Pre Class 11/5

Generally we associate value to something based on the meaning it has to the individual. This is the ebb and flow of society. We will always have push and pull with all entities that are apart of society and culture. Culture must be read from a worldly perspective as a starting point to gauge, compare, and add or take away meaning. Specifically, this notion that Barthes has on reading culture, “The implicit assumption that it still required a literary sensibility to ‘read’ society with the requisite subtlety, and that the two ideas of culture could be ultimately reconciled was also, paradoxically, to inform the early work of the French writer, Roland Barthes, though here it found validation in a method-semiotics - a way of reading signs” (Hawkes, 1977, p. 126). This quote is quite profound in the sense that the readability of anything is crucial  to understanding the needs, wants, and desires to control the flow of hegemony and the inherent importance and impact the tone of culture has. Culture has so many external pressures and influences based on the country where one is trying to gauge and understand culture. As Hebdige brilliantly states, “You cannot learn, through common sense, how things are: you can can only discover where they fit into the existing scheme of things” (Hebdige, 2012, p. 125). This quote speaks miles ahead of its time. This is an extremely honest sentence because the everything must have context to associate its meaning and this sentence feels like it trying to do exactly that. Below I have shared an excerpt from Hebdige that I through the was quite profound.  

“Williams was, then, proposing an altogether broader formulation of the relationships between culture and society, one which through the analysis of ‘particular meanings and values’ sought to uncover the concealed fundamentals of history; the ‘general causes’ and broad social ‘trends’ which lie behind the manifest appearances of an ‘everyday life’” (Hebdige, 2012, p. 125).  

Post Class 11/3

From this reading selection, many new concepts and connections came forward and became clear. The fact of the matter is that these theorists and ideologies have shaped and influenced the world as we clearly perceive it to be. Marx has some extremely interesting commentaries on society, specifically, the notion of false consciousness is the worlds best and biggest illusion. The way in which we perceive the world and ourselves have inherent bias and by nature we all look out for our best interests and the interests of the people we spend time with. We are living in a well-oiled machine. My home nation being, The United States of America has the biggest false reality towards society. We are all actors and puppets controlled by the mass-media making everyone decision for us (unconsciously speaking). We face decisions on a day-to-day basis that goes right over our heads. The mass-media tries to regulate and control our happiness to a certain extent so there can be law and order. These are the basic fundamentals and building blocks that hold checks and balances for the remainder of society, leaving out those in power who are the puppeteers. Marx describes the mass-media as a point of deception to uphold the working class from straying away outside of the false reality. Ideologies are merely lies that help us on a day to day that reinforce our beliefs and the beliefs we are being fed by all outlets. Below, I have selected a quote that truly felt powerful and helped me make all these connections.

“Since then, with the development of mass education, forms of parliamentary democracy and, in the twentieth century and twenty-first centuries, the mass media, the social control of thought has become of major political importance, and with it, the question of ideology. Definitions of ideology have spread in widening circles, from a local concern with the ideologies of groups in a conjuncture, to those of a period, an epoch and, especially since the success of the great post-war movements against European imperialism, a sense of ideology as perhaps characterizing the whole of Western culture since Ancient Greece” (Marx, p. 33). 

Pre-class Blog 11/5

“However, the challenge to hegemony which subcultures represent is not issued directly by them. Rather it is expressed obliquely, in style.”

 

One of the most interesting subcultures I’ve encountered is the Japanese Lolita fashion scene. While the name is shared by the Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, the origin of the name Lolita in Japanese fashion is highly debated among the community. Some say it was picked arbitrarily as a pretty, flowery, Western sounding name, while others theorize that it was originally a derogatory term for the community that was reclaimed (much like Goth and Punk). In either case, the community is known for its ostentatious dresses and hairstyles, almost overly performing femininity. These dresses and headpieces are made by members of the Lolita community for members of the Lolita community, going against mass produced clothing and creating something themselves. While the style may appear oppressive to Westerners, it is not meant to be appealing to men. Showy clothing and hair go against the demure ideal of femininity forced upon women in Japanese society and makes a statement about how girls are expected to grow up much quicker than their male counterparts. By performing a childhood fantasy, they are retaking parts of their childhood taken from them by society.

