Second Life Machinima

Machinima is a new medium in between film making and gaming. It is more cost effective than film making for film makers and students, but can be difficult to do. Anyone can use this new form of electronic art to create media, which is a great positive aspect, but with more amateurs using it, the quality of content goes down greatly. One example of machinima is the virtual world of Second Life where individuals go and create an avatar, or alter ego of sorts and meet and chat with other "second lifers." Until recently I had no idea such a world existed and that so many people are involved in it. I have to say, I find it somewhat disturbing. I agree completely that it creates alienation and a dis-association with real life and more important things going on in the world. Get out, make friends, real- life ones! I know this sounds harsh and I do understand how maybe it is easier for someone who finds it difficult to make friends for whatever reason, to make them anonymously, but i don't think it's very healthy. It's all pretty bizarre to me.

final project proposal

Group members:
me, Brianna and Si One
Proposal:
We are going to research the evolution of fashion and it's ever growing presence in the media. We are seperating this into three categories amongst ourselves 1.) the history of fashion 2.)the connection between fashion and film and t.v. 3.)the connection between fashion and music and celebrities.
Format: We will be using a MAC DVD program to present our project

comment 5-matthew's deconstruction of Amer. Apparel ad

Matthew says about the provocative American Apparel ad that there is no unhealthy aspect, that sex is healthy. While i agree with the latter, i disagree that this ad isn't unhealthy in any way. First of all anyone who knows Amer. App. knows that this theme of explicit sexuality has always been a staple of theirs just as much as that "oh so soft" basic tee, whether it be in there ads or catalogs. This was once ok when they were less well known and had primarily an adult customer, but know everyone knows and wears them, including young kids and i think their ads sends an unhealthy message of explicit sexuality that is not appropriate for the masses. My fourteen year old niece and her friends have a obsession with Amer. App. they have to have it according to them everyone does, which bothers me to think that when they see these images (half naked young women and men, posing in provocative ways) that it's the norm or that it's okay for them, it's all too creepy, much like the CEO of the company whom i've personally met, creepo!

comment 4- response to Brianna's comment

I definitely get what you're saying about art schools in particular being in the know and having access to new ways of doing things in this electronic culture. I was amazed when i first came to Otis(six years ago) that they were yet to be online! You could only get basic information about the school, but that was it and absolutely no student access or resources. They've luckily come a long way since then, but it was so surprising to me that this great and important art school that i was so excited to attend, would be so far behind, especially when it's students were so far ahead.

The blogging experience

This has been my first and last blogging experience. Up until this class I wasn't exactly sure what a blog was! I guess the idea is to have a place where you can let your thoughts run wild. In the blogoshere you are saying that you exist and you have something to say. It's somewhat like a journal, but instead of being tucked away in a drawer it's out there for all the world to read and even more interesting, to comment on. I can see how it can strike a healthy debate, but can also imagine it to be used to comment in a nasty and hurtful way by an anonymous viewer. I personally don't have too much interest in blogging because i'd rather have a conversation with a real life person in front of me. I also don't have time to sit in front of the computer for hours, i barely have time to respond to an email, let alone somone's blog.
I can see the interest, though. I think it is sort of great to be able to read someone's thoughts on a particular subject from one end of the world to the other and see how they differ. I can see how it can bring people togther in an organized way. A group can have a discussion and not have anyone talking over one another and although i'm sure it can get heated and argumentative, it could never be too threatening, especially in a physical way because it's just in writning and of course always anonymous.

Comment 3- Mike's take on McLuhan's thoughts

i though it was very interesting how you expanded on Mcluhan's idea of media, including clothing being an extension of ourselves and your examples of how it has changed us over time were right on. Now clothing is commonly worn to show individuality, which Mcluhan reminds us was not part of tribal man's community. People dress to express themselves and often to feel good about themselves; therefore the clothing becomes an extension of their mind and self perception.I also would have a hard time abandoning the t.v. because of the impact it could potentially have on me, but i do feel that as being part of this digital age and growing up with different forms of media constantly flashing in front of us, we have developed a type a screening defense that disregards any any unwanted information, sort of like an internal spam. We take in what interests us and ignore much of the rest

Comment 2- Aya's thoughts on Millenials

My parents are excatly the same way, that’s so funny! My mom doesn’t know how to put numbers in her phone or even how to check her voicemail! She can basically answer and hang up (sorry mom My dad mainly uses the internet to play poker and whenever my mom wants something looked up online she asks someone else to do it. It took years and a lot a coaxing for my parents to make the change from dial up to DSL and i don’t even want to mention wireless to them!There are many “boomers” who are just as in tune, if not more, to this new digital age, but many simply have no interest in it until it’s neccesary (for a job etc.) Even myself as a somewhat young person, feel pretty disengaged from the electronic environment. I got the basics down, but there’s just so much out there, so many gadgets, so many websites, it’s tough to keep up with it all, it’s easier to ignore it and get by without it, most of the time anyway.

Comment 1- Aya's blog on deconstrucing

I completely agree with your deconstruction of the Paris/Carl’s Jr. ad. It most certainly was created by men for men and is clearly inappropriate for any young eyes. I think it shows a lack of responsibilty on Carl’s Jr.’s part and was a poor use and placement of advertisement. I have no interest in this type of ad, but believe in the freedom for someone to create any type of media they want. I think if they wanted to create this type of raunchy ad, it would have been more appropriately placed on a cable network, not basic channels that families with young children watch or even better in a men’s magazine (it screams Maxim). It shows a misuse of media and a clear decline in judgement, morals and values.

