Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Journal #10: Typographic Wallpaper
For my last journal entry, I decided to use the tutorial for typographic wallpaper. The link is http://www.tutorial9.net/photoshop/creating-a-typographic-wallpaper/. I found it a little difficult to get mine to look exactly like the tutorials did. I added my own words and used the number 5 instead of 9 because 5 if my favorite number. Since 5 is my favorite number, I wrote words that described me or things that I enjoy. I used a gradient overlay on the words and the blur stroke to give it a little more detail and emphasis.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
journal entry #9: text effects
Using the text effect tutorial, I created effects to my name and the word fashion. For the "fashion" text I used Gradient Overlay, Bevel and Emboss, Contour, Inner Shadow, Inner Glow, and Overlay. This is supposed to give a "plastic effect". For the "Courtney" text I used Gradient Overlay. 
Monday, May 4, 2009
Journal Entry #8: Pick the Perp
The Pick the Perp website is amusing, addicting, and plain old strange. When I first clicked on the link I did not expect the site to be what it was. It relates to the Scientific Looking, Looking at Science chapter because the chapter mentioned mugshots and fingerprints to find criminals. Photography was used to remember things that happened in the past. A photograph of a criminal, or a mugshot, helps police to track down the case at hand. This website provided mugshots of five different criminals, and what they were charged with. You have to pick which person you think is most suspectful of committing that crime. At first, I got the first three correct, but then I continued choosing and got a lot wrong. It's really tricky to match a headshot with a crime. You usually think of women dealing with credit card theft or big muscular men with possession of drugs or grand theft auto, but through this website you realize that it doesn't matter what the people look like because anyone is capable of doing any crime. This is why fingerprinting is the best tactic to use when trying to solve a crime mystery. I would not be a very good detective because through stereotyping the looks of the people on the website, I thought they would do that act but really, someone I least expected was the real culprit.
Although this website is somewhat humorous and strange, there are some positive things about it. It can help people realize that sometimes, the people who you least expect to commit a type of crime, really can be the person who does. The dirtiest, most sluggish person might look like they would be a burglar when they really aren't. This website could also help detectives and police decide who committed what crime. The negative aspect of this website is that it is very stereotypical. I really want to know if each and every picture is of an actual criminal or if some are normal, innocent people. When looking through the pictures, you automatically pick out the people who would most likely commit a crime, usually a black or old man. You don't typically think of women doing these things but a lot of the times they are the suspects. This website might anger a lot of people. I found it to be very interesting and addicting because it makes you want to keep guessing more.
Although this website is somewhat humorous and strange, there are some positive things about it. It can help people realize that sometimes, the people who you least expect to commit a type of crime, really can be the person who does. The dirtiest, most sluggish person might look like they would be a burglar when they really aren't. This website could also help detectives and police decide who committed what crime. The negative aspect of this website is that it is very stereotypical. I really want to know if each and every picture is of an actual criminal or if some are normal, innocent people. When looking through the pictures, you automatically pick out the people who would most likely commit a crime, usually a black or old man. You don't typically think of women doing these things but a lot of the times they are the suspects. This website might anger a lot of people. I found it to be very interesting and addicting because it makes you want to keep guessing more.
Journal Entry #7: Media is Corrupt
As my housemates and I were watching a news story on the swine flu in our living room the other day, one of them suddenly said, "the media is making the swine flu into such a big deal to scare everyone, when it probably isn't even that bad. The media corrupts people and turns everything into something negative." This is so true. You never hear about anything positive or good news on TV. News reports are, for the most part, very negative. You turn the news on and hear about how deadly the swine flu is (when it has barely killed anyone in the U.S. yet) or a stabbing in some inner city neighborhood. Or, you open up the newspaper and read about a potential terrorist attack or how poorly the economy is doing. Then, as you continue flipping through the pages of the newspaper, you will eventually get to the positive stories, but the article is most likely very short. The media loves to turn everything into a bigger deal than it really is, in order to draw in viewers. This makes perfect sense, because everyone loves to hear about the newest gossip on the street.
Although we are exposed to different types of media each day and don't think twice about it; today's society really has become corrupt due to media. Think of celebrity gossip sites; the media loves to poke fun at celebs and find every possible negative thing they can about them. Miley Cyrus, for example, is an innocent sixteen year old actress who gets put down by the media no matter what she does. The media doesn't let her breathe on her own...they will probably find something wrong with that also. And then there are the celebrity couples. Celebs can never keep a relationship or a breakup secret because once the media gets word of something they will let everyone know...and usually make it negative.
