildflower album art.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Avalanches/Facebook</span></span>
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<p>The Avalanches’ brand of sample-saturated electronic music was unique in 2000. And their organisation as an enigmatic, amorphous collective challenged conventional ideas of what a band could be.</p>
<p>But they are reemerging to a world of pop music remade in their own image. Sixteen years on from Since I Left You, the music industry has transformed. It brims with samples, superproducers and music that’s largely produced and consumed on computers.</p>
<p>The cut-up aesthetic that The Avalanches used so brilliantly in songs like the unforgettable <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrnkK2YEcE">Frontier Psychiatrist</a> (with it’s inimitable “That Boy Needs Therapy” line) can be seen all over the Internet, not just in music, but also in the form of memes and GIFs that re-purpose and re-contextualise older media in evocative or amusing ways. Sampling existing material has become one of the most common ways that people communicate online. </p>
<p>Last week, The Avalanches debuted their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/23/was-the-avalanches-since-i-left-you-too-good-to-follow-up">much anticipated</a> new single, <a href="http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/06/the-avalanches-have-finally-returned-with-new-single-frankie-sinatra-listen/">Frankie Sinatra</a>. But the critical reaction was lukewarm. Some reviewers lamented that the song could have been released at <a href="http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/first-reactions-to-the-avalanches-new-single-frankie-sinatra/863501">any point since at least 2006</a>.</p>
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<p>Double J even published a story titled <a href="http://doublej.net.au/news/features/what-to-do-if-you-don-t-like-the-avalanches-new-track">What to do if you don’t like The Avalanches new track</a>. (“You think that the track sounds like the Hilltop Hoods remixing the Cat Empire? You think that the song sounds as though it belongs in a cordial commercial?”) </p>
<p>Frankie Sinatra includes big name vocal features (from Danny Brown and MF DOOM), something that is unique in The Avalanches’ oeuvre, but completely conventional for pop music in 2016. The bands’ fans are waiting to hear how it sounds in context of their second album, Wildflower, since the real beauty of their first one was how it held together as an hour of interwoven music and emotion.</p>
<h2>Backpacks full of vinyl</h2>
<p>In the late ‘90s The Avalanches were at the cutting edge. Sampling was already a well established staple of hip hop and house music, but the band (along with other musicians, like <a href="http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/how-dj-shadows-entroducing-turned-forgotten-vinyl-into-a-postmodern-masterpiece/">DJ Shadow</a>) used samples in a more layered and sophisticated way. However, the process took a certain kind of dedication.</p>
<p>The Avalanches sang about this kind of dedication in 1997 (back when they still sang!) on the track <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksPfZEnzNh0">Run DNA</a>, a song about carrying obscure seven inch singles and secondhand sampling equipment in – what else? – a backpack. </p>
<p>Today it might sound insanely impractical to lug all that around, but before an infinite amount of music could be sampled and mixed using the phone in your back pocket, The Avalanches’ found their samples by dropping the needle on dusty old vinyl.</p>
<p>The fragments of music were largely pieced together by founding members <a href="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov02/articles/avalanches.asp">Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann in the isolation of their individual bedroom studios</a> without anyone so much as playing an instrument. However, The Avalanches were also a rock band that played live, at one point as a six-piece, which gave the project an impish energy.</p>
<p>A performance of Run DNA on ABC’s Saturday morning Recovery shows how energetic they could be live: the band members <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjm54roxJjNAhXD3aYKHVVbCngQyCkIHzAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqwUpbpCGpcY&usg=AFQjCNGzpP3EZiRoBNck7McsBdqgkEhtig&sig2=3x-ZRI4TP4RaYQLCNtd2Yg">fling op-shop records recklessly at each other</a>, stomp on them and smash them against the floor. By the end, the stage is a battleground of vinyl fragments, an apt metaphor for what the band would be building from.</p>
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<h2>The lost art of the album</h2>
<p>In the ‘90s, vinyl records were long dead, but still a decade away from their resurrection as a totem of hipster cred. However, the album as a discrete unit of music, a format that vinyl LPs had pioneered, was thriving on CDs. </p>
<p>With Since I left You, The Avalanches hoped to replicate the feel of classic records like Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and The Beach Boys’ Surf’s Up. Working with desktop computers and floppy discs in their bedroom studios, progress was slow, and their debut missed deadline after deadline. </p>
<p>When the album was finally released in 2000, it was just in time to catch the <a href="http://blog.thecurrent.org/2014/02/40-years-of-album-sales-data-in-one-handy-chart/">historical sales peak of both CDs and albums of any kind</a>. Starting in 2001, file sharing, iTunes and streaming services would erode the album market to 70% less than that peak by 2013. The album format is key to the magic of Since I Left You, with songs and samples flowing into each other, like an ocean of forgotten music. </p>
