http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcUOUckSaWY
(note: low volume)
I found only one myth from the Montagnard people, likely because most if not all of their traditional stories are not told in any form that is not oral. However, something about the tale resonated with me. I put together a simple text and music presentation of it, but knew something was missing. That missing piece came in when Raleigh Bailey came to talk to us. I saw the startling parallels between the US Government's treatment of the Montagnard forces and the myth of the monkies instantly. It really is incredible how the simplest and most seemingly childish stories can apply so directly to our lives, cutting through the chatter and confusion of reality to the simplest, most applicable truths.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Is Digital Media Bad For Us?
Is digital media bad for us? A question with many answers. Specifically five answers.
Social-political worries:
In my opinion, Wikileaks and its ilk are the best thing to happen to journalism in a long time. What I love about it is that it allows not only for private citizens to contribute to news which will be picked up by CNN and the like later, but it allows those same citizens to use their voices as means of keeping big news outlets in line; of watchdoging them for any bogus information they may put out. While I was living in Holland, a hated criminal died in jail while awaiting sentences. He died of “food poisoning,” shortly before he was to be tried. The news merely mentioned this, then moved right on to important stories about baby ducks hatching. I would be interested to see if there are any Wikileaks articles on issues such as this which are much more possible in countries where the government has more power and the press has less. Not a bad thing. Nope.
Socio-interpersonal worries:
While it is certainly preferable to communicate face to face with people, I would argue that social media and the like actually encourage this more than discourage it. When used properly, social media allows those who use it to organize and initiate real world social interaction. Interacting long distance is simply never going to be as enjoyable as being with someone, so unless someone is already socially deficient and using facebook as a means of walling themselves off even more from the real world, just about anyone will use social media as a means of facilitating real world contact since that’s what they really want and benefit from. The fear of the facebook addicted shut-in is, I think, a product of the same fear that is brilliantly exposed in the article about the “Pokemon Generation,” of which I am a proud member- for all of Pokemon’s flaws on a narrative level, it provides a lovely metaphor for the digital age in many ways, as noted by the article. The fear that when kids plug in to the internet for social purposes, this kills their drive to socialize normally is, as the article states, merely a product of “generation gap.”
Psychological-emotional worries:
I would have to agree with the article about IAD, especially the following idea as to why we need to have a “disorder,” for people checking their email constantly:
“It's the tendency of some mental health professionals and researchers to want to label everything they see as potentially harmful with a new diagnostic category.”
Setting aside theories about psychiatrist profiteering and other paranoid malarkey, I think it’s simple human nature: we like to categorize and label things so that we can devote as little thought as possible to them, not because we’re stupid, but because we want to think about other things, things that concern us more. Psychiatrists should beware diagnosing a nonexistent disease when they could be looking past the symptoms to the true emotional issues that lead to any addiction, or indeed any mental disorder.
Psychological-cognitive worries:
This is a concern I am familiar with, having heard my parents parrot it after reading it in magazine articles. The fact of the matter is, many of the most famous and lauded works on the internet contradict this notion: it requires quite a lot of attention span to watch a review of the Star Wars prequels (regardless of how entertaining it is) that is about as long as the prequel it reviews. While there is certainly a truth to the notion of the internet encouraging a new style of learning, i.e. Katamari style learning, picking up may little pieces as the knowledge ball rolls, I would argue that we take bigger pieces the more engaging we find a subject, so once again, it’s up to content producers, both of art and of education, to make their work more palatable and more interesting if they want us to pay attention. Furthermore, as the response to Nicholas Carr notes, information that is digested more quickly also evolves more quickly- a book may seem like a more reliable source of info than a Wikipedia article that can be edited by anyone, but if the author of a book prints something false, that falsehood has cost tons of money and paper, even more of which will be needed to correct it, not to mention that the knowledge sits on the shelves to misinform until this is corrected, and afterwards as well unless every earlier copy is destroyed. An internet article wastes no paper and usually no money, and can be edited instantly, allowing the knowledge there in to adapt for those who consume.
