Media Immersive

Fast forward five years from now...

I picture the media in the next five years to not be dramatically different. However, change is inevitable. I picture cellular phones to be more advanced than now. Everyone will be on a 4G network. People will be able to do everyday tasks right in the palm of their hand. They will be able to pay for things with their phone, use it as a ticket, be almost a full working computer, with all touch screen of course. In the future, I can imagine it almost resembling a mini I pad. Everything you need in one device is something I think distributors will strive for. Movies will be almost primarily in 3D. Television will be on its way to being almost completely 3D.

Now fast forward fifteen years...

I see the world now almost fully immersed in communication devices. In all our technological advances, a lot of people will have only one device that does everything for them. This could not even be considered a phone anymore. This could just be a sort of human remote control, a device used to to virtually everything, right in the palm of your hand. This will be in attempts to try to connect to the world, but will make it all the more distant. Face book will still exist, maybe something better will come along. all the same, we will all be traceable from anywhere in the world, if not already. Television will not be obsolete by any means, just a mesh of movies mixing with television. There will be significant progress, to be sure. Most likely holograms. No time travel, by any means, but a significant leap non the less. I think were on a roll with advancements and has no intention of slowing down.

Now, come with me fifty years from now...

Fifty years from now, I don't believe we will have flying cars, time travel, or even teleportation. I do believe, however, that we will have technologies beyond what I can probably wrap my head around now. I think that everything will be 3D or touch screen, if not a combination of then both. Color television, and 2D are just feats of the past now. The three-dimentional world will be the next to perfect. Like Blue ray will replace DVD and digital format of songs were once CD and tapes, everything will be lost in a digital sea. Print will be less and less, suffering, but will never disappear altogether. Things will just come faster, cheaper and will be easier to obtain. Quantity will probably be valued over quantity.


Overall, I think progress is a constant uphill battle. There is always a part of humanity that wants to grow and advance technologically and mentally, but there is that human side of us that wants to keep tradition and human contact. We strive on both of them. I think this slows us down a bit in terms of how fast we want to grow technologically, but not by much. We will always want to advance, that is our nature. Our nature is also to rebel, to keep the dignity of being a human and by not playing God too much.

Revised Post

                This week, I chose to revise the pulp fiction post on the novel The Maltese Falcon.

The Maltese Falcon, written by Dashiell Hammett, is essentially about a detective named Sam Spade. When his partner dies after taking a job from a woman under the alias Ms. Wonderly, more and more questions arise. Throughout the investigation, you follow detective Spade as he unwraps the mystery of his partner’s death and of the maltese falcon.

            We find later that although he was hired by Ms. Brigid O'Shaugnessy (Mrs. Wonderly), he was also hired by Joel Cairo. Somehow he eludes the police and his former partner’s wife’s advances, tracking down the true murderer along with the falcon. This book takes the reader on a true roller coaster ride, especially during the climax when they are determining who among them were going to be pinned for the murders. This continued all the way up to the shocking conclusion. 

            Though I’ve never read a mystery pulp fiction novel before, I found it quite exciting when I bought the audio book for it. The reader did a plethora of different voices for the characters, making identifying them that much easier. I found the wording of the novel much different than that of today’s fiction.  The author described the way the faces look throughout the book. Also, the author points out how they move and how they speak as he tells the story. This helped picture the characters much more clearly in their emotions and actions. 

The relationships between all the characters were odd in some parts. Spade treats the women as delicate, dull-minded creatures. He kisses them all freely and without consequences. The women aren’t much better than the men, either. They are annoying and shrill. They seem to be so needy of the men and badger them whenever something goes awry. Although, this stereotype isn’t as strong today, I still see men and women acting that way. I suppose that’s just the way we are. The roles of the men were made to emulate a gun wielding tough guy who doesn’t crack under the beauty of a woman. A woman’s role was to have the ability to have that over a man.

It was explained earlier in the course that novels such as these weren’t considered literary pieces. Although “The Maltese Falcon” wasn’t one of the best-written pieces I’ve read, I found it to be enjoyable nonetheless. Spades investigation seemed a little tedious and over explanatory at times but altogether I found the book informative and gripping with detail.

