"Virtual reality is immersive, which means that it is a medium whose purpose is to disappear"(Bolter, 2000, PG. 22)
With this statement and the other text, I have gathered that this means that with users engaging in virtual reality, they have 'disappeared' from their daily lives and are now far more interacted with whatever virtual reality they have chosen. as each viewer of gamer has been given a 'identity' as such when playing as a character, they can become far more emerged in the game play. it gives me the understanding that virtual reality should come as close to real life as possible.
As far as being immersive goes, this story (http://kotaku.com/i-played-the-oculus-rift-for-five-hours-straight-987568701/999890560) tells of a man who was so immersed in reality game play that he had actually forgotten he was in his living room at the time. he said there was even a point when in the game, a character jumped into 'his' warms, he actually raised his arms to catch her. This gives me the impression that this virtual reality game play can be a far more endearing means of engaging yourself with game play.
"The transparent interface is one more manifestation of the need to deny the mediated character of digital technology altogether"(Bolter,2000,PG.24)
I understand that for many of these virtual reality gamers, they are using the computer as a way of surpassing other technologies to bring their view of the world into different realities. In the sense of computers graphics, they have came a long way , but also so has the graphics for Television and even photography. Are they saying that these computer generated graphics are going to surpass older technologies? Hopefully not, because these older technologies such as Television have certain gains with people to engage them with their own 'virtual reality'. people can be immersed with Television just as a gamer can be with the newest shoot-em-up game.
References - Bolter, 2000 - Remediation: Understanding New Media
Showing posts with label Modernism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Modernism. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Digital Cultures
Creeber starts of by stating that the study of New Media is a 'Complex and Diverse' field. In his work 'Digital Cultures' Creeber takes about Modernism and Post-Modernism and how they lead to and relate to New Media theory.
When Modernism came about in the late 19th century it was received by the majority of society to be this scientific way that would take the human race forward and be revolutionary in the production process, and with the rise of Modernism came Industrialization.
Industrialization brought about arguably the most important production invention of all time, the printing press. The invention of the printing press gave birth to a way of relaying news to the masses in a way that was never done before.
Many Modernists believed the introduction of Industrialization to be the looming down fall of originality, that 'modernists came to perceive industrialization as the enemy of free thought and individuality' (Creeber, 2009: pg 12).
The best example of this being true was in Henry Ford's case. Henry Ford profited significantly from industrialization when he made adjustments to the assembly line method, this allowed him to produce auto mobiles faster and cheaper and this also meant that they were more accessible to ordinary Americans. However because they were all mass produced this meant there was no discernible difference in the final products.
'Modernism is the umbrella term we give to the way that human society responded to the changes that took place during the industrial revolution.'(Creeber, 2009: pg 11).
Industrialization brought about arguably the most important production invention of all time, the printing press. The invention of the printing press gave birth to a way of relaying news to the masses in a way that was never done before.
Many Modernists believed the introduction of Industrialization to be the looming down fall of originality, that 'modernists came to perceive industrialization as the enemy of free thought and individuality' (Creeber, 2009: pg 12).
The best example of this being true was in Henry Ford's case. Henry Ford profited significantly from industrialization when he made adjustments to the assembly line method, this allowed him to produce auto mobiles faster and cheaper and this also meant that they were more accessible to ordinary Americans. However because they were all mass produced this meant there was no discernible difference in the final products.
'when asked what colours his cars came in, Ford famously replied, any colour as long as its black'. (Creeber, 2009: pg 13)
'There are many examples that reflect modernism's disdain for the media,' (Creeber, 2009: pg 12). The best example and most famous of theorists that took a stance against this was The Frankfurt School. The Frankfurt School consisted of a group of Marxists that where exiled from Germany during the second world war and came to America. The Frankfurt School seen the media culture in America as a prime example of a culture that had become a 'standardized product of industrialization' (Creeber, 2009).
