Mexico City

I can feel the power of immediacy causing an effect in me :) hahaha

Remediation in Waltz with Bashir

After discussing about media change and remediation at class, I remembered one of my favourite movies, “Waltz with Bashir” a 2008 Israeli film, written and directed by Ari Folman.

The movie tells the story of Folman himself, when he was 19 years old and a soldier of the Israel Defence Forces during the Lebanon War of 1982.  He tries to reconstruct that period of his life through interviewing some of the friends he had during those years. With their help, he starts to remember his traumatic experiences as a soldier and his most feared memory: the massacre of thousands of Palestinians from the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp.

The film took 4 years to be completed, and it is an animated documentary mostly made by mixing Adobe Flash, classic animation and 3D. Besides animation, it also uses real archive footage of the Sabra and Shatila Massacre.  The film is a combination of real and surreal scenes, fictional images and historic events, testimonials and autobiographical memories, music styles,  journalism, documentary and innovative computer graphics.

This remediation of media and styles create what immediacy and hypermediacy want to achieve: a feeling of reality. As a viewer, the animation of the movie and the movie itself starts to disappear gradually, creating an emotional inner effect and leaving you simply in the presence of the images portrayed: the horrors of war, the psychological damages of being a soldier, the devastating reality of dehumanization. 

Remediation is the perfect medium for representing this painful and devastating real event in a a powerful,  artistic, respectful and beautiful way.

REFERENCES

McLuhan, M., &Fiore, Q. (1967) The medium is the massage. New York: Bantam. (Excerpts)

Bolter, J.D. & Grusin, R.A. (1999) Remediation: Understanding New Media, Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT Press, pp.2-15 and 53-62

WEBSITES

http://waltzwithbashir.com/home.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185616/

Simulacra with Kylie Minogue

Released in 2002 and directed by Michel Gondry,  this video is beautiful and creative. I am sure that you have already seen it but I wanted to post it because I think it is a good example of the constructions of reality and hyperreality. 

Kinect

Microsoft has developed “Kinect”, a motion sensor accessory for Xbox 360 that will be available in Australia in November. “Kinect” is a new software technology that can track your voice and movements without a game controller. It captures 3D motion facial gestures and body movements and it is also capable of voice recognition of some languages.

 

By remembering Friedberg (1998) and Manovich (2001) works, we can say that Kinect will provide the user (viewer) with a new form of virtual mobility where the construction of a virtual reality and simulation occurs in front of his unmoving-moving body. It requires the user immobility in the sense that he has to be in front of the television screen, but as it releases the user of a hand controller, it provides him with a feeling of true mobility, unifying the virtual and the physical space.

REFERENCES

Friedberg, Anne (1998) `The Mobilized and Virtual Gaze in Modernity: Flâneur/Flâneuse´in Nicholar Mirzoeff (ed.) Visual Culture Reader, London: Routledge, pp. 253-278

Manovich, Lev. (2001) The Language of New Media. Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT Press. (`The screen and the user´)pp.94-115

Thom, Greg (2010). "Out of controls gaming". Advertiser (Adelaide, Australia) 3 September p. 45. http://global.factiva.com (accessed 24 September)

WEB PAGES

http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/kinect/

Star Wars and Simulacra

In “The precession of Simulacra”, Baudrillard (1994) mentions how the society has constructed an unreal world without the people being able to detect it. The reality has been replaced by Simulacra, therefore, by the hyperreality.

He mentions how Disneyland is a perfect example of Simulacra because it is a constructed World full of illusions: Disney Princess Fantasy Faire, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Mark Twain Riverboat or the Star Tours, an attraction inspired by the science-fiction movie “Star Wars”.

This movie can also be seen as an example of Simulacra. On one hand, it revolutionized the science fiction movies with its realistic special effects. On the other hand, it has surpassed the fiction by becoming a “hyperreality” in the life of a vast number of people and in the futuristic images of technology.

