fThe McLuhan Global Village: Part I "The Frontier"
Main Living Space: [click to enlarge]
Sleeping Area: [click to enlarge]
The images above were edited utilizing Adobe Photoshop in order to bring in specific details regarding the lifestyle of a McLuhan Global Village citizen. The entire living space feature soft, naturalistic lighting provided by the sun during the day and energy efficient light bulbs as the daylight dwindles. The living area features two major technologies that are employed by citizens throughout the McLuhan Global Village. First, the web cam allows for any citizen to be connected to another person or a group anywhere around the world. Also on the table lies a compact laptop that can easily fold up for portability. The sleeping area features a prominent McLuhan portrait above the bed for a reminder of their philosophy of living. Also print media lies scattered throughout the area including books on the shelf and a stack of the local newspapers and a favorite book on the bedside table.
“Welcome to the Global Village” Lecture I by: Jen Hanson Project partner: Aaron Geiger Final Project / INFO 390 Jon Stone, University of Illinois
“The Frontier”
The McLuhan Global Village seeks to redefine interconnection of humans and electronic mass media. The waves of electronic signals translating to information reverberate through this village and make no differentiation between rural and city sectors. No longer do time and space exist as rigid dividers but rather connectivity is simultaneous. This integration of information allows for the citizens to surpass identity and openly connect with one another. Experiences are never in separation from the every day life. Instead separation exists only in physical distance, not in experience.
In the frontier, citizens live among the rural cabins that spot the landscape. For the rural cabin is a place of solace, of simplicity. Multiple accessible entrances and portals allow for ease of a natural influence on the dwelling. Here nature brings in the day and swallows the night. An instinctive, pure connection between you and the world around you is never out of reach. The organic and fluid architecture reflects the new vision as it is an expression of the never ending circle of communication. Even galaxies that are untouchable can be viewed through an extension of the human eye. To bring even the far away night sky closer allows for an intense closeness for the global village.
Minimalist living is the standard for the McLuhan Global Village. Luxurious possessions and signs of status now are gone. Instead, city-provided technology and print artifacts abound throughout the cabin ready for each citizen to be connected, even in the great countryside. An equal value is place on digital and print media. Furthermore, the intersection of the frontier and the neighborhood is only a few steps away, just as the global village intended. [Part II of Final Proposal]
Eric S. asks: What mediums have you seen reform or improve each other while remaining to stay popular in their present tenses?
Two mediums that instantly came to mind were video and the online publishing. Before, video was self-contained and transferred one viewing at a time. There was essentially no one way to broadcast the video over the internet because of bandwidth issues and quality (just to start the list). Along came YouTube. Though there were other software or online server options, YouTube was the first mass market video publishing website. This combination allowed the two mediums to improve one another because it added more accessibility to video and added more potential to publishing alternatives on the internet.
If you ever have seen the music video for "Take on Me", it's pretty creepy and weird with a comic book/sketchiness to it. They took the music video, changed the lyrics to match the video and BOOM! dynomite! Hilarious...
Our world is inundated with a global crisis that contains so many components that a solution seems far away. The plight of humans around the world is shocking and politicians and world leaders are aggressively battling over what is the exact solution. As these crises endure, a shielding effect is often present around children so as not to overwhelm them. Our project set out to slightly bring back that veil to gain a child's insight into the world around them. We particularly focused on the core topics of food shortages, war, global warming, immigration and the role of a president.
Children often resonate more clearly and fully than those of their adult counterparts when sharing their insights about a topic that has become a crisis in today's world. We both quickly found that out when we decided to interview two girls for the project. They were sisters and Aaron had a friendship with the family, so the comfort level wasn't forced in any way. Delaney is nine years old and outspoken and loves the attention of being questioned. Savannah is seven years old and is the opposite as she is very thoughtful and often in repose.
These two differing personalities gave us an opportunity to pose a question and see the different responses. Delaney is very clever and would answer with such innocent simplicity that it captured the true essence of the child's perspective. As we began editing, the title was born due to our experience with the girls. "Could it be that simple?" offers the notion of a child's innocent answers to a complex problem that has been plaguing the world for years, if not for centuries. Though our wording of the question left out the specific wording that would allude to the exact issue, it still contained the baseline structure of the crisis.