The one thing that really bothers me about this issue is how it portrays America as being so negative. It is depressing when every news story you read or hear about is something devastating. It's time for the media to start focusing on the positive news stories because the way our economy is going right now, Americans need some cheering up in their day to day lives.
Although we are exposed to different types of media each day and don't think twice about it; today's society really has become corrupt due to media. Think of celebrity gossip sites; the media loves to poke fun at celebs and find every possible negative thing they can about them. Miley Cyrus, for example, is an innocent sixteen year old actress who gets put down by the media no matter what she does. The media doesn't let her breathe on her own...they will probably find something wrong with that also. And then there are the celebrity couples. Celebs can never keep a relationship or a breakup secret because once the media gets word of something they will let everyone know...and usually make it negative.
The one thing that really bothers me about this issue is how it portrays America as being so negative. It is depressing when every news story you read or hear about is something devastating. It's time for the media to start focusing on the positive news stories because the way our economy is going right now, Americans need some cheering up in their day to day lives.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Chapter 9 Scientific Looking, Looking at Science
Chapter 9 focuses on the relationship between culture, science and media. Scientific images are dependent on cultural context and interpret images from popular culture, art and the news. Scientific knowledge depends on social, political, and cultural meanings and is a practiced and highly rewarded issue. The rise of technologies such as X rays, CAT, and PET scanning, ultrasounds, and MRIs throughout the 20th century lead us to believe that there was a worldwide shift toward the visual means of representing knowledge and evidence in the growth of science and imagery. The motif "seeing the unseen" was introduced along with digital imaging and rendering.
The Renaissance is described as a period during which art and science were seen as parallel. The rise of anatomy was integral Renaissance art, especially throughout the work of Leonardo da Vinci. da Vinci performed more than thirty dissections throughout his life, and used scientific methods to overlap into his artwork. His most famous image of human is Vitruvian Man, which represents the proportions of man based on geometry. It has come to symbolize the practices of medicine and health and is related to the laws of mathematics and the structure of nature. Another famous painting of anatomy is Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. The main point of the painting is the gaze of the onlookers and pleasures and fascinations of the dead man. The fascination of the dead body became a central feature of the visual aspect of modernity. The Paris morgue became the site of spectacular displays where dead bodies, mostly children who had drowned in the Seine River, and women, were put on display. Thousands of Parisians would come to look at these bodies every day. This seems very strange and gruesome to me.
The desire to look into and upon the body also emerged with the practice of surgery in the late nineteenth century. With the development of photography and technologies to see into the body, the relationship of images to science became one of providing evidence of the body's interior. This began with the introduction of the X ray in 1895. The Visible Human Project is a venture funded by the U.S. government and involves taking two bodies, the Visible Man and Visible Female, and creating digital images of them slice by slice. The final images were placed on display through digital photography. Body Worlds is another example of an exhibition of actual dead bodies that have undergone a preservative process called plastination and are put on display in various poses. The exhibit displays gender stereotypes, with males in active scenes and women in pregnant states.
The photograph has played an important role in cataloguing the body. Mechanical and electronic image-producing systems (photography, motion picture film, television, computer graphics) bear the legacy of positivism. This is a true and valid knowledge about the world derived from scientific methods. The camera is a useful tool for mechanically observing, measuring, and studying the real world in a manner that can check, balance or correct the errors introduced by human perception. The camera is a device for capturing reality. By freezing in time events that are so fleeting that they would be missed by the unaided eye, magnifying small objects, or drawing outside objects closer with zooming in, the camera evokes a sense of wonder and makes things that are difficult to be seen, visible. It is an instrument to which the unseen, invisible aspects of the world are seen. Photographs were also useful in identifying offenders and criminals. Through fingerprinting and DNA profiling, photographs acted as a way to reveal a true identity.
X-rays are also wonderous tools because they provide views of a previously unseen dimension of the body in its living state. However, they are seen as fearful because of the skeleton's association with death. Craniology is the science of skull measurement and tactile and visual analysis for comparing skulls to different races. Physiognomy interprets the outward appearance and configuration of the body and face. This science claimed that the eyelashes of men signify pride and audacity. Crainology, phrenology and other sciences were related to the science of eugenics, which was devoted to the practice of studying and controlling human reproduction in order to improve the human race. Eugenics was founded by Sir Francis Galton and is guided by the belief that certain types and races should not breed in order to eliminate their traits from mankind. Nazism in Germany is an example of this because they used genocide, the killing off of an ethnic group of people. The x-ray image is produced by exposing the body to radiation and allowing the waves that pass through the body to register on a photographic plate or screen. This provides a clear depiction of the skelaton and bone densities. Sonography is the process of imaging the internal structures of an object by measuring and recording the reflection of high frequency sound waves that are passed through it. It was introduced in the early 1960s. Ultrasound allows doctors to discern softer structures and not damage tissues. It is like a window into the body through which we see the unknown (such as a baby in a women's stomach). Sonography is paradoxial because it is a sound system that does not involve hearing or the production of noise. The car company, Volvo, used an ad in 1990 to portray their car as being safe. The ad is of a sonogram of a baby and the caption reads, "Is something inside telling you to buy a volvo?" This is a great advertisement because it portrays a fetus and is targeting families with children that volvos are safe vehicles. The image of the fetus acquires meaning beyond its literal meaning in screening and diagnosis.
