The question that we will be answering as part of our module is, "Does the internet contribute towards violence being used as a form of entertainment?"
Why have we chosen this particular area to concentrate on?
Increasingly in the media we are hearing stories of people uploading violent footage onto the internet to provide entertainment for others.
It is a fact that this is happening, people are uploading home videos of gang fights, bullying, animal cruelty and there are also websites dedicated to giving people the voyeuristic pleasure of looking at corpses and mutilated body parts. And the viewing statistics are huge.
Is this wrong? Is the internet feeding people's sadistic pleasures, or are some humans inevitably transfixed by violence anyway? Does it matter? And should we be censoring what people can upload and watch more strictly or would we end up living in a 1984 society?
Wednesday 5 December 2007
Wednesday 28 November 2007
Remediation...
The Double Logic of Remediation
Immediacy: (Stanislavski like) Immersion (video-games, virtual reality- forget here and now reality and the distinction between reality and non-reality. Makes you forget the real self and the fact that what you are watching is virtual)
Hyper-mediacy: (Brecht-like) The use of asides, titles, presenters, to withdraw/alienate you. Makes you remember that you are watching media by using a collosal amount of media.
The double logic of remediation makes you realise that you are watching media and then draws you in and consumes your entirity so that you lose track of where you are.
Examples:
The french film "Irreversible" uses hyper-mediacy in its style by starting the film at the end and gradually working towards the beginning which makes the audience aware of the media itself, and then gradually immerses them through the thrilling storyline and complicated characters.
Console games, especially the ps2, ps3 and the Wii are obvious forms of using the double logic of remediation. They initially make it clear that they are oozing with new technology so that the player is aware that it is a superior media form...but then the realistic style of the virtual media immerses you so that you forget that your experience is not in the hear and now.
Immediacy: (Stanislavski like) Immersion (video-games, virtual reality- forget here and now reality and the distinction between reality and non-reality. Makes you forget the real self and the fact that what you are watching is virtual)
Hyper-mediacy: (Brecht-like) The use of asides, titles, presenters, to withdraw/alienate you. Makes you remember that you are watching media by using a collosal amount of media.
The double logic of remediation makes you realise that you are watching media and then draws you in and consumes your entirity so that you lose track of where you are.
Examples:
The french film "Irreversible" uses hyper-mediacy in its style by starting the film at the end and gradually working towards the beginning which makes the audience aware of the media itself, and then gradually immerses them through the thrilling storyline and complicated characters.
Console games, especially the ps2, ps3 and the Wii are obvious forms of using the double logic of remediation. They initially make it clear that they are oozing with new technology so that the player is aware that it is a superior media form...but then the realistic style of the virtual media immerses you so that you forget that your experience is not in the hear and now.
Monday 12 November 2007
Is YouTube inviting sadistic/perverted voyeurism into our lives....??
This is a copy of a recent case that happened to an elderly lady as she lay dying on her doorstep. Her attacker described the event as "You Tube Material." Was this attack done just for YouTube? Is this what people want to see as YouTube? Has people's perceptions of good entertainment changed for the worse....?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/7063366.stm
Man jailed for urinating on woman
Anthony Anderson was filmed urinating on Christine LakinskiA man who urinated on a woman as she lay dying and shouted "this is YouTube material" has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Anthony Anderson also covered Christine Lakinski with shaving foam after she collapsed in a Hartlepool street.
Miss Lakinski, 50, who suffered from a number of medical conditions, was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Anderson, 27, and from Raby Road in the Teesside town, had earlier admitted outraging public decency.
The court heard how, on 27 July, Miss Lakinski was making her way home with a box of laminate flooring when she fell ill and stumbled into a doorway.
Totally shocked
Anderson, a former soldier, had smoked a cannabis joint and been drinking when he and two friends spotted her.
He tried to rouse her by throwing a bucket of water over her, before urinating on her and covering her with shaving foam.
A crowd had gathered around, watching and laughing, and the incident was filmed on a mobile phone.
She was later declared dead at the scene, the cause of death being given as pancreatic failure.
Magistrates in Hartlepool had referred the case to Teesside Crown Court so a longer jail term could be handed out.
Judge Peter Fox, the recorder of Middlesbrough sitting at Teesside Crown Court, said: "You violated this woman in an incredible way, and the shocking nature of your acts over a prolonged period of time must mean that a prison sentence of greater length is appropriate in this case."