Behavioral-practical worries:
I would assume this to be assumed in the discussion of the faults with the internet obsession disorder theory, but as far as I can tell, this section exists mainly to add the caveat that we do need to keep track of our internet activities in terms of quantity and quality, as is elaborated on in Len Masterman’s piece. As implied, I think this goes without saying. I would only like to add that I think the internet actually makes this process easier rather than harder, because it allows for us to quickly asses whether something is worth our time or not and quickly move on to something else if it isn’t, allowing for more experimentation and discovery- rewarding that which truly speaks to more people- and lessening the power of arbitrary classifications as to what qualifies as a “classic,” or “sensationalist garbage,” that tend to be imposed on young minds by traditional academia- as almost anyone who’s been forced to read “All The King’s Men,” can attest.
Social-political worries:
In my opinion, Wikileaks and its ilk are the best thing to happen to journalism in a long time. What I love about it is that it allows not only for private citizens to contribute to news which will be picked up by CNN and the like later, but it allows those same citizens to use their voices as means of keeping big news outlets in line; of watchdoging them for any bogus information they may put out. While I was living in Holland, a hated criminal died in jail while awaiting sentences. He died of “food poisoning,” shortly before he was to be tried. The news merely mentioned this, then moved right on to important stories about baby ducks hatching. I would be interested to see if there are any Wikileaks articles on issues such as this which are much more possible in countries where the government has more power and the press has less. Not a bad thing. Nope.
Socio-interpersonal worries:
While it is certainly preferable to communicate face to face with people, I would argue that social media and the like actually encourage this more than discourage it. When used properly, social media allows those who use it to organize and initiate real world social interaction. Interacting long distance is simply never going to be as enjoyable as being with someone, so unless someone is already socially deficient and using facebook as a means of walling themselves off even more from the real world, just about anyone will use social media as a means of facilitating real world contact since that’s what they really want and benefit from. The fear of the facebook addicted shut-in is, I think, a product of the same fear that is brilliantly exposed in the article about the “Pokemon Generation,” of which I am a proud member- for all of Pokemon’s flaws on a narrative level, it provides a lovely metaphor for the digital age in many ways, as noted by the article. The fear that when kids plug in to the internet for social purposes, this kills their drive to socialize normally is, as the article states, merely a product of “generation gap.”
Psychological-emotional worries:
I would have to agree with the article about IAD, especially the following idea as to why we need to have a “disorder,” for people checking their email constantly:
“It's the tendency of some mental health professionals and researchers to want to label everything they see as potentially harmful with a new diagnostic category.”
Setting aside theories about psychiatrist profiteering and other paranoid malarkey, I think it’s simple human nature: we like to categorize and label things so that we can devote as little thought as possible to them, not because we’re stupid, but because we want to think about other things, things that concern us more. Psychiatrists should beware diagnosing a nonexistent disease when they could be looking past the symptoms to the true emotional issues that lead to any addiction, or indeed any mental disorder.
Psychological-cognitive worries:
This is a concern I am familiar with, having heard my parents parrot it after reading it in magazine articles. The fact of the matter is, many of the most famous and lauded works on the internet contradict this notion: it requires quite a lot of attention span to watch a review of the Star Wars prequels (regardless of how entertaining it is) that is about as long as the prequel it reviews. While there is certainly a truth to the notion of the internet encouraging a new style of learning, i.e. Katamari style learning, picking up may little pieces as the knowledge ball rolls, I would argue that we take bigger pieces the more engaging we find a subject, so once again, it’s up to content producers, both of art and of education, to make their work more palatable and more interesting if they want us to pay attention. Furthermore, as the response to Nicholas Carr notes, information that is digested more quickly also evolves more quickly- a book may seem like a more reliable source of info than a Wikipedia article that can be edited by anyone, but if the author of a book prints something false, that falsehood has cost tons of money and paper, even more of which will be needed to correct it, not to mention that the knowledge sits on the shelves to misinform until this is corrected, and afterwards as well unless every earlier copy is destroyed. An internet article wastes no paper and usually no money, and can be edited instantly, allowing the knowledge there in to adapt for those who consume.
Behavioral-practical worries:
I would assume this to be assumed in the discussion of the faults with the internet obsession disorder theory, but as far as I can tell, this section exists mainly to add the caveat that we do need to keep track of our internet activities in terms of quantity and quality, as is elaborated on in Len Masterman’s piece. As implied, I think this goes without saying. I would only like to add that I think the internet actually makes this process easier rather than harder, because it allows for us to quickly asses whether something is worth our time or not and quickly move on to something else if it isn’t, allowing for more experimentation and discovery- rewarding that which truly speaks to more people- and lessening the power of arbitrary classifications as to what qualifies as a “classic,” or “sensationalist garbage,” that tend to be imposed on young minds by traditional academia- as almost anyone who’s been forced to read “All The King’s Men,” can attest.