<p>Over the years since the album, the band shed members and the remaining Avalanches, took on interesting projects. (In 2004 and 2006 they produced remixes for Belle and Sebastian, Wolfmother and Franz Ferdinand). </p>
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<p>In 2014, Seltmann’s wife revealed that he had not been in the band “<a href="http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/the-avalanches-lose-band-member-but-say-new-album-is-awesome/">for some time now</a>”, but when or why he left remains unclear. </p>
<p>Last weekend, The Avalanches played their first shows in about a decade at the Primavera festival in Spain, but there were only two Avalanches on stage: founding members Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi. James Dela Cruz had apparently rejoined the band, but passport problems have prevented him from leaving Australia. </p>
<p>The Primavera performances were essentially <a href="http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/heres-what-happened-when-the-avalanches-played-their-first-gig-in-15-years-at-primavera-sound-festival/863584">just two solo DJ sets</a>. What The Avalanches sound like in 2016 still remains something of a mystery. </p>
<p>Wildflower will be released next month. Fans, no doubt, <a href="http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/why-being-a-fan-of-the-avalanches-was-16-years-of-torture">are hoping it will resemble something that didn’t exist before 2000</a>: an Avalanches record.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60699/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron Humphrey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Avalanches’ legendary first album, Since I Left You, was a modern classic, built from more than 3500 music samples. Sixteen years on, they’re finally releasing a second one - but will it resonate in an age when everyone samples?Aaron Humphrey, Ph.D. Candidate in Media, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/508332016-02-01T11:08:14Z2016-02-01T11:08:14ZNetflix’s VPN ban cannot cure TV studios’ chronic headaches<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110058/original/image-20160202-6959-18sa6v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's time to rethink content distribution. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hackingnetflix/2917850847/in/photolist-5rQKpe-8WmyQW-6Hw5rf-6Hw1po-BymrSb-9ihTfE-uqvAhB-kHDfX-GvGt4-dqqKVM-24m3oZ-hso5f-3eaSpJ-6YJhDH-5UsZgf-6HvXK3-4CGm3s-6HvZCE-pY4mm1-rRvohY-4MuUCR-6dfH1v-a1WxHN-6HvFws-pY4kWU-54d4P8-97zC3Q-dd9WN5-hsiD4-7tXu7L-CKo1kq-7vRVVJ-hso5g-7ztKW9-7w4etY-4MRr1-E3wTU-7TABZG-2gF567-6gz5h-eA5nMs-8ZEzKY-4VvQgm-4VvQ4E-4VrBpD-enTcF-nmTGcA-9GTy3n-4c2ZsU-A8jFhN">Mike K/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In mid-January, Netflix announced a <a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/01/netflix-will-block-vpns-for-now-but-its-real-goal-is-global-tv/">ban</a> on the use of proxies, unblockers and virtual private networks (VPNs) – all technical work-arounds to view movies and TV programs unavailable in the subscriber’s country. This announcement coincided with the company’s global service <a href="https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/netflix-is-now-available-around-the-world">launch</a> into more than 130 new markets.</p>
<p>With the new ban in place, Australian subscribers will no longer be able to watch U.S. shows until they become available Down Under. Likewise, U.S. subscribers who are addicted to British shows will have to wait for those shows to come stateside.</p>
<p>The content providers’ <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/why-you-cant-have-everything-the-netflix-licensing-dilemma/">desire</a> for this ban is easy to understand. If Australian fans have already watched a U.S. show via Netflix, who will tune in when the show finally arrives in Australia?</p>
<p>Thus far, movie studios and TV producers have repeatedly <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2685611/major-studios-pressure-netflix-to-block-vpn-access.html">criticized</a> Netflix for turning a blind eye to unlicensed viewing. Had the company continued to ignore geographical licensing restrictions, some of these providers might have eventually pulled their content from the service.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the recently announced ban is unlikely to provide a long-term cure to the content providers’ chronic headaches. The problem lies not with Netflix, but with the unmet consumer demand in foreign markets. If we are to successfully address this problem, more comprehensive copyright reform will be needed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109547/original/image-20160128-27130-lmb86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109547/original/image-20160128-27130-lmb86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109547/original/image-20160128-27130-lmb86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109547/original/image-20160128-27130-lmb86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109547/original/image-20160128-27130-lmb86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109547/original/image-20160128-27130-lmb86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109547/original/image-20160128-27130-lmb86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Streaming to the world: Netflix launched service almost worldwide in January 2016. (Countries colored red are served by Netflix; black are not.)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NordNordWest/Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The benefits of geographical restrictions</h2>