 

Due to the proliferation of Japanese pop culture, this style has also become popular outside of Japan, with Lolita communities existing all over the world. Removed from its culture of origin, I wonder if the fashion loses some of its edge. The symbols probably do not carry the same meaning that they do in Japan, and if anything, come off as conservative and homely. Without this cultural context, Lolita becomes aestheticized rather than a political statement. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a particular fashion style, but it is important to know its significance and origins as well. Especially with fast fashion becoming more and more preferred to these often expensive custom alternative fashions, this is one of the ways to keep the spirit of it alive.

Post Class Blog 11/3

 

“Postmodern culture is often presented as an alternative to existing society which is pictured as structurally limited or fundamentally flawed.”

 

Mark Poster writes this quote in Postmodern Virtualities. He is arguing that the postmodern culture having to do with virtual reality is being considered as an alternative to the reality of the world. He is offering the claim that virtual reality is better than real. He believes this because he thinks that humans have more control over virtual reality than true reality. Poster understands virtual reality as being able to be dominated by humans because they are able to decide the details of a virtual world. This connects to Baudrillard’s idea of the simulacra because he believes virtual reality is just a representation of real life and is not real. When I think of humans having more control over virtual reality, I immediately think about social media. Social media users are able to control the image they broadcast to the world. People have the ability to edit or photoshop images and have the freedom to say what they want about themselves online. This happens a lot with celebrities. The Kardashians are major social media users and post frequently. Their posts frame their lives to be perfect. They edit their photos to achieve the “perfect” body and appearance and only regularly share about the luxurious parts of their lives. They do not open up online as real people, but rather portray themselves as an image of perfection in the media’s eyes. They have complete control of their image via their social media. They have taken control of their own virtual reality. Virtual reality has the ability to be positive when it allows people to experience things virtually they never would have gotten to before. It can be negative when it affects the real world so tremendously, it is hard to decipher what is real and what is not. I believe that virtual reality is not always better than the real and we should yes partake in these awesome experiences, but also not lose sight of the real us.

11/5 Pre Class Blog- Hebdige, Subcultures, and Youtube

 “Thus, as soon as the original innovations which signify ‘subculture’ are translated into commodities and made generally available, they become ‘frozen.” once removed from their private contexts by the small entrepreneurs and big fashion interests who produce them on a mass scale, they become codified, made comprehensible, rendered at one public property and profitable merchandise. (132)

This quote was the most impactful to me out of what Hebdige discusses. He writes that once a subculture is taken by the mainstream, it loses its uniqueness because the mainstream does not understand the original innovation that went into the subculture. The mainstream wants to take the style of the subculture and mass produce for the masses. Walter Benjamin writes about authenticity is key to the value of the original work. Thus, when a subculture becomes replicated for the mainstream, it loses its authenticity and thus its true value. 

This quote reminds me of the current Youtube sphere and the mainstream style that has developed because of it. When Youtube started out, it became a subculture of creators who used a specific style of editing and method of speaking in order to talk about/ review/ vlog or anything else they wanted to do. However, as Youtube has become more mainstream, media outside of media has started to replicate the style of Youtube. The use of a “jump cut” has become more used in cinema and has become mainstream. I argue that the appearance of Youtube helped to raise the amount of “Found footage” style films that have come out in the past couple of years. However, due to this translation of the subculture innovations, whenever the mainstream uses Youtube style editing or manner of speech, it comes off as fake and detracts from the value of the creators on the platform.

Evie 11/3

 “What distinguishes the telephone from the other great media is its decentralized quality and its universal exchangeability of the positions of sender and receiver” (535)

I found our discussion on Mark Poster yesterday very fascinating. Before I unpack this quote, I would like to rewind back to the idea of rhysomic spectatorship. With rhizome meaning spreading and spectatorship meaning watching, this idea highlights the expansion of a kind of inactive observation. As we mentioned in class, cinema has trained us to be spectators. Directors and producers create perfect films that have been cut and edited for us so that our only job is to sit back and passively watch. As spectators, we are constantly being fed media and we have no active role in the production or how it's getting sent to us. 