Ð19174£ 4r7 4nÐ 4r71$7$ (Leetspeek for: Digital Art and Artists)
-Issa: As a strong believer in capitalism, I admire Issa’s “self-determined pricing:” it truly allows the free market to determine the worth of the artist. Assuming that we can respect the industry of the consumer (or at least most consumers)- and if we can’t then what’s the point of capitalism- then what this means is that the money a fan spends on their favorite music represents how much they appreciate and support the artist in question. Sure, some people might buy the album for free or for a few cents regardless, but the more fans an artist garners, the more chance they will have to find the ones who will pay a reasonable amount, not to mention those special benefactors who will cough up a thousand dollars for a single artist knowing that it will help support their favorite artist.
-Atomic Tom: Having played around with apps similar to those demonstrated by the band I must applaud their ability to not only play a proper song with them, but to do so all together whilst staying on beat. That said, this highlights an issue noted in my entry about creativity, ownership etc.: that the medium is less important than the content. Atomic Tom have proven that if a song is good enough it doesn’t matter what instrument it is played on (and more importantly that the digital age makes it possible for everyone to be an artist) but the problem is that, in my assessment at least, the song is not good enough.
-Story of Cosmetics: While I admire the style of presentation and some of the points she has to make- particularly on her attack against skin whitening products- I disagree on many counts. Although this video is not as well presented, and takes a couple minutes to really get to the point, it pretty much states all the issues with Story of Cosmetics better than I can: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxO3bPNyWzo&feature=related
-Wiki on Remixes: First off, I love the reference at the beginning to Sprite Remix. Other than that, what I find interesting to note is the mention of the early history of the remix, highlighting that rudimentary forms of it have been possible since the beginning of recorded sound. What I like about this is that it supports what I consider to be the most important aspect of the digital age: that it doesn’t so much make more things possible as it does make things possible for everyone. The tools needed for a remix can now fit in anything from a decked-out studio to an iphone, meaning that art is losing all sense of elitism, though hopefully the free market and the like will still allow for some quality control.
-Fair Use: Fair use is a lovely legal loophole. Since I don’t have a TV and can’t afford many videogames (certainly not as many as I’d like) fair use makes possible one of my favorite forms of entertainment in the modern age: internet reviews. Those clauses about “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism,” and “use in a parody,” can be interpreted in many fascinating and entertaining ways. Here are some of my favorites:
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/linkara/at4w/10629-batmanfort
http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-trek/star-trek-09/
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/rap-critic/rap-critic-reviews/30238-no-love
http://www.d2brigade.net/shows/josmain/jo-anime-review/351-jo-anime-review-azumanga-daioh
Also, it would be remiss of me not to use this opportunity to plug my own planned exploitation of fair use in a series of seven of eight analytical videos that I’ll be releasing this summer to coincide with a certain much awaited film release.
-“Bound by Law:” This again makes note of fair use, though this time examining it in context as part of the much larger issue of copyright. My interpretation on their notion of fair use as allowing artists to play “blind man’s bluff,” when using copyrighted material is that one cap peek through the blindfold by researching a simple query; is the copyright holder a dick? If not, then there’s a good chance they don’t have their lawyers out conducting manhunts for anyone using their work.
-American Lawbreaking: Not much to say here, just that I like how it highlights what is probably the main reason behind fair use: publicity. Fans create videos that use copyrighted material. If you take it down, you gain nothing and probably waste your legal department’s time. If you leave it up, you increase the chance that it could go viral and introduce your product to millions of people.
-Disney Videos: Let me start by saying that I love Donald Duck; easily my favorite of the classic Disney cartoon characters. I found the first video fascinating in how it recontextualized Donald’s typical plight in a way that, while certainly more directly related to politics than anything Disney ever tackled, (that didn’t contain Nazis anyway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iumEGAUceDg) was still very much true to the character. Also, while the video’s author was probably, shall we say, left leaning, speaking as someone who’s considerably more conservative than liberal I found the message of this remix encouraging- not that right wing ideas are all bad, but that we need to beware of getting caught up in all forms of paranoia that extreme elements in the press create (that and Glenn Beck is an absolutely despicable human being).