Star Wars in the “real” world

Star Wars has been a repeated theme for parodies and copies in books and all forms of media, but it has also been constructed as “real” by artists like the photographer Cedric Delsaux, who created several photos of how will the Star Wars world would be if it tooked place on Earth.

Another example is the short film of Patrick Bolvin, where we can see how would it be to have an ATAT as a “real” pet.

 

Jedi Faith as a Religion

In the 2001 ABS census, more than 70,000 Australians declared that their religion was the “Jediism”, meaning that they followed the Jedi Faith. This religion does not has followers only in Australia, but in Canada, New Zealand, United States, England and other countries of the world.

The Jedism follows a philosophy that involves the concept of “The Force”, an energy that everybody posses and that unites everything. It should be used for doing well (for the “Light Side”) and not for doing evil (for the “Dark Side”).

Futuristic Images

Star Wars emblematic lightsabers are not fictional anymore. Today the Defence Department of the U.S. is testing laser weapons that are being developed for a future use. Also, the U.S. Air Force is making plans for developing space weaponry in the following years.

The hologram with which the characters of the movie used to communicate is now a reality with the On-Stage Holographic Video Conferencing done by Cisco Telepresence.

Cisco On-Stage Holographic TelePresence Experience from Musion Systems on Vimeo.


With these examples we see how the fiction in Star Wars can imitate reality  or how reality can imitate the fiction in Star Wars.  And if this Simulacra can help some people to believe in something or to fulfil their objectives in life, I guess that, as Baudrillard said, the Simulacrum is true.

REFERENCES

Baudrillard, Jean (1994) `The Precession of Simulacra´ from Simulacra and simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press excerpt pp.1-14

Darley, Andrew (2000) A Back Story: Realism, Simulation, Interaction´ in Andrew Darley. Visual Digital Culture: Surface Play and Spectacle in New Media Genres, London and New York: Routledge, pp 11-36

WEB PAGES

http://www.jedichurch.org/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2218456.stm

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/71616/Star-Wars-fans-want-Jedi-Rights.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7864521/ns/technology_and_science-science

http://www.thisblogrules.com/2010/02/star-wars-never-looked-so-real.html

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-05-14-1Adeathray14_CV_N.htm

http://www.musion.co.uk/Cisco_TelePresence.html

The vigilant eye

After reading “Panopticism” by Michel Foucalt (1977), I instantly remembered the famous book from George Orwell, “Nineteen Eighty Four”.

This book is about a fictional world in 1984, where the planet is divided in three totalitarian powers and the freedom of expression (and of thought) is seen as a crime.

Winston Smith is a man working in one of the Ministry of the government (The Ministry of Truth, where historical events are eliminated and new ones are created in order to match up their versions). One day, he suddenly sees all the injustices done by the ruling party, and tries to rebel against it.  The book shows in an astonishing narrative how the system works and how difficult is to escape from it because they know everything you do. It is a system represented by “Big Brother” an omnipresent figure that can see all your movements and is everywhere.

…” On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters and on the wrapping of a cigarette packet-everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed-no escape “…(Orwell, 1949 p.29).

From this book comes the famous reality show and the universally known phrase: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.

Orwell’s Big Brother and Bentham’s Panopticon share similar principles. The Panopticon was an architectural structure thought for prisoners trapped in jails and in constant visibility, just like Big Brother traps the citizens through his watchful eye.

With the Panopticon, the objective was to cause in the convicts a state of mind that could ensure an acceptance of being observed, therefore enabling the operation of power, just like the omnipresence power of Big Brother does.

For Bentham, the power should be visible and unverifiable just like Big Brother, who is always looking, but you never know when is he looking at you.

With the progress in technology, this schema of the “vigilant eye” spread in the entire society.   Panoptic systems and video surveillance are not only used in jails, hospitals or schools. They have been used for several decades in every country, where “free” people walking on the street are being observed.

