Week 10 : Games & Avatars

Do you agree that you are cyborgian in nature?

In the modern era, technologies are important. Everyday, most people using technologies to complete their usual life activities for example is handphone for communication. Games and avatars are interesting and exciting because of imagination and realistic. Games also help you to think and gain knowledge for example pilot simulator. Pilots need to learn simulation first before drive a real aeroplane. Sometimes we can be half human and half cyborg in different context.

As stated by Mcluhan (2001), in his book titled Understanding Media, "Games are popular art, collective, social reactions to the main drive or action of any culture. Games, like institutions, are extensions of social man and of the body politics, as technologies are extensions of the animal organism. Both games and technologies are counter-irritants or ways of adjusting to the stress of the specialized actions that occur in any social group."(p.255).

So, what is avatar?

Among people working on virtual reality and cyberspace interfaces, an avatar is an icon or representation of a user in a shared virtual reality. (retrieved from website, http://www.definethat.com/define/368.htm)





This images is the sims 3, one of the popular games among potential gamers. I wish to argue that the sims is simulation for social life activities as a family. Relationship and family planning is practice in this game. We are the controllers or players and the sims is avatars. We control every movement of the scene.

From my understanding, avatars can be represent into two types:-

1) used at websites, such as on Web exchange boards
2)used in gaming and virtual worlds.

To conclude, games and avatars are technology. We sometimes rely on technology that can reflect us as cyborgs. Technology invented by human that why we can't entirely rely on technology.

References:-

~Mcluhan,(2001), Understanding Media, London: Routeledge

~Lester, P.M(1995). Visual communication: Images with messages. California: Wadsworth Publishing.USA.

Week 9 : Cinema and Television

In this topic I will focus on cultural literacy on the cinema and television. Cultural literacy have mostly different every countries. Hirsch’s definition of Cultural Literacy is “the fund of information possessed by all competent readers belonging to a certain culture.”(Hirsch, 1987). According to Jeff Smith, the importance of Hirsch’s work on cultural literacy is not about the knowledge but rather its ability to able for us to achieve” access to our shared public discourse”(Cook, Paul G., 2009, p.495). I wish to argue cultural literacy in cinema and television represent ethical and culture in different countries.

In this journal, I wish to argue cultural literacy is vital to know in every country social life. I take High School Musical as an example. In this movie,relationship is important as students. Nowadays, musical school is popular among teenage students in United States. Life as students is fun not too pressure. So, dance is one lesson to release tension in high school. Cultural literacy, life as students in United States are enjoy and fun with dance and musical.

As stated by Richard Hoggart, (1990) on his book titled, The Uses of Literacy stated that "....the strongest argument against modern mass entertainments is not that they debase taste - debasement can be alive and active - but that they over - excite it, eventually dull it, and finally kill it....They kill it at the nerve, and yet so bemuse and persuade their audience that the audience is almost entirely unable to look up and say, 'But in fact this cake is made of sawdust'". (p.196-7).

For the conclusion, we need to know every cultural literacy in every country. Peoples will critics if cultural literacy not accepted.

References:

~Turrow, J. (2008), Media today: An introduction to Mass communication. New York: Routledge

~ Hoggart, H. (1990). The Uses of Literacy. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Week 8 : Photography

Photography have a powerful images to persuade audience perception and memorable. Most unique photography have semiotics to explain messages and many stories to tell. As stated by Martin Lester (1999), in his book titled Visual Communication, but

"But one of the most important stories photograph, or any visual message, tells is the one viewer makes up. The way you interpret an image is the story of your life."(p.249)

The question of how our belief in the special veracity and evidential force of the photographic image gets attached to the material image itself can be approached by considering the photographic image in more historical and sociological ways(Tagg 1988: P3-5). Although different individuals have different perception but one images have their own ideologies. I wish to argue that photography can be cultural critique. In this topic, I choose pictures below:-

Tutong Town

The ideology for images above is flash flooding in Tutong Town. Many people are shocked

by flash flooding on the first day of Hari Raya. Tutong Town haven't been flood for over the years. The discourse for flash flooding, I can critics that sewerage system on the Tutong Town unprofessional constructed. Relevan government and non government(NGOs) should be improvise sewerage system. Lack of contingency plan among people around and relevan authorities. Early warning need to announce to makesure people know and ready for any disasters.

In conclusion, every photography has their own critical culture. Individuals have their own interpretion and story behind the images.

References;

~ Lister M.(2004). The Photographic Image in Digital Culture, London, Routeledge.

~ Lister M (1999). Visual Communication, London, Routeldge.

Week 7 : Visual Narrative and Media

From my opinion, narrative is story-telling. Visual narrative can be explain what and how a story is formed. Visual narrative can be pictures or videos with have meaning and story behind it. The purpose of my journal, I wish to argue that structure and post structuralism in narrative are powerful to persuade audiences. As stated by Gillian Rose (2001) in his book titled Visual Methodologies, Narrative
"Narrative. Cowie notes how the story of the film contains a number of wishes for rather conventional kinds of success: erotic success and social success in particular. But the film also presents some more prohibited fantasies."(p.126)

As stated on Branston G. and Stafford R., on the book titled the media students book, "the term narration describes how stories are told, how their material is selected and arranged in order to achieve particular effects with their audiences. This partly involves how much knowledge we are allowed..."(p.49)



The images has narrative, there will be a war. Story telling will be soldiers march to start for war. That why imagination and knowledge plays a very important in making picture narrative.

References:-

~Branston, G. and Stafford, R.(2007), The Media Student's book, London, Routledge.