Poster references that Walter Benjamin envisioned the democratic potential of the increased communication capacity of radio, film, and television. However, he goes to challenge Benjamin’s idea by arguing that the more radical communications potential was the telephone. This is because of its “decentralized quality and universal exchangeability.” In other words, we are no longer the spectator when it comes to the telephone. Rather than passively absorbing information, we are active contributors while communicating on the phone. Information is getting sent to us in real time and we have the ability to exchange ideas freely. Radio, film, and television enable us to be mere spectators. In those forms of media, there is only one line of communication; the message, constructed by the producers and directors, is sent to the audience and the audience’s role is to simply receive it. However, the telephone is a radical communication invention in that there are two lines of communication. Messages are not only being received, but they are commented on through responses. Therefore, the idea of rhysomic spectatorship is not present in the case of the telephone. Poster argues that the only technology that imitates the telephones structure is the Internet. Like the telephone, the Internet has multiple lines of communication that allows the audience to be far more than a spectator.

11/3 Pre-Class Blog Marx and the values of the Ruling Class

 For each new class which puts itself in the place of one ruling before it is compelled, merely in order to carry through it aims, to present its interests as the common interest of the members of society, that is, expressed in ideal form: it has to give its idea the form of universality, and present them as the only rational, universality valid ones (Marx, pg. 40)

This quote, extracted from the Marx reading from this class, was what captured my thoughts the most. I thought was extremely relevant to our modern times and could be applied to so many interesting situations. First off, I defined the ruling class as the financially elite, like celebrities, millionaires, etc. Marx is saying that as new ruling classes into power, they will push their interests and morality on the general public to make it feel like that is the proper way to live life. Though the values presented by the ruling class are not always right or correct in any way, many people still feel like those values become the “universal” ones. 

I think an example that can be applied to this quote very easily. The current political landscape within celebrity culture in the United States. A lot of celebrities are very liberal and left-leaning in their beliefs. Thus, a lot of young people and the media culture is very left-leaning. Though I personally don’t disagree with their views, their views now are seen more like the “universal” or “rational” point of view. I’ve heard of cases of conservative or even centrist actors not get a role because of their political beliefs.  Within academia, I feel like if someone is more conservative in their point of view, they are seen as “irrational” and going against universal human rights because of their beliefs. While there are some people on the right who definitely think like, there is a stigma around not believing in left-leaning values wholeheartedly. This summation is based on my interaction with media, within academia, and within my own home life.

Post Class 10/29

 This reading from Mark Poster was one of most selections we have had in this course thus far. The reality is that we are approaching a new age of information technologies and resources to utilize. With the massive boost in population that will arise quicker than we know it, there will be brilliant minds creating technological phenomenons that will forever change the direction of all facets and disciplines of life. Poster offers a question, "will this technological change provide the stimulus for the installation of new media different enough from what we now have to warrant the periodizing judgment of a second electronic media age?" (Poster, 1995, p. 444). Poster imposes and collects information from an array of theorists trying to describe the direction of new media and how the democratic control presents, "more freedom, more enlightenment, more rationality" (Poster, 1995, p. 445). This feels pretty true especially with the internet being infinite with resources and different internal workings of the internet such as the deep and dark web. This falls in line with the concepts of apply modernity. "'Virtual reality' is a more dangerous term since it suggests that reality may be multiplied or take many forms" (Poster, 1995, p. 445). The words that truly stick out in this quote like 'dangerous' sound off an alarm in the brain because they are sensationalized words, but there is a lot of truth to these pieces of technology becoming a potential detriment to society. Time is something that gets taken from the virtual senses of a false reality. Video games being the most prevalent time waster can cause a variety of dangers to society. Mental and physical health are the most surface-level issues. The direction in which virtual reality could have infinite possibilities and outcomes. Could it be a possibility for technology and media to have severe regulations in a democratic society and free market? Is this the direction of the postmodern?