I also really enjoyed the Snow White remix, significantly more than I enjoy that particular movie. I love how it clearly only uses sounds from the original film, yet is still so distinctly hip-hop. I can’t help but wonder as to the actual content of this Pirates of the Caribbean remix. Given the Snow White mix, it seems unlikely that there’s anything truly objectionable about it, so it’s likely Bruckheimer’s personal tastes or agendas at play.
-Atomic Tom: Having played around with apps similar to those demonstrated by the band I must applaud their ability to not only play a proper song with them, but to do so all together whilst staying on beat. That said, this highlights an issue noted in my entry about creativity, ownership etc.: that the medium is less important than the content. Atomic Tom have proven that if a song is good enough it doesn’t matter what instrument it is played on (and more importantly that the digital age makes it possible for everyone to be an artist) but the problem is that, in my assessment at least, the song is not good enough.
-Story of Cosmetics: While I admire the style of presentation and some of the points she has to make- particularly on her attack against skin whitening products- I disagree on many counts. Although this video is not as well presented, and takes a couple minutes to really get to the point, it pretty much states all the issues with Story of Cosmetics better than I can: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxO3bPNyWzo&feature=related
-Wiki on Remixes: First off, I love the reference at the beginning to Sprite Remix. Other than that, what I find interesting to note is the mention of the early history of the remix, highlighting that rudimentary forms of it have been possible since the beginning of recorded sound. What I like about this is that it supports what I consider to be the most important aspect of the digital age: that it doesn’t so much make more things possible as it does make things possible for everyone. The tools needed for a remix can now fit in anything from a decked-out studio to an iphone, meaning that art is losing all sense of elitism, though hopefully the free market and the like will still allow for some quality control.
-Fair Use: Fair use is a lovely legal loophole. Since I don’t have a TV and can’t afford many videogames (certainly not as many as I’d like) fair use makes possible one of my favorite forms of entertainment in the modern age: internet reviews. Those clauses about “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism,” and “use in a parody,” can be interpreted in many fascinating and entertaining ways. Here are some of my favorites:
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/linkara/at4w/10629-batmanfort
http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-trek/star-trek-09/
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/rap-critic/rap-critic-reviews/30238-no-love
http://www.d2brigade.net/shows/josmain/jo-anime-review/351-jo-anime-review-azumanga-daioh
Also, it would be remiss of me not to use this opportunity to plug my own planned exploitation of fair use in a series of seven of eight analytical videos that I’ll be releasing this summer to coincide with a certain much awaited film release.
-“Bound by Law:” This again makes note of fair use, though this time examining it in context as part of the much larger issue of copyright. My interpretation on their notion of fair use as allowing artists to play “blind man’s bluff,” when using copyrighted material is that one cap peek through the blindfold by researching a simple query; is the copyright holder a dick? If not, then there’s a good chance they don’t have their lawyers out conducting manhunts for anyone using their work.
-American Lawbreaking: Not much to say here, just that I like how it highlights what is probably the main reason behind fair use: publicity. Fans create videos that use copyrighted material. If you take it down, you gain nothing and probably waste your legal department’s time. If you leave it up, you increase the chance that it could go viral and introduce your product to millions of people.
-Disney Videos: Let me start by saying that I love Donald Duck; easily my favorite of the classic Disney cartoon characters. I found the first video fascinating in how it recontextualized Donald’s typical plight in a way that, while certainly more directly related to politics than anything Disney ever tackled, (that didn’t contain Nazis anyway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iumEGAUceDg) was still very much true to the character. Also, while the video’s author was probably, shall we say, left leaning, speaking as someone who’s considerably more conservative than liberal I found the message of this remix encouraging- not that right wing ideas are all bad, but that we need to beware of getting caught up in all forms of paranoia that extreme elements in the press create (that and Glenn Beck is an absolutely despicable human being).
I also really enjoyed the Snow White remix, significantly more than I enjoy that particular movie. I love how it clearly only uses sounds from the original film, yet is still so distinctly hip-hop. I can’t help but wonder as to the actual content of this Pirates of the Caribbean remix. Given the Snow White mix, it seems unlikely that there’s anything truly objectionable about it, so it’s likely Bruckheimer’s personal tastes or agendas at play.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Concerning Creativity, Influence, Ownership, etc. with Digital Media: The Many Rooted Tree
As stated by Professor Bob King in his audio presentation, Analogue media is continuous- the signal it produces is a single unit.
