The Desert of the Real (24/10/2013)

* Today we went through aspects of the last paper handed to us ('The Precession of Simulacra' by Jean Baudrillard, 1994) which I read and couldn't understand, and the presentation 'The Desert of the Real'.

* "What is authenticity?" This is a question our lecturer asked to which the group answered with 'true', 'reality' and 'genuine'. 

* "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives mimicry, their passions a quotation" - Oscar Wilde.
I can somewhat agree with this, as when I watch/read a review by one of my favourite critics I often agree with their opinion providing they back up their reasoning's which they often do with comedic effect. Though, I have, on the odd occasion disagreed with them.

* "... the production of authenticity requires more than an author for the object; it extracts the "truth" of the authorial discourse" - Mary Kelly, in Art in Theory.
Thus the authenticity, uniqueness, aura and truth when combined can change the opinions of others drastically. As is the case with famous works of art and Von Gogh's recently discovered painting that was valued far less when people didn't know that the famous artist had painted it.

* "Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element : its presence in time and space, its unique existence at a place where it happens to be." - Walter Benjamin.
I believe the above to mean that when something is copied it looses what made it special in the first place and therefore looses an element of its meaning.

* Even though you can go to a museum in order to see the famous painting of the Mona Lisa, you technically don't, as you are part of a swarm of other tourists all trying to get a glimpse/photograph of the smaller than expected painting from far away. Therefore, thanks to it being put online everyone can now see it up close in detail, despite it only be a digital image and not the real thing.

* Looked at examples of Atelier Populaire Posters (fig 1) drawn in 1968 alongside a qoute by Mary Kelly. "It is no longer a question of good art, but of serious artists."

Fig 1:

* Mentioned the short story by Johannes - Muentinga (2011) On Exactitude in Science: A Journey to the Ruins of the Map Machine (after Borges). This story told of a empire that tried to map their entire land, thus linking closely to the paper I read for today, 'The Precession of Simulacra' as it mentions "If once we were able to view the Borges fable in which the cartographers of the Empire draw up a map so detailed that it ends up covering the territory exactly" (Jean Baudrillard, 1994). 

* Watched a clip from 'The Matrix' which had one of the characters saying he doesn't care that the world he lives in isn't real, as he prefers to live in a world of ignorance rather than a world truly controlled by machines.
This example then linked back to when we watched the movie 'Existenz' last year, as at the end of it the characters don't know if they are still in the video game or the real world. Thus connecting to the plot of 'The Matrix' where the characters find out their reality is actually a false one in a virtual world.  

* 'Twinity' and 'Near Global' were two projects that attempted to map the entire world as an explorable 3D environment. The idea was to be able to go anywhere that exists in real life and thus treat it as a second reality.

Fig 2:

* If you visit Lascaux then you only see a recreation of its cave paintings as they don't want the original cave drawings to be ruined.

* Finally, the lecturer recorded the session and will try and post the audio recording on Moodle. Thus if we wish we can listen to it again at any time.

Harvard Referencing:

• Fig 1: Word Press (Unknown) Posters from the Liverpool Atelier [Online Image]. Available at: http://senatehouseoccupation.wordpress.com/photos/posters-from-the-liverpool-atelier/ (Accessed: 24/10/2013).
• Fig 2: frmtr (2012) Twinity Real-Life MmoRPG [Online Image]. Available at: http://www.frmtr.com/online-oyunlar/4678323-twinity-real-life-mmorpg.html (Accessed: 24/10/2013).
• Baudrillard, J (1994) The Precession of Simulacra. Unknown.
   

Society of Spectral (17/10/2013)

First we discussed our thoughts on the article 'THECULTURE: The real deal?' I shared my example of Lorna Simpson (see last blog) to which the lecturer said that the article works for X-Factor instead of against it, as any news is good news e.g. people will still talk about the show and tune in to see for themselves.

War footage is heavily edited so as not to show the most gory bits. Yet the reporters talk about death and show shooting, but may actually resort to computer generated graphics to substitute for real war footage of killing. It also depends greatly on the country as they can have political and economical reasons for representing a conflict in a particular way. 