Jane Denson, 10/29

        Last class' discussion of the Disneyfication of reality in relation to Eco's theoretical analysis got me thinking about the overwhelming sense of artificiality that manifests within the theme park, as well as the ideological undertones that are maintained there. Having been to both Disneyland and Disney World, I can safely say that upon entering the park, it feels as though your senses are being bombarded and that you have immediately crossed into another dimension, a purely fictional one. What is interesting here is that right before this "magical" transportation, you have to endure a robotic process when passing through security, which makes me wonder if this foreshadows, in a way, the robotic essence that is build into the park itself (e.g. the lines to ride the attractions, the restricted movement from the crowds, etc.). From my personal experience, I have found Disney to be rather grueling, in addition to a heightened reality. From a consumer's perspective, the park is stripped of all the world's negative aspects (e.g. poverty, hunger, trauma, etc.) and instead presents itself as the perfect American fantasy, which feels strange after multiple visits. Not only that, but the environment appears to be absent of all labor and hardship. However, I'm sure if you were to ask any employee, they would express how taxing and physically demanding their unique positions are, which may point to the larger notion that it takes a great deal of work to create a utopian realm and thus our actual society is far from it.

        Everything, from the fake grass to the whimsically sleek buildings (which look as though they can be inhabited) to the overbearingly jubilant actors, cements Disney as a place that can only be fictional. When I was little, I always bought into this alternate type of reality and observed the park as "magical," but this was simply because it constantly had an aura surrounding it that represented perfection. Now, I genuinely can't stand walking through there for the apparent reason that it lacks depth. Over the years, I learned that true beauty, unlike the superficial splendor Disney prefers to showcase, emerges from pain and frustration. Therefore, as a present-day attendee, I can't help but dislike the theme park for its highly manufactured qualities, emulation of nature's spectacles (e.g. wildlife in Animal Kingdom), and the grandeur of a depiction that it paints of American culture. Sure it can still be fun and adventurous, but what does that mean when it fails to capture life for what it is?

Post Class 10/29

 

“Virtual reality is experienced as reality”

 

In his work, Zizek highlights that virtual reality is starting to evolve and reach the experience of true reality. I believe that his argument is true. This is especially true because of the advancements made in technology over the past decade. I believe that virtual reality began as early as the radio and television were invented. People were able to escape reality through devices and enter into new experiences through listening and watching. This has since evolved in the creation of the internet and the booming video game industry. Technology has allowed us to “experience” things we would never have gotten to. One of the first examples I see of virtual reality blending with reality is the Avatar Flight of Passage ride located in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The ride is a 3D flying simulator allowing riders to experience flying around the landscape of Pandora, a fictional land. When I rode this ride for the first time, I actually felt transported to this magical place and felt as though I was actually there. It was an amazing experience and I really felt as if I was really flying around Pandora. Another recent example is Kanye West’s gift of a hologram of Kim Kardashian West’s late father. Using virtual reality, Kanye gave Kim an experience with her father even though he was not really there. Virtual reality continues to evolve, and I wonder if one day it will start to take over. Will people begin to be glued to their screens to try and experience these newly developed virtual realities? Will this new obsession with creating virtual reality take us away from being present with the world? Does it take us farther away from what is true? I think virtual reality is unique, but I do not want reality and virtual reality to blend too much. I like being present with people and living in the moment and do not want technology to take that away from me.

Does reality outstrip fiction? 10/29 Post Class Blog Post

 Baudrillard says “But does reality actually outstrip fiction?”

I find this quote to be super compelling because of mu personal relationship with fiction as an artist. 

As an actor, I have to dissect fiction every day. I have to understand the motivations, thoughts, history, relationships, and more of a person who does not exist in real life. The more I learn about a character, the more “real” they become to me. Even in abstract plays, the ability to find the “realness” or the humanity of a character is so important to make it compelling to the audience. . It reminds me of a quote from Oscar Wilde “I love acting so much. It is so much more real than life.” How is something that is fictional, like acting, more “real” than life?  Wilde is making a similar point, I feel, to Baudrillard, as that in reality, there is so much that is unsaid or unspoken. In fiction, however, people are more real in many ways because they are more raw and open. A good example of this is what people consider “method acting.” Method acting is when an actor acts as a character away from the set or away from the stage. They continue to live like the character in order to understand the character. There are actors, in legends, that is claimed to be lost to a character. For example, when the Batman sequel The Dark Knight was released, the film was hyped up because of Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger played the Joker in the film and stories of his method acting reached the ears of many. They claimed that he lost himself so much to the roel that committed suicide. Though I don’t know how accurate these fables are, it still speaks the truth about the balance between reality and fiction. For actors, fiction outstrips reality in many ways. In the case of Heath Ledger, his fiction outstripped his reality so much that he eventually killed himself because of it. Thus, as Baudrialled is saying, reality does NOT outstrip fiction.

