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.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Journal Entry #4
Media is a part of my everyday life. Before taking this class, I never really thought about how much I am affected by media and technology. The minute I wake up to my alarm clock on my cell phone, I am using media. Then, I go to my computer and turn it on and check to see if I have any messages. After class, I will go on the Internet, or turn on the television. I am constantly texting friends or family from my cell phone, or checking my email to see if I have any important events coming up that I should know about. Where would I be today without media in my everyday life? I can't even begin to imagine what I would do each day if I didn't have a computer, television, cellphone, or Ipod. One day, I forgot my cell phone back in my dorm room when I went to work. I only worked for three hours and I was having cell phone withdrawls. I was going insane without being able to text message people. Just the fact of having my cell phone with me, even if I didn't use it, felt reassuring. Another time I had to suffer without media was when I didn't have Internet for three days here at school, because I got "kicked off the Marist network" because of downloading music. I wasn't able to log onto the internet for three days, until I went to talk to Resnet. This felt like the longest three days of my life. I wasn't able to check my e-mail, talk to friends on AIM, or go on the Internet. It felt so weird to not be able to see what was going on with everyone else's lives due to Facebook status's and away messages on AIM. It was during finals week, and a snow storm was due for the morning of the last day of finals. I wasn't even able to check the homepage to see if finals were cancelled or not, which really bothered me. Luckily, my housemates were in the same class as me and could inform me. It sounds selfish, but without media, I don't know what I would do. I can't imagine what the people who can't afford computers or cell phones do on a daily basis--probably more important things than I do. They are probably harder workers due to their lack of technology. I feel that technology is making people lazy. I know that instead of going to the library to check out books, I simply use the internet to find sources and articles. I feel that without the use of technology, people in general would be more intelligent and motivated. In general, without media and technology, our lives would be greatly affected in many ways. I am grateful for living in such a highly technological world.
Journal Entry #3: Happiness Machines
The Century of the Self: Happiness Machines (Part One) is a film that portrays the rise of philosopher Sigmund Freud's dynasty. Freud is a well known philosopher who is known for his many theories in religion, psychology and philosophy and his creation of pyschoanalysis. His theory of the Self is about the power and understanding of our "self". The film portrays the story of the social world and mass consumption. It explains how the all-consuming self is created and what has made humans such big consumers. We now live in a society where we are consumed with media and other such things on a daily basis. This contrasts from Freud's days, when media wasn't available on a daily basis. The movie shows how Freud's theory of psychoanalysis changed the world by introducing new techniques and tools to understand the masses. He proclaimed that happiness and satisfaction are the ultimate goal to man; and they can achieve this through media, technology, and new "machines".
Part One of Happiness Machines is about Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays. In the 1920s, Bernays invented public relations and used his uncle's ideas to manipulate mass audiences. He linked mass produced goods to what their unconscious desires were. American corporations took Bernays' ideas into consideration, in order to get consumers to want their product. Bernays used persuasion in order to get consumers to buy. He used techniques such as celebrity endorsement,
stunts, tricks, and more, to persuade consumers. His most notable achievement was when he broke the taboo on women who smoke by persuading them that cigarettes were a symbol of independence and freedom. Bernays came up with new political ways of how to control the masses and sell consumer goods. Using his uncle's ideas and theories, Bernays implemented happiness into consumer minds. The all-consuming self has since dominated the world today, with media and products bought and used on a daily basis.
I feel like the main point this video was trying to get across was that people purchase things with an unwanted desire. When we go out shopping, most of the time we end up buying more than we planned to. We might go to the grocery store with a small list of products, but will end up with twice as much food, depending on whats on sale or things that catch our eye and look tasty. This goes to show that Bernays and Freud's theories are true; in today's society, the all-consuming self has taken over our unconscious minds.
Part One of Happiness Machines is about Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays. In the 1920s, Bernays invented public relations and used his uncle's ideas to manipulate mass audiences. He linked mass produced goods to what their unconscious desires were. American corporations took Bernays' ideas into consideration, in order to get consumers to want their product. Bernays used persuasion in order to get consumers to buy. He used techniques such as celebrity endorsement,
stunts, tricks, and more, to persuade consumers. His most notable achievement was when he broke the taboo on women who smoke by persuading them that cigarettes were a symbol of independence and freedom. Bernays came up with new political ways of how to control the masses and sell consumer goods. Using his uncle's ideas and theories, Bernays implemented happiness into consumer minds. The all-consuming self has since dominated the world today, with media and products bought and used on a daily basis.
I feel like the main point this video was trying to get across was that people purchase things with an unwanted desire. When we go out shopping, most of the time we end up buying more than we planned to. We might go to the grocery store with a small list of products, but will end up with twice as much food, depending on whats on sale or things that catch our eye and look tasty. This goes to show that Bernays and Freud's theories are true; in today's society, the all-consuming self has taken over our unconscious minds.
Journal Entry #2: Media Journal
This is my journal entry for the products I use and media that I consumed each day. I recorded this journal in order to do the media use project on Photoshop, where I put photos of media I use over a photo of myself. This portrayed the media that I consume and how I use it.