Our prewriting stage was not strict as we felt that if we went into the interview with a sketch of what we wanted to touch on that we could better respond to the children's responses. Working with children is an interesting experience as they are very honest with their thoughts but also what state they are in (tired, angry, happy, etc). However, Delaney and Savannah both were true to their unique personalities with Delaney immediately answering the questions and Savannah holding onto her thoughts or agreeing with her sister.
Writing in the medium of video was an interesting experience as we tightly linked audio with imagery in this instance. With each key word or phrase that was either spoken by Delaney or us we chose a photo or image that would best suit the context. This assisted in transmitting the message of what exact issue we were addressing in alternate wording for the children. Then as she responded, we offer up imagery to translate her simple answer into an actual solution that can be implemented.
Our hope is that our project illuminates that constant hope for a better human existence that children all embody in the face of horrible conditions and multiple crises that exist in the world today. The quaint presence of children is often not taken as a voice to be heard but rather something that needs protection. However to stop and listen to a child's perspective may perhaps make you wonder if simplicity is indeed the answer.
Ten things I've noticed that I never have before and also will never forget:
These little birds were drinking and bathing in dirty water at the construction site behind my apartment. They really stood out to me because here was a situation where the earth was being torn apart and yet they returned to do the simplest actions. I'm not sure if they realize it all.
This is my bedroom window. I always have the shades pulled down and never look out of it because my view consists of an apartment building wall. I finally pulled up the shade and snapped a photo of the window frame and it was shocking how old and grimy it looked.
My friend's garage building has an interesting composition of concrete , lacquered material and who knows what else. What I took a picture of looked to me like old brown paper slapped on concrete and then a layer of varnish over it. I tried to peel it back but it was stiff and I broke a nail in the process.
As I walked through the little garden area between the English building and Lincoln Hall, something caught the corner of my eye. I stooped down to look at the small plaque on the bottom of the lamp post. It was a memorial plaque for a sorority sister who died in 1994. I have never noticed it before and it was a solemn moment.
My friend's apartment is over in Urbana and he has a slightly woody area behind his building. I was walking behind his building and heard something meowing. This little cat blended into the bushes so well that it took me a few seconds to find him. He's not screaming in the picture, just stretching. He was so relaxed just sleeping in his little hideout.
The Armory House is about a block away from my apartment and I walked by there every morning. One morning as I walked by the benches they have set out, I noticed that one of them was chained to a tree. It stuck out as practical (probably due to past experience of people stealing them) but also extreme. The chain was rusty and cut into the tree like ropeburn.
I've had my rabbit, Mr. J for over a year and a half now and his markings seem to change every few months. As I started to take pictures of him, I noticed that he's starting to get a little brown fur on his nose. You can't really see the detail in the picture, but it amazed me that I've never seen it before.
Right by the McKinley Health Center is this really cool garden area and even a small pond, complete with fountain. As I walked home with a friend Sunday morning, he stopped and asked me if I ever saw these sculpture sticking out of the ground before. I replied no and proceed to learn that the entire setup is called a "Rain Garden" and the sculpture are intended to represent prairie fire. Very interesting.
This picture is really simple but for some reason it stood out so much to me. On the walls of the English Building, there are random spickets for water I'm assuming. It's random but I thought it was so interesting that it redefined the walls for me.
This picture is someone's office window with their plants set on the ledge. In the center is a small giraffe that ironically is twisting his neck to look back into the office, not outside. I never stop and stare at people's windows but for some reason the little giraffe made me stop and take a picture.
It's amazing how differently you look at places/things once you see something that stands out to you.
Emma writes: "Today the climate for learning in most colleges and schools is one of competition. Students compete for grades, withhold information from one another to "get ahead," to maintain their competitive advantage, and on many campuses there is widespread cheating. But our most consequential human problems will be resolved not through competition, but collaboration." How would you feel if U of I suddenly took away individual grades and instead replaced the grading system as a group grading system, so it would force everyone to work together and the group as a whole would get the same grade?