After the industrial revolution there came Post-Modernism. With the coming about of post-modernism came the society of consumers, in this era products where starting to made to fit the consumers needs rather than the product being made for manufacturings sake. From the point when this cultural change started it hasn't changed it has just become more demanding and now products are created to fit our every need and this is a result of the consumer society being embraced as it has been. The way of consuming has come on some much that even when your watching television your not passively consuming it your more evolved and you interact with it. New media is interactive.
'New media is interactive. In contrast to traditional media where the order of presentation was fixed, the user can now interact with the media object.' (Manovich, 2002)
Bibliography:
Creeber, G & Martin, R. (2009). Digital Theory: Theorizing New Media
Creeber: Digital Culture
Creeber puts forward that New Media is so complex and diverse that any approach to identify any sort of "Digital Theory" couldn't be viewed as definitive. (Creeber, 2009, p.11). Rather than completely replacing old theoretical approaches Creeber states that this is "inevitably a development and reaction to the way media has been understood and theorized in the past" (Creeber, 2009, p. 11). To gain a better understanding of New Media we must first look at it in relation to Modernism.
"Modernism tended to challenge the theocratic and God-centered notion of the world that helped define human society in the past" (Creeber, 2009, p. 11). The advent of Modernism in the pre-industrial world changed people's perceptions of religion, as many aspects of Modernism gave birth to ideas which attempted to explain the Universe in Scientific ways.
Modernism drew a line between Mass Culture and 'High Art', it was assumed that only this 'Advant-garde' art could bring forward cultural meaning that comes with social and aesthetic criticism. (Creeber, 2009, p. 12). The most famous group of people that reflected this view where known as 'The Frankfurt School'. The Frankfurt School viewed the media as a standardized product of industrialization, often connecting mass media with aspects of 'Fordism'. Henry Ford used mass production to make his cars more accessible and cheap however this resulted in all his cars looking exactly the same. "The Fordist philosophy was also evident in all aspects of mass culture" (Creeber, 2009, p.13). Creeber states that all forms of produced media is identical, offering up a form of 'Standardized Culture'.
There then came a paradigm shift in the form of Post-Modernism, with this also came a shift in ideology from The Frankfurt Schools overly pessimistic view of mass culture. In this postmodern world consumer culture dominates the cultural landscape, with leisurely activities taking priority in determining our experiences rather than work."First signs of such a critical shift can detected in the work of McLuhan" (Creeber, 2009, p.15). McLuhan theorized that audiences are influenced by how information is presented rather than the actual content being presented, he believed that the power of New Media would enable an audience more interactivity with electronic information transforming us from "Voyeurs to participants" (Creeber, 2009, p.15). McLuhan was stating that New Media turns everyone into active participants, each of us having a say in how this media gets created.
Bibliography
Creeber, G., 2009. Digital Cultures. [Online]
Available at: https://learning.ulster.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-1811419-dt-content-rid-4330022_1/courses/67641_1314/Digital%20Cultures%281%29.pdf
[Accessed 21st October 2013]
Lister, M., 2003. New Media: A Critical Introduction. [Online]
Available at: http://hp2.philol.msu.ru/~discours/uploadedfiles/courses/poselyagin/textbooks/New_Media.pdf
[Accessed 22nd October 2013]
"Modernism tended to challenge the theocratic and God-centered notion of the world that helped define human society in the past" (Creeber, 2009, p. 11). The advent of Modernism in the pre-industrial world changed people's perceptions of religion, as many aspects of Modernism gave birth to ideas which attempted to explain the Universe in Scientific ways.
Modernism drew a line between Mass Culture and 'High Art', it was assumed that only this 'Advant-garde' art could bring forward cultural meaning that comes with social and aesthetic criticism. (Creeber, 2009, p. 12). The most famous group of people that reflected this view where known as 'The Frankfurt School'. The Frankfurt School viewed the media as a standardized product of industrialization, often connecting mass media with aspects of 'Fordism'. Henry Ford used mass production to make his cars more accessible and cheap however this resulted in all his cars looking exactly the same. "The Fordist philosophy was also evident in all aspects of mass culture" (Creeber, 2009, p.13). Creeber states that all forms of produced media is identical, offering up a form of 'Standardized Culture'.