Media Literacy Product Use Journal:
Friday, March 6th:
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- ProActive face wash
- Wet to Dry hair straightener
- Conair blowdryer
- IPOD touch
- Verizon LG Dare
- Maybelline Foundation
- Cetaphil Moisturizer
- Revlon eyeline
- IBM ThinkPad lap top
- Covergirl mascara
- Herbel Essence shampoo and conditioner
- Television
- Internet (Facebook, Foxmail, Google, AIM)
Saturday, March 7th
- ProActive face wash
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- Verizon LG Dare
- Maybelline Foundation
- Revlon eye liner
- Cetaphil moisturizer
- Conair blowdryer
- Conair curling iron
- IBM Think Pad lap top
- Covergirl mascara
- Herbel Essence shampoo and conditioner
- Internet
- Cosmopolitan magazine
Sunday, March 8th
- Maybelline Foundation
- IBM ThinkPad lap top
- Internet
- Verizon LG Dare
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- Cetaphil moisturizer
- Covergirl mascara
- Herbal essence shampoo and conditioner
- People magazine
- television
Monday, March 9th
- Verizon LG Dare
- ThinkPad IBM lap top
- Wet to straight hair straightener
- Internet
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- Maybelline foundation
- Revlon eyeliner
- Covergirl mascara
- Cetaphil moisturizer
Media Literacy Product Use Journal:
Friday, March 6th:
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- ProActive face wash
- Wet to Dry hair straightener
- Conair blowdryer
- IPOD touch
- Verizon LG Dare
- Maybelline Foundation
- Cetaphil Moisturizer
- Revlon eyeline
- IBM ThinkPad lap top
- Covergirl mascara
- Herbel Essence shampoo and conditioner
- Television
- Internet (Facebook, Foxmail, Google, AIM)
Saturday, March 7th
- ProActive face wash
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- Verizon LG Dare
- Maybelline Foundation
- Revlon eye liner
- Cetaphil moisturizer
- Conair blowdryer
- Conair curling iron
- IBM Think Pad lap top
- Covergirl mascara
- Herbel Essence shampoo and conditioner
- Internet
- Cosmopolitan magazine
Sunday, March 8th
- Maybelline Foundation
- IBM ThinkPad lap top
- Internet
- Verizon LG Dare
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- Cetaphil moisturizer
- Covergirl mascara
- Herbal essence shampoo and conditioner
- People magazine
- television
Monday, March 9th
- Verizon LG Dare
- ThinkPad IBM lap top
- Wet to straight hair straightener
- Internet
- Colgate Total toothpaste
- Maybelline foundation
- Revlon eyeliner
- Covergirl mascara
- Cetaphil moisturizer
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Chapter 6: Media in Everyday Life
Chapter 6 focuses on the uses of media in everyday life. We don't normally think about it, but media consumes every minute of everyday. Even when we don't realize it, we are using media. I know that from the very minute I wake up to my alarm clock on my cell phone, until the minute before I go to bed while I am watching television, that I am using media. Where would we be today without the high usage of media? I don't think anybody really knows the answer to this, because media has become an important part of our lives many decades ago. When we are using media, it is usually with other people. When you talk on the phone, e-mail a friend, or listen to the radio, you are interacting with other people. We are recipients and authors of messages that are conveyed through the variety of media. Not only are we linked to different people and media, but different media forms are linked to one another. When you plug your Ipod into your computer, two medias are working together and becoming dependent on one another. Media always refer to and comment on other media forms. Media has played a very important role throughout the twentieth century, which is further discussed in this chapter.
The "masses" described changes in the structure of societies undergoing industrialization and the emergence of the working class. Mass media came into play post World War II, due to the increased industrialization and mechanization of modern society. During this time period, newspapers, radio and television broadcast were on the rise. Mass media is a term that denotes media forms designed to reach large audiences perceived to have shared interests. The primary traditional mass media forms of the 20th century were radio, network and cable television, the cinema and the press. Electronic and digital media (internet, cell phones, wireless devices) didn't come into play until the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and are still being reinvented today. Today, consumers have the ability to choose between and interact with different types of media, which wasn't an option years ago.
Medium is a means of communication. Radio, television, a megaphone, the Internet, and our own voice are examples of mediums. Media is the plural form of medium, which refers to a group of communication technologies that produce and spread news, entertainment, and information together. Media is not as specific as a medium; such as all radio stations, the Web, and films. Media has a major impact on the meaning it conveys. The message of the television is that it is a medium of distraction, with its ongoing rhythm of commercials and switching channels. The message that the Internet portrays is its speed, global scope and instant information gathering.
Mass broadcasting reaches a large national audience conveying the same meaning and ideas. A form of mass media that emerged prior to World War II was propaganda. When we think of the word propaganda, we instantly think of the Holocaust and the different forms of propaganda that Hitler posted about the Nazis. This was successful because Hitler seemed to brainwash people to believe that Nazism was the best form of government. Television emerged during this era as a nationalized industry of mass persuasion and strong ideology. Crowds of people would gather around a public television on the streets and watch Hitler speak. In the twentieth century, the terms "hypodermic needle" and "magic bullet" were used to understand media effects. I had never heard of these terms before. The hypodermic needle model proposed that the media have a direct and immediate effect on the audience--they were "drugged" and the texts were "injected" into their minds. This relates to Hitler and Nazism because the Germans were instantly "drugged" and brainwashed by Hitler's words and ideas.
The text also gives an example of when the Payne Fund did a study on children and the effects that television has on them in 1930. It concluded that children who were deeply influenced by the content of movies and the children who watched movies regularly, did poorly in school compared to the students that didn't watch a lot of television. I find this ironic, because so many parents and teachers don't want children to watch television because they say it just makes them lazy, but many television shows today are educational and help children learn. I remember back to the shows I would watch. Some were for pure entertainment, such as Saturday morning cartoons, but some helped us to learn the alphabet, counting, and other important things.
An example of the media's potential to foster diversity or expression is community-based or public-access cable television. Community based television is produced at a low cost by members of a community and is geared toward a local audience. It allows the audience to view local events that are going on in their community, that other audiences wouldn't be able to watch. The local channels in my town are channels 15-22. They are helpful because they show the weather or local events and advertisements. Another example is guerrilla television, where citizens express themselves more freely and defy the power of the mass media. Examples of this are when Nixon was running for another term for president, and the interviews and conventions were accessed to a national audience. The concept of media fostering democratic potential is also seen by the Web, and second generation websites such as blogs, wikis, social networking sites, economic exchange sites (eBay), and media sites (YouTube). Web users can retrieve information from these sites, post information, and share information with others. This is a huge shift in media.
