week 11- Mobilising

I found this week’s reading rather interesting. In the short essay Kate Crawford discusses the issue of constant connection. I personally have thought about the issue of always being connected ever since I owned my first phone and even more now that I now own a blackberry.  Crawford talks about the ‘sickening feeling when we have accidentally left our phone behind’ (Crawford 2010, p66). This is a statement I agree with, whenever I leave my phone at home to go for a run or going down to the shops I think about my phone and wonder if I have gotten any text messages, emails or if I have missed a phone call. Though sometimes the constant checking and thinking about my phone annoys me I wouldn’t give it up.

“When (and how) do I make it all go away?” (Crawford, 2010 p66). This question got me thinking about could we go back to a time without constant connectivity and I came to the conclusion we could but we shouldn’t. Technology has made the world we live in so much more productive and efficient. Instant connection has given me the ability to talk to my friends anywhere in the world and I do. However, I do sympathise with the view of the Italian man who has a “implacable hatred for this apparatus (phone)” (Crawford 2010, p67). I appreciate his view that the mobile phone has been the cause for certain antisocial behaviour. 

All things considered however, I do think that constant connection is a positive step forward for humanity. The benefits that mobility has given human beings not only in our personal lives but also in business far out ways the negatives it has developed in our society and privacy.

References 

Crawford, K., 2010, ‘Noise, Now: Listening to Networks’ in Meanjin Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 64-69

week10- networking

Blog 10

This week’s reading was really hard for me to engage with. Not only have I never used or seen myspace but the amount of loyalty I have to a show is watching it occasionally on television. I especially am not a fan of fictional characters and I find the example of the Gilmore girls myspace page weird and slightly disturbing. However, I did find it interesting because of the fact I found it so peculiar that people would engage in such senseless activities like fan fiction.

The fact producers encode messages that we the consumers then decode (Booth 2008) is not a revelation. Though it is interesting (especially on a psychological level) that fans decode messages and create their own meaning and even discuss these meaning with other fans on multiple platforms (facebook, myspace, twitter, blogs, conventions etc). It is fans that have not necessarily created but defiantly are the masters of trans-media story telling.

References 

Booth, P, (2008), ‘Rereading Fandom: MySpace Character Personas and Narrative Identification’, Critical Studies in Media Communication. Vol. 25, No. 5, pp 514 – 536

blog week 9- othering

The invisible influence of whiteness in western, global and particularly indigenous culture is what Aileen Moreton-Robinson’s paper focuses on. She argues that the superiority and dominance of the white race is evident throughout the world. Before continuing with my critique of the paper I think it is appropriate to highlight the fact she fails to properly define who is white and who is not. I have made an assumption that for the majority of the paper Robinson is talking about only the superiority of the Anglo-Saxons and not all Europeans (colonisers).

Robinson’s argument is one which I agree with, I do believe that white culture, politics and dogma has shaped and will continue to shape the world in which we live. However, I do take issue with some of the points she has raised. Robinson digresses for a short paragraph in her article to say that during the war on terror former British and Australian Prime Ministers Blaire and Howard were in the business of “representing themselves as the holders of true humanity” (Robinson 2004, p78). This statement is mere opinion and because of that it made me as a reader take her and her argument less serious.

 “Cook, who stated that indigenous people of Australia had no form of land tenure because they were uncivilised” (Robinson 2004, p76) this is a great example that Robinson highlights to illustrate the arrogance of white colonisers. However, I am disappointed that she didn’t really discuss in-depth the historical importance and effects that colonisation had on indigenous peoples around the world. “The holocaust in the Congo during the period when it was the main source for rubber and ivory for Europe and North America and was the personal fiefdom of the Belgian king, Leopold II. An estimated ten million people died during that period of colonial plunder in the Congo, roughly half the population” (Baxter, pg 40). This is a perfect example Robinson should have used and illustrates brilliantly how western society values white life above others.

Overall I think Robinson did a good job of highlighting the fact that whites continue to influence almost every part of the globe. However, as stated before she should have talked more about the history and the formation of white dominance ideology then her focus on contemporary examples. It would have also been a lot easier to examine if she had actually defined who is actually white.  