Deconstructed: Tiffany and Co./ New York Times

-Tiffany & Co. created this message to get men to buy their jewlery for the women in their lives and for women to desire this jewlery

-The target audience is educated, upper class men and women ages late twenties and upwards

-The images that suggests this are the clothes the couple is wearing and their location

-The text reads "Tiffany & Co."

We see a black & white image of a well dressed couple holding each other in a loving way, on a balcony overlooking a city, the woman holding an unopened Tiffany's box, which is the ads primary focal point.

-The subtext is if you love your wife or girlfriend you should be them something from Tiffany's and if your husband or boyfriend loves you he will buy it for you

-The tools of persuasion that are used are : symbols- the embraced couple has an emotional context and symbolizes love and commitment. The little blue box symbolizes quality, elegance and wealth

-The healthy message that is communicated is love and commitment is desirable

-The unhealthy message is that you can buy love.

-The part of the story that is not told is the price, which is high.

Deconstructed: Guess Baby/ Vanity Fair Magazine

-Guess created this message to get moms to buy Guess Baby clothes for their kids.

-The target audience is middle to upper middle class women, more specifically, mothers ages 25-45

-The image that suggests this is that of the little girl who could easily be your daughter, granddaughter or niece.

-The text is "baby Guess" and we see a little girl smiling as if posing for a candid picture, with the park out of focus in the distance.

-The subtext is little girls who wear baby Guess are happy and comfortable enough to play at the park

-The tools of persuasion that are used are "warm and fuzzies" the "awwww" factor of a cute little girl

-The healthy message that is communicated is it's great to see kids happy.

-The unhealthy message is having pricey clothes makes you happy

-The part of the story that is untold is the price, which is above average. Also the fact that most young children could care less about where their clothes come from and almost always prefer inexpensive clothes that have their favorite character if the month on them. And of course it should be said that there aren't many mothers who would take their kids to the park wearing expensive clothes that will only get stained and torn. The reality is that buying and seeing their children in these clothes makes the mothers happier than the kids.

Deconstructing:Got milk?/ Vanity Fair Magazine

-The Dairy Farmers created this message to get people to buy milk.

-The target audience is women between the ages of 18 and 50

-The text that suggests this are the words "model" and "fashion" which are of interest to women, especially those reading Vanity Fair Magazine. The emphasis on strong bones is related to women and their risk of osteoporosis.

-The text reads: "Model behavior."

"Want strong bones? Your bones grow until about the age of 35 and the calcium in milk helps. After that, it helps keep them strong. Which means milk is always in fashion."

-The subtext is if you drink milk you will have an amazing body , just like this model. "model behavior" = models drink milk, so should you.

-The tools of persuasion that are used are symbols or words, repitition and celebrity endorsement

-The healthy message that is communicated is the importance of milk and calcium to maintane a strong and healthy body.

-The unhealthy message is that this is what a healthy body should look like. And it gives the false idea that if you drink enough milk you can look like Gisele Bundchen.

-The part of the story that is not being told is, of course the obvious, it is very unlikely that you will attain this body by drinking milk alone. Also there are multiple other ways to get the calcium needed for strong healthy bones and the type of milk you drink has various affects on your health as well; for example drinking whole milk regularly can lead to significant weight gain.

Mcluhan cont.

From "The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan", Playboy Magazine (March 1969 copyright, 1994 by Playboy)
"If education is to become relevant to the young of this electric age, we must also supplant the stifling, impersonal and dehumanizing multiversity with a multiplicity of autonomous colleges devoted to an in-depth approach to learning. This must be done immediately, for few adults really comprehend the intensity of youth's alienation from the fragmented mechanical world and its fossilized educational system...If we don't adapt our educational system to their needs and values, we will see only more dropouts and more chaos."

This quote from the article made me think of the Henry Jenkins article on digital immigrants. The generation gap between teacher and student who have grown up in very different technological times. Most schools, depending on proper funding, have ventured into this new electronic age with computers easily accesible to students starting at elementary levels. I was first introduced to having a computer in the learning environment when I was in the sixth grade (fifteen years ago to be exact!) and it definitely was a learning experience for both me and my teacher, we seemed to be learning together and it was easy to see she wasn't completely comfortable with this new way of teaching.
Many educators have classes that take place online which can sometimes make getting through higher education a bit more flexible and easier for the "muti-tasking millenial." But it isn't so easy if the instuctor is a digital immigrant and doesn't exactly understand how the whole system works. I took an online course last summer and it was pretty frustrating because the instructor was new to the Blackboard system, I think it's called, and was constantly one step behind in figuring out how it worked. She had problems posting assignments, tests, dates due, basically everything important. It got to the point where frustrated students would email her advice and directions on how to do things right and some even dropped the class.
So, although many educators are excelling at incorporating ways to connect to their young students, some still need to get with the program.

mcluhan

From the Playboy interview: Marshall Mcluhan, Playboy magazine (March 1969 copyright, 1994 by Playboy. "...Narcissus narcosis, a syndrome whereby man remains as unaware of the psychic and social effects of his new technology as a fish of the water it swims in. As a result, precisely at the point where a new media-induced environment becomes all pervasive and transmogrifies our sensory balance, it also becomes invisible."

I love, love, love this analogy, what beautiful writing!
Mcluhan is speaking about how completely unaware we are of the many effects media has on us. We live in an overly media-saturated environment, new technologies are introduced at such a fast pace, we learn about and get used to one new technology and immediately there is a newer, better, faster, stronger, more amazing version available to learn about. There really is no time to become aware of the effects they have on us because we are always just trying to keep up. As Mcluhan says, just when we change with or become changed by these new technologies, that is when they become invisible to us and we become numb to them.