I think that all humans are able to collaborate peacefully and for a greater output. However, our historical collaboration has been in a tribal, military, and survival sense. When colleges were invented (to essentially create a steady stream of educated workers), the collaboration was divided into individual achievements. Even when we are in grade school, not too many group projects are instilled. In my high school, only the honors courses would do group projects (maybe because we were all an even playing field?). I think that if group projects were introduced into the U of I grading system, it should only be a portion of the overall grade because we have all been accepted into U of I b/c of our individual success.
1. At the beginning, the authors state: "There may be stylistic differences from one section to the next, but the book as a whole is the product of our joint efforts and interchange of ideas" Do you believe that the differences subtracted or added to the author's intention of "we"?
2. Do you find struggle or relief when working in a collaboration piece (aka group projects)?
3. The book The High Cost of Death, mentioned in the article, was coauthored but only one name appeared on the book cover to increase sales. What are your thoughts on this?
So as I lay awake in the middle of the night contemplating my life, TBS was airing a show called "Puppet Up Uncensored". It was....awesome. I don't think I've ever laughed that loud at 2am. It really cheered me up. :)
Ashley writes: Hampe writes you're supposed to edit your footage to communicate your message "honestly, directly, and forcefully - what you know about the event." Do you think its easier to manipulate your audience with editing or is it easier to be honest with what happened (even if it goes against what you wanted your original message to be)?
It would be easy to do both. Our mass media is so inclined to edit to manipulate the viewer's experience and understanding how the event happened or what he or she said. Especially with the current political race and atmosphere, editing is so predominant to play up a certain image of their ads. For example, McCain may use a portion of Obama's speech and pinpoint a certain angle (i.e. "Obama associates with Mr. X") when the whole context illustrates a different point. However, the most honesty can be illustrated through raw video, no edits. It may be overwhelming but at least it allows the viewers to pass a certain perspective, not to be *told* what to think....
Emma asks: If someone gave you all the equipment and all the help to you needed to make a documentary on the Iraq War, what would be the main focus of your documentary? And how would you execute it?
Actually, I just had to write a review for work about the new HBO documentary film Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery. The filmmakers focused on the mourning families and the rituals and strength they developed in their mourning process. Section 60 is where the killed soldiers from the Iraq war are buried and is called "the saddest acre in America". The filmmakers also veered from the political influences about the war and focused more on the aftershocks of coping with a lost one that died serving the war. In one of the screenings, a mother who had lost her son stood up after the film had been shown and cried out "Welcome to our world". That's intense.
My documentary would focus on an emotional snapshot of what someone has to endure when mourning and coping with a loved one's death. Especially after sending a son, husband, lover, brother, cousin off to a war. Having someone you love gone for months, years even, and then having them return home in a coffin? How do you transition? What emotions are involved? I would want to feel their pain and know their struggle.
Hampe says that "interviews do not a documentary make, because they don't show the topic, they show people talking about the topic". If so, why are they so prevalent on "classic" documentaries (tv, movies, etc)?
Hampe brings up that the common mistake is that people often think that the camera does it all? But doesn't quality bring in more realistic experiences? or not?
The author also mentions "docudramas" which are basically films in a misleading category. He says that they have nothing to do with true documentaries? What do you think? Marketing ploy or some truth?
Lauren writes: 2) What expectations of sound are now arising in multimodal environments and works?
Expectations of sound are now turning to a more integrated, fully involved process. More than 'surround sound' and more than 'great combination of sound effects'. The combination of all modes create a more realistic environment. Naturalistic environment is the buzz word. To have the person fully entrenched in sound, sight, textures, etc as Shipka brings up. Though technologies will never be able to mimic nature, it will be as close as a comparison as possible and a worthy experience.
1. Shipka speaks of thinking about what want to compose and then to decide what media and modalities to use. Can you think of a time when you had to do a composition but thought of a better medium?
2. Shipka also says that pedagogy (the art/science of being a teacher) "might be made stronger still by attending to the use of textures, and then scents, objects, embodied performances, and so on". What do you think?