References

Baxter J, 2010, Dust from our Eyes, 2^nd edn, Wolsak and Wynn, Hamilton Ontario

Moreton-Robinson, A., 2004, ‘Whiteness, Epistemology and Indigenous Representation’ in Whitening Race: Essays in Social and Cultural Criticism, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, pp. 75-88.

blog 7 week 8

The dignity and equality of women in contemporary society is at the heart of this week’s reading. The way Merskin illustrates her argument is through highlighting how females are exploited in advertising today. Merskin brings many examples to our attention, advertisements for ‘Marc Jacobs shoes’, ‘Gucci’, ‘Opium fragrance,’ etc. however even though Merskin discusses this issue rather well her tone throughout the paper seems to be one of radical feminism.  She agrees with other writers’ description of the “United States as a rape-prone society” (Merskin 2006, p 213). She also claims that the “eroticization of the female body supports an ideology of male superiority” (Merskin 2006, p 199). These views are too radical and slightly ridiculous. Just because models pose in a certain way does not insinuate they wish to be raped or to be dominated by male. How individuals come to that conclusion in culturally subjective. “Thinking in those terms and pairing the words “youth” and “erotic” together is deeply disturbing” (Merskin 2006, p 212) the vast majority of Westerns would accept this quote as I do however in many cultures around the globe as soon as a female begins menstruating she will mate (these societies tend to be patriarchal ones). This is again suggesting that interpreting images and the non-verbal communication that one reads off images is culturally subjective.

Those who had a greater desire for sex had more sex then those who didn’t therefore their particular genes (the gene for a greater desire to have sex) were passed down to their offspring and so on and so forth. This is the process of evolution called ‘natural selection’ where certain types of genes are favoured over others. Natural selection is the sole reason for why we are here today and also the reason why advertisers preach “sex sells” (Merskin 2006, p213). Instead of criticising ‘pornographic’ advertising it should be celebrated, it highlights the fact we are just animals that still have primitive instincts to mate. A perfect example of how strong the human desire to mate is in the early 2000s Kylie Minogue released a new range of underwear. A billboard was erected on Dandenong Road near the intersection of Chapel Street St Kilda as you are heading away from the city that displayed her wearing only underwear. The instinct of sex for a lot of males was so great that the local council had to take it down because there were too many accidents of male drivers not looking at the road. It’s not that advertisers are degrading females or males (cover of men’s health magazine normally has a topless male) they are simply playing into our innate want to mate with the opposite sex.

Bibliography

Merskin, D. 2006. Where are the Clothes? The pornographic gaze in mainstream American fashion advertising. In: T & Lambiase, J. Reichert, (ed). Sex in Consumer Culture, London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pg 200-217.

Blog 6- watching

This week’s reading is all about Panopticon surveillance and the affects it has on society and individuals.

When reading this week’s reading a movie came to my mind as an example of this type of surveillance. Enemy of the state (1998), in this film the protagonist is tracked using a wide range of surveillance equipment. 

Panopticon surveillance is not just present in fiction and gaols. It is with us almost all the time, when we have our phone on, when we update our status, use a credit/student car, Drive our car on a toll road. Traveling in any major developed CBD you will discover many CCTV cameras which have become the modern tower in the centre of the panopticon gaol. No one has to be watching the CCTV monitors, the cameras don’t even need to be real but the fact they are there acts as preventative discipline. That is they modify the behaviour of individuals through the fear of being seen doing wrong.

Bibliography

Foucault. M, 1977, ‘Panopticism’ in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Penguin, London, pp 195-228.

blog 5- speaking and listening

How the internet works as political space and also a political sphere is the topic of this week’s reading.  In simple terms this article is about how the internet works as a forum for people from all over the world to get together, discuss and exchange political ideas. 