There then came a paradigm shift in the form of Post-Modernism, with this also came a shift in ideology from The Frankfurt Schools overly pessimistic view of mass culture. In this postmodern world consumer culture dominates the cultural landscape, with leisurely activities taking priority in determining our experiences rather than work."First signs of such a critical shift can detected in the work of McLuhan" (Creeber, 2009, p.15). McLuhan theorized that audiences are influenced by how information is presented rather than the actual content being presented, he believed that the power of New Media would enable an audience more interactivity with electronic information transforming us from "Voyeurs to participants" (Creeber, 2009, p.15). McLuhan was stating that New Media turns everyone into active participants, each of us having a say in how this media gets created.
Bibliography
Creeber, G., 2009. Digital Cultures. [Online]
Available at: https://learning.ulster.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-1811419-dt-content-rid-4330022_1/courses/67641_1314/Digital%20Cultures%281%29.pdf
[Accessed 21st October 2013]
Lister, M., 2003. New Media: A Critical Introduction. [Online]
Available at: http://hp2.philol.msu.ru/~discours/uploadedfiles/courses/poselyagin/textbooks/New_Media.pdf
[Accessed 22nd October 2013]
Digital Cultures : Glen Creeber
Creeber starts of by stating that this field of study is a "complex and diverse one"(Creeber, pg.11, 2009). In no way is he incorrect because of the vast amount of methods and theoretical approaches that New Media contributes.
I understand that Creeber has divided the 'New Media' up into different historical timeline changes, such as Modernism and 'old media', which took place during the industrial revolution and the invention of the printing press, where upon a new form of media was born. The first people to take an ideological stance upon modernism was 'The Frankfurt School' and in particularly, Adorno. They highlighted the new phase of the industrial revolution that was mass production and they often perceived the media as product of industrialization(Creeber, pg.12,2009), where upon they came up with the term 'Fordism', referring to Henry Fords first mass production system of the automobile.
This perception of mass production of the Media, called the 'Fordist Philosophy' was apparent in mass culture, where it seemed that every TV show, film and magazine were identical. (Creeber, pg.13, 2009). This group of Marxists and their theories led them to clearly distaste these 'industrialized' products, and the fact that they were only to keep mass audiences deluded in their oppression.
The next theory of the Media is Postmodernism, which brought about changes after the industrial revolution. This brought about the rise of new information technologies, leading up to the ones which we are using and producing today. Creeber refers to other writers, such as Levinson(1999), and how much of his work anticipated the power of New Media to enhance an audiences interactivity with electronic information as a whole - transforming us from voyeurs to participants.(Creeber, pg.15,2009).
This means that as far as this new information technology age has came along, we as the participants now have a more active role in what is being produced throughout all forms of New Media. If we are the participants and the producers then we responsible for what the consumers after us are being shown.
Creeber states in his conclusion that "critical understanding of the field is essential if we are to produce a sophisticated theoretical approach"(Pg.22,2009)
References - Glen Creeber, Digital Theory: theorizing New Media, 2009, (Pgs 11-22)
I understand that Creeber has divided the 'New Media' up into different historical timeline changes, such as Modernism and 'old media', which took place during the industrial revolution and the invention of the printing press, where upon a new form of media was born. The first people to take an ideological stance upon modernism was 'The Frankfurt School' and in particularly, Adorno. They highlighted the new phase of the industrial revolution that was mass production and they often perceived the media as product of industrialization(Creeber, pg.12,2009), where upon they came up with the term 'Fordism', referring to Henry Fords first mass production system of the automobile.