3. The article talks about sensory modes being "broken off into brackets" but should be more integrated. Your thoughts?
This showed up in my email this a.m., sounds pretty cool!
Damian Duffy, Doctoral candidate, Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, Illinois, andJohn Jennings, Associate Professor, Graphic Design, Illinois, will give a public lecture,"The Old New Media of Comics Art: Comics and Graphic Novels in the 21st Century,"on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, 4:00 PM, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana.
What is the art form found in comic books, comic strips, graphic novels and manga? Comics scholars, curators and graphic novelists John Jennings and Damian Duffy are here to provide the answer, or at least explain the question. They will discuss the history and future of the comics medium in the contexts of new media education and museum exhibition. This presentation will be informed by their own work using graphic novels to critique racial representation in mass media, creating virtual reality comics, and curating the expansive Fall 2008 Krannert Art Museum exhibitionOut of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics.
This presentation is held in anticipation of the 2009-2010CAS Initiative on Interpreting Technoscience: Explorations in Identity, Culture and Democracy. Rayvon Fouche has been named CAS Resident Associate for this initiative.
Chika asks: 1. The sound matters reading discusses how a voice can help a reader focus on words. Does that take away from the meaning of the words and add more emphasis on sound or vice versa?
I think that voice when paired with words only adds another layer if it identically correlates with the words. It can add the dimension of emphasis and emotion that ink on paper or pixels on a screen cannot provide. However, if the voice is talking about something different than the words (i.e. movie scene where a letter is shown but the characters are talking about something else). This distracts the viewer/listener and doesn't add but substracts.
1) How much does authenticity play towards sound? 2) What are things you personally look for when designing a sound file/track? 3) Is true sound (nature, etc) ever captured accurately?
This project was originally geared towards manipulation of pictures in order to illustrate an argument. However, my thoughts turned towards representation rather than manipulation. I felt that any type of altering or overlay would not be the right way of transmitting my message. However, when the option of a photo essay (courtesy of John Berger) was brought up I knew immediately that I would choose that route. In Ways of Seeing, the essays without titles or explanations cause the readers to make up their own narrative and decide what the images mean to them. I hope that my project can formulate a narrative for the reader before they delve into my rationale.
Photographs to me have always been a raw capture of reality. Through the eyes of the photographer, you are able to see a moment in time that would have otherwise fleeted by. Other photographs are staged opportunities to convey a message. I knew I would use both of these aspects in order to illustrate my main point. Utilizing Flickr, Google Images and Creative Commons, I was able to compile enough to illustrate the two sides of my argument.
First, the United States as a current culture is obsessed over weight and finding ‘cures’. Obesity is now an epidemic and the surrounding environment is not helping. We have unlimited food supplies, unhealthy eating habits and massive addictions to chemically flavored foods. This obsession is causing people everyday to either gain weight in a staggering period of time or restrict all nutritional value and watch their bodies waste away. Though thyroid problems, TV shows, our computer culture do contribute to the problem, they are not the main cause. We have lost all touch with our inner selves. We seek things outside of us yet don’t listen to the core voice that would, for example, immediately reject unhealthy food. We have also lost any type of connection with the land and Nature at large. Our “hunting and gathering” and “farming” consist of driving our car to the massive store and stocking up our refrigerators. None of these things remind us of the origin. Our unhealthy path is destroying us because we are losing touch with what is important.
Before diet pills, exercise plans, gyms, we as a species existed in a healthy way. That way was having a harmonious relationship with everything around us. We planted seed and saw the fruit of our labor. We relied on others within our tribe to help support one another. The land was our friend. We didn’t rape it or demand anything from it. If we were good to it, we were rewarded. That sentiment (thankfully) is not entirely lost. Native tribes and cultures all over the world still live with this type of “checks and balances” installed. Granted, they are feeling suffering in different ways but “diets” and “exercise plans” are not part of their daily vocabulary. Their life depends on the land and they treat it as such.