'Sick and inhumane'
Outside court, Miss Lakinski's family said in a statement: "We remain totally shocked that anyone could behave in such an appalling way.
"The fact that Christine was dying makes this man's actions even more sick and inhumane.
"However, those who stood by and did nothing to stop Anderson are also guilty in our eyes.
"It beggars belief that these people chose not only to condone his cruelty, but also to walk away from a neighbour who was clearly in distress and needed help."
The family statement added that Christine had "faced immense challenges throughout her life", yet still had managed to "forge an independent life for herself".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/7063366.stm
Man jailed for urinating on woman
Anthony Anderson was filmed urinating on Christine LakinskiA man who urinated on a woman as she lay dying and shouted "this is YouTube material" has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Anthony Anderson also covered Christine Lakinski with shaving foam after she collapsed in a Hartlepool street.
Miss Lakinski, 50, who suffered from a number of medical conditions, was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Anderson, 27, and from Raby Road in the Teesside town, had earlier admitted outraging public decency.
The court heard how, on 27 July, Miss Lakinski was making her way home with a box of laminate flooring when she fell ill and stumbled into a doorway.
Totally shocked
Anderson, a former soldier, had smoked a cannabis joint and been drinking when he and two friends spotted her.
He tried to rouse her by throwing a bucket of water over her, before urinating on her and covering her with shaving foam.
A crowd had gathered around, watching and laughing, and the incident was filmed on a mobile phone.
She was later declared dead at the scene, the cause of death being given as pancreatic failure.
Magistrates in Hartlepool had referred the case to Teesside Crown Court so a longer jail term could be handed out.
Judge Peter Fox, the recorder of Middlesbrough sitting at Teesside Crown Court, said: "You violated this woman in an incredible way, and the shocking nature of your acts over a prolonged period of time must mean that a prison sentence of greater length is appropriate in this case."
'Sick and inhumane'
Outside court, Miss Lakinski's family said in a statement: "We remain totally shocked that anyone could behave in such an appalling way.
"The fact that Christine was dying makes this man's actions even more sick and inhumane.
"However, those who stood by and did nothing to stop Anderson are also guilty in our eyes.
"It beggars belief that these people chose not only to condone his cruelty, but also to walk away from a neighbour who was clearly in distress and needed help."
The family statement added that Christine had "faced immense challenges throughout her life", yet still had managed to "forge an independent life for herself".
What consititues a good performance?
What constitutes a worthwhile performance?
It is virtually impossible to give an exact definitive as to what constitutes a worthwhile performance, and it is inevitably personal. For me, a worthwhile performance has to do one of the following things for me: Challenge me, educate me or enlighten me. That is not to say that performances that are purely aesthetic or funny aren't good entertainment- but perhaps they are not worthwhile to me. A performance doesnt have to be something that is deliberate- ie performed in a theatre, a film masterpiece or a comedian's sketch. Some of the best performances I have seen are political protests, home-made cartoons posted on "Youtube", children's tantrums, or simply watching an awkward situation on a bus, or a couple having an argument unaware that I have placed a frame around them just as a TV does to a soap opera.
Worthwhile performances do not have to be sleek and rehearsed, but I do think it is important that a performance has some something to say that will make the viewer think after the performance after it has finished. When I watched "The Glamorous Kitten Killer" on "You-Tube" I was immediatly repulsed & thought it was awful entertainment, which it is. However, it has challenged me and made me think about the sort of world that we are living in; What stage is society at if somebody has deliberately made a film of brutally killing an animal to ensure popular viewing figures on "You-Tube"? And is it human nature that compells some people to watch the footage or are we turning into a colder, selfish & more perverted & voyeuristic society...?
It is virtually impossible to give an exact definitive as to what constitutes a worthwhile performance, and it is inevitably personal. For me, a worthwhile performance has to do one of the following things for me: Challenge me, educate me or enlighten me. That is not to say that performances that are purely aesthetic or funny aren't good entertainment- but perhaps they are not worthwhile to me. A performance doesnt have to be something that is deliberate- ie performed in a theatre, a film masterpiece or a comedian's sketch. Some of the best performances I have seen are political protests, home-made cartoons posted on "Youtube", children's tantrums, or simply watching an awkward situation on a bus, or a couple having an argument unaware that I have placed a frame around them just as a TV does to a soap opera.