“connectivity does not ensure a more representative and robust public sphere” (Papacharissi, 2002, p. 13) “access to more information does not necessarily create more informed citizens” (Papacharissi, 2002, p. 15) I have chosen these two quotes because I think they sum up the argument Papacharissi is trying to make. She acknowledges the fact that the internet has given humanity (humanity meaning the 28.7% of the world’s population (internet world stats, 2010)) an extra and more accessible political space but criticises the internet heavily for not being a political sphere.  To assert this claim Papacharissi cites the irrational/radical special interest groups that are out there, white supremacist groups and the like. She also turns her attention to capitalism as being detrimental to the internet as a political sphere 

The recent events in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya etc and now in Croatia I think demonstrates the ability of the internet to mobilise large amounts of people to engage in democratic practises. Although I am not suggesting the only reason it happened was because of the internet   but I do believe it had a massive impact on the speed of the revolutions and for those revolutionary ideas to spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East.

Bibliography

Internet world stats, viewed 4^th April 2011, http://www.internetworldstats.com/

Papacharissi, Z., 2002, The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere, New Media and Society, Vol 4, No. 1, pp. 9-24.

blog 4- Mediating

The ever growing similarities between fact and fiction, news and Hollywood, is the issue of this week’s reading. The author Geoff King uses a very sensitive event as an example of his argument. However the example of the September 11th terrorist attacks and the resulting documentaries/special news reports is a great example of how the news is unfortunately using Hollywood tactics to draw an audience.

It is extremely depressing that the news is increasingly trying “to be more like a movie” (King 2005, pg 50) and this fact is evident each time you turn on the news and even easier to spot when watching 60 minutes, Sunday Night or A Current Affair (not that I would consider the last two news programmes). “A Current Affair” is a particularly bad offender; it seems to borrow many qualities that King talked about that once were exclusively for Hollywood. Sound bridging is a technique A Current Affair uses almost every episode; also the use of ominous/suspenseful music is present in every episode. Every “exclusive” seems to be a classical narrative (bad guy causes disequilibrium, A current Affair solves the problem and creates a renewed equilibrium).

Cloverfield (2008) is a film I watched recently that felt realistic. The shaky footage of a hand-held video camera made it feel like a “home movie”. Cloverfield (2008) is also a movie that gave me something to relate to when I was considering Geoff King’s argument about Hollywood becoming more realistic. When watching the film and seeing the city of New York being destroyed I did think about the September 11 terrorist attacks.

King uses a variety of examples to support his argument that news is becoming more like Hollywood and vice versa. However the example I am very surprised that King did not use (which is not a contemporary one) is that of the broadcast of War of the Worlds (1938). This is where people hearing the radio programme actually thought what was being said over the radio was a real alien invasion.

Bibliography:
King, G., 2005, ‘”Just Like a Movie”?: 9/11 and Hollywood Spectacle’ in The Spectacle of the Real, Geoff King, Intellect Books, Bristol, pp. 47-56.

blog 3- writing

This weeks reading for me seemed to be rather ambiguous and for no apparent reason. The main argument I think they are trying to make is the nature of writing, how difficult and abstract writing can be and that it should even be apart of the sciences.

One of almost a dozen metaphors/analogies Metcalfe and Game use to explain writing is that “it takes a lot of will-power and hard work to be creative” (Metcalfe and Game 1996, p99) and to back up this argument they provide a quote from Benjamin “poetic work resembled a physical effort” (Metcalfe and Game 1996, p100). I will admit as a rational, 21st century, Australian male I am not very creative especially when it comes to literature. However at the risk of sounding ostentatious and/or narcissistic I do know what a physical effort is. I have climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest mountain) as well as other significant mountains and I find it insulting to compare writing or anything to do with the arts to a ‘physical effort’.

To the rational person the next metaphor may seem odd but to the pretentious, mentally detached human beings Metcalfe and Game are this metaphor fits perfectly. The metaphor they use to explain writing is, riding a horse. They do explain the metaphor of course and it does make some sense. However it is a poor one and just suggests you could make an analogy out of anything (i.e. peeling an apple is like flying a space shuttle. I’m sure Metcalfe and Game could tell us how they are similar)

I do however agree with one thing they say and it also happens to be something that is explained clearly. That is the ritual one does before one writes. They give examples of the dishes must be cleaned before you sit down at your desk and write. This is definitely true for me but my ‘ritual’ which is cleaning my room/desk is for procrastination reasons, nothing to do with ‘clearing my head’ or anything else profound

In conclusion Metcalfe and Game intentionally go out of there way in this essay to confuse the reader. This essay is without a doubt the only one I have read that has more metaphors than paragraphs. The arguments were somewhat vague along with the entire document which does not help Metcalfe and Game when they are trying to assert that writing should be treated as a science. Even though they say no ‘formula’ should be applied to writing I feel it would have been a stronger argument if they tried to come up with one or at least argue a formula should be created.