The novel was an overall good story, although I knew that Mrs. O’Shaughnessy was no good to begin with. She lied too much; you knew that she had much more to tell from the beginning. Still, I liked how it came together at the end. Spade became the hero I wanted him to be and not the crook like we thought during the climax. I believe the theme of this novel was about greed and the lengths people go to reach riches. In the end, all she wanted was to be with Mr. Spade and live her life but through her greed she learned a harder lesson. “Im not going to play the fool!” said Mr. Spade. 

VIDEOGAMES!

                                                                          Fable III

For this week, I chose a game that I started weeks prior, Fable III. I found this game to be both entertaining, rewarding and ultimately, a piece of literature. This game tells a story through the choices of the individual and through these choices depends on the outcome of the story.  The game actually resembles closely to what a “choose your own adventure” story entails. Let me take a step back a bit.

            The history of this game starts with Fable, the first game in this trilogy. In the original Fable videogame, an orphaned boy is taken in by a guild and raised to become a hero. The setting takes place in Albion, a fictional place set in England. I didn’t play this game, although the next line in the series, Fable II, became a great addiction of mine.

            In this game, not only are you to become a hero again, you are in the same kingdom as before, only a much later era. In this game, you can buy a house, get married, have children, get a job, loot, steal, follow quests, help people, and kill people, among many other numerous things. With the help of your dog and magic powers given to you by the guild, you set your own destiny. It’s a role-playing game in which you, the player, decide the moral fate of your set character. If you decide to go one way or the other, certain quests and challenges are presented to you. When you make your choices, certain quests regarding your path are set in front of you.

            Now, the third Fable in the line is about a new hero. It takes place in the era of industrialization, still set in Albion, only years later. As always, you are allowed to buy and sell houses and businesses and get married, same as the two before it. The real difference between the first two and the third is clear. You don’t start off poor in this game, or orphaned even. You are a princess. Also, they have a revolutionary new addition, holding hands. But that’s for another day.

In the beginning of Fable III, you discover what a tyrant your brother has become as king. Therefore, your character starts a rebellion. Throughout the game, you earn the trust and following of each kingdom by proving your leadership and strength. Eventually, you get all the colonies to follow you and you face your brother in combat. You overthrow your brother and become Queen (or king, depending on who’s playing). This is where the tricky part comes in. You, as queen discover that a force, an evil force you actually barely escape from earlier, is coming for the kingdom in a year.

            The brother, a tyrant by reputation knows this and has only been raising the taxes to prepare an army for such an event. This made him unpopular with the kingdom to say the least. In your attempt to be queen, you must keep all your promises that you kept with the colonies, or risk being a tyrant. The problem being, there isn’t enough money to protect the people AND keep all the promises.

            Fable III is a perfect example of literature, a new type of literature even. The story is undeniably defined throughout, with minor changes. When you make a choice, it submerges the character into a different series of events. The video game has all of what a traditional book has, and then some. It has a defined setting, quests, obstacles, with a climax and ending. The best part of the whole experience is this: If you don’t like your character, you can change it. If you don’t enjoy where you’re heading, you can change directions at any time. I think because of these things it makes the story so much more enjoyable and a cornerstone in the development of literature.

 

Oryx and Crake

                                                                     Oryx and Crake

“Oryx and Crake,” by Margaret Atwood is about the future of technology and what might happen to mankind if we abuse such power. The story is essentially about a man named Snowman.  Before everyone got infected and died, before oryx, before crake, and before he was given the responsibility of the Crakers, he was called Jimmy. Jimmy grows up in a compound where his father works for companies developing gene-splicing materials. Because of the experiments, animals such as wolvogs, pigoons and rakunks were created.

These are animals that were spliced together to form a new species, eliminating the weaknesses, whilst gaining the advantage of the other animal. His best friend Crake grows up to invent a one time only birth control, only with a deadly disease as a side affect. Through this love story/fantasy, the themes of personal relationships, abandonment, and human kind in general are all themes of this novel.