<p>Using geographical restrictions to protect entertainment products is nothing new. DVD <a href="http://hometheater.about.com/cs/dvdlaserdisc/a/aaregioncodesa.htm">region codes</a> provide the most recognizable example. The U.S. is Region 1 for standard DVDs and Region A for Blu-ray DVDs.</p>
<p>These region codes are deployed to support releasing movies or TV programs – and later DVDs – in geographic sequences. There are at least three reasons.</p>
<p>First, actors, directors and producers cannot promote entertainment projects around the world at the same time. To ensure optimal marketing, the release of movies and TV programs may have to be staggered geographically.</p>
<p>Second, producers may select different release times to maximize viewership. For example, a movie that is released in the U.S. around Thanksgiving may perform much better at the box office if it is released around Christmas in other parts of the world.</p>
<p>Third, interest in foreign markets may grow considerably after a movie or TV program has succeeded in the local market. In the U.S., TV stations often import foreign programs after they have been well received abroad.</p>
<h2>The Internet as a paradigm shift</h2>
<p>As far as the Internet is concerned, digital piracy is the most widely discussed issue among movie studios and TV producers. To <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/nov/26/films-tvs-global-piracy">minimize</a> damage, many have begun releasing material worldwide on the same day.</p>
<p>Such simultaneous release also helps preserve viewers’ entertainment experience. Photos, spoilers and reviews will inevitably appear on websites and social media after the material has been shown anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>In addition, consumer expectations have dramatically changed in the Internet age. No longer content to patiently wait for movies and TV programs to arrive in their country, many people now expect immediate worldwide access.</p>
<p>To complicate matters, many entertainment products are now consumed online, and movies and TV programs are viewed outside the times designated by studios and producers. As a result, traditional release windows have become less significant.</p>
<h2>Netflix versus content providers</h2>
<p>In the coming weeks, movie studios and TV producers will certainly welcome Netflix’s VPN ban. In the long run, however, it is unclear how much this ban will benefit them.</p>
<p>To some extent, Netflix’s problem reminds us of the early days of Napster, when consumers were eager to listen to music online but could not find legitimate access. That a large number of Netflix subscribers are now viewing movies and TV shows before they become locally available suggests very strong <a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/01/netflixs-vpn-ban-isnt-good-for-anyone-especially-netflix/">demand</a> in foreign markets.</p>
<p>If this demand continues and Netflix can no longer meet it, consumers will look elsewhere, and may end up in places that the content providers like even less. Netflix is a legitimate company that is willing to work with these providers, but many illegal streaming services do exist.</p>
<p>Moreover, Netflix is not only a content distributor, but also a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/technology/why-media-titans-need-to-worry-about-netflix.html?_r=0">content provider</a>. By making it difficult for subscribers to view unlicensed foreign movies and TV programs, the ban will help drive consumption to the company’s own productions, such as “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black.”</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109744/original/image-20160131-3883-ytonvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109744/original/image-20160131-3883-ytonvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109744/original/image-20160131-3883-ytonvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109744/original/image-20160131-3883-ytonvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109744/original/image-20160131-3883-ytonvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109744/original/image-20160131-3883-ytonvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109744/original/image-20160131-3883-ytonvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Netflix is becoming a major content provider, with shows such as ‘House of Cards.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new policy therefore could make Netflix more competitive vis-à-vis other content providers, even though such growing strength in content production could eventually discourage these providers from streaming material via the service.</p>
<p>Finally, there are questions about whether technologically savvy subscribers will be able to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-announces-crackdown-on-vpn-and-proxy-pirates-160114/">circumvent</a> the ban, just like how they now use VPNs to provide technical work-arounds. Also worth exploring is the ban’s potential adverse impact on those subscribers who need proxies for privacy, security or other <a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/netflix-cracks-down-on-customers-using-vpns-proxies-and-unblockers/">legitimate reasons</a>.</p>