The section Media and the Public Sphere talks about public media. A "public" is a relation among strangers, in which public speech is both personal and impersonal. It is the exchange and circulation of ideas. The instantanity of the Web allows for public exchange. A public sphere is a space; physical place, social setting, or media arena; in which citizens come together to debate and discuss issues of society. Citizens are able to debate public issues, regardless of their social status, race or beliefs. Traditional broadcast media creates a sense of public dialogue through town meetings on television, call in talk shows, and group debates. Most publics communicate in mediated ways, such as in discussion groups, newsletters, journals, conferences, festivals, websites, text messaging, blogging, and much more.
The main goal of media is to feel a connectedness with the audience. Broadcasting connects communities across vast distances nationally. Television is the best form of media to reach large audiences and plays a primary role in national identity. The fact that television can be transmitted instantly across a great distance helps to create a sense of global or national connectedness with viewers across different locations. One of the most global media events is the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Many people captured the attacks on tape without even knowing it was going to happen. After the first plane hit, people began to investigate more, and got the second plane crashing on more media types. The footage was posted immediately across television sets nationally. It's amazing how quickly media can be viewed by a large audience. Media also played an important role for the people inside the planes or towers, who were able to contact loved ones via cell phones or e-mail to let them know what was happening. In the after weeks and months, photography was an important medium. Flyers and photographs were posted of missing family members, in hopes that they would soon be found.
A part of this reading that I found quite interesting was how media coverage is restricted in the U.S. from war zones since the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Between 2003 and March of 2006, 216 media reporters were killed in the Iraq War for doing their job. This is sickening to even think about. The use of black rectangles or blurs were used to block the content or image of the faces of these soldiers' identities. I didn't realize that footage from the war was not allowed, but am glad it cannot be exposed due to how hard it must be for the families of war victims.
In conclusion, this chapter focused on the different types of media that we use in our everyday lives; from television to newspaper to the Web. The chapter gave specific examples such as Kennedy's death, 9/11, and Daniel Pearl's beheading, and how the media made an impact on these important yet tragic events. Without media, who knows where we would be today, it has become a very important part of our daily lives and is what people rely on.
The "masses" described changes in the structure of societies undergoing industrialization and the emergence of the working class. Mass media came into play post World War II, due to the increased industrialization and mechanization of modern society. During this time period, newspapers, radio and television broadcast were on the rise. Mass media is a term that denotes media forms designed to reach large audiences perceived to have shared interests. The primary traditional mass media forms of the 20th century were radio, network and cable television, the cinema and the press. Electronic and digital media (internet, cell phones, wireless devices) didn't come into play until the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and are still being reinvented today. Today, consumers have the ability to choose between and interact with different types of media, which wasn't an option years ago.
Medium is a means of communication. Radio, television, a megaphone, the Internet, and our own voice are examples of mediums. Media is the plural form of medium, which refers to a group of communication technologies that produce and spread news, entertainment, and information together. Media is not as specific as a medium; such as all radio stations, the Web, and films. Media has a major impact on the meaning it conveys. The message of the television is that it is a medium of distraction, with its ongoing rhythm of commercials and switching channels. The message that the Internet portrays is its speed, global scope and instant information gathering.
Mass broadcasting reaches a large national audience conveying the same meaning and ideas. A form of mass media that emerged prior to World War II was propaganda. When we think of the word propaganda, we instantly think of the Holocaust and the different forms of propaganda that Hitler posted about the Nazis. This was successful because Hitler seemed to brainwash people to believe that Nazism was the best form of government. Television emerged during this era as a nationalized industry of mass persuasion and strong ideology. Crowds of people would gather around a public television on the streets and watch Hitler speak. In the twentieth century, the terms "hypodermic needle" and "magic bullet" were used to understand media effects. I had never heard of these terms before. The hypodermic needle model proposed that the media have a direct and immediate effect on the audience--they were "drugged" and the texts were "injected" into their minds. This relates to Hitler and Nazism because the Germans were instantly "drugged" and brainwashed by Hitler's words and ideas.
The text also gives an example of when the Payne Fund did a study on children and the effects that television has on them in 1930. It concluded that children who were deeply influenced by the content of movies and the children who watched movies regularly, did poorly in school compared to the students that didn't watch a lot of television. I find this ironic, because so many parents and teachers don't want children to watch television because they say it just makes them lazy, but many television shows today are educational and help children learn. I remember back to the shows I would watch. Some were for pure entertainment, such as Saturday morning cartoons, but some helped us to learn the alphabet, counting, and other important things.
An example of the media's potential to foster diversity or expression is community-based or public-access cable television. Community based television is produced at a low cost by members of a community and is geared toward a local audience. It allows the audience to view local events that are going on in their community, that other audiences wouldn't be able to watch. The local channels in my town are channels 15-22. They are helpful because they show the weather or local events and advertisements. Another example is guerrilla television, where citizens express themselves more freely and defy the power of the mass media. Examples of this are when Nixon was running for another term for president, and the interviews and conventions were accessed to a national audience. The concept of media fostering democratic potential is also seen by the Web, and second generation websites such as blogs, wikis, social networking sites, economic exchange sites (eBay), and media sites (YouTube). Web users can retrieve information from these sites, post information, and share information with others. This is a huge shift in media.
The section Media and the Public Sphere talks about public media. A "public" is a relation among strangers, in which public speech is both personal and impersonal. It is the exchange and circulation of ideas. The instantanity of the Web allows for public exchange. A public sphere is a space; physical place, social setting, or media arena; in which citizens come together to debate and discuss issues of society. Citizens are able to debate public issues, regardless of their social status, race or beliefs. Traditional broadcast media creates a sense of public dialogue through town meetings on television, call in talk shows, and group debates. Most publics communicate in mediated ways, such as in discussion groups, newsletters, journals, conferences, festivals, websites, text messaging, blogging, and much more.
The main goal of media is to feel a connectedness with the audience. Broadcasting connects communities across vast distances nationally. Television is the best form of media to reach large audiences and plays a primary role in national identity. The fact that television can be transmitted instantly across a great distance helps to create a sense of global or national connectedness with viewers across different locations. One of the most global media events is the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Many people captured the attacks on tape without even knowing it was going to happen. After the first plane hit, people began to investigate more, and got the second plane crashing on more media types. The footage was posted immediately across television sets nationally. It's amazing how quickly media can be viewed by a large audience. Media also played an important role for the people inside the planes or towers, who were able to contact loved ones via cell phones or e-mail to let them know what was happening. In the after weeks and months, photography was an important medium. Flyers and photographs were posted of missing family members, in hopes that they would soon be found.
