IB5 - More Than a Game?

After determining that I wanted my topic to be "More Than Just a Game", it was easy to make up multiple enthymemes which could possibly give conclusion to the phenomena. There are tons of factors as to how this works as a cultural artifact, beginning with the power of the gaming industry, all the way down to the amount of game play per household, barring even income. On a psychological end, gaming, specifically of the online gaming sort, the game literally can replace the ongoing life of another, so...

All people have responsibilities.

Online gaming can be a responsibility.

Some people have online gaming as their responsibility.

Similarly,

People want satisfaction and accomplishment.

Video games can grant satisfaction and accomplishment.

People will play video games to achieve satisfaction and accomplishment.

...Of course, both of these arguments are both difficult to defend and far too general in nature, so I think I may have to either look more into my topic or rethink it entirely! That isn't such a bad thing, really.

IB 5 - This Is Only A Warning

Bioshock's Setting, Rapture, the underwater city.

When looking at the concept of an enthymeme in the English textbook, I felt a little confused. It felt as if I was trying to construct a smart haiku or apply the Transitive property. I kept getting caught up in minor details surrounding the enthymeme and any enthymeme I ended up creating something that felt simplistic and dumb. Observe:

The horror genre is intended to be scary

Bioshock is classified as a survival horror game

Bioshock is intended to be scary

While this does convey a very important message, the way it was conceived feels like the topic is barely scratching the surface. The real importance of this came out when I asked “Why?” Why is Bioshock intended to be scary? There I felt like I was getting somewhere. So using this same method, I am going to ask “why?” in response to the enthymeme that best fits what my essay will try to discuss.

Bioshock is influenced by George Orwell’s works.

George Orwell often wrote novels as a warning.

Bioshock is a warning

I’ve listened to many interviews about what Ken Levine, the lead designer on Bioshock, was thinking when he created this game. He only talked about how he aimed to revolutionize what would be expected in the next generation of first person shooter video games. He specifically leaves the story of “What happened to the city,” up to the player. That is why this enthymeme is also going to be the hardest to defend. Levine’s intended audience is the Mature (I say that because the game is rated “M” for Mature) video game playing (18-30 predominately male) person who loves first person shooters. With no help from the author, only the game offers the insight needed to discuss a potential purpose in this way. The atmosphere, the setting, the characters that inhabit the setting, the story of the game, the story of setting and the feeling it leaves you with is what will help convince reader of this premise.

Take note of the genetically modified citizens of Rapture (nicknamed Splicers). Notice how they appear mutated and ugly yet wear fancy clothes and look like they are in the run down version of the Bellagio. Why do some chose to wear masks? How did they get there? Why am I asking these questions?

IB 5 The Lorax and Joana!

      The Child-like perspective re-imangination of our Beautiful home: Earth!!!

 

When deciding to write on the Lorax, I chose to focus the topic of the essay surrounding this modern cultural artifact upon how this film appeals to children (the main audience) and in what ways does it achieve this through effects in the film. With this in mind, the conclusions I would want my audience to reach are: children are reached primarily to change future generations to instill that there is still hope for the future of the Earth; a serious topic such as the future of the world and environmentalism is conveyed through colorful and bright sceneries, multitude of songs, cute characters etc.; perhaps by attracting smaller audiences the children can change their parent’s minds on the issue.

Examples:

Premise: The Lorax quote “Unless someone like YOU cares an awful lot its not going to get better it’s not”.

Unstated Premise: Unless children (audience) does something the Earth will become that awful gray, smelly, dirty, place that the OnceLer lives in.

Conclusion:  Children have to take a stand and believe that the Earth is something worth preserving and want to “talk for the trees” as the Lorax does.

 

Premise: Colorful backgrounds, cute characters, catchy songs sense of wanting a happy ending.

Unstated Premise: Colorful truffula trees have to be saved, the Lorax is a cute little character that stands up for the GOOD side, we don’t want the bears to starve!  the songs are easy to remember find yourself humming the tunes and singing along to remember.

Conclusion: Serious topic is conveyed in a kid-friendly form that makes it easier to understand and easier to remember.

 

Premise:  Children watch the Lorax talk to their parents about it asking to plant a tree or bring them to the movie theaters.

Unstated Premise: Convince their parent, by hearing it in a different form rather than from documentaries or textbooks. Give the last little (both figuratively and literally)

Conclusion: My child is right how can we let trees disappear? How can the Earth disintegrate into a wasteland? This movie is much deeper than I previously thought by watching the previews.

                I feel like the premises that will be most need of defense are those of children processing the thoughtful topic of environmentalism and that this movie had a larger purpose to begin with rather than just a purpose for their pocketbooks.  The questions that will arise in the reader’s minds are how is this to be taken seriously by children?  And what if the film was simply made for entertainment/revenue purposes?  I think evidence that will be needed to convince the audiences of these hard to grasp questions are research studies and children testimonies of the movie, as well as finding stasis with the popularity of the growing “green” theme for children even such as Friends with change on Disney Channel and the eat healthy campaign and growing a garden by Michelle Obama, creating a new market generation for green-themed films such as the Lorax.