<h2>The need for global content distribution</h2>
<p>Given the mixed results of Netflix’s ban, it is time we developed new laws and initiatives to facilitate global content distribution. In the past few years, some countries and international organizations have already been moving in this promising direction.</p>
<p>For instance, the EU is now considering a new <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-6261_en.htm">regulation</a> on the cross-border portability of online content services, which will allow lawfully purchased materials to be freely accessible throughout the 28 EU countries. This proposed regulation calls into question the appropriateness of tethering copyright protection to national laws.</p>
<p>A few years ago, the director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization also <a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/2014/06/06/wipo-chief-calls-for-seamless-global-legal-digital-content-regime/">noted</a> the need for developing “a seamless global legal digital marketplace.” Although this marketplace has yet to exist, his suggestion underscores the importance of comprehensive global copyright reform.</p>
<p>Obviously, these laws and initiatives are only the beginning. Many of them will remain needed even if Netflix can successfully ban the use of proxies to view unlicensed material. After all, it is neither wise nor easy to fight with those who are eager to consume but have no legitimate access.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50833/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter K. Yu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Netflix’s recent ban on proxies, unblockers and virtual private networks (VPNs) is unlikely to provide a long-term cure to content providers’ chronic headaches.Peter K. Yu, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/435762015-07-09T10:20:14Z2015-07-09T10:20:14ZWhat is behind the magic of Sesame Street?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87542/original/image-20150706-1004-1eba2kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sesame Street isn't only a television show.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/3929959851/in/photolist-6Zh59t-9mDc4Z-ozUa3J-ozW2UV-ozEbwn-ozHToj-4Peosu-oCnYq-4G8WWv-oCoWC-9mLNp2-9mGf75-dJuo1-gSBwhj-dBELAr-6ncrW9-rC2huQ-7VFXjT-oCnKW-DLEga-tQRsWs-2LCoBr-e5Fhvq-7CszK1-oCoZA-7pWKrr-9xKXhz-69YQh7-69Jbug-d4E3aj-qbJeNX-7CsBQm-dXNF8x-dXNF4i-dXUm8j-dXUkUY-dXNEQx-4vGmwJ-bCN25z-zNBVH-d9T1nR-oCnVf-oCnY6-9ctQKS-6ifSmU-2hdC9G-2hhBk3-d3RpA-d8Wdaw-69JGQM">See-ming Lee</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What is it about the long-time favorite television show, Sesame Street, that has allowed it to influence generations of viewers? </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/sesame-street-helped-preschool-kids-1970s-perform-better-elementary-school-study-337610">recent study</a> by economists <a href="https://www.econ.umd.edu/faculty/profiles/kearney">Melissa Kearney</a> and <a href="http://www.wellesley.edu/economics/faculty/levinep">Phillip B Levine</a> concluded that children who watched Sesame Street in the 1970s fared better in school than peers who did not tune in to the iconic program. </p>
<p>The study found that children who lived in areas with greater Sesame Street coverage in 1969 were significantly more likely to be at the age-appropriate grade level. </p>
<p>This effect was particularly pronounced among boys and black, non-Hispanic children. The <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/sesame-street-helped-preschool-kids-1970s-perform-better-elementary-school-study-337610">study</a> found that the likelihood of these children being left behind was reduced by 16% for boys across race and 13.7% for black, non-Hispanic children, in areas with strong reception. </p>
<h2>Sesame Street’s magic</h2>
<p>As an educational researcher, early childhood educator, psychologist, and dedicated Sesame Street viewer during my own childhood in the 70’s, I am well acquainted with the show’s power to influence children. </p>
<p>I have spent the last 15 years working with children growing up in the context of urban poverty. Presently, I am investigating the educational experiences of preschool-aged children who are homeless. </p>
<p>These experiences inform my perspective on why Sesame Street, in particular, has had such a positive impact on young viewers.</p>
<p>What I am concerned about is the conclusion of the authors of the Sesame Street program study that “TV and electronic media more generally can be leveraged to address income and racial gaps in children’s school readiness.” </p>
<p>Perhaps. </p>