A part of this reading that I found quite interesting was how media coverage is restricted in the U.S. from war zones since the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Between 2003 and March of 2006, 216 media reporters were killed in the Iraq War for doing their job. This is sickening to even think about. The use of black rectangles or blurs were used to block the content or image of the faces of these soldiers' identities. I didn't realize that footage from the war was not allowed, but am glad it cannot be exposed due to how hard it must be for the families of war victims.
In conclusion, this chapter focused on the different types of media that we use in our everyday lives; from television to newspaper to the Web. The chapter gave specific examples such as Kennedy's death, 9/11, and Daniel Pearl's beheading, and how the media made an impact on these important yet tragic events. Without media, who knows where we would be today, it has become a very important part of our daily lives and is what people rely on.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Chapter 5 Synopsis
Chapter 5, Media Ideology, summarizes the concepts of ideology and how these concepts have been applied towards understanding the role of mass media. The chapter begins with Thompson stating that 'ideology is meaning in the service of power'. Present and past societies are unequal in terms of power, including class, gender, and age. Inequalities between men and women, blacks and whites, and elderlys and young people are some examples of how the world we live in is unequal. Currently, America is at war with Iraq and Afghanistan. This conflict has challenged media professionals in determining what the ideological role is in playing a media part.
Ideology is an important, useful and necessary concept dealing with social theories and media analysis. Thompson refers to ideological power in five key terms: legitimation, dissimulation, unification, fragmentation, and reification. Legitimation is achieved by unequal power relationships being created and in everybody's interest. Dissimulation is where relations of domination are hidden. Unification unifies members of a society into one entity. Fragmentation adopts a "divide and rule" approach, and reification is achieved by unequal social structures represented as being natural. Thompson gives the example of dissimulation on TV, where news reports distinguish the poor from the wealthy. Fundraising or telethon television do not ignore poverty and inequality, and focus on the activities of celebrities or heroic actions to help poverty.
The book's interpreation of ideology relates to the neo-Marxist theory but does not focus solely on class relations. Ideology is the ideas that legitimize the power of a dominant social group or class, and involve issues such as racism, heterosexism, and terrorism. The challenge that media students face is the tensions between dominant ideologies that are exposed in a complex media setting. Mass media plays an extremely important role in the production of ideologies--everyday we are faced with inequalities and oppositions that are out of our control. Content analysis identifies the intentions of communicators and describes trends in communication content. In my advertising class we are learning about content analyis and how it is used to study competitors and consumers in order to achieve the best form of media. This relates to idelogies because content analyis researches relationships between men and women, social classes, ethnic groups, and more. Ideological and discursive analysis researches the relationship between media language and audience beliefs of the social world, which leads to communication.
Well renowned media producer, Michael Moore, is famous for his documentaries on ideologies and beliefs within the USA. His most popular films are Bowling for Columbine, Farenheit 9/11, and The Big One--to name a few. Although his films have stirred up a lot of controversy and debate, they are examples of hegemonic ideologies and are a source of a significant amount of profit for media conglomerates. So, although there are many Michael Moore haters out there, he must be doing something right in getting his point across to the U.S.
Four theorists, Karl Marx, The Frankfurt School, Louis Althusser and Antonio Gramsci, defined ideology in open and closed manners. Marx defines ideology as closed, negative and materialistic. He believes that the ruling classes in capitalist societies control the means of material production as well as the production of ideas. The Frankfurt School also believed in a closed, materialist, and negative definition of ideology. Members included Theodore Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, who saw mass media as a powerful source of propaganda. They saw ideology as negative and were critical and pessmistic of mass media, especially during the time of the Nazi regime. Louis Althusser and Antonio Gramsci saw a more open and relaxed view of ideology and maintained positive attitudes towards the creation of hegemony and dominance in a modern society.
Thompson's concept of ideology focuses on the meaning of power and how the meaning serves to maintain relations of dominance. He states that not all media texts are ideological--they are ideological only if they can be shown to help perpetuate unequal power relations. His main focus is that we need to focus on the three dimensions of the communication process--production, content and reception. His tripartite approach examines the media's ideological role. We must place a firm emphasis on the meaning and interpretation of media messages in order to understand their dominance. The study of media messages examines the symbols and signs that are hidden and considering how individuals interpret the message into their lives.
The concepts of ideology and discourse play roles in furthering our understanding of the media's role in the reproduction of unqual power and relationships in our society. They are used to analyze how media is developed, presented and depicted by professionals and audiences. It is an approach to how text and talk represent relationships of power and how it is embedded into our everyday language use.
In conclusion, the world that we live in today is divided and unequal. A way of overcoming this problem is by doing ideological analysis to combine production, content and reception. There needs to be a balance between the capacity of audience members who reject or reconstruct dominant ideology and media content shaping the ideological effect in the short and long term. By working together in a complementary way, the concepts of ideology and discourse further our understanding of the mass media's role in unequal power relationships.
Ideology is an important, useful and necessary concept dealing with social theories and media analysis. Thompson refers to ideological power in five key terms: legitimation, dissimulation, unification, fragmentation, and reification. Legitimation is achieved by unequal power relationships being created and in everybody's interest. Dissimulation is where relations of domination are hidden. Unification unifies members of a society into one entity. Fragmentation adopts a "divide and rule" approach, and reification is achieved by unequal social structures represented as being natural. Thompson gives the example of dissimulation on TV, where news reports distinguish the poor from the wealthy. Fundraising or telethon television do not ignore poverty and inequality, and focus on the activities of celebrities or heroic actions to help poverty.