Pictured Below: Heath Ledger as "The Joker"

Jane Denson, Poster and Jenkins

"By directly tinkering with reality, a simulational practice is set in place which alters forever the conditions under which the identity of the self is formed" (Poster, 1995, p. 446).

        This quote from Poster truly encapsulates his theoretical analysis regarding Postmodern Virtualities, since it alludes to the bigger picture of virtual reality blurring the lines between what is real and what is simulated. Not only that, but it can be inferred that this type of simulative experience plays on human imagination and whimsy to transport the recipient into an alternative world, possibly tailored to them and their desires. Knowing this, it is rather apparent that our current world is steadily moving into a more virtual reality, especially given the global health crisis we are facing right now. This shift has its positives, like any technological advancement, but also its negatives. Poster appears to be examining the nature of Postmodern Virtualities in the context of humanity's internal struggle for freedom, as well as sensual experience, two very prominent ideas that arose within the Postmodernist era. Therefore, when scrutinizing reality and simulation's intertwined relationship, it can be noted that simulation poses as a fantasy of the reality that the subject of it is accustomed to in their own life. Additionally, it will work in conjunction with the subject's imagination to provide a stable environment for them to interact with despite the fact that the realm in which it was created is only being viewed.

        Taking a look at our culture, virtual reality is heavily found in the video game industry and continues to evolve in such fascinating ways. I have witnessed this primarily in survival horror games that utilize sound and imagery to assault various senses in a manner that is meant to scare the user. While playing through this type of simulation, it can feel extremely real and tangible, regardless of how unrealistic the events that transpire within it are. Furthermore, you would also have to be wearing a VR headset, which acts as the gateway to the virtual realm, since it fully immerses the participant by depriving their senses of external stimuli. With that being said, Poster's discussion of Postmodern Virtualities makes me wonder about what will come in the future. Will humanity move into a world where we completely live in a simulation? Will inventions manifest that merge reality with simulation or tamper with the fabric of what we understand as reality? These questions seem to arise more frequently as we traverse the 21st century and I ponder on how dangerous the notions presented by Poster would be if they progressed to a massive extent.

Jane Denson, 10/15

        After reflecting on this week's readings, the correlation between Baudrillard & Zizek's ideas surrounding the desert of the real became more apparent and led me to thinking more critically about the sensationalization of news from the media, as well as how images may be manipulated in order to convey a massively impactful event in a certain way. I also remember when we discussed terrorism in the media and fake news in CMC 100, which offered me better clarity about the type of potential that the information being spread to the public has to become distorted and how easy it can be to create a false narrative. While these two theorists' words about the desert of the real, the simulacra, and the divergent types of images that exist are complex, what I came to understand from them is that in this day and age, it is hard to recognize what is truly real, since we tend to construct our realities around a series of images, usually controlled by the media. Looking at the past can help elucidate these notions presented by Baudrillard & Zizek. Take the Communist scare in Hollywood in the early 1950s for example. I'm sure the media played a vital role in relaying everything to the public, which includes making accusations of who was a Communist at the time. I have previously read about how Lucille Ball, a prominent figure in the television industry during the 1950s, was accused of being a Communist, which was completely fabricated (by the media). Was it a publicity stunt? Was it a sinister tactic by the media to place blame on a celebrity in an effort to make them look controversial? Was it to scare the public (by accusing an unsuspecting influential figure)? With that being said, it is crucial to be mindful of the images the media presents to the masses. Some display the truth, some display a twisted version of the truth, some are false, and some are completely made up.