http://louise-ruddick.blog.co.uk/

VJ & DJ's - Sound

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:47:10 +0100

I have always been of the opinion that music is a powerful influence, and has the ability to provoke strong emotions. But after looking more closely as DJ's, the whole thing is much more in depth than I ever realised. For one thing, I never thought that DJ's were as highly qualified. But after thinking about it, I suppose it makes sense; it's all about angaging with the human brain, and holding somebody's attention. The main example we considered, DJ Spooky, employed several techniques to achieve thins, which included very strange live imagery and instrumentals. At first, it seemed to just be a cocktail of too many techniques thrown together. But, after watching it for several minutes, I realised that regardless of it's quality, it HAD held my attention, which surely was the main intention?

http://www.djspooky.com/media.php

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Globalisation & Convergence

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:13:18 +0100

The Emergence of Globalisation

There are 3 main catalysts which can be identified when considering the emergence of glabalisation:

1) The end of The Cold War
2) Modernism
3) The development of new technologies

These are three aspects which caused globalisation to gather pace through the Twentieth Century.

It is crucial to remember that there are two opposing viewpoints on this topic; those of Western Academics (in the UK / USA), ans contrastingly, those of the victims of globalisation.

What is Globalisation?

Globalisation can best be described as economic transactions taking place over a growing distance. This leads to the coming-together of different races in an economic sense, and can often lead to restrictions on migrants being lifted. Another positive outcome of globalisation is the spread of Western values and business throughout the globe, which can often lead to freedom and democracy - thus making the process worthwhile.

However, another point to consider is this sense of CULTURAL MERGING, which is often referred to as MCDONALDISATION - a derogatory term which suggests that the aesthetic of the West is beginning to take over the world - and local culture is being phased out. This spread of the familiar transcended into previously exotic locations. Therefore, globalisation can be recognised as economic, cultural and HISTORICAL.

How does this process of Globalisation occur? / What accelerates it?

Globalisation began millions of years ago when people began to move out of Africa and trade with one another. These processes of interaction, seduction, empire building and the emergence of war involved conquest, control and acquisition.
The end of the Cold War in 1989 saw the defeat of Russian ideology and the rise of a new political process, known as capitalism. There was no longer a conflict of interest.
Modernism offered a means of informing people of Western thinking and values, which was crucial to the rise of Globalisation.
The growth of of new technologies offered a new way of managing time and space, which was at the heart of capitalism. Another innovative change within society, which brought about new conditions and offered more solutions to more problems. This led to a reliance upon the development of technology (eg cure for cancer) and suggested, perhaps wrongly, that technology has the potential to solve ANY problem we face as a society. Here we can see the technological platforms which trade our cultural values converging.

The Concept of the Global

When the first images of Earth came back from Space, we were able to grasp a clearer understanding of what GLOBAL actually means. We inturn aquired a sense of belonging / ownership with 'our' planet.

'The Other' is something we compare ourselves with - something which we hope to achieve. This brings with is aspects of difference / exotic / sensual / a site of fantasy / normalisation?

Myths about other cultures are set up / circulated to enforce the idea that OUR culture (western) is 'the norm'. It is always 'them' / 'the other' which is strange / different. This can be seen as a promotion of Christian moral values.

As a side point to this; black sexual prowess still has a place in the values of the porn industry. This is critised by many as nonsense / a myth - mediated entirely for the purposes of Western culture promotion. Are we marginalising foregn culture?

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The Post-Human Technological

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:32:55 +0100

Many modern films have explored the possibility of future generations experiencing the introduction of 'cyborgs' or 'robots' into society. This idea of a 'cyborg' represents an impossible desire, and represents our concerns over the state of humanity. It is also a key example of the ways in which technological advances are affecting our physical appearance - and rather than developing outward from the human body, technology is moving closer into the human frame.

French artist Orlan took this idea one step further. She thought about reconfiguration of the human body, and wanted to achieve a new type of beauty. Orlan believe that beauty should not be defined by society, and we should not align ourselves with conventional values. To Orlan, beauty should NOT be structured by culture, but by the person who acquires it. She expressed these views through her work, and used cosmetic surgery as a means of reconstructing her face in a way which did not adher to modern conventions. For example, during one of her famous procedures in Japan (no French / British surgeon was prepared to perform such procedures) she asked the surgeon to give her the biggest nose possible - and during another, had 'horns' implanted in her forehead. Orlan turned the operating theatre into an entertainment arena and loved having an audience. She produced artwork using the fat, skin and blood which was left over following operations - commodofying / selling herself. She believed that we all acquire excess flesh (couch potato generation) and wanted to transform the human body to be active and engaged.

Australian artist Stelarc refers to himself as a 'post-human engineer' also used the human body in his work. His work was a lot more technologically focused than Orlan's - which was largly cosmetic. Stelarc was highly concerned about our physical relationship with modern technology - he thought that perhaps technology is moving too fast and we are getting left behind. To Stelarc, machines are becoming more useful than we are, and are beginning to possess better capabilities, to which we are able to compare. Stelarc's projects mean that his body movements have become involuntary, and he no longer has control over what movements his body makes. Stelarc's reinvention of the body for what he refers to as 'post plannatory environments' - a Matrix - like idea - show that he believes that our natural form is simply not enough to survive on 'Planet one' in the future, as technology is advancing at such high-speed. Stelarc does not refer to his body as his own - this distansiation with his own body could distinguish him as a Christian artist (independance of soul) - However Stelac strongly denies this claim. Stelarc states that his overall aim is for humans to have the ability to live without a physical form. He sees the body as a support mechanism for conciousness, and is not necessarily needed for human survival. He believes that conciousness can be captured in a technological form / platform, which would remove us from our current physical restraints.

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Introduction - What is Media?

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:41:45 +0100

The first, and probably most important thing to consider before beginning this module, is to consider what the media actually IS. It is only then that we can ascertain what a NEW media culture is.

If you were to ask 100 people: 'what is media?' the chances are that the majority of people will mention things like 'mobile phones', 'Television', and the 'Internet' - in actual fact, devices such as this are simply vehicles through which media is transported and distributed to the masses.

Therefore there are 2 things to consider here - advances in media output, and also technological advances in the platforms through which it is dispersed. We can also pose the question - is media just a MODE OF COMMUNICATION? / TRANSMISSION PASSAGE?

85% of people in England aged between 18 and 24 administer their own webspace (MySpace / Facebook / Bebo being the most popular) - this is just one of the huge advances in media communication which has occurred in recent years.

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