Not only is “Oryx and Crake” about the future, its about a past we all share. I saw this book as bittersweet with the message. The bitterness was in the destruction of mankind, the abuse of technology, playing God. It all sickens me to know that we have this power because you know someone will abuse it. You can’t help but like Crake though. Even though it was awful what he did, I think that in the whole scheme of things, his creation was even greater.

Crake wasn’t right in killing off virtually all of mankind, but making a better human helps the fat pill of reality a little easier to swallow. Knowing that the good-natured Crakers were going to outlast snowman and probably most of mankind surprisingly made me feel warm and comforted inside. I suppose the idea of the earth not being inhabited at all by a smarter life form just seems…. well, empty.

Snowman, or Jimmy, was a very complex character. He was a very human person. He did some good and some good, neutral in my book. To me, he represented everything a human is, was, or will be. Oryx represented an ideal, an abstract goddess who is calming and always looks on the bright side of things. She is beauty. Crake is like a teacher, the creator, and the boss. He is also good-natured and wants the best for mankind, to our knowledge. Still his intentions for everything are still so ambiguous, I don’t even think Margaret Atwood knew. It’s supposed to stay a mystery, some things just are meant to be that way.

The book as a whole was extremely entertaining. I loved Atwood’s writing style. I enjoyed how she caught a single moment sentimentally, and then make a sudden shift in the story with a sentence such as, “…and he cut her throat. Jimmy shot Crake.” It was brilliant. I would suggest this to anyone.

 

                                         

      I chose this picture as a depiction of women because I think it’s funny and sad that women have to feel sexy and wanted by doing things like this. This is just one example of many like it. Why do women put themselves in these degrading situations? How are they benefiting from this? It really angers me, and I think most women when they believe they are being “Empowered” by their sexuality. This is true, to an extent. Women want to be independent and empowered, but putting your body on display is a step backwards in my opinion.  I think that this is an issue not only for men but for women, We are the bigger culprits here. The problem is, its too easy. Women love attention, that’s how its always going to be. It’s a physical advantage I wish we didn’t abuse so fleetingly. Maybe then, we could respect ourselves first, and others will follow in our example. Maybe then they will take us seriously and pay us equal wages. :/

Graphic Novels

                                                                    Asterios Polyp

When I first saw Asterios Polyp at Barnes and Noble this past summer, my friend recommended that I read it. So it did, all in one sitting. I was so taken in and enthralled by the story that I barely looked up at all. Asterios character, constantly bringing up the subject of Geek mythology or Greek references, is very human in this novel. In Graphic Novels, some people tend to think that these are all super hero comics, or something of that nature. I find graphic novels much closer to a more “traditional literature”, such as a book than comics necessarily. Yet, I don’t hold them in a lower regard.

The graphic novel “Asterios Polyp” is about an architect who taught at a college in Ithaca, New York. While there, his building burns down and he moves to Opogee, New York to work as a mechanic. Throughout the story, it travels from the past to present, revealing the relationship between him and his wife, Hana but also his dead twin.

Essentially, this story is about duality. Through his brother and his wife, his relationships are sometimes troubled. I found this story relatable and also extremely unique. I thought that the idea of visually showing an argument, especially the one between Asterios and Hana, was brilliant. Showing his personality through blue geometrical shapes and hers through soft pink lines, further demonstrated where each person was coming from.

Through graphic novels, I feel they are a merging of art and books. Two of my favorite things, what’s not to like?! Although, it has a different feel than a book. To me, books feel a little bit more real for me and sometimes I don’t like that. I like to feel that I am being taken away in a whirlwind of a story. Being submerged in a serious subject whilst being entertained and pleasing to the eye are ideal. The amazing aspect to me is the amount of moral fiber and lessons laced through a cartoon. All the more reason to pick one up.

 

                                                                        Paprika

Paprika was a very interesting movie. I need to start off first by saying that this was my first anime movie ever. Ever. That being said, it was a bit different for me. I’m a typical American girl, raised on nickelodeon and Disney. I was a little taken aback by the very different drawing style, and story style. When I started it, I didn’t wasn’t to be biased because of that and tried to accept the work as it is.