The beginning part of the photo essay is all the images that resonate the unhealthy dietary obsession we have. I also added soft music in the background that is very dark and dreary. The images are ended with a photo of an art installation that is a statue of a man sitting in chains in a cage. It illustrates that we are confined by our unhealthy ways. Then the music changes as well as the image content. Now the photos revolve around a healthier way of living, caring for the land and for each other. None of the photos depict any overweight or unhealthy people because they are balanced with Nature. The final picture is a silhouette of someone standing on a hill looking towards the sunrise. It represents a new day and hope for our future.
In class today, a plaque in front of the W side of Henry Admin Building (facing Green St) was mentioned....and it was surrounded with a mysterious tone. What were all the dashes and circles? Were they symbols for something? A trademark?
I whipped something out in Photoshop by memory since my camera wasn't working at the time....which is in the picture to the side.
The first plaque mentions a "centennial colophon"...... The "o" and "lines" are "ones" and "zeros"....now it makes sense! It was supposed to read "100" - no matter what side you stand on. Your view has now officially changed. :)
Eric wrote: Elkins mentions how he wants to actually "see" grass for once. What do you want to make a point to see and really get to know before you kick the bucket?
I would say I want to see nature for what it is, not what I (or anyone else) make it out to be. Not only seeing by listening... By removing my deafness and blindness, I can reconnect to Life itself. Humans at one time had an intimate communication channel with life and nature and it's possible to reopen that experience. To remove all the blindfolds and filters and crap that is in the way and to simply reconnect to what we feel with what is around us.
I will say I can't really "see" this way right now. I'm constantly working and going to class but to able to take a break from it all will help assist this new way of seeing.....
1. Since mail is no longer as greatly used as it once was, do you think the postage stamp has lost its sense of cultural value?
2. After reading "How to Use Your Eyes", did you find yourself stopping and thinking about things are traditionally glossed over? If so, what?
3. Drucker brings up that if a sign isn't immediately readable, then it makes us pause and become aware of the surrounding landscape. Do you think that businesses should take advantage of this? If not, why?
Artist Jane Lund: "In her portraits, which can take as long as 18 months to complete, Jane Lund creates homages to her relatives and close friends with whose lives hers is entwined.She connects with them and imbues their physical presence with a palpable sense of personae and history.These portraits are not so much life-like as they are compelling tributes, each one leading us to study the structure of a fascinating individual."
I think this artist, who I studied for a bit while I was in art school creates a sense of nakedness or "no disguise" courtesy of Berger. These are paintings of loved ones. No sensual poses, pouted lips, arched back - just an artistic interpretation of a person via the artist. I don't know this woman for example but I can feel a strong relationship between her and the artist. I cannot force that the woman is naked for anyone else besides the artist. I cannot turn her into a nude because she is naked.
The painting is an obvious break in traditional "nude" paintings but is honorable. The woman has nothing to hide and you can gather emotion and a story just by looking at her face. It is raw and real.
Eric writes: Where else besides comic books have you seen the idea of amplification through simplification? Where could you/have you applied this to your daily life?
What instantly came into my head was living a "zen" way of life. Where focusing on one thing at a time enhances your life experience.
I think we've all been in the same boat of being exhausted at the end of the day because of stress, anxiety and the general business of the day. We don’t have time for what’s important to us, for what we really want to be doing, for spending time with loved ones, for doing things we’re passionate about.
However.... it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s possible to live a simpler life, one where you enjoy each activity, where you are present in everything (or most things) you do, where you are content rather than rushing to finish things. Through simplifying your way of life you are thus amplifying the quality of life.
1) The authors mentions that the photograph requires little cognition - it is received as pure visual input. Do you agree with this? Don't our minds still have to go through the recognition process?
2) The point is brought out that cartoons often focus our attention through simplification. Do find that a more enjoyable experience in comic book reading or do you feel a need for a higher complexity?
3) Since icons are an easier association to the idea it's abstractly representing - do you think that's why user interfaces (i.e. Mac desktop) are easier to navigate than textual-based (i.e. Windows) ones?
Introduction [Warning: the following videos are graphic.]