This perception of mass production of the Media, called the 'Fordist Philosophy' was apparent in mass culture, where it seemed that every TV show, film and magazine were identical. (Creeber, pg.13, 2009). This group of Marxists and their theories led them to clearly distaste these 'industrialized' products, and the fact that they were only to keep mass audiences deluded in their oppression.
The next theory of the Media is Postmodernism, which brought about changes after the industrial revolution. This brought about the rise of new information technologies, leading up to the ones which we are using and producing today. Creeber refers to other writers, such as Levinson(1999), and how much of his work anticipated the power of New Media to enhance an audiences interactivity with electronic information as a whole - transforming us from voyeurs to participants.(Creeber, pg.15,2009).
This means that as far as this new information technology age has came along, we as the participants now have a more active role in what is being produced throughout all forms of New Media. If we are the participants and the producers then we responsible for what the consumers after us are being shown.
Creeber states in his conclusion that "critical understanding of the field is essential if we are to produce a sophisticated theoretical approach"(Pg.22,2009)
References - Glen Creeber, Digital Theory: theorizing New Media, 2009, (Pgs 11-22)
Digital Cultures
To study and understand new media we need to look at the series of events, technologies and cultural conditions which gave rise to it. Creeber, in his work 'Digital Cultures' discusses modernism and post-modernism in relation to old and new media. Modernism refers to 'the way that human society responded to the changes that took place during the industrial revolution.'(Creeber, 2009, P.11)
Industrialisation was not perceived well with many modernists as they seen it 'as the enemy of free thought and individuality, producing an essentially cold and soulless universe.' (Creeber, 2009, P12) Industrialisation benefited Henry Ford who invented the assembly line which enabled the quick and easy mass-production of his car models. The famous Frankfurt School were a group of German Marxists who 'were struck how American mass culture shared many similarities of mass production.. they liked to perceive the media as a standardised product of industrialisation.' (Creeber, 2009, P12) The Frankfurt School linked Henry Ford's idea of cheap and speedy mass-production of cars to the media, as television shows, radio programmes and magazines, like Ford's cars, were all identical. 'Instead of stimulating audiences, these media 'products' were designed to keep the masses deluded in their oppression by offering a form of ... standardised culture.' (Creeber, 2009, P.13)
This mass-produced media lead to audiences being passive, taking in everything the media was serving to them and not thinking or acting for themselves. Reith famously wrote, 'we are apparently setting out to give the public what we think they need - and not what they want - but few know what they want and very few know what they need.' (Creeber, 2009, P.13) This theory can be identified as the Hypodermic Needle Model. This is the idea that audiences are 'injected' with ideologies and beliefs from the media and they do not think for themselves.
After modernism came post-modernism which looks at the changes that took place after the industrial revolution. 'A post-industrial economy is one in which an economic transition has taken place from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy.' (Creeber, 2009, P13) Marshall McLuhan's work looks at 'the power of new media to enhance an audience's interactivity with electronic information as a whole.' (Creeber, 2009, P15) So now instead of just watching television, audience members can actively participate and get involved. This is new media and interactivity. McLuhan highlights that through interactivity audience members transform from 'voyeurs to participants.' (Creeber, 2009, P.15) If we think of shows such as X-Factor, on the live shows Tweets are read out from audience members giving their opinion of the contestants. Afterwards on 'The X-tra Factor' audiences can get even more involved by ringing in and asking questions to their favourite acts.