Bibliography

Game, A. & Metcalfe, A., 1996, ‘Writing’ in Passionate Sociology, Sage, London, pp 87-105.

Blog Two- reading

BLOG TWO- READING

Feminists along with an academic named Graeme Turner state that binary oppositions are problematic in regards to gender. Their position is that humans particularly ones that belong to patriarchal societies think of females as weak and emotional animals because our conception of a male is strong and rational. This I believe is a very long bow to draw and if it is true the theory is a physiological one, which Graeme Turner, Jane Stadler nor Kelly McWilliam are qualified to comment on.

The authors bring our attention to structuring absences which is “the systematic exclusion of particular identities or features of the world from media narratives”. They seem to be critical of the fact that minority groups within society tend to be under-represented in central roles. This is true, however they don’t give any examples of films where they do play a central role or they are the protagonist. Such films as Forest Gump (1994), Rain man (1988) and Philadelphia (1993) are example of films that are based around social minorities.

However binary oppositions and structuring absences are only two small aspects of narrative structure which is what this weeks reading concentrates on. The authors mainly focus on classical narration in films, television and games. They advocate that in a classical narration (which is one where there is an initial state of equilibrium then a conflict causes a disequilibrium which is then resolved creating a renewed equilibrium) an audience will side and feel sympathy for the protagonist even if he is evil and immoral. A great example of this is Lord of War (2005). Even though the protagonist Yuri Orlov sells arms to genocidal dictators and terrorists you still felt sympathy for him when his brother is killed, his parents disown him and wife and child leave him.

Stadler and Mcwilliam go on to highlight how narratives in television are different to narratives in film. They say that television shows are more “character driven” and that they “lack a well defined goal”. The T.V show House (2004-present) is a good example of this theory. Each episode in linear, there is a mystery illness that puzzles a medical team that is eventually solved by Dr House having some sort of epiphany (returning to a renewed equilibrium). The show focuses mainly around the development of Dr House especially his relationship with his superior. That is how the show is character driven.

Life on Mars (2008-2009) and Lost (2004-2010) are good exceptions to the rule of character driven television. The storyline is much more important to the audience than the individual characters.

Lost is also a great example for the fragmentation that is found in television shows. Each episode ends in more questions then it answered. However I think probably the best example of fragmentation in television is NCIS (2003-present). Just before every ad break it will play ominous music then cut to black and white leaving the audience “dangling” with anticipation of what will happen next.

In conclusion Stadler and McWilliam demonstrate clearly how narratives are constructed in film, games and television. They also address the distinctions in the narratives which have developed in the three.  

Bibliography

http://www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/stadlerj.html

http://www.usq.edu.au/users/mcwillia/

http://www.cccs.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=16135&pid=

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/

Stadler, J. & McWilliam, K., 2009, ‘Screen Narratives: Traditions and Trends’ in Screen Media: Analysing Film and Television, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 155-183

blog one week two

This particular section of a text book (Nick Lacey, 2009, pg 6-33) if information about “imagine and representation”, how we view an image and how we interpret that image. He states that we view the world around us with our eyes however “we must consider the difference between interpreting the world around us and analysing images” (Nick Lacey, 2009, pg12). He asserts that how an image is placed/taken can convey different meaning and that we use 8 aspects of NVC (non verbal communication) to extract the meaning from the text. To further emphasise his point he gives an example of an image of an attractive female actor “the low angle of the shot puts her in a position of dominance” (Nick Lacey, 2009, pg24). Which is how i also thought of her when i first saw the image.  His argument that all texts will be viewed differently depending on a range of factors,  the medium in which the text is viewed (eg cinema, T.V), the audience that it is intended for etc all contribute to how we will analyse that text. To support his claim he gives a variety of example that i see as proof of the notion that texts in fact have different meaning depending in the context in which we view them.