Digital media is discontinuous- the signal it produces is made of several units weaved together.
This is the case for all mediums digital or analogue- a film strip is a single item, where as a digital video file is composed of many many many small bits grouped together to form many images.
In a way, the technical nature of either medium reflects its respective nature on a symbolic level too. As Lev Manovich says in “What is New Media,” the digital format began as a means of computing, a way to perform functions of mathematics more efficiently. Although computers and their children have moved on to more than just mathematics, it could be argued that digital media is still inherently a format of mathematics, turning all it contains from Beethoven’s 5th to a productivity report into mathematical equations.
Even Digital Media itself can become a small part of a larger whole- Steve Dixon documents several cases of performance art and choreography using digital media as a means of enhancing choreography and performance art and other such live human arts, such as the performance artist who grafted computer parts onto his body for a rather literal example.
Yet another layer of similarity comes into play with the notion of influence- digital media is characterized by remixes, reimaginings, reboots and the like, some- like “youtube poops,” as creatively bankrupt as the economy of Michael Bay’s brain, others improving upon and enriching their source material (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP7QC_C1rkE). References, stock footage and audio, influences, and other elements bled together to form new media in much the same way as the zeros and ones of the digital form itself. As noted by Lawrence Lessig, this has a huge impact on copy right, with no form of art able to be completely protected from parody, remix, and various forms of review.
Lev Manovich further expounds upon the mathematical nature of digital media in “Principles of New Media,” in which he discusses the medium’s “modular,” “or “fractal,” nature as a medium of many small independent pieces forming a whole.
Girl Talk is perhaps the great culmination of the notion of all things digital being composed of many parts working together to form complete signals, in this case sounds, in that all of his music is composed of bits and pieces taken from numerous songs from various genres. From the fractal nature to the creative fluidity, Girl Talk, for better or worse, is perhaps the Zeitgeist of the digital age.
This mixed up multi-part nature is likely the source of the supposed aesthetic inferiority of digital media as opposed to analogue, i.e., why film snobs resist the movement towards digital film, why music snobs listen to vinyl, etc. speaking from personal taste and experience, I can say that I do find analogue mediums to be superior in almost all cases in terms of quality, but I find these differences are often too subtle to really warrant the inconvenience of most analogue devices compared to their digital counterparts- besides, it’s the content on the media that’s supposed to be important.
As for creativity, influence, ownership, etc., we can glean the following from these musings: digital media, far more so than analogue, encourages wild creativity, offering convenience and freedom unparalleled by anything possible in the analogue age, but discourages ownership, making media open not only to be viewed by anyone, but used by anyone. Therefore, in a final assessment, Digital Media is Fractal, both on a technical level of one's and zero's, and on a philosophical artistic level as a medium characterized more by mixing and mashing than by individual originality, for better or worse.
Digital media is discontinuous- the signal it produces is made of several units weaved together.
This is the case for all mediums digital or analogue- a film strip is a single item, where as a digital video file is composed of many many many small bits grouped together to form many images.
In a way, the technical nature of either medium reflects its respective nature on a symbolic level too. As Lev Manovich says in “What is New Media,” the digital format began as a means of computing, a way to perform functions of mathematics more efficiently. Although computers and their children have moved on to more than just mathematics, it could be argued that digital media is still inherently a format of mathematics, turning all it contains from Beethoven’s 5th to a productivity report into mathematical equations.
Even Digital Media itself can become a small part of a larger whole- Steve Dixon documents several cases of performance art and choreography using digital media as a means of enhancing choreography and performance art and other such live human arts, such as the performance artist who grafted computer parts onto his body for a rather literal example.
Yet another layer of similarity comes into play with the notion of influence- digital media is characterized by remixes, reimaginings, reboots and the like, some- like “youtube poops,” as creatively bankrupt as the economy of Michael Bay’s brain, others improving upon and enriching their source material (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP7QC_C1rkE). References, stock footage and audio, influences, and other elements bled together to form new media in much the same way as the zeros and ones of the digital form itself. As noted by Lawrence Lessig, this has a huge impact on copy right, with no form of art able to be completely protected from parody, remix, and various forms of review.