Worthwhile performances do not have to be sleek and rehearsed, but I do think it is important that a performance has some something to say that will make the viewer think after the performance after it has finished. When I watched "The Glamorous Kitten Killer" on "You-Tube" I was immediatly repulsed & thought it was awful entertainment, which it is. However, it has challenged me and made me think about the sort of world that we are living in; What stage is society at if somebody has deliberately made a film of brutally killing an animal to ensure popular viewing figures on "You-Tube"? And is it human nature that compells some people to watch the footage or are we turning into a colder, selfish & more perverted & voyeuristic society...?
Wednesday 24 October 2007
Who I rate as "cool"
My idea of a cool person in someone who is original & creative who challenges the way I think. The people who I would say are iconically cool tend to be people who have had something political to say because they want things to change. Although I like new technology, this doesnt effect my definition of cool. In fact, for me, cool would be to listen to vinyls on a grammaphone not an ipod.
Here are some pictures of people that I rate as cool:
Here are some pictures of people that I rate as cool:
Cool- what the dictionary says:
Cool; (According to http://dictionary.reference.com/)
1. Not excited; calm; composed; under control: to remain cool in the face of disaster.
2. Not hasty; deliberate: a cool and calculated action.
3. Lacking in interest or enthusiasm: a cool reply to an invitation.
4. Lacking in warmth or cordiality: a cool reception.
5. Calmly audacious or impudent: a cool lie.
6. Aloof or unresponsive; indifferent: He was cool to her passionate advances.
7. Unaffected by emotions; disinterested; dispassionate: She made a cool appraisal of all the issues in the dispute.
8. Informal. (of a number or sum) without exaggeration or qualification: a cool million dollars.
9. Slang.
a.
great; fine; excellent: a real cool comic.
b.
characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever: cool maneuvers on the parallel bars.
c.
socially adept: It's not cool to arrive at a party too early. –adverb
10. Informal. coolly. –noun
11. Something that is cool; a cool part, place, time, etc.: in the cool of the evening.
12. Calmness; composure; poise: an executive noted for maintaining her cool under pressure. –verb (used without object)
2. Not hasty; deliberate: a cool and calculated action.
3. Lacking in interest or enthusiasm: a cool reply to an invitation.
4. Lacking in warmth or cordiality: a cool reception.
5. Calmly audacious or impudent: a cool lie.
6. Aloof or unresponsive; indifferent: He was cool to her passionate advances.
7. Unaffected by emotions; disinterested; dispassionate: She made a cool appraisal of all the issues in the dispute.
8. Informal. (of a number or sum) without exaggeration or qualification: a cool million dollars.
9. Slang.
a.
great; fine; excellent: a real cool comic.
b.
characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever: cool maneuvers on the parallel bars.
c.
socially adept: It's not cool to arrive at a party too early. –adverb
10. Informal. coolly. –noun
11. Something that is cool; a cool part, place, time, etc.: in the cool of the evening.
12. Calmness; composure; poise: an executive noted for maintaining her cool under pressure. –verb (used without object)
Our Living Language :
The usage of cool as a general positive epithet or interjection has been part and parcel of English slang since World War II, and has even been borrowed into other languages, such as French and German. Originally this sense is a development from a Black English usage meaning "excellent, superlative," first recorded in written English in the early 1930s. Jazz musicians who used the term are responsible for its popularization during the 1940s.
As a slang word expressing generally positive sentiment, it has stayed current (and cool) far longer than most such words. One of the main characteristics of slang is the continual renewal of its vocabulary and storehouse of expressions: in order for slang to stay slangy, it has to have a feeling of novelty. Slang expressions meaning the same thing as cool, like bully, capital, hot, groovy, hep, crazy, nervous, far-out, rad, and tubular have for the most part not had the staying power or continued universal appeal of cool. In general there is no intrinsic reason why one word stays alive and others get consigned to the scrapheap of linguistic history; slang terms are like fashion designs, constantly changing and never "in" for long. The jury is still out on how long newer expressions of approval such as def and phat will survive.
The Coolness of Women from the 40's to today...
"Cool" female icons- the beautiful people? It is fact to say that the image of a cool woman has changed througout generations.