The book's interpreation of ideology relates to the neo-Marxist theory but does not focus solely on class relations. Ideology is the ideas that legitimize the power of a dominant social group or class, and involve issues such as racism, heterosexism, and terrorism. The challenge that media students face is the tensions between dominant ideologies that are exposed in a complex media setting. Mass media plays an extremely important role in the production of ideologies--everyday we are faced with inequalities and oppositions that are out of our control. Content analysis identifies the intentions of communicators and describes trends in communication content. In my advertising class we are learning about content analyis and how it is used to study competitors and consumers in order to achieve the best form of media. This relates to idelogies because content analyis researches relationships between men and women, social classes, ethnic groups, and more. Ideological and discursive analysis researches the relationship between media language and audience beliefs of the social world, which leads to communication.
Well renowned media producer, Michael Moore, is famous for his documentaries on ideologies and beliefs within the USA. His most popular films are Bowling for Columbine, Farenheit 9/11, and The Big One--to name a few. Although his films have stirred up a lot of controversy and debate, they are examples of hegemonic ideologies and are a source of a significant amount of profit for media conglomerates. So, although there are many Michael Moore haters out there, he must be doing something right in getting his point across to the U.S.
Four theorists, Karl Marx, The Frankfurt School, Louis Althusser and Antonio Gramsci, defined ideology in open and closed manners. Marx defines ideology as closed, negative and materialistic. He believes that the ruling classes in capitalist societies control the means of material production as well as the production of ideas. The Frankfurt School also believed in a closed, materialist, and negative definition of ideology. Members included Theodore Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, who saw mass media as a powerful source of propaganda. They saw ideology as negative and were critical and pessmistic of mass media, especially during the time of the Nazi regime. Louis Althusser and Antonio Gramsci saw a more open and relaxed view of ideology and maintained positive attitudes towards the creation of hegemony and dominance in a modern society.
Thompson's concept of ideology focuses on the meaning of power and how the meaning serves to maintain relations of dominance. He states that not all media texts are ideological--they are ideological only if they can be shown to help perpetuate unequal power relations. His main focus is that we need to focus on the three dimensions of the communication process--production, content and reception. His tripartite approach examines the media's ideological role. We must place a firm emphasis on the meaning and interpretation of media messages in order to understand their dominance. The study of media messages examines the symbols and signs that are hidden and considering how individuals interpret the message into their lives.
The concepts of ideology and discourse play roles in furthering our understanding of the media's role in the reproduction of unqual power and relationships in our society. They are used to analyze how media is developed, presented and depicted by professionals and audiences. It is an approach to how text and talk represent relationships of power and how it is embedded into our everyday language use.
In conclusion, the world that we live in today is divided and unequal. A way of overcoming this problem is by doing ideological analysis to combine production, content and reception. There needs to be a balance between the capacity of audience members who reject or reconstruct dominant ideology and media content shaping the ideological effect in the short and long term. By working together in a complementary way, the concepts of ideology and discourse further our understanding of the mass media's role in unequal power relationships.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Merchants of Cool
Today, teenagers are the largest generation, even larger than their parents; the baby boomers. Teenagers are willing to spend all their money on the latest trends. They have more money than ever before, thanks to their parents, grandparents, and high school summer jobs. Parents don't get to spend as much time with their teen as they would like anymore, due to their busy schedules, so they give their child what is known as "guilt money". Parents today are lending out their credit card to their child and letting them buy whatever they would like. Teens today are very lucky; 1/3 have a personal computer and spend an average of two hours per day on it, while another large portion own a television in their bedroom. Years ago, this was unheard of. Today, it's unheard of to not own the newest technological advances.
Teenagers are always exposed to marketing messages and process approximately 3,000 discreet message a day. Without knowing it, we are being exposed to different brands just by walking down the street. However, it is frustrating for firms because teens are unresponsive to brands. They only respond to what is "cool" at that moment, and "cool" is constantly changing. "Cool Hunting" is the search for "cool", where experts are hired in search for kids who are trendsetters and influencers. A correspondent is a person who finds teenagers who are leaders within their group and who are different from others their age. These type of teens are difficult to find because everyone wants to fit in with the latest trends. By the time marketers find the latest trend in teens, it's already gone and moved onto the next cool thing. Marketers have come up with a new way to market their products--using "anti-marketing" campaigns. Marketers search for ways to become cool themselves, so that teens will accept them and admire their product. Sprite paid "cool" teens to come to a rap concert and act like they are having a fun time, for their commercial. Sprite is now the number one selling soft drink.
Viacom, one of the big five of media corporations, made a billion dollars in profit off of the well known teenage channel, MTV. MTV is a youth marketing empire and commercial concept. The channel is a constant advertisement, between artists selling their records and hit songs, to upcoming movies, the trendy clothes worn, and commercials in between shows. MTV is geared towards learning about what teenagers want to see everyday when they come home from school. MTV producers visited fans at their homes in order to gain insight of their homes, family life, peers, relationships, and even their style of choice. "The Mook" is a character created by Viacom which includes Tom Green, Jackass, South Park, the Man Show, Howard Stern, and the spring break frat boys. "The Mook" is popular throughout teenage boys, along with professional wrestling. Males ages 14-24 are the largest target market for professional wrestling. It is played 15 hours a week on five networks, seen by 15 million people, mostly teenage boys. On the other side, the "midriff" relates to teenage girls. Pop icon Britney Spears was known for her flamboyant stomach and dance moves. Loyal fans, made of teenage girls, want to become models and look like the stars they watch on TV.
Shows such as Dawson's Creek and 7th Heaven raised the sexual stakes for teenagers, along with Undressed on MTV. Teens are consumed with sex on a daily basis. Movies such as Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer raise the issues of sex and violence. However, this is what teens want; they are not satisfied with PG13 movies, they want the blood and guts. They want to act and feel older than they really are. When MTV would host Spring Break, this portrayed teenagers acting completely out of control. Kids at home would watch and expect all college spring breaks to be wild and crazy like the show. Teens on Spring Break would flaunt themselves and perform sexual acts with strangers.