"Society of Spectral" was a term the lecturer used to explain that the bigger and flashier something is, the more we tend to focus on it.

During a recent comedy sketch, the lecturer talked about how a family struggled to find the right place to sit in their living room as their was no TV, thus without a focal point they were lost. This was interesting as this is a reflection of real life in which TV's have become so dominate in our society that living rooms are usually planned around the TV. Likewise you could say the same for a radio back when TV's didn't exist. Before even radios however a fire might have been used by families and early tribes would use a circle around a fire for meetings.    

We were shown the beginning of the most recent X-Factor and asked to look out for its authenticity.
From what I saw it seemed incredibly manufactured and more as if I was watching a scripted movie than a live show. 
Some points I noted include the following.

• Was incredibly flashy, bright and loud in order to keep people tuned in and pumped up. 
• Previous footage of the singers crying in slow motion and talking about how this competition is their dream was shown. They talked about their families and that they are competing for what they have always wanted. Music would also kick in to push up the emotional response to the footage being shown.
• Said that the judges are entrusted with the contestants' "hopes and dreams".

The lecturer also pointed out that they take away things from the singers. For example, they took away a girls rather nice soulful voice and gave it auto tuning, thus removing her originality and authenticity. They also did this to her wardrobe and make up, as they wanted to make her look more visually pleasing for a TV show.

Mobile phones are now being used by the audience even more, as not only can they record the shows they are watching live, but they can also act as a fifth judge and Tweet what they think of each contestant during the show. Clearly these Tweeters hope that their comment will be posted on the big screen alongside others, despite it only appearing for a second.

Having watched the show, we were asked to discuss it. It was interesting to watch again as it reminded me of the harsh truth that it is, in a way, a freak show similar to circus freaks in the past. After all, when I was a child I used to watch X-Factor just to laugh at the horrible singers and then got bored during the serious bits.
In fact, my sister used to try out for X-Factor when she was younger as she admits now she had 'stars in her eyes'. Now, however she sees it for what it is and disagrees with the way it portrays everyone.

In summary, shows like X-Factor are a false reality that presents their contestants in such a way as to be appealing to the widest demographic possible. Thus the singers are no longer excepted for who they really are and instead have to adopt a pop idol persona. The show is also so bright and loud that you might as well compare it to someone dangling keys in front of a baby, thus going back to the term previously used, "Society of Spectral. 

For next week I need to look at the first six pages of the other article given to us last week and write my own opinion of it.  

Shooting the Messenger: Barhtes, Foucault and the Death of the Author (10/10/2013)

This session we had a presentation that went further into our discussion on 'The Death of the Author'.
Below are a few of my notes. 

• Grand Narratives (Or Meta-narratives) are culturally constructed narratives which explain 'the way things are', or in other words, the bigger picture for understanding the world. For example religion, science and/or philosophy.
• The church was incredibly powerful in the past, but then of course science started to show evidence on creation and meaning through facts. As a result, the church disagreed with the scientific explanation and the gap between science and religion became bigger.
• When analysing a person's work, people tend to ask - Who made it? Whose the author? And why did they make it?
• When a painting was discovered to be possibly drawn by Von Gogh nobody particularly cared as its authenticity wasn't certain. However, when it was everyone cared about it and the painting's value rose, despite it not being as good as his other work. Thus the response to the painting changed and influenced others opinions about it. 
• Just because something is created in the past, doesn't mean it can't share similarities with modern works. Plus, this doesn't necessarily mean that the modern artist copied the past work, it just shows its relevance. For example, art arising from the Vietnam war and perhaps the Holy war could share similarities to our modern day Iraq wars. 
• Creating a collage of images can also change the meaning of each separate one in it, as they are being compared to one another and not just viewed on their own.
• Talked about the games 'Darksouls' and 'Journey' as, even though the creators may have come up with a story for them, the players will often invent their own as they are games in which the experience is the focal point. Yes, you can find out the story in 'Darksouls' through finding pages, and 'Journey' shows the player a tapestry of the history of the world. But often players enjoy creating their own narrative and thus finding their own meaning for playing.
• "The modern scriptor is born simultaneously with the text... there is no other time than that of the enunciation and every text is eternally written here and now" (Barthes, 1968). In short, the meaning of things change depending on who reads it. Thus what we have been talking about already.  
• Words, music and genres from the past are used yearly in order to inspire modern works as they adopt and expand from what they know. For example, the game 'Red Dead Redemption' reminds most players of original Spaghetti Western films including the music that, although consists of original scores, sounds similar to the music in those movies.
• Likewise, language is also reinterpreted as children will quote the characters and things they see on TV. Even the movie director Quentin Tarantino has taken quotes from other films and used them for his own movies as this is his style of film making.
• "The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author" Barthes said in 1968, though I still disagree with this statement as explained in my last blog post 'Analysing 'The Death of the Author'.' In fact, my example of the blue curtain was brought up in today's session as we discussed how different people will interpret what the artist meant by the smallest detail or description.