Lev Manovich further expounds upon the mathematical nature of digital media in “Principles of New Media,” in which he discusses the medium’s “modular,” “or “fractal,” nature as a medium of many small independent pieces forming a whole.
Girl Talk is perhaps the great culmination of the notion of all things digital being composed of many parts working together to form complete signals, in this case sounds, in that all of his music is composed of bits and pieces taken from numerous songs from various genres. From the fractal nature to the creative fluidity, Girl Talk, for better or worse, is perhaps the Zeitgeist of the digital age.
This mixed up multi-part nature is likely the source of the supposed aesthetic inferiority of digital media as opposed to analogue, i.e., why film snobs resist the movement towards digital film, why music snobs listen to vinyl, etc. speaking from personal taste and experience, I can say that I do find analogue mediums to be superior in almost all cases in terms of quality, but I find these differences are often too subtle to really warrant the inconvenience of most analogue devices compared to their digital counterparts- besides, it’s the content on the media that’s supposed to be important.
As for creativity, influence, ownership, etc., we can glean the following from these musings: digital media, far more so than analogue, encourages wild creativity, offering convenience and freedom unparalleled by anything possible in the analogue age, but discourages ownership, making media open not only to be viewed by anyone, but used by anyone. Therefore, in a final assessment, Digital Media is Fractal, both on a technical level of one's and zero's, and on a philosophical artistic level as a medium characterized more by mixing and mashing than by individual originality, for better or worse.
Friday, April 22, 2011
My Re:Mix (type thing]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNK6qvt-d14&feature=player_embedded
I mixed a friend's rap song with my own special brand of nerdiness to create this little beauty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMRsBsbsuu0
That there is my favorite example of a video remix. Uses mash-up of visuals and music to elicit emotion and convey themes.
The traditional vs. contemporary is pretty apparent, using a song that mixes an old-school super-heroic horn section with a beat that "sounds monumental," (listen to the lyrics!) and some excellently flexible lyrics is the first layer. Part of the reason why this was so easy to cut was that the beat really did follow that classic John Williams style rhythm of superhero music, meaning that it matched well to the clips I found. Another element of traditional vs. contemporary is the mix of old and new superhero shows and movies. Finally, just mixing superheroes and rap is pretty dissonant in terms of past and present (most of the classic superhero characters were first created in the 30's and 40's or so) but I'd like to think this video illustrates that the two can mix well with the proper handling.
I mixed a friend's rap song with my own special brand of nerdiness to create this little beauty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMRsBsbsuu0
That there is my favorite example of a video remix. Uses mash-up of visuals and music to elicit emotion and convey themes.
The traditional vs. contemporary is pretty apparent, using a song that mixes an old-school super-heroic horn section with a beat that "sounds monumental," (listen to the lyrics!) and some excellently flexible lyrics is the first layer. Part of the reason why this was so easy to cut was that the beat really did follow that classic John Williams style rhythm of superhero music, meaning that it matched well to the clips I found. Another element of traditional vs. contemporary is the mix of old and new superhero shows and movies. Finally, just mixing superheroes and rap is pretty dissonant in terms of past and present (most of the classic superhero characters were first created in the 30's and 40's or so) but I'd like to think this video illustrates that the two can mix well with the proper handling.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Project Brief- Ongoing Project
Being a screenwriter and general story teller, the sociological topic that interests me most with the Montagnard is their storytelling traditions. I would like to research and present traditional stories from their cultural heritage, and possibly contact/research a local Montagnard writer. I would examine the archetypes and themes at play within Montagnard story telling traditions and see how they compare and contrast with their more modern writings.
Here are some resources I've found from the materials dug up by my fellow classmates.
(Religious beliefs help to inform story telling tradition to a huge extent)
http://www.cal.org/co/montagnards/vrelig.html
(This rapper everyone keeps talking about is a very modern example of story telling)
http://diacritics.org/2011/01/05/mondegas-for-the-people-a-montagnard-hip-hop-debut/
(Contains an example of Montagnard myth; also looks into possible interpretations and relations to mythology of other cultures as well as more recent history, highlighting how some stories never cease to be relevant.)
http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forfathr.html
(If this source is to be believed than I will have difficulty finding any Montagnard stories written- it would be better to hear them told directly if possible)
http://www.cal.org/co/montagnards/vlife.html
I still would like to find a modern Montagnard writer in a more classic sense- a screenwriter, a novelist, a stage writer, etc; a storyteller. I would also like to find more examples of Montagnard myth.