So, the major question to consider is if the media is reflecting the life of teenagers. Media watches teenagers and sells their image to them. Teenagers watch these images and want to be that image. Personally, I feel like the media has a huge impact on teenagers and their everyday lifestyles, and always will.
Teenagers are always exposed to marketing messages and process approximately 3,000 discreet message a day. Without knowing it, we are being exposed to different brands just by walking down the street. However, it is frustrating for firms because teens are unresponsive to brands. They only respond to what is "cool" at that moment, and "cool" is constantly changing. "Cool Hunting" is the search for "cool", where experts are hired in search for kids who are trendsetters and influencers. A correspondent is a person who finds teenagers who are leaders within their group and who are different from others their age. These type of teens are difficult to find because everyone wants to fit in with the latest trends. By the time marketers find the latest trend in teens, it's already gone and moved onto the next cool thing. Marketers have come up with a new way to market their products--using "anti-marketing" campaigns. Marketers search for ways to become cool themselves, so that teens will accept them and admire their product. Sprite paid "cool" teens to come to a rap concert and act like they are having a fun time, for their commercial. Sprite is now the number one selling soft drink.
Viacom, one of the big five of media corporations, made a billion dollars in profit off of the well known teenage channel, MTV. MTV is a youth marketing empire and commercial concept. The channel is a constant advertisement, between artists selling their records and hit songs, to upcoming movies, the trendy clothes worn, and commercials in between shows. MTV is geared towards learning about what teenagers want to see everyday when they come home from school. MTV producers visited fans at their homes in order to gain insight of their homes, family life, peers, relationships, and even their style of choice. "The Mook" is a character created by Viacom which includes Tom Green, Jackass, South Park, the Man Show, Howard Stern, and the spring break frat boys. "The Mook" is popular throughout teenage boys, along with professional wrestling. Males ages 14-24 are the largest target market for professional wrestling. It is played 15 hours a week on five networks, seen by 15 million people, mostly teenage boys. On the other side, the "midriff" relates to teenage girls. Pop icon Britney Spears was known for her flamboyant stomach and dance moves. Loyal fans, made of teenage girls, want to become models and look like the stars they watch on TV.
Shows such as Dawson's Creek and 7th Heaven raised the sexual stakes for teenagers, along with Undressed on MTV. Teens are consumed with sex on a daily basis. Movies such as Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer raise the issues of sex and violence. However, this is what teens want; they are not satisfied with PG13 movies, they want the blood and guts. They want to act and feel older than they really are. When MTV would host Spring Break, this portrayed teenagers acting completely out of control. Kids at home would watch and expect all college spring breaks to be wild and crazy like the show. Teens on Spring Break would flaunt themselves and perform sexual acts with strangers.
So, the major question to consider is if the media is reflecting the life of teenagers. Media watches teenagers and sells their image to them. Teenagers watch these images and want to be that image. Personally, I feel like the media has a huge impact on teenagers and their everyday lifestyles, and always will.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Product Portrait
For the media usage picture of myself, I incorporated all of the products I use on a daily basis. I put Dasani water near my throat because I drink it. I put Dove deorderant near my body, and I put my lap top on my body too, because it is closest to my hands which is what I type with. I put Colgate toothpaste over my mouth, and my cellphone, the LG Dare near my mouth. I put Maybelline foundation, Cetaphil moisturizer and ProActive face wash on my face because they are all products that I use on my face every day. I put Rouge by Christian LaCrouix perfume on my nose because it's the perfume I use and it smells good. My IPOD touch is over my ear because I listen to music with it. My Conair curling iron and Wet to Straight hair straightener are on my head because I use them to either curl or straighten my hair.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Chapter 3 Synopsis
Chapter 3, in the book Understanding the Media, by Eoin Devereux, is called Media Ownership: Concentration and Conglomeration. This chapter focuses on the ownership and control of the mainstream media. Ownership can be non-profit, public, or private. Community-based media includes local radio, blogs, or newsletters, organized on a non-profit basis. They attract small audiences in a community and are run on a modest budget. With the continually growing concentration of media ownership, alliances and the merging of media and other companies into larger conglomerates has raised serious concerns for many media scholars. Media ownership is now characterized by concentration and conglomeration. Conglomerates operate at the local, regional, national or transnational levels. They are controlled through allocative control and operational control.
Concentration is described as being vertical or horizontol. Vertical integration is the process by which one owner acquires all aspects of production and distribution of a single type of media product. Horizontol integration is the process by which one company buys different kinds of media, concentrating ownership across differing types of media rather than up and down through one industry. In media conglomerates, synergy is the core in maintaining a position of power or dominance where as parts of the company work as a whole and are worth more than the sum of its parts acting alone.
The political economy theory is concerned with investigating how the capitalist class promotes and ensures their dominant position and focuses on the relation between the economic structure and dynamics of media industries and the content of media. According to this perspective, concentration and conglomeration have seious implications for media content and media audiences. Casualization of media work has increased but the scale demand by the media oligopolies has resulted in job losses. In order to understand media content, we must examine the ownership and control of the media industries in relation to other political and economic groups in society.
German sociologist Jurgen Habermas developed the concept of the public sphere, which informs thinking on how media organizations operate. There are three types of spheres in our society; the private sphere consists of family and economy, the sphere of public authority consists of state and judiciary and the bourgeois public spehere. Habermas' public sphere stresses the importance of political discourse among citizens and plays a crucial role in ensuring the continuation of civic and democratic society. The Internet is a media based public sphere because one can search for information and engage in on-line discussions about endless lists of topics or communicate through forums and blogs. The Internet is dominated by mass media conglomerates and oligopolies, who own and control the most widely used Internet Service Providers.
In conclusion, this chapter stresses the importance of media ownership through conglomerates and concentration which have placed an emphasis on different culture industries.
Concentration is described as being vertical or horizontol. Vertical integration is the process by which one owner acquires all aspects of production and distribution of a single type of media product. Horizontol integration is the process by which one company buys different kinds of media, concentrating ownership across differing types of media rather than up and down through one industry. In media conglomerates, synergy is the core in maintaining a position of power or dominance where as parts of the company work as a whole and are worth more than the sum of its parts acting alone.