And we are used to it, we even act in consequence keeping watch on ourselves through digital technologies that enable new modes of self-surveillance (uploading your life on YouTube or writing your status on Twitter).

It does not end in social networking or video surveillance. The government can have access to your bank account or your email, even the CIA knows who you are through Facebook. I think we should put more attention to this matters because with digital technologies,  panoptical mechanisms are being more elusive, more ample and more controlling than ever.

REFERENCES

Foucalt, Michel. (1977) `Panopticism´. In Kaplan, D.M. (ed.) Readings in the philosophy of technology. (2004) Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, pp. 359-372.

Greenop, Matt. (2008). Facebook- The CIA Conspiracy.  Retrieved September 7, 2010 from http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12685

Orwell, George.(1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four. (Reprinted in 2000) London, Penguin Books p.29

Digital Manipulation and Photojournalism

In our daily life, the visual overcomes the verbal.  Everywhere we go, we see a huge amount of images making our experiences more visual than ever. With digital photography, media, government and every person gets an opportunity to reflect their vision of the world in any way they want to.

But we have to be careful with these visions, especially if we are talking of photojournalism. With the new technologies, this practice has been permeated more with digital manipulation than with evidence of truth.

With the common and open use of digital programs that allow manipulation of images, the idea that a photo shows the truth, vanishes. To this matter, photojournalists and media try to maintain the credibility of the images.

Through history,  we can see that manipulation is not an exclusive of digital photography. In developing a black and white film, one could manipulate the light, contrast and exposition. Even editing them was possible because one could modify them by including or excluding elements. The difference is that manipulation was difficult to do since it was used and controlled by oppressive governments.

Nowadays, photojournalism involves a constant fight between photographers and editors fighting to get the best photo and the best economic profit, turning this into an unethical practice. Besides, with Photoshop or other editing programs being accessible to anyone, manipulation is more obvious.  With digital media, one has the weird feeling of not being able to believe.

But this distrust could also serve as a positive thing. Making people more aware of this manipulation can lead to a more decent and truthful practice. Yet the question remains ¿does anyone still believes in the veracity of photojournalism? People working in this field should stand guard on this matter.  It is their credibility and therefore, their future, at risk.

REFERENCES

Batchen, Geoffrey. (1997). ‘Epitaph’ in Burning with Desire: The Conception of Photography , Cambridge, MA: MIT press, pp206-216.

Tagg, John.(1988) ‘Evidence, Truth and Order: Photographic Records and the Growth of the State’ in John Tagg. (1993) The Burden of Representation: Essays onPhotographies and Histories , Minneapolis: University of MinnesotaPress, pp. 60-65.

Ricchiardi, Sherry. 2007. "DISTORTED PICTURE." American Journalism Review 29, no. 4: 36-43. Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 6, 2010).

It's all about the aura

In  “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Benjamin Walter talks about how the “aura”, uniqueness or originality of an artwork is diminished or lost by multiple reproductions of it.

This made me think about the aura in new theatre productions and the importance of technology within them.

Theatre has its origins in religious and magic rituals of diverse civilizations that worshipped their gods through ceremonials where music, dance and drama played a central role.

Nowadays a “ritual” still happens between the actors and the audience, both engaged in a face-to-face relationship. It occurs in a specific moment in time and space, and it never occurs again in the same way (maybe an actor improvises or forgets his lines, or maybe he can not go to the performance and somebody else replaces him).

Theatre not only involves a connection between audience and actors, but between actors and technicians. In this common place the aura is a shared aura: created by the actors, the audience and the technicians.

Theatre and technology have always been together. Lightning, scenery and props, music, and now video projections or 3D visual effects, are constantly used in big theatre productions, strengthening the artistic experience and creating a new way of interacting with the audience. Still, one will always prefer to go to the theatre rather than seeing a play on a blu ray or through Internet. It is all about the aura.

REFERENCES
- Benjamin, Walter (1935) “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. In Benjamin, W. Illuminations. London: Fontana Press, pp. 211-244