<p>But we should proceed with caution in advocating blindly for an increased emphasis on children’s television and screen time as a potential remedy for America’s persistent achievement gap. And we must understand: why is it that Sesame Street has helped children learn all these years? For this, it is important to understand what makes Sesame Street such a powerful teaching tool. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87544/original/image-20150706-978-6bwufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87544/original/image-20150706-978-6bwufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87544/original/image-20150706-978-6bwufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87544/original/image-20150706-978-6bwufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87544/original/image-20150706-978-6bwufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87544/original/image-20150706-978-6bwufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/87544/original/image-20150706-978-6bwufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screen time alone does not lead to learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rrrodrigo/5568613591/in/photolist-9u5APa-dMA9xS-4JoxEU-btyFFU-aqx9S7-fML7j4-4ywxZV-5SJV1j-dP8Aej-98ZZT-5estyE-aNi6HX-847bh6-77ZFWk-544Zow-6avSds-ekzL2J-SqPqV-a3Ly9D-myk9n5-iR3P39-5DWvBP-6vZ8uB-q19xpD-6vZ8jg-a4GtTx-5QTv4g-dsv18W-akVHgj-5XknCU-m18RD9-7TiynP-brnxC1-dyHuGb-5T5nQj-oygoY-nB9K18-4spk66-7QqzBf-7R62qn-81iLjs-8MK4qC-cQvnz3-4k715u-aVHNLc-6z44kr-4f9jgu-6yzN1v-oNqVZQ-ezBor">Marcin Bajer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>First, Sesame Street is developmentally appropriate. <a href="http://www.sesameworkshop.org/wp_install/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SS-Framework-for-School-Readiness_FINAL.pdf">Research</a> on child development informs the show and concepts are presented in a way that is appropriate for young learners. <a href="http://gaining.educ.msu.edu/resources/files/Elkind%201989.pdf">Research</a> shows when instruction is aligned with children’s capacity to understand it, they willingly engage the material and develop self-confidence. </p>
<p>Second, education trumps entertainment. On Sesame Street, children are engaged as partners in learning – they are asked to repeat, respond, and to think about what is occurring on the screen. </p>
<p>Third, Sesame Street honors children’s lives and engages them in discussions about things that matter to them, including diversity and difference. Children see people like them living and learning on Sesame Street. </p>
<p>Moreover, over the years, Sesame Street has not shied away from difficult topics such as death, homelessness, discrimination and incarceration.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yk3SxyPW6lA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Sesame Street show on incarceration.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As important is that Sesame Street helps children who have not experienced these things relate to them. This helps foster empathy for others. In short, Sesame Street relates to children and helps them feel as if they matter. </p>
<h2>Screen time is not a remedy</h2>
<p>However, increasingly, these crucial elements are being overlooked both in children’s classrooms and in media targeted at them. </p>
<p>Even though children are spending <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/15/5">many more hours</a> in front of the television than children did during the 1970s, there is much <a href="https://cepa.stanford.edu/content/widening-academic-achievement-gap-between-rich-and-poor-new-evidence-and-possible">greater disparity</a> in academic achievement and other indicators of learning.</p>
<p>The gap in standardized test scores between affluent and low-income students has grown about 40% since the 1960s and is now double the testing gap between white and black students. A <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0099478">separate study</a> found that low-income boys who spend more than 5.5 hours per day using sedentary screen media are the lowest-performing students. </p>
<p>Learning has lost its fun for children. Young children are being <a href="http://curry.virginia.edu/uploads/resourceLibrary/20_Bassok_Is_Kindergarten_The_New_First_Grade.pdf">asked</a> to master content that is beyond their appropriate developmental level. This makes <a href="http://www.unco.edu/cebs/psychology/kevinpugh/motivation_project/resources/ames92.pdf">learning frustrating</a> and leads children to feel insecure. </p>
<p>Frequently, screen time is <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/56494/">used</a> to entertain and/or manage children, shifting them into the role of passive observer. In my work as an educational researcher and clinician, I have found this is especially true for children whose behavior is viewed as challenging, who may be parked in front of a television or computer screen so that others might disengage from them. </p>
<p>Thus, children experiencing challenges in their personal lives are often not supported in developing coping skills.</p>
<p>In building on the findings of this recent study, it is important to keep in mind that Sesame Street made a difference because of its approach, not just because the television was used to deliver it. </p>
<p>Children are willing to tune into Sesame Street and pay attention because it is relevant. When learning occurs in a context that is <a href="http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/EducationalPracticesSeriesPdf/prac07e.pdf">relevant</a> to children’s lives, they pay more attention and retain more information. </p>
<p>We should proceed with caution in advocating blindly for an increased emphasis on children’s television and screen time as a potential remedy for America’s persistent achievement gap. </p>
<p>Most of all, we must understand the magic that is Sesame Street in order to replicate its impact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Travis Wright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A recent study concluded that children who watched Sesame Street in the 1970s fared better in school. Why?Travis Wright, Assistant Professor of Multicultural Education, Teacher Education, and Childhood Studies, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.