The Human Genome Project is a global scientific endeavour which aims to create a complete genetic map of the human genome. It is about identifying genes linked to disease, behavior, physical appearance, and many other conditions and factors. It is called a new era of medical science, known as the "age of the genome". Back to the Renaissance, genetics have revealed narratives about reproduction, replication and art and science. Andy Warhol, one of my favorite artists, has a famous artwork called Thirty Are Better Than One. This painting is composed of numerous copies of the Mona Lisa. Here, Du Pont DNA labeling kit, The Renaissance replicates Warhol who replicates da Vinci who replicates the Mona Lisa herself. DNA and genetics are all about replication, and this is seen in artwork and media also. A genetic argument could be used to claim that criminals commit crime because they are genetically known to do so, therefore, we do not waste money trying to help them improve and stop their actions. Mice are used in testing for DNA. Since mice have almost the same set of genes as humans, they are used extensively in gene research. OncoMouse is the first patented animal, developed in 1990 by Harvard Medical School and licensed to Du Pont. OncoMouse is a transgenic mouse whose genetic makeup is used for studying cancer.
The Digital Body was the section of this chapter that I found most interesting. Time Magazine presented a computer generated composite of a women who consisted of all different kinds of races on the front cover of their magazine. The young woman had dark hair and eyes with a medium skin tone. She was crated completely by the computer from a mix of races; 15% Anglo-Saxon, 17.5% Middle Eastern, 17.5% African, 7.5% Asian, 35% Southern European, and 7.5% Hispanic. I feel like this is a very intelligent way to portray the different races and genetics in today's world. This woman was very beautiful and it shows that racial differences really can make a person pretty and not ugly or inhumane. Same goes for the "Elephant Man", who had a disease known as Proteus syndrome where he had extreme facial and bodily malformations. I know a girl from high school who had "Elephantitis" and its an extremely heartbreaking disease. These people cannot help that their genes allowed them to look like this huge, strange creature. Another interesting part of this section I liked was the ability to make images "age". When you make an image "age" you create a virtual rendering of the person as they would be predicted to look like many years after the photograph was taken. This helps in the search for missing people and criminals. I feel like this is a very smart technique in order to find missing people, especially those who have been missing for many years.
Through advertising, consumer-patients have come to receive information about medications. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads speak directly to the consumer, even though they can only purchase the drug with a prescription. The ads have a positive effect in motivating patients to be active in their health care decisions. They make drugs seem better than they actually are. The ads usually show people with smiling faces, and who seem carefree and happy and never really discuss the potential side effects the drug can have. DTC ads do not show images of people taking the drugs or receiving treatment, but rather show people content and feeling happy about themselves. DTC ads are not just about selling the drug or product, but about selling science, medicine and their institutions as essential aspects of everyday existence, not just as places we would go to to help during periods of sickness.
In conclusion of this chapter, the visual culture of science makes clear that science, art, culture and politics are all intertwined with one another. This chapter was very interesting and logical. I never thought of x-rays and ultrasounds as media, because they are technically photographs. I never would have thought sciences and medical treatments would have such a big impact on media today.
The Renaissance is described as a period during which art and science were seen as parallel. The rise of anatomy was integral Renaissance art, especially throughout the work of Leonardo da Vinci. da Vinci performed more than thirty dissections throughout his life, and used scientific methods to overlap into his artwork. His most famous image of human is Vitruvian Man, which represents the proportions of man based on geometry. It has come to symbolize the practices of medicine and health and is related to the laws of mathematics and the structure of nature. Another famous painting of anatomy is Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. The main point of the painting is the gaze of the onlookers and pleasures and fascinations of the dead man. The fascination of the dead body became a central feature of the visual aspect of modernity. The Paris morgue became the site of spectacular displays where dead bodies, mostly children who had drowned in the Seine River, and women, were put on display. Thousands of Parisians would come to look at these bodies every day. This seems very strange and gruesome to me.