I loved the movie. The style still is a little odd to me but I enjoyed the story line so much, I just couldn’t stop watching all the colorful visuals and immersive plot. Paprika is a character invented by the main scientist, At-chan. That, or it’s her other self. I’m not exactly sure. When the DC Mini, a device used to share dreams, goes missing, Hatsuro, an employee is the main suspect. Through further investigation however, they discover it’s actually the chairman who is trying to control everyone’s dreams. This movie was a very fast paced movie, just bursting with visuals and deep meaning.

The story is set in Japan. The main character, Paprika (aka At-Chan) is a psychotherapist working with the DC Mini to enter dreams, helping those with deep psychological problems. I found a lot of similarities between the graphic novel and this anime movie in terms of style. They both represented real life problems and issues (to some degree) with an underlining artistic vision and imagination. This is a perfect drink for an intellectually thirsty artist.

There are, in many respects a lot of visuals that I found very professional and detailed. The city scenes absolutely amazed me in the dedication in details. That made it all the more real. In the dream sequences, I also thought they did a phenomenal job in making it look real and then just like that, leading you right into a dream. They really did make you feel like the character, unknowingly submerging themselves into the uncharted territory of dreams. One issue I had with the story was, why was the only extremely obese guy American? J

 

Pattern Recognition

                                                                     Pattern Recognition

Cayce is a woman who only wears neutrals and has a unique sensitivity to brands and logos. When she is taken on by an agency to help with a new shoe logo, she also reluctantly takes on a job concerning online video phenomena. Her job is to find the origin of the film, and essentially, its maker. She gets a tip that a Japanese hacker found a watermark on the video. She receives it; yet as soon as she gets it two men attempt to steal the watermark from her. She escapes with the watermark to London where she gets a lead on the company that made it. Dorotea, we find out, was hired to follow her and ensure that she take down the job in hunting down the video’s origins.

Cayce purchases a Curta calculator from Voytek Biroshak. With the calculator she is able to find the email address of the buyer of the watermark. This turns out to be Stella Volkova. Her sister, Nora, is the maker of the videos. She is brain damaged and this is the only way she can express herself. She then gets in a slight mix-up with the Russians after she had mentioned on the site that it might be the work of the Russian mafia. The ending tied together nicely when she comes to terms with her father’s absence when the Russians turn over all the information about his disappearance to her.

Pattern Recognition was a bit harder to read than the other books. The author’s language can be a bit wordy in some areas. It also goes into a lot of side stories and tangents throughout. Sometimes, this made it hard to follow but the overall story was a fun ride. It took a while to get the story moving in the beginning but then picked up a bit after they went to Tokyo. Although it was a modern novel, from 2003, I found a lot of similarities or inspirations from some of the earlier novels. The ways things are described are sometimes similar. Comparatively, I think that this novel proved to be a little confusing at parts, whereas the Maltese falcon proved to be an easy follow-along. Besides that, some of the language was like music to my ears. I loved some of the imagery that William Gibson provided in this novel.

Pattern Recognition was essentially about finding meaning in seemingly meaningless data. People strive for purpose and meaning and through advertising and industrialization, this becomes ever more apparent. I think this novel touched on issues of what it means to not just see advertisements but to feel it. We all have a sensitive reaction, no matter how large or small. It happens to the best of us. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in the art or advertising world, as well as suspense novels, modernism, and introspective themes. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

 

Medium is the Message

Pages to Add to his works:

Lolita

 

Lolita is a story about a man and his reasoning for what he did to get into jail. This beautifully written novel by Vladimir Nabokov is disguised by a darker underlining theme.  The story is about a man who has relations with a 12 year old girl. Throughout the story, he tells his story, reasoning with the reader about his actions. Personally, I don’t buy a second of it.

            I didn’t finish this story because I found it really disturbing. The main character likes twelve-year-old girls for god sakes!  The beautiful words he speaks barely mask this horrible act. If it were someone who speaks plainly and was incarcerated for the same crime, nobody would give him excuses. For me, its not what you say, its what you do. What that man did was inexcusable and I don’t think hes suitable for the outside world when he has those urges.