In the fourties & fifties there was Marilyn Monroe- a voluptuous peroxide blonde actress. Her birth name was actually Norma Jeane Mortenson, but I guess that just wasnt cool enough for Hollywood. She was "cool" for her looks, and seen as extra cool because of the affair she had with the American president, and her controversial death. Now would this be seen as cool today? It appears that Monica Lewinsky & Anna Nicole-Smith were far from being iconic...
For me, it was the 60's when women started being "cool" for more than just being sexy. In the sixties the festival revolution took place as well as the summer of love and sex, drugs, rock n roll. Being a hippie was "cool" and is still seen today as "cool". With this movement came Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell & other talented female artists.
Women began to emerge as strong enigmatic & intelligent people, and although Margaret Thatcher completely screwed up our country- which was not cool, her presence as Britain's first female priminister was cool.
Today's celebrity icons seem to have alterted the meaning of "cool" for me. Younger teenagers are brainwashed into thinking that Victoria Beckham, Kerry Katona & Jordan are cool. And that implies that cool is associated with too much money & too many boob jobs....
That's not cool.
In the fourties & fifties there was Marilyn Monroe- a voluptuous peroxide blonde actress. Her birth name was actually Norma Jeane Mortenson, but I guess that just wasnt cool enough for Hollywood. She was "cool" for her looks, and seen as extra cool because of the affair she had with the American president, and her controversial death. Now would this be seen as cool today? It appears that Monica Lewinsky & Anna Nicole-Smith were far from being iconic...
For me, it was the 60's when women started being "cool" for more than just being sexy. In the sixties the festival revolution took place as well as the summer of love and sex, drugs, rock n roll. Being a hippie was "cool" and is still seen today as "cool". With this movement came Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell & other talented female artists.
Women began to emerge as strong enigmatic & intelligent people, and although Margaret Thatcher completely screwed up our country- which was not cool, her presence as Britain's first female priminister was cool.
Today's celebrity icons seem to have alterted the meaning of "cool" for me. Younger teenagers are brainwashed into thinking that Victoria Beckham, Kerry Katona & Jordan are cool. And that implies that cool is associated with too much money & too many boob jobs....
That's not cool.
The notion of "being cool"
Being cool seems to be paramount within the social conforms of today's society. Whether you are cool, are uncool, desire to be either one or quite frankly dont care at all- you cannot deny the existence of "cool."
It is there around you everyday, even without people realising it. Why do people buy brand names, follow fashion, get pierced or tattood, post photos of drunken nights or exotic holidays on facebook? The answer is the need to be seen in society as "cool" (or whatever other word you want to call it.) Cool overlaps with technology too- the digital era has bought a whole host of tantalizing products including ipods, camera phones, HD TV, laptops etc... Those that own them are also seen as "cool"- the ones that are slightly ahead of the game, and completely immersed in their own private world of consumeristic pleasure & their own image.
As well as this kind of "cool"- there are also the anti-cools, another form of cool. These are the people who are uninterested in the technological advances of today- but are still happily stuck in a past era (commonly the 1960's or 70's) even if they werent actually there the first time. This kind of cool embraces public issue awareness and political/social activists (always left-wing.) They like drugs, rock & roll, peace and are always hate America. A favourite of mine who fits into this category is Bill Hicks. Now- in my eyes he was (and still is) VERY cool, but in the eyes of others he is just a pain in the arse, perhaps trying too hard to be cool.
It is there around you everyday, even without people realising it. Why do people buy brand names, follow fashion, get pierced or tattood, post photos of drunken nights or exotic holidays on facebook? The answer is the need to be seen in society as "cool" (or whatever other word you want to call it.) Cool overlaps with technology too- the digital era has bought a whole host of tantalizing products including ipods, camera phones, HD TV, laptops etc... Those that own them are also seen as "cool"- the ones that are slightly ahead of the game, and completely immersed in their own private world of consumeristic pleasure & their own image.
As well as this kind of "cool"- there are also the anti-cools, another form of cool. These are the people who are uninterested in the technological advances of today- but are still happily stuck in a past era (commonly the 1960's or 70's) even if they werent actually there the first time. This kind of cool embraces public issue awareness and political/social activists (always left-wing.) They like drugs, rock & roll, peace and are always hate America. A favourite of mine who fits into this category is Bill Hicks. Now- in my eyes he was (and still is) VERY cool, but in the eyes of others he is just a pain in the arse, perhaps trying too hard to be cool.
Its cool to like Che...his face belongs in every students wardrobe these days. But how many of those people actually know what he stands for and what he did?
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