The political economy theory is concerned with investigating how the capitalist class promotes and ensures their dominant position and focuses on the relation between the economic structure and dynamics of media industries and the content of media. According to this perspective, concentration and conglomeration have seious implications for media content and media audiences. Casualization of media work has increased but the scale demand by the media oligopolies has resulted in job losses. In order to understand media content, we must examine the ownership and control of the media industries in relation to other political and economic groups in society.
German sociologist Jurgen Habermas developed the concept of the public sphere, which informs thinking on how media organizations operate. There are three types of spheres in our society; the private sphere consists of family and economy, the sphere of public authority consists of state and judiciary and the bourgeois public spehere. Habermas' public sphere stresses the importance of political discourse among citizens and plays a crucial role in ensuring the continuation of civic and democratic society. The Internet is a media based public sphere because one can search for information and engage in on-line discussions about endless lists of topics or communicate through forums and blogs. The Internet is dominated by mass media conglomerates and oligopolies, who own and control the most widely used Internet Service Providers.
In conclusion, this chapter stresses the importance of media ownership through conglomerates and concentration which have placed an emphasis on different culture industries.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Magazine Cover Replication
This is the original magazine cover that I chose, of Emma Roberts, an actress.
A picture of a half built house is definately something you won't find on an Elle magazine cover, but I chose it because when I think of makeover ideas, I think of a makeover to someone's house. I didn't want to put make up or fashion on the cover because that is what you would typically see on an Elle magazine cover anyways. So, a picture of a home make over seemed to fit the captions on this cover.
I chose this picture as a magazine cover because it is really pretty, yet its a picture you wouldn't normally see on a magazine. It's a picture of a body of water, so the reader could possibly wear one of the "35 sexy swimsuits" seen on the cover to a place like this.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Modernity- Chapter 3
Synopsis:
Chapter Three, Modernity: Spectatorship, Power, and Knowledge focuses on the interrelated ways of looking at images, through spectatorship, gaze, and viewing. Spectatorship is the practice of looking, while the spectator is an individual who looks. Gaze refers to a look, or the act of looking. It can sometimes mean looking long and intently with affection, awe, wonder, or fascination. It plays a role in the concept of looking and spectatorship. Viewing, according to the author, is “a multimodal activity that involves a range of active elements besides the individual who looks and the image at which he or she looks” (103). The viewer becomes interrupted by the image and comes to recognize himself as among the group of subjects for whom the image’s message is intended towards.
Modernity, which the chapter is named after, refers to “the historical, cultural, political, and economic conditions related to the Enlightenment: the rise of industrial society and scientific rationalism, and the idea of controlling nature through technology, science and rationalism” (95). It is “the belief that industrialization, human technological intervention in nature, mass democracy and the introduction of a market economy are the hallmark of social progress” (95). We use the word modern to mean present, recent, or contemporary, yet scholars believe that there are many different meanings to it. It is the transition from old to new, or the increased movement of populations from rural to urban cities. Art Deco is a form of modern art, which is referred to as “an ornate style of modernism that evokes a machine aesthetic and was originally conceived as functional design” (97)
The author incorporated a lot of philosophical examples to portray his message. Key figures such as Rene Descartes, Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, and Jacques Derrida, to name a few, were mentioned and explained their views of modernity and gaze. Lacan is known for his mirror phase, which involves the process where an infant gains motor skills in order to venture away from the maternal body and comes to understand his separation from that body. According to Lacan, the human subject becomes aware of itself not at birth but during the period of self awareness that occurs between age six and eighteen months. The process of identification is how we respond to images through identification with them and the objects in the image. Men are usually seen as masculine and as objects of gaze, while women are portrayed as sexual images or nudity.
Photography is used to identify the difference between normal and abnormal, and used in the law of evidence. The main function of photographs is to establish difference. The photographic image produced surveillance and camera surveillance has become significant in our everyday lives, in stores, elevators, or parking garages. Photographs are also highly evident in advertising, and present an image to a targeted audience. Today, advertisements are digitally enhanced to give the photo an airbrush feel in order to create beauty and perfection. Cinema is another type of photography in which the darkened theater and mirror-like screen invite the viewer to undergo a childlike state and identifies the powerful position of bodies on the screen through fear, memories, and fantasies. This theory links the spectator of the movie to an infant in Lacan’s mirror phrase.
In conclusion, the main purpose of this chapter is to develop an understanding of gaze and looking, and how we portray these images. Images are central to the concept of modernity. As spectators and subjects of images, we engage in the act of looking and being looked at.
Assignment:
A.) The advertisement with one person is a Dolce and Gabbana ad of Gisele Bundchen. In the ad, she is modeling a tailored blue suit. She seems to be unaware that she is the main subject of the photo because she is looking away from the camera. She looks like she is dazing off, and in her own world, or is waiting to make eye contact with someone she is looking at. The way that she is posing shows that she is relaxed and confident, and doesn’t look like she is aware of a camera taking pictures of her. The concept of gaze comes into play in this ad because Gisele is looking at something but doesn’t realize she is being looked at by an audience.
B.) The advertisement I chose with two or more people is a Burberry ad of Naomi Campbell. The subject in the advertisement who has the most power is Naomi Campbell, the African American modeling the bathing suit on stage. She has all the power because everyone is looking at her and taking her picture—all their focus is on her. However, the older woman in the left hand corner looks like she wants all the attention because she is looking back at the camera with a stern look on her face. Naomi doesn’t realize that the photographer is taking a picture of her for the advertisement because she is looking back at the fans that are adorned in Burberry clothing and accessories.