BOOKS:
Creeber. G. (2009) 'Digital Theory: Theorising New Media' & Cubitt. D. (2009) 'Case Study, Digital Aesthetics' in Ed. Creeder. G. & Royston. M. (2009) 'Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media' Maidenstone, Open University Press
Industrialisation was not perceived well with many modernists as they seen it 'as the enemy of free thought and individuality, producing an essentially cold and soulless universe.' (Creeber, 2009, P12) Industrialisation benefited Henry Ford who invented the assembly line which enabled the quick and easy mass-production of his car models. The famous Frankfurt School were a group of German Marxists who 'were struck how American mass culture shared many similarities of mass production.. they liked to perceive the media as a standardised product of industrialisation.' (Creeber, 2009, P12) The Frankfurt School linked Henry Ford's idea of cheap and speedy mass-production of cars to the media, as television shows, radio programmes and magazines, like Ford's cars, were all identical. 'Instead of stimulating audiences, these media 'products' were designed to keep the masses deluded in their oppression by offering a form of ... standardised culture.' (Creeber, 2009, P.13)
This mass-produced media lead to audiences being passive, taking in everything the media was serving to them and not thinking or acting for themselves. Reith famously wrote, 'we are apparently setting out to give the public what we think they need - and not what they want - but few know what they want and very few know what they need.' (Creeber, 2009, P.13) This theory can be identified as the Hypodermic Needle Model. This is the idea that audiences are 'injected' with ideologies and beliefs from the media and they do not think for themselves.
After modernism came post-modernism which looks at the changes that took place after the industrial revolution. 'A post-industrial economy is one in which an economic transition has taken place from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy.' (Creeber, 2009, P13) Marshall McLuhan's work looks at 'the power of new media to enhance an audience's interactivity with electronic information as a whole.' (Creeber, 2009, P15) So now instead of just watching television, audience members can actively participate and get involved. This is new media and interactivity. McLuhan highlights that through interactivity audience members transform from 'voyeurs to participants.' (Creeber, 2009, P.15) If we think of shows such as X-Factor, on the live shows Tweets are read out from audience members giving their opinion of the contestants. Afterwards on 'The X-tra Factor' audiences can get even more involved by ringing in and asking questions to their favourite acts.
BOOKS:
Creeber. G. (2009) 'Digital Theory: Theorising New Media' & Cubitt. D. (2009) 'Case Study, Digital Aesthetics' in Ed. Creeder. G. & Royston. M. (2009) 'Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media' Maidenstone, Open University Press
Digital Cultures Glen Creeber
"Modernism is the umbrella term we give to the way that human society responded to the changes that took place during the industrial revolution"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 11). Modernism happened at the end of the 19th century and with it's "belief in scientific inevitability of progress" modernism created an atmosphere that would see people believe that it would improve the human life as we know it for the better(Creeber, 2009, Pg 11). Although many people believed modernism was the way forward there still was people that blamed it for the first two world wars.
Industrialization, a word that did not go down well with many modernists as they seen it as the "enemy of free thought and individuality"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 12). In many cases this was true and Industrialization would go on to bring more profit to production companies rather than individual artists, and a good example of this from Creeber's book Digital Cultures is Henry Ford. Henry Ford used Industrialization as a mains to make the production and staff cheaper and to created a single T.Ford multiple times in less time and this now a days is done by nearly every auto mobile company in the world. As always not everyone was in favour of this mass production line, The Frankfurt School was part of these people and perceived "media as a standardized product of industrialization"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 12), Theodor Adorno was part of the Frankfurt School and believed that music was getting abused by mass production and just getting repeated.
Post-modernism was what came after the industrial revolution, we seen a shift in the economy to a service based one from it's original manufacturing based economy which inevitably saw the drop in sales and products from the "heavy industry"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 15). Consumers of the media had changed, interactivity is upon us and it is like us as consumers no long just consume the media but we control it as well. "Reality and unreality are not mixed like oil and water; rather they are dissolved like two acids"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 17), this statement would refer to television programs and social networking sites that allow many ways in which you can interact with them like voting on who should leave a certain show and this means that the audience can change the landscapes of their own media without being in the media.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Creeber, G and Martin R. 2009, Digital Cultures, Open University Press.