The desire to look into and upon the body also emerged with the practice of surgery in the late nineteenth century. With the development of photography and technologies to see into the body, the relationship of images to science became one of providing evidence of the body's interior. This began with the introduction of the X ray in 1895. The Visible Human Project is a venture funded by the U.S. government and involves taking two bodies, the Visible Man and Visible Female, and creating digital images of them slice by slice. The final images were placed on display through digital photography. Body Worlds is another example of an exhibition of actual dead bodies that have undergone a preservative process called plastination and are put on display in various poses. The exhibit displays gender stereotypes, with males in active scenes and women in pregnant states.
The photograph has played an important role in cataloguing the body. Mechanical and electronic image-producing systems (photography, motion picture film, television, computer graphics) bear the legacy of positivism. This is a true and valid knowledge about the world derived from scientific methods. The camera is a useful tool for mechanically observing, measuring, and studying the real world in a manner that can check, balance or correct the errors introduced by human perception. The camera is a device for capturing reality. By freezing in time events that are so fleeting that they would be missed by the unaided eye, magnifying small objects, or drawing outside objects closer with zooming in, the camera evokes a sense of wonder and makes things that are difficult to be seen, visible. It is an instrument to which the unseen, invisible aspects of the world are seen. Photographs were also useful in identifying offenders and criminals. Through fingerprinting and DNA profiling, photographs acted as a way to reveal a true identity.
X-rays are also wonderous tools because they provide views of a previously unseen dimension of the body in its living state. However, they are seen as fearful because of the skeleton's association with death. Craniology is the science of skull measurement and tactile and visual analysis for comparing skulls to different races. Physiognomy interprets the outward appearance and configuration of the body and face. This science claimed that the eyelashes of men signify pride and audacity. Crainology, phrenology and other sciences were related to the science of eugenics, which was devoted to the practice of studying and controlling human reproduction in order to improve the human race. Eugenics was founded by Sir Francis Galton and is guided by the belief that certain types and races should not breed in order to eliminate their traits from mankind. Nazism in Germany is an example of this because they used genocide, the killing off of an ethnic group of people. The x-ray image is produced by exposing the body to radiation and allowing the waves that pass through the body to register on a photographic plate or screen. This provides a clear depiction of the skelaton and bone densities. Sonography is the process of imaging the internal structures of an object by measuring and recording the reflection of high frequency sound waves that are passed through it. It was introduced in the early 1960s. Ultrasound allows doctors to discern softer structures and not damage tissues. It is like a window into the body through which we see the unknown (such as a baby in a women's stomach). Sonography is paradoxial because it is a sound system that does not involve hearing or the production of noise. The car company, Volvo, used an ad in 1990 to portray their car as being safe. The ad is of a sonogram of a baby and the caption reads, "Is something inside telling you to buy a volvo?" This is a great advertisement because it portrays a fetus and is targeting families with children that volvos are safe vehicles. The image of the fetus acquires meaning beyond its literal meaning in screening and diagnosis.
The Human Genome Project is a global scientific endeavour which aims to create a complete genetic map of the human genome. It is about identifying genes linked to disease, behavior, physical appearance, and many other conditions and factors. It is called a new era of medical science, known as the "age of the genome". Back to the Renaissance, genetics have revealed narratives about reproduction, replication and art and science. Andy Warhol, one of my favorite artists, has a famous artwork called Thirty Are Better Than One. This painting is composed of numerous copies of the Mona Lisa. Here, Du Pont DNA labeling kit, The Renaissance replicates Warhol who replicates da Vinci who replicates the Mona Lisa herself. DNA and genetics are all about replication, and this is seen in artwork and media also. A genetic argument could be used to claim that criminals commit crime because they are genetically known to do so, therefore, we do not waste money trying to help them improve and stop their actions. Mice are used in testing for DNA. Since mice have almost the same set of genes as humans, they are used extensively in gene research. OncoMouse is the first patented animal, developed in 1990 by Harvard Medical School and licensed to Du Pont. OncoMouse is a transgenic mouse whose genetic makeup is used for studying cancer.