We also talked about how advertisements are viewed, such as the 'Grand Theft Auto' posters (see below), as many people will see them depicting women in a sexist or pornographic way. Whereas, the company Rockstar deliberately depict women like this as they want to show women stereotypes to parody the real world we actually live in. This relates to my last blog, since this kind of subtle meaning is lost on those who don't understand the parody. 

Overall the presentation summed up one meaning to me, that everyone interprets things in different ways no matter the content. Similarities may be agreed on, but differences will always be evidenced as well.

Harvard Referencing: 

• wallsave (2012) Samsung Star Gta Iv Lolly Pop Girl Poster Rage D Discussion Area Wallpaper with 2560x1600 Resolution [Online Image]. Available at: http://www.wallsave.com/wallpaper/2560x1600/samsung-star-gta-iv-lolly-pop-girl-poster-rage-d-discussion-area-626902.html (Accessed: 10/10/2013).

Analysing 'THECULTURE: The real deal?' (10/10/2013)

You can read my thoughts on the article Analysing 'THECULTURE: The real deal?' (Will Brooker) below.

The article seems to state that all the big shows such as and including X-Factor, are just set up in order to get more views and early hype for the next batch of pop stars.

It's also interesting as it seems that the show is made larger than life in order to get the audience so excited and responsive that they forget who they are cheering/voting for, this all they do is focus on a giant projection of the contestants or attempt to record footage of the event live in order to prove the fact they were there. Thus the whole experience ends up being more about the fact that the audience watched and reacted to the show, rather than the focus being the contestants themselves.
Therefore, if the content isn't nearly as relevant as it should be, the audience might as well be cheering at a brick wall. After all, they are usually reacting to the way the producers want them to and tell them to e.g. use of cues.

Further more, from reading this article I noticed many similarities to the popular fictional series 'The Hunger Games' in which children are cast into an arena to kill one another. However, before all that, they have to get sponsors, individuals from the same district who want to see them dead, as without them they won't get support in the arena. Support might be food, medicine or weapons which they might receive if they are able to convince both the sponsors and their audience to like them.

This links to the article, as the band referred to (Little Mix) are shown crying and talking about bullying. Thus being subjects that the audience can relate to and empathise with, therefore improving the groups chances of winning. Granted, these emotions may not be an act, but they show a human side which is engaging for the audience. However, these can also be exaggerated to gain sympathy and votes.

Similarly, these reactions that may or not be manufactured are shown on TV programs that are. After all, even though many claim to be live and reality programs, usually everything they need to say or perform is scripted down to every move and emotion the audience see. This is underlined when occasionally the unexpected happens e.g. wardrobe malfunctions.
Other shows such as X-Factor include I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing.

Added Notes (16/10/2013): 

Recently axed 2013 X-Factor contestant Lorna Simpson said that the show was rigged. Granted a lot of her arguments sound as if she just wanted to complain because she lost e.g. "I had some middle-aged woman’s wardrobe. I’m 26! Why are you trying to hide me? You’ve hidden me enough." sounds more like something someone who is jealous would say, and considering I don't watch the show I can't say if she was good or not. 