Elderly Hit-and-Run
Vicious Hammer Attack on Subway:
Bystander Apathy In both of the above videos, there are two commons threads: violence and those around the incident doing nothing to help. I have always been mesmerized watching when something happens and the lengths that others will go to as to not get involved. Whether walking by, turning the other way, or simple not moving they are all nonintervention due to various reasons. On the ABC show "What Would You Do?", they stage various social situations and film peoples' reactions. Afterwards, they try and interview most to see what was going through their head at the moment - the reason for their action or non action.
The common term that revolves around this social phenomena is called bystander apathy. It is usually that when others are around, that individual action is less likely to occur. It is always shocking to hear of stories where someone is seriously injured or in need of help and people walk on by. It sounds so calloused yet is evidence of how often our own culture is willingly blinded, in essence, to the violence or problems around us. This cultural unhealthiness is sickening and the media exploits it. We need to turn to education in which this cultural blinding is no longer present and instead of people labeling a situation of 'dangerous', 'not my business', etc - action to help another will become instinct.
Stencil Translation When I began to delve into this issue, a friend mentioned an image that really stuck with me. Blinders are placed onto horses to prevent them from being overwhelmed at the world around them. Their field of vision is heavily restricted. We have had blinders placed onto us through various means. The positive aspect is that these blinders are not permanent but are just tightly wrapped around our head and flipped out to the sides.
Working with this imagery, I used a middle aged man's face as the general face of the public. He has blinders placed on him with the straps hanging down. His eyes are strained as if trying to peek around the sides to witness something. The text that is placed on the right hand side reads: "remove & feel". This is written in command style in two simple actions. First, the removal of the blinders to uplift the restricted field of vision. Second, the concept of feeling what is witnessed. We should be able to see what we see and do something about it and not feel that helpless, awful feeling that is unnatural. Installation/Demographic I would choose to install this stencil in two different locations. The first would be where people quickly whisk past just to 'get through'. Examples include extreme low-income housing areas, homeless areas, drug dealing locales, etc. The second type of location would be an homage to a location where an extreme case (or any case for that matter) of bystander apathy occured. The two video examples would lead me to install them on the side of a subway and a huge chalk installation in the middle of a busy road.
I don't have a specific demographic because I feel like everyone, young and old, has fallen to this feeling of helplessness. I know that I've been in situations where my brain is frozen and my lack of action enables a huge wave of guilt in the after moments of the incident. If it speaks to someone, then my mission is accomplished. If not, then at least that person had the chance to see it.
Installation Pictures: [Edit: the following images are digital simulation]
I hope to do an actual installation soon in the Chambana community.
From Emma: A designer hopes, for example, that using a mountain in a logo for an insurance company will suggest that the company is solid and reliable but also big and likely to be around for a long time (p.124-125). What happens when these images are false representations, and suggest that a company is something far from the truth?
I think that if the company utilized those concepts (i.e. solid, big, strong) as a central basis to their identity then the reaction by the customer would increase. The strengthening of the tie could be through repetition or direct correlation....cue AllState:
Here Allstate is directly correlating this logo with their mission. Since the tie is so strong that if a customer did not have the experience of 'being in good' hands, they would have the feeling of being deceived. This would eventually lead to a decline in customer interest and false feeling of confidence in the company = decline in profit and revamp of the company's image.
Companies do this all the time. A misrepresentation of their company and/or product is not rare. Think of a TV dinner picture on the box...now open the box and rip off the plastic. There ya go. Not so 'gourmet' looking anymore? Yep. However, due to the minimal investment by the customer, there is no or minimal decline of customer interest.
1. Since historical and cultural expectations have set up certain books to be dry and transparent (academic) or bright and colorful (children's books)...do we still have to adhere to that trend? Psychology speaks to the fact that humans are more active when visually stimulated...
2. Does the genre of the physical page still translate the same in on online format? (Where the physicality is still preserved, i.e. scanned)
3. How much emotion should be involved in the design process - image, text or otherwise?
I started thinking about text and how people use text to give life, tell a story, or simply describe. Then I was thinking about manipulation (thus the composition) of the text - literally the shape of the letters, font, kerning, leading, etc....