The Digital Body was the section of this chapter that I found most interesting. Time Magazine presented a computer generated composite of a women who consisted of all different kinds of races on the front cover of their magazine. The young woman had dark hair and eyes with a medium skin tone. She was crated completely by the computer from a mix of races; 15% Anglo-Saxon, 17.5% Middle Eastern, 17.5% African, 7.5% Asian, 35% Southern European, and 7.5% Hispanic. I feel like this is a very intelligent way to portray the different races and genetics in today's world. This woman was very beautiful and it shows that racial differences really can make a person pretty and not ugly or inhumane. Same goes for the "Elephant Man", who had a disease known as Proteus syndrome where he had extreme facial and bodily malformations. I know a girl from high school who had "Elephantitis" and its an extremely heartbreaking disease. These people cannot help that their genes allowed them to look like this huge, strange creature. Another interesting part of this section I liked was the ability to make images "age". When you make an image "age" you create a virtual rendering of the person as they would be predicted to look like many years after the photograph was taken. This helps in the search for missing people and criminals. I feel like this is a very smart technique in order to find missing people, especially those who have been missing for many years.
Through advertising, consumer-patients have come to receive information about medications. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads speak directly to the consumer, even though they can only purchase the drug with a prescription. The ads have a positive effect in motivating patients to be active in their health care decisions. They make drugs seem better than they actually are. The ads usually show people with smiling faces, and who seem carefree and happy and never really discuss the potential side effects the drug can have. DTC ads do not show images of people taking the drugs or receiving treatment, but rather show people content and feeling happy about themselves. DTC ads are not just about selling the drug or product, but about selling science, medicine and their institutions as essential aspects of everyday existence, not just as places we would go to to help during periods of sickness.
In conclusion of this chapter, the visual culture of science makes clear that science, art, culture and politics are all intertwined with one another. This chapter was very interesting and logical. I never thought of x-rays and ultrasounds as media, because they are technically photographs. I never would have thought sciences and medical treatments would have such a big impact on media today.
Journal Entry #6
What is this generation coming to? I was at community service on Wednesday at the Harriet Tubman Center in Poughkeepsie. Here, I help children in grades k-5 with their homework after school for two hours every Wednesday. The children live in the Tubman Projects and the majority are from low income households with parents who don't really care about their school work or behaviors. It is great to go there and help out because I know that I am making a huge difference in their lives. However, it amazes me the knowledge these young kids have about media. Some of the fifth grade girls I work with were talking about all the different cell phones they've had and all the different kinds out there, such as the LG Dare, Voyager, or Glide. As they were making picture collages that reflect themselves, the kids were cutting out pictures of Blackberries, Ipods, cell phones, and digitial cameras from magazines. When I was in fifth grade, I was just starting to talk to friends on AIM and only had an email address. I didn't own a digital camera; I used those throw away Kodak cameras, along with all of my friends. We were all well off, but when we were that age, media didn't consume our lives. It shocked me when a second grade boy was talking to me about his MySpace. It's unreal how a second grader has a MySpace... I never even had one! I go on to ask him, "you really have a Myspace!? Do your parents know about this, or do you share it with them?" He replies, "I share it with my younger sister." The fact that a second grader and his younger sister share a MySpace just blows my mind. The things that are portrayed on MySpace such as the graphics and layouts, are not something for such young children to be seeing. It's crazy how generations have changed so drastically, because when we were in second grade, we could barely use a computer. It's also amazing how children are the owners of Ipods and cell phones these days. I know from personal experience, that my family got my little cousins who are in kindergarden and second grade, each their own Ipod's for their birthdays. We also got my grandpa who just turned 70 an Ipod. Years ago, it would have been unreal to see elderly or young children with such hip and updated technologies, but today it is almost unreal to not see them with these devices. Media has a huge impact on today's generations and is quickly taking over.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Chapter 8 Postmodernism, Indie Media, and Popular Culture
Chapter 8, Postmodernism, Indie Media, and Popular Culture focuses on modern and postmodern society, identity and styles. The author explains that we do not live in a postmodern world, but rather we live in a world in which aspects of postermodernity are in constant tension with aspects of modernity and premodern existence. The world is both preindustrial and postindustrial. French philosopher Jean Baudrillard explains the late twentieth century as a period where images became more real than the real, creating a hyperreality. Images fascinate us because we get caught up in the judgement of reality. Images are the disappearance of meaning and representation. The Western culture was epitomized by the dull flickering of computer and television screens, with virtual media images and technology taking over. This chapter focuses on the underlying meaning of postmodernism and how it translates styles into art, popular media and advertising.
The term postmodern describes the postwar cultural logic of late capitalism, according to Fredric Jameson. Postwar globalization is the emergence of new information technologies, new forms of production and the breakdown of the traditional nation-state. It is linked to the late stages of capitalism. Postmodernism intersects with late modernity, a period where scientific and technological advancement were invoked. The 2000s are characterized as a decade of neoliberalism--a means of promoting economic growth and democratic freedom. This period relates to the Enlightenment period of personal rights and civil liberties. According to the text, postmodernism is described as a questioning of master narratives. A master narrative is a framework that purports to explain society, if not the world, in comprehensive terms. Examples are religion, science, Marxism, psychoanalysis, Enlightenment myths and other theories.