However, she did say "It’s unfair. X Factor set me up to go out in the first week. They underplayed me... it was set up." because she wasn't featured on the show as often as the others, and “They know the outcome of the whole competition. It’s prepared. It’s TV and they have to be ahead.”. These were interesting comments as both sound similar to the points raised in the article we discussed which stated "X Factor reflects back only what we give it." shortly followed by "Outside is the world of fake bloggers, rigged votes, structured reality, YouTube pop stars, holograms in pantomime and protesters in comic-book masks; albums from dead singers, scripted political debates, simulated flash mobs, arrests for Facebook pages, Twitter rumours, online bomb threats and TV marriages shorter than an advert break. As Baudrillard said of Disneyland, the arena's artifice exists to convince us that the world outside is real. In fact, that world looks an awful lot like The X Factor."


Harvard Referencing:

• Bagwell, M (2013) Axed 'X Factor' Contestant Lorna Simpson Says The Show Is A 'Set Up'. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/10/15/x-factor-lorna-simpson_n_4099532.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share (Accessed: 10/10/2013).

Analysing 'The Death of the Author' (8/10/2013)

'The Death of the Author' as written by Roland Bathes (1968) I felt wasn't the best read. Like the previous paper 'Viewers Make Meaning' I felt the subject matter was interesting, but the way the writing was phrased and its vast amount of examples overshadowed what the content was meant to be about, and in general made the read longer than it had to be.

That said, I feel that Bathes in a nutshell was trying to say that, just like the artist, it's not up to the writer to decide what the meaning is, it is up to the reader since different narratives will mean different things to whoever reads it. For example, an analytical person might read a poem about a blue curtain and think the blue represents sadness. Whereas the poet's intention was to merely write a poem on a curtain that just happened to be the colour blue. Obviously this can also be vise versa.  

Although I was asked to anaylse this paper, I feel that I can not agree with it. No artist or writer sets out to create something without meaning. Yes, the viewer can interpret it all they like, but the creator always means to try and provoke something from their work. Whether it be something as simple as making someone think something a character in a comic book does is cool, or trying to provoke the horrors of war in a best selling novel through the experiences of a solider.
At the same time though, it is up to the reader to decide for themselves if they like the characters/stories or not and whether they empathise with their situation, which might depend on many things such as the reader's age, gender, ethnicity, background or culture etc. This being said, I feel that readers will always gravitate towards reading the things that best match their interests and their experiences, unless they are reading things they have been asked to read for specific purposes.
Of course, some types of writing need to be read more accurately than others e.g. recipes and instructions.

Still, if all writers work were interpreted in the same way then things would be boring. Yes, it is sad for a writer to see someone doesn't like their work. Yet someone else will love it. Perhaps this is just like what we discussed before where a photograph is only perceived the same way by viewers who have similar experiences, thus linking more closely to my previous paragraph. 

Overall, from reading this I have thought about my own writing and now understand that when you are writing for a certain genre, then you should include elements of things that its likely demographic will have experienced or feel strongly about. Thus not only appealing to them, but also making them feel those connected emotions and decide for themselves what the narrative means to them.

First Session (3/10/2013)

Start of Year 2!

Our first session was to 'understand a peice of text', something that sounds obvious and yet is harder than it seems. This can be due, for example the amount of text morphing into one another due to the length of the paragraphs written, or the words being too technical and therefore the reader struggles to understand them. Thus this session was to help break down more complicated papers in order for us to read and understand them better.

One technique you can use in order to break down the meaning in a paragraph is by first reading it and then afterwards writing next to it a sentence (or word if you can think of one) to sum up what it meant. Thus making it clearer, but also making it easier to remember key points.

Our lecturer also asked us what the term 'Viewers make meaning' means?
Some of us answered 'How an audience interprets something?'.
And others answered 'The Viewers interactions create meaning?'. 