Chapter Three, Modernity: Spectatorship, Power, and Knowledge focuses on the interrelated ways of looking at images, through spectatorship, gaze, and viewing. Spectatorship is the practice of looking, while the spectator is an individual who looks. Gaze refers to a look, or the act of looking. It can sometimes mean looking long and intently with affection, awe, wonder, or fascination. It plays a role in the concept of looking and spectatorship. Viewing, according to the author, is “a multimodal activity that involves a range of active elements besides the individual who looks and the image at which he or she looks” (103). The viewer becomes interrupted by the image and comes to recognize himself as among the group of subjects for whom the image’s message is intended towards.
Modernity, which the chapter is named after, refers to “the historical, cultural, political, and economic conditions related to the Enlightenment: the rise of industrial society and scientific rationalism, and the idea of controlling nature through technology, science and rationalism” (95). It is “the belief that industrialization, human technological intervention in nature, mass democracy and the introduction of a market economy are the hallmark of social progress” (95). We use the word modern to mean present, recent, or contemporary, yet scholars believe that there are many different meanings to it. It is the transition from old to new, or the increased movement of populations from rural to urban cities. Art Deco is a form of modern art, which is referred to as “an ornate style of modernism that evokes a machine aesthetic and was originally conceived as functional design” (97)
The author incorporated a lot of philosophical examples to portray his message. Key figures such as Rene Descartes, Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, and Jacques Derrida, to name a few, were mentioned and explained their views of modernity and gaze. Lacan is known for his mirror phase, which involves the process where an infant gains motor skills in order to venture away from the maternal body and comes to understand his separation from that body. According to Lacan, the human subject becomes aware of itself not at birth but during the period of self awareness that occurs between age six and eighteen months. The process of identification is how we respond to images through identification with them and the objects in the image. Men are usually seen as masculine and as objects of gaze, while women are portrayed as sexual images or nudity.
Photography is used to identify the difference between normal and abnormal, and used in the law of evidence. The main function of photographs is to establish difference. The photographic image produced surveillance and camera surveillance has become significant in our everyday lives, in stores, elevators, or parking garages. Photographs are also highly evident in advertising, and present an image to a targeted audience. Today, advertisements are digitally enhanced to give the photo an airbrush feel in order to create beauty and perfection. Cinema is another type of photography in which the darkened theater and mirror-like screen invite the viewer to undergo a childlike state and identifies the powerful position of bodies on the screen through fear, memories, and fantasies. This theory links the spectator of the movie to an infant in Lacan’s mirror phrase.
In conclusion, the main purpose of this chapter is to develop an understanding of gaze and looking, and how we portray these images. Images are central to the concept of modernity. As spectators and subjects of images, we engage in the act of looking and being looked at.
Assignment:
A.) The advertisement with one person is a Dolce and Gabbana ad of Gisele Bundchen. In the ad, she is modeling a tailored blue suit. She seems to be unaware that she is the main subject of the photo because she is looking away from the camera. She looks like she is dazing off, and in her own world, or is waiting to make eye contact with someone she is looking at. The way that she is posing shows that she is relaxed and confident, and doesn’t look like she is aware of a camera taking pictures of her. The concept of gaze comes into play in this ad because Gisele is looking at something but doesn’t realize she is being looked at by an audience.
B.) The advertisement I chose with two or more people is a Burberry ad of Naomi Campbell. The subject in the advertisement who has the most power is Naomi Campbell, the African American modeling the bathing suit on stage. She has all the power because everyone is looking at her and taking her picture—all their focus is on her. However, the older woman in the left hand corner looks like she wants all the attention because she is looking back at the camera with a stern look on her face. Naomi doesn’t realize that the photographer is taking a picture of her for the advertisement because she is looking back at the fans that are adorned in Burberry clothing and accessories.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Media Collage
The medium that I am using to make my media collage is Blackberry devices. The content of Blackberry devices is communication, through phone calls, text messaging, instant messaging, or the Internet. Blackberrys also have many other features such as GPS systems, games, cameras, and media players. The message is that we now can communicate and contact anyone we want, whenever we want. We can send an email to our family and co workers, instant message a friend, check the weather, and look for directions, all through one small hand held device. In today's increasing technologically advanced times, we are able to deliver quick and easy messages to people in our address books, along with many other features. In my collage, I am going to use pictures of the different Blackberry devices, photos of people communicating, the logos of Verizon Wireless and AT&T, and other features that Blackberry devices have to offer.
Monday, February 16, 2009
McLuhan reading-"the medium is the message"
McLuhan's article, "The Medium is the Message", explains that "as the personal and social consequences of any medium--that is, of any extension of ourselves--result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves or by any new technology" (23). McLuhan goes on to say that "the message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs" (24). The medium influences how the message is perceived. Media should be what is studied, not the message that is portrayed. The example he gives is electric light, saying that it is pure information. He states that "the medium is the message because it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action" (24). Electric light, or electricity, is known as the greatest reversal because it caused instant speed. With electricity, people were able to do things they could have never done before, and with significant speed and sequence, such as see in the dark.
A current innovation in technology is a cell phone. The message behind a cell phone is to create a communication channel by exchanging phone calls, messages, pictures, and more to others. However, with all the new technological advances that are available on cell phones today, people are still looking for the newest, best innovations. A cell phone that just takes pictures and videos is no longer considered good. A cell phone must be able to act as a GPS system, go onto the Internet, and play music in order to be of good quality. Although technology is rapidly expanding at a fast pace, people are still searching for the newest technological products. The original idea of the message of a cell phone was to communicate, but today, the idea is to be able to do so much more than just converse. It is to organize your day to day activities and entertain yourself in an easy, hands on way.
A current innovation in technology is a cell phone. The message behind a cell phone is to create a communication channel by exchanging phone calls, messages, pictures, and more to others. However, with all the new technological advances that are available on cell phones today, people are still looking for the newest, best innovations. A cell phone that just takes pictures and videos is no longer considered good. A cell phone must be able to act as a GPS system, go onto the Internet, and play music in order to be of good quality. Although technology is rapidly expanding at a fast pace, people are still searching for the newest technological products. The original idea of the message of a cell phone was to communicate, but today, the idea is to be able to do so much more than just converse. It is to organize your day to day activities and entertain yourself in an easy, hands on way.
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