Style is important in defining postmodernism characteristics, such as fashion and politics. Through media images and text, these style elements are revealed and critiqued. Postmodernism heavily relies on politically or aesthetically pleasing images, and messages hidden beneath the glitzy surface of images. Postmodernism emphasizes irony and a sense of one's involvement in a popular culture, in opposition to mass culture. According to postmodern theorist Santiage Colas, "we may attempt to forget or ignore mass culture, but it will neither forget or ignore us." One of the primary aspects of postmodernism is its recognition of consumption, branding, image, media and the "popular". Due to the emergence of the web and digital technology, we can remake culture and achieve new kinds of consumer practices by integrating new concepts of identity. The world we are living in now is like a remix culture, because everything can be remade into something else. Just think about all the songs that have been made into remixes, or the fashions that have become popular from decades ago.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, studio animated films changed dramatically. Shows began to incorporate parody and adult-level humor into their style, so that both parents and children could view the show together. Shows such as Sesame Street, Transformers and Japanese's Astro Boy, awere some examples of shows who used parody. TV shows began to take characters and brought them to life as toys in order to be played with at home. After World War II and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, comic books and anime (animated films) addressed issues of politics, history and culture to children and adults, through drama, comedy, romance, pornography or violence. Postwar, animation and cartoons served a role to be represented and to speak indirectly through media consumption and exchange. The characters unnatural hair color and amazing abilities were expressed as moving away from reality, in which tragedy and disaster took place. In the mid 1990s, Pixar produced computer graphic imagery in their films, using techniques and styles of computer animation that were aimed at adults as well as children. Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Shrek are some well known examples of films that both adults and children could watch, find humorous and enjoy. Shrek is layered with references from fairy tales and is filled with jokes about representation. The scene when the princess does martial arts moves to fight off robbers is an example of intertextual meaning, in which the reference to The Matrix is seen as a joke in Shrek. Intertextuality is a term derived from literature which means the insertion of part of one text, with its meanings, into another text. The use of celebrities in ads throughout the 20th century to sell products is another example of intertexuality.
Reflexivity is where the text refers to its own means of production and undermines the illusion or fantasy aspects of the narrative. Postmodern artists produce works in which reflexivity examine their own position in relation to the artwork. Cindy Sherman is a good example of this approach because she would paint photographs where she was her own model. However, she is always disguised or playing another role in the photographs. This is a way of using irony in her artwork. Irony refers to a contradiction between the literal meaning of something and its intended meaning. The idea that we perform our identities rather than the idea that they are fixed within us is another key aspect of postmodernism. The surface of a piece of artwork is not the illusion put over the real, like makeup hiding a blemish, but is the crucial meaningful element. We can no longer look deep to find the true meaning, because we will not find the hidden truth.
The emergence of music videos and visual performances became a large part of the pop music culture with the introduction of MTV. Madonna was seen as the postmodern pop figure of the 1980s and early 1990s, along with Michael Jackson. In postmodernism, the body can be easily transformed, as Michael Jackson is a good example of this. He changed his skin color and the look of his face through cosmetic surgeries. Today, one can change one's gender through crossdressing or surgery, one's race by changing skin colors, or appearance through surgery, liposuction or working out. Today, if you are not satisfied with the way you look, you can easily change it, although it is costly. It's amazing how many people have performed surgery on their bodies in order to look better. No one is ever satisfied with the way they look and with today's improved technologies, people can completely transform their image. The body can now be sculpted into new shapes and forms.
The world of images today consists of a huge variety of remakes, copies, parodies, remixes and replicas. The term pastiche refers to an imitation that announces itself as such and involved combining elements from other sources. But today, do people really care about which is the real or original and which is the remake? With today's technologies, replicas can be made almost exactly. The horror film Scream is a parody of the genre of horror films. When I was a young girl and watched Scream, I thought it was very scary. But now that I am older and have watched it, I can see the humor throughout the entire movie. The mask itself isn't even that scary; it almost looks like a grin on the scary face. The way that the characters continue to answer the phone and talk to this stranger is humorous, along with the ways in which he kills people. The Simpsons also remakes old films using parody. One episode they reenacted Psycho, where Homer's eye lies on the floor of the bathroom. This incorporates humor within the audience.