With these different responses we were then asked to read the paper 'Viewers Make Meaning' and write down our thoughts.
The following is what I made of it.

The emotions felt by the on-looker of an image affects the way a certain group or an individual reacts to the image. For example, it may be happiness from a past memory contained in a personal photograph that another wouldn't understand if it was not there own. Likewise, it could be sadness that no one else could feel as they don't have the memories to evoke that emotion. Thus, memories help determine our feelings when looking at things that provoke them. This might be a visual image, but it could also be triggered by smell, taste, sound or touch.
For example, what do you feel when you look at the image of the apple below? Apple pie? Adam and Eve? "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"? The poison apple in Snow White? It would be interesting to discus this with others as the amount of responses could be huge.

Fig 1:

Groups of individuals can also experience the same emotions and similar memories. Whether it be family related or fan related. For example, myself and others may despise the 'Twilight' movies, but there is also a fan base that will defend them and enjoy them. What we see as idiotic, they see as beautiful and so on.    

One thing the lecturer mentioned, which I have mixed feelings about, is 'its not up to the artist to come up with the meaning for their work as others will always see it in another way'. Thus even though one may want their work to convey happiness, a viewer may see it as sadness. This could be due to connected memories as mentioned above.

Things can also be lost on a viewer. For example, people with delicate skin may appreciate/recognise an ad like Olay, whereas others won't. They may know what Olay is (fig 2), but not feel a connection to it. The same can also be said for those that play games and those that don't as seen with the recent advertisements for 'Grand Theft Auto V' (fig 3). Players will most likely recognise the ads due to their art style and not their title which is often in small print on the ads. Because of this often non gamers don't understand what the advertisements are for, and thus like the Olay posters do not relate to them.

Fig 2 and 3:

On a side note, I was wondering what would happen if you gave memories to someone who didn't have the experience themselves. Would they be affected by such a memory? And could you perhaps use emotions in order to manipulate someone? It could be something as simple as turning a bad experience at a restaurant into a good one from someone else's experience. Or maybe something medically useful, such as curing depression by making almost everything bring back natural happiness. Then ofcourse this would bring up the most profitable use, weapons. Yes, emotions could perhaps be used as a means of fighting. It could be a new age of emotional warfare where you could avoid death by simply altering the mood and feelings of your opposition.
Such an idea has already been touched upon in 'Metal Gear Solid 4' where soldiers would have their fears and guilt suppressed by nano-machines, and in the same game this strategy was used against them. Therefore, seeing this actually come about one day wouldn't surprise me, especially considering how effective emotions are at affecting not only a person's decisions, but also their entire personalty!

Fig 4:

Finally we were told that we would eventually be putting together a project so we needed to think about what content we would want to write about e.g. sexuality, gender, ethnicity, religion etc.
Also, we were given another similar paper to the last one that we were asked to read and write our thoughts about for the next session, this one being named 'The Death of the Author' by Roland Bathes (1968).

Harvard Referencing:

• Fig 1: Johnson, S (2013) Supply Chain Excellence, that's a good Apple! Available at: http://www.uandu.com/tech-ops/supply-chain-excellence-thats-a-good-apple/ (Accessed: 3/10/2013).
• Fig 2: muttonbones (2012) Olay - Alexa & Dennie [Online Image]. Available at: http://www.muttonbones.co.uk/blog/home/olay-for-saatchi-dubai-shot-by-alexa-singer-with-hairmake-up-by-dennie-pasion/attachment/olay-theia2/ (Accessed: 3/10/2013).
• Fig 3: Vas, G (2013) The Largest Grand Theft Auto V Ad Stares Down The Streets Of L.A [Online Image]. Available at: http://kotaku.com/the-largest-grand-theft-auto-v-ad-stares-down-the-stree-1133191511 (Accessed: 3/10/2013).
• Fig 4: Richardson, B (2012) Metal Gear Solid 4: 10 Predictions [Online Image]. Available at: http://www.gamesradar.com/metal-gear-solid-4-10-predictions/ (Accessed: 3/10/2013).