            One of the arguments he presented on his defense was that just 50 years ago, (well 100 for us) 12-year-old marriage to men, whom were older, wasn’t exactly uncommon. This is a juvenile defense; “They did it, so I can too” is not going to convince me otherwise.  Times were different back then, life expectancy was shorter, people had to grow up a bit faster because they did marry much earlier in life. Even today, my parent’s generation tended to wed a lot earlier than today’s youth. This is because of the education for women and their independence as a whole.  Just because, up until about the 60’s, sexual harassment was is the workplace does not mean that it’s acceptable today.

            Maybe I am extremely biased in that I know people have had traumatic experiences when they were the same age. A person that young is not ready for that adult experience because they know nothing or very little about it. Maybe that’s the way things were, I don’t care. I don’t think it’s the way things should be. Im usually a pretty open-minded person but this is where I draw the line. Youth and innocence should be protected at all costs.


Movie: Exotica by Atom Egoyan

 

Pulp Fiction

                                                                 The Maltese Falcon.

            The Maltese Falcon, written by Dashiell Hammett is essentially about a detective whose partner dies after taking a job from a woman under the alias Mrs. Wonderly. Throughout the investigation, you follow detective Sam Spade as he unwraps the mystery of The Maltese Falcon.

            Though I’ve never read a mystery pulp fiction novel before, I found it quite exciting when I bought the audio book for it. The reader did a plethora of different voices for the characters, making identifying them that much easier. I found the wording of the novel much different than that of today’s fiction.  The author describes the way the faces look throughout the whole book. Also, the author points out how they move and how they speak. These help picture the characters much more clearly in their emotions and actions.

The relationships between all the characters were odd in some parts. Spade treats the women as delicate, dull-minded creatures. He kisses them all freely and without consequences. The women aren’t much better than the men, either. They are annoying and shrill. They seem to be so needy of the men and badger them whenever something goes wrong. Although, this stereotype isn’t as strong today, I still see these prejudices often. I suppose that’s just the way they were. The roles of the men were made to emulate a gun wielding tough guy who doesn’t crack under the beauty of a woman. A woman’s role was to have the ability to have that over a man. This is still true today.

It was explained earlier in the course that novels such as these weren’t considered literary pieces. Although “The Maltese Falcon” wasn’t one of the best written pieces I’ve read. Though, I found it to be well written and enjoyable nonetheless. Spades investigation seemed a little tedious and over explanatory at times but altogether I found the book informative and gripping with detail.

The novel was an overall good story, although I knew that woman was no good to begin with. She lied too much; you knew that she had much more to tell from the beginning. Still, I liked how it came together at the end. Spade became the hero I wanted him to be and not the crook like we thought during the climax. I give this story 4 out of 5 stars. J

Day of the Locust

                                                                 Day of the Locust

“The Day of the Locust” is a short novel by Nathanael West. Set during the great depression, it is a story about alienation and outcasts who join together to make their dream in Hollywood. Tod Hackett, the main character, is a painter from Yale but has recently moved to Hollywood in pursuits to painting set backgrounds. Tod falls in love with Faye Greener, an aspiring actress. Tod soon gets to meet some of her wacky friends such as: a Mexican who hosts cock fights, a guy who acts like a cowboy, a guy named Earl, a dwarf and Homer Simpson, a man she readily takes advantage of.

The story was essentially about people who meet under similar circumstances, bounding up together in desperation. I think that the way they clung to each other seemed a bit desperate because this story was set during the great depression. Because of this factor, being a struggling artist, actress, or any trade really of that time, they had to rely on each other for support. I think that Tod was also a very desperate person. Yet, he was more desperate for Faye, really. I think he took to what she wanted from him and followed whatever she said.

A common theme in this era, compared to “The Maltese Falcon” is really the voice of the writer. Although the characters aren’t one bit the same, some of the wording seems parallel. Throughout the book the characters really say what’s on their mind a lot, and smoke often.  I think that pulp fiction genre books are interesting in the way they end. They aren’t necessarily happy endings or complete, they are more abstract. The ending of “The Day of the Locust” was satisfactory for me. I thought it really random and messed up about the girl in the crowd with the creepy guy touching her. But I thought that the ending, with the riot in the streets was a strange way to end it. I would have liked to find out further about what happened with Faye.