Indie films are movies produced outside the Hollywood studio system, known as Bollywood. Once the Hollywood studios gained control of the movie industry in the 1930s, it made it difficult for producers to get their films shown in popular chain movie theaters. Independents are smaller film companies that were shown in cinema houses in urban areas. U.S. film became more creative due to foreign films being shown. In the 1980s and 1990s, popular music also began to change. The only way artists would be able to make it was if a producer took over them. You could find a CD in a music store such as Wal Mart or Target, whereas the CD may not have the same recognition on iTunes or in a smaller school. Bands create their own CD titles or album covers for niche markets and to make themselves different from other artists. Bands work within the industry to find a new route to achieve publicity and a broad fan base--mostly to get their name and music out there and be known.
The rise of urbanization and communication technologies create a distinction between space and time. Modern space separated time and space through the railroad and the rise in digital technologies, virtual experiences and wireless technology. The concept of the "nonplace" demands a space with less people. Space is referred to as sites of distraction such as the airport or cafes, whereas nonplaces are sites which are disconnected and solitare. This ties into the theory of postmodern architecture and how it emerged when modern achitecture collasped. In modernism, style progresses forward from hte last by introducing a better design. In postmodernism, styles are mixed with no sense that they ar emoving toward something better. Postmodern buildings may have no functions. An arch may have no function and only serve as decoration. A passage may lead no where or a column may just stand there to hold something up. There is a joke about architecture's functional role. The Beaubourg building in Paris is designed to look like it is inside out. After reading this, I didn't realize thats what the intent of the building was. I am excited because I am going to Paris this summer and will get to see this building and it's unique architecture. Architect Teddy Cruz also emphasized the importantance of low income buildings owned by the homeless or migrant workers. This includes shantytowns, or cardboard houses under bridges or on the street. This crafts a new kind of living with everyday materials.
In conclusion, this chapter focuses on the many different views of postmodernism and modernism and how they have changed over the years. We do not live in a world of postmodernism but rather a world in which the tensions of modernity and postmodernity are active and present. Our world consists of many different populations living in life situations that are affecting them; such as poverty. Due to technological advances and other forms of media, the world we live in today is changing. It is difficult to determine what exactly postmodernism is, whether it be a style, a time period, or a set of ideologies and politics.
The term postmodern describes the postwar cultural logic of late capitalism, according to Fredric Jameson. Postwar globalization is the emergence of new information technologies, new forms of production and the breakdown of the traditional nation-state. It is linked to the late stages of capitalism. Postmodernism intersects with late modernity, a period where scientific and technological advancement were invoked. The 2000s are characterized as a decade of neoliberalism--a means of promoting economic growth and democratic freedom. This period relates to the Enlightenment period of personal rights and civil liberties. According to the text, postmodernism is described as a questioning of master narratives. A master narrative is a framework that purports to explain society, if not the world, in comprehensive terms. Examples are religion, science, Marxism, psychoanalysis, Enlightenment myths and other theories.
Style is important in defining postmodernism characteristics, such as fashion and politics. Through media images and text, these style elements are revealed and critiqued. Postmodernism heavily relies on politically or aesthetically pleasing images, and messages hidden beneath the glitzy surface of images. Postmodernism emphasizes irony and a sense of one's involvement in a popular culture, in opposition to mass culture. According to postmodern theorist Santiage Colas, "we may attempt to forget or ignore mass culture, but it will neither forget or ignore us." One of the primary aspects of postmodernism is its recognition of consumption, branding, image, media and the "popular". Due to the emergence of the web and digital technology, we can remake culture and achieve new kinds of consumer practices by integrating new concepts of identity. The world we are living in now is like a remix culture, because everything can be remade into something else. Just think about all the songs that have been made into remixes, or the fashions that have become popular from decades ago.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, studio animated films changed dramatically. Shows began to incorporate parody and adult-level humor into their style, so that both parents and children could view the show together. Shows such as Sesame Street, Transformers and Japanese's Astro Boy, awere some examples of shows who used parody. TV shows began to take characters and brought them to life as toys in order to be played with at home. After World War II and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, comic books and anime (animated films) addressed issues of politics, history and culture to children and adults, through drama, comedy, romance, pornography or violence. Postwar, animation and cartoons served a role to be represented and to speak indirectly through media consumption and exchange. The characters unnatural hair color and amazing abilities were expressed as moving away from reality, in which tragedy and disaster took place. In the mid 1990s, Pixar produced computer graphic imagery in their films, using techniques and styles of computer animation that were aimed at adults as well as children. Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Shrek are some well known examples of films that both adults and children could watch, find humorous and enjoy. Shrek is layered with references from fairy tales and is filled with jokes about representation. The scene when the princess does martial arts moves to fight off robbers is an example of intertextual meaning, in which the reference to The Matrix is seen as a joke in Shrek. Intertextuality is a term derived from literature which means the insertion of part of one text, with its meanings, into another text. The use of celebrities in ads throughout the 20th century to sell products is another example of intertexuality.