Industrialization, a word that did not go down well with many modernists as they seen it as the "enemy of free thought and individuality"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 12). In many cases this was true and Industrialization would go on to bring more profit to production companies rather than individual artists, and a good example of this from Creeber's book Digital Cultures is Henry Ford. Henry Ford used Industrialization as a mains to make the production and staff cheaper and to created a single T.Ford multiple times in less time and this now a days is done by nearly every auto mobile company in the world. As always not everyone was in favour of this mass production line, The Frankfurt School was part of these people and perceived "media as a standardized product of industrialization"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 12), Theodor Adorno was part of the Frankfurt School and believed that music was getting abused by mass production and just getting repeated.
Post-modernism was what came after the industrial revolution, we seen a shift in the economy to a service based one from it's original manufacturing based economy which inevitably saw the drop in sales and products from the "heavy industry"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 15). Consumers of the media had changed, interactivity is upon us and it is like us as consumers no long just consume the media but we control it as well. "Reality and unreality are not mixed like oil and water; rather they are dissolved like two acids"(Creeber, 2009, Pg 17), this statement would refer to television programs and social networking sites that allow many ways in which you can interact with them like voting on who should leave a certain show and this means that the audience can change the landscapes of their own media without being in the media.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Creeber, G and Martin R. 2009, Digital Cultures, Open University Press.
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Digital Cultures: Theorizing New Media.
New media, according to Creeber has such a 'complex' and 'diverse' field that it is almost impossible to conclude it with a single definition. (Creeber & Martin, 2009, p.11).
Attempting to explain New Media, Creeber talks about Modernism and Postmodernism. Modernism is the "umbrella term" which refers to how the humans "responded to the changes that took place during the industrial revolution". (Ibid, p.11).
From Creeber's book, we learn that the modernism's reaction towards modernity was contradictory - a celebratory reaction, 'Fordism'- Henry Ford's T-ford "successes in the automobile industry" and then there was the 'pessimistic' reaction, The Frankfurt School. (Ibid, p12)
Ford used mass production techniques, allowing cars to become 'more accessible' and 'cheaper' while being produced more rapidly. Consequently, this mass-production resulted in all his T-Fords being identical. This is where the pessimistic theorists of The Frankfurt School start their dispute -- claiming
Ford's philosophy "evident in all aspects of mass culture", meaning the production of new products are no different to the previous products. (Ibid, p12)
The Marxist theory of The Frankfurt School expresses their detestation towards the 'industrialised' products, claiming they only offer a substitute to the needs of what the mass actually needs, for example, Theodor Adorno's theory on popular music. John Reith, first director General of the BBC generally disapproves with the Marxist theory of the Frankfurt School but actually supports their claim on mass culture, he states :
"It is ocassionally indicated to us that we are apparently setting out to give the public what we think they need -- and not what they want -- but few know what they want and very few know what they need" (cited by Briggs 1961:238)
(Creeber and martin, 2009, p13)
In contrast with modernism, Postmodernism is the phase following the industrial revolution. A post-industrial (post-fordist) economy is an "economic transition" which took place "from a manufacturing based economy to a service-based economy" which eventually lead to the "decline of heavy industry." (Ibid, p. 15)
This shift in ideology from the pessimistic view of The Frankfurt School was essentially detected by the work of Marshall McLuhan.
Creeber mentions the argument developed by critics about the "landscape of postmodernism and New Media are turning citizens of democracies into apolitical consumers, no longer able to distinguish between the stimulated illusions of media and the harsh realities of capitalist society.." (Ibid, p20), which creates a platform for McLuhan's famous argument of 'The Medium is The Message', which is something we can clearly identify with in today's society. McLuhan's theory promotes the idea that the audiences are more influenced with how the information is presented instead of what is actually presented. Also, these critics argue that "postmodern obsessions with images over depth produces a superficial and artificial environment" where consequently, "little is taken seriously". (Ibid, p20)
REFERENCES:
- Creeber, G & Martin, R (2009) DIGITAL THEORY: Theorizing New Media
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