The image below represents the connection of my interests to the Montagnard, as well as what sort of resources/information I will need:
Here are some resources I've found from the materials dug up by my fellow classmates.
(Religious beliefs help to inform story telling tradition to a huge extent)
http://www.cal.org/co/montagnards/vrelig.html
(This rapper everyone keeps talking about is a very modern example of story telling)
http://diacritics.org/2011/01/05/mondegas-for-the-people-a-montagnard-hip-hop-debut/
(Contains an example of Montagnard myth; also looks into possible interpretations and relations to mythology of other cultures as well as more recent history, highlighting how some stories never cease to be relevant.)
http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forfathr.html
(If this source is to be believed than I will have difficulty finding any Montagnard stories written- it would be better to hear them told directly if possible)
http://www.cal.org/co/montagnards/vlife.html
I still would like to find a modern Montagnard writer in a more classic sense- a screenwriter, a novelist, a stage writer, etc; a storyteller. I would also like to find more examples of Montagnard myth.
The image below represents the connection of my interests to the Montagnard, as well as what sort of resources/information I will need:
Monday, April 4, 2011
{[("'-Framing-'")]}
Framing is essentially a new word for an old concept, a term that has ironically been invented because of the different frame it puts on the concept it expresses: subtext.
Comparing the words "subtext," and "framing," is actually a very good illustration of the concept represented by either word- subtext describes everything discussed by framing: the subtle implications behind words and images that go beyond literal meaning and color our perception. However, subtext is thought of as a term that relates more to the arts and literature in particular. This connotation is apparent even in the word itself: subTEXT. Text implies writing, writing implies reading, thus even though the word subtext could just as easily be the subject of our current DMA studies, there is a perceived need to replace it with a word that is more relevant to the digital age- a word that carries fewer if any ties to an aging artistic medium that is not really being examined in this class.
Enter "Framing:" framing carries with it different connotations that are also visible in the word itself. Even in an era where far more photographs are not only digital, but never leave the binary nest of 1's and 0's to become physical objects (in the traditional sense), a "frame" is still an object or concept associated with pictures. In many ways, like subtext, the frame has traveled with the concept that it is attached to, albeit in a limited capacity. We may no longer employ the gold-painted metal squares of old to hold physical copies of images, but frames still exists online in the form of borders and backgrounds and all such things that surround the images that we are constantly ensconced in when we venture forth into the world wide web. Discussing framing as opposed to subtext almost makes me feel like I'm at one of the fancy-dos for Song airlines seen in the "Persuaders," video, a Joe-schmo being fed information by a representative of some higher class who has tailored everything from their suit to their vocabulary to sell me on an idea.
A video illustrating the nature and power of subtext.
Comparing the words "subtext," and "framing," is actually a very good illustration of the concept represented by either word- subtext describes everything discussed by framing: the subtle implications behind words and images that go beyond literal meaning and color our perception. However, subtext is thought of as a term that relates more to the arts and literature in particular. This connotation is apparent even in the word itself: subTEXT. Text implies writing, writing implies reading, thus even though the word subtext could just as easily be the subject of our current DMA studies, there is a perceived need to replace it with a word that is more relevant to the digital age- a word that carries fewer if any ties to an aging artistic medium that is not really being examined in this class.
Enter "Framing:" framing carries with it different connotations that are also visible in the word itself. Even in an era where far more photographs are not only digital, but never leave the binary nest of 1's and 0's to become physical objects (in the traditional sense), a "frame" is still an object or concept associated with pictures. In many ways, like subtext, the frame has traveled with the concept that it is attached to, albeit in a limited capacity. We may no longer employ the gold-painted metal squares of old to hold physical copies of images, but frames still exists online in the form of borders and backgrounds and all such things that surround the images that we are constantly ensconced in when we venture forth into the world wide web. Discussing framing as opposed to subtext almost makes me feel like I'm at one of the fancy-dos for Song airlines seen in the "Persuaders," video, a Joe-schmo being fed information by a representative of some higher class who has tailored everything from their suit to their vocabulary to sell me on an idea.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)