Reflexivity is where the text refers to its own means of production and undermines the illusion or fantasy aspects of the narrative. Postmodern artists produce works in which reflexivity examine their own position in relation to the artwork. Cindy Sherman is a good example of this approach because she would paint photographs where she was her own model. However, she is always disguised or playing another role in the photographs. This is a way of using irony in her artwork. Irony refers to a contradiction between the literal meaning of something and its intended meaning. The idea that we perform our identities rather than the idea that they are fixed within us is another key aspect of postmodernism. The surface of a piece of artwork is not the illusion put over the real, like makeup hiding a blemish, but is the crucial meaningful element. We can no longer look deep to find the true meaning, because we will not find the hidden truth.
The emergence of music videos and visual performances became a large part of the pop music culture with the introduction of MTV. Madonna was seen as the postmodern pop figure of the 1980s and early 1990s, along with Michael Jackson. In postmodernism, the body can be easily transformed, as Michael Jackson is a good example of this. He changed his skin color and the look of his face through cosmetic surgeries. Today, one can change one's gender through crossdressing or surgery, one's race by changing skin colors, or appearance through surgery, liposuction or working out. Today, if you are not satisfied with the way you look, you can easily change it, although it is costly. It's amazing how many people have performed surgery on their bodies in order to look better. No one is ever satisfied with the way they look and with today's improved technologies, people can completely transform their image. The body can now be sculpted into new shapes and forms.
The world of images today consists of a huge variety of remakes, copies, parodies, remixes and replicas. The term pastiche refers to an imitation that announces itself as such and involved combining elements from other sources. But today, do people really care about which is the real or original and which is the remake? With today's technologies, replicas can be made almost exactly. The horror film Scream is a parody of the genre of horror films. When I was a young girl and watched Scream, I thought it was very scary. But now that I am older and have watched it, I can see the humor throughout the entire movie. The mask itself isn't even that scary; it almost looks like a grin on the scary face. The way that the characters continue to answer the phone and talk to this stranger is humorous, along with the ways in which he kills people. The Simpsons also remakes old films using parody. One episode they reenacted Psycho, where Homer's eye lies on the floor of the bathroom. This incorporates humor within the audience.
Indie films are movies produced outside the Hollywood studio system, known as Bollywood. Once the Hollywood studios gained control of the movie industry in the 1930s, it made it difficult for producers to get their films shown in popular chain movie theaters. Independents are smaller film companies that were shown in cinema houses in urban areas. U.S. film became more creative due to foreign films being shown. In the 1980s and 1990s, popular music also began to change. The only way artists would be able to make it was if a producer took over them. You could find a CD in a music store such as Wal Mart or Target, whereas the CD may not have the same recognition on iTunes or in a smaller school. Bands create their own CD titles or album covers for niche markets and to make themselves different from other artists. Bands work within the industry to find a new route to achieve publicity and a broad fan base--mostly to get their name and music out there and be known.
The rise of urbanization and communication technologies create a distinction between space and time. Modern space separated time and space through the railroad and the rise in digital technologies, virtual experiences and wireless technology. The concept of the "nonplace" demands a space with less people. Space is referred to as sites of distraction such as the airport or cafes, whereas nonplaces are sites which are disconnected and solitare. This ties into the theory of postmodern architecture and how it emerged when modern achitecture collasped. In modernism, style progresses forward from hte last by introducing a better design. In postmodernism, styles are mixed with no sense that they ar emoving toward something better. Postmodern buildings may have no functions. An arch may have no function and only serve as decoration. A passage may lead no where or a column may just stand there to hold something up. There is a joke about architecture's functional role. The Beaubourg building in Paris is designed to look like it is inside out. After reading this, I didn't realize thats what the intent of the building was. I am excited because I am going to Paris this summer and will get to see this building and it's unique architecture. Architect Teddy Cruz also emphasized the importantance of low income buildings owned by the homeless or migrant workers. This includes shantytowns, or cardboard houses under bridges or on the street. This crafts a new kind of living with everyday materials.
In conclusion, this chapter focuses on the many different views of postmodernism and modernism and how they have changed over the years. We do not live in a world of postmodernism but rather a world in which the tensions of modernity and postmodernity are active and present. Our world consists of many different populations living in life situations that are affecting them; such as poverty. Due to technological advances and other forms of media, the world we live in today is changing. It is difficult to determine what exactly postmodernism is, whether it be a style, a time period, or a set of ideologies and politics.
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