Here are a couple of videos I was thinking about: [Kinetic Typography]
Eric brought up an question regarding Bolter and Grusin readings:
"Photography removed the artist as an agent who stood between the viewer and the reality of the image." When we view videos and pictures online, are we also removing the artist as an agent, or are we actually standing there with the artist viewing their work?
(This question stood out because I did pass through an art major through my various education routes and it brought a new perspective.)
That was touched on in the article where 'multiple representations' are brought into play (i.e. art gallery vs. online gallery). In essence, the digital/online media creation is still the artist's (assumed authentication however) but just shown in different mediums. The network economy of art still employs the idea of the artist as an agent (person capable of action) but also the online representation is an agent of manipulation. However, be it photography or online galleries it is still the artist's creation of reality. Online media is still simply a medium - something that serves as a platform for something else. Since the internet/computers cannot yet think on their own, per se, they are not yet an fully developed agent such as an artist.
Questions resulting from the Bolter & Grusin readings:
“…one ofthe most popular genres ofcomputer games isthe flight simulator (fig.1.9).The actionunfoldsinrealtime, asthe playerisrequired to monitortheinstrumentsandflytheplane.The gamepromisesto show the player "what it isliketo be"a pilot, and yet in what doesthe immediacy ofthe experience consist? Asin a realplane,the simulated cockpitisfullof dialstoreadandswitchestoflip.Asin arealplane, the experience ofthe gameisthat of working aninterface,sothat the immediacy ofthis experienceispure hypermediacy.” (“Introduction”, pg 11)
This is often presented in society as gaining a ‘real-life’ experience but if the experience is based on hypermediacy, isn’t it just a false front based on imitation?
Should we continue to invest time (not to mention money) in this abstract system for students and society as whole to gain ‘experience’? Are we heavily relying too much on this advancing technology?
***********************
Bolter and Grusin set up a great outline of remediation in (“Immediacy”, pg 44). This desire of continuous technological development is relentless (or so we’re always told) so the purpose of remediation is to have more media technologies build upon, take from or completely absorb preceding media constructs.
Since forces outside of our own lives (corporations, technology gurus, etc.) are the ones advancing these new media technologies – how do we personally assess that they are a better alternative to the prior?
Also, as Bolter and Grusin point out, it presents a problem to the consumer of“ multiple representations” (44). How should society (besides technology and the mass media telling us) sort out these multiple representations?
***********************
“New digital media oscillate between immediacy and hypermediacy, between transparency and opacity.This oscillation is the key to understanding how a medium refashions its predecessors and other contemporary media.Although each medium promises to reform its predecessors by offering a more immediate or authentic experience, the promise of reform inevitably leads us to become aware of the new medium as a medium. Thus, immediacy leads to hypermediacy.” (“Introduction”, pg 1)
If true medium transparency is the goal to gain this authentic experience, isn’t the visceral/physical realm of the human experience with a medium always going to be present – thus an ‘obstacle’? or not?
My name is Jen Hanson (aka ‘jhanson’) and I hate writing my bio. :)
I guess I’ll start off with the general overview. I’m going into my 5th year at U of I as a Human Communication Science major (after changing my major almost 6 times). I’ll graduate in May so hopefully that will be the end of that. I was born in Davenport, IA but have lived all over IL my whole life. I’m the oldest, with a younger brother and sister. However, I’ve lived in Champaign for the past four years, so it’s become my new hometown. Right now, I’m living in an apartment with Mr. J – my rabbit.
While here, I’ve become a workaholic trying to pay for my own schooling. At one time, I’ve had 3 jobs but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I work hard but I wouldn’t have gotten where I am if I had slacked off at any point in time. Besides making money, I like to find weird music and read environmental books. Also I like shopping vintage, laughing, sitting around with my friends, finding the perfect bumper sticker on Facebook and spending as little of my money as possible. I also love technology but not what some of it’s doing to the environment. I would say I’m a pseudo tech geek because I love new gadgets but if I had to explain how they worked, I would be clueless.
I also love writing but not under demand or pressure, so hopefully this blog will be as natural as possible and not forced by me in any way. When I have my blog up, I will usually have massive numbers of other tabs open: Facebook, Google News, Perez Hilton and my email (of course)!