P.S. AWH Its Zac Efron Promoting the Lorax!!!!!!!! <3 He loves the trees and Earth too!

 

IB 5 - Laura Beckwith || Blink-182

Blink-182's music video for their single, "Up All Night" is an example of how this form of crowdsourcing could be appropriate given the context, however in most other circumstances, it could be inappropriate. When looking at the context, Blink-182 realized that there were many music videos that their fans had created, using B-182's music without their permission. While many bands would have used this as a reason to report the videos, requesting that YouTube take them down, Blink-182 used it as an opportunity  Rather than punishing their fans, they rewarded them. Something interesting about this situation is that in almost any other situation, I think that someone using the information, videos, photos or quotes without giving reference or requesting information would be frowned upon, certainly thought of as inappropriate. However, since it was a fan base rather than just a random group of videos or pictures, the potential issue was dismissed. 

I think something that plays a really important role in this cultural artifact, just what are the rules within the United States as far as using other people's information that has been posted online? Are there really rules that control just who's information is who's? These are questions that I hope to find the answers to, as I believe they are relevant in discussing how this topic could be perceived in other circumstances. For instance, in high school, I went to two schools. The main one, from where I graduated, I was on yearbook staff. If the staff ever was in need of pictures, we would send out other notices. While it was very tempting to hop on Facebook and use photos that kids had posted online, we knew that was not a wise decision and that technically that would be infringing on their rights since they did not submit the photos to us. The other school I attended, had a much smaller yearbook. They were in need of photos, I suppose it was near crunch time, so they didn't a lot the proper time needed to request pictures from students. When the yearbook came out, I was flipping through the pages and realized they had taken several photos from my Facebook, using a few as background images, the others, were some of my friends and I from my other school. No where did they give me credit for the images, nor did they ever ask if they could use them. I was quite upset, after all, I was on a much larger yearbook and we put a lot of effort into doing things the honest, ethical way. It was frustrating to me to see a school toss that out the window just because they were in a crunch. 

In a way, I think this is sort of what Blink-182 did. They took fan's music videos, using them without asking. However, in Blink's case, if anyone had a problem, the band could come back and say, "we never gave you permission to use our song either." They had an ultimatum if you will. But on the other hand, would anyone really be mad if they saw themselves in their favorite band's music video? 

I think the reasons that need the most defense are how is this different from if a high school yearbook were to take images from their students and put them in the yearbook? Is it different at all? Is it a case of "stealing" rather than crowdsourcing? Did Blink-182 contact the fans who's videos were used, or did they just use the videos? If something is posted online, is it really "yours" or "private" anymore? 

IB 4 - Topic Proposal

 

        At the beginning of this assignment, I had no idea what kind of "cultural artifact," would be engaging and interesting for the reader as well as the writer. At first, I really wanted to do the most recent Bourne movie, The Bourne Legacy, because it goes into how the operatives in the movies were genetically modified and covered up by the government. However, when I thought of one of my favorite video games of all time, I knew I was on to something.

        Bioshock is survival horror first person shooter with an excellent story, great visuals, and immense atmosphere inspired by Objectivist philosophy and the writings of Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley. The story describes of an objectivist business magnate named Andrew Ryan who creates an underwater utopian city called Rapture in the 1940's. One of Andrew Ryan's main products are genetic modifications called "Plasmids" which one can buy from dispensers and then implement them through a syringe. These plasmids grant powers such as telekinesis, and the ability to wield fire, ice, and electricity. The utopian quickly turned into a dystopia when the gap between rich and poor increased and then an all out civil war killed off most of the inhabitants. The survivors of the civil war were scarred, disfigured, and addicted which is where the actual gameplay starts.

        Though the actual gameplay is not that important, the story of rapture is what is important. The topic of ethically implementing genetic engineering, the social effects of genetic engineering, the distribution of genetic engineering, and the effect that this has on the audience viewing this atmosphere is more than enough to show how this cultural artifact captures possible fears of genetic engineering.

One of the many aged and damaged advertisements featured throughout the game presenting the possibilities of plasmids.

Lars Moss - IB4

 

Alright, this was difficult enough as I had to entirely trash my first paper's topic and take a plunge into one entirely different. For this paper, I would like to propose the topic of gamer culture - more specifically the cultural artifact of Korean MMORPG's (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). They have a...surprisingly profound effect on not just the immediate population it's seemingly tailored to, but also something that has, over time, become both a stigma and something highly revered not just in the world of gaming and its culture, but as well modern media, parodies, cyber-crime, financial affors, political advocacy...and so much more. Specifically, Korean MMORPG's fall under two specific categories: one for being most popular and prevalent, but also was the precursor to the idea of gaming with others on a large scale (Yes, appearing alongside Everquest, Diablo, etc...) that generated the games like World of Warcraft, and even like Call of Duty that we have today. As a cultural artifact, I want to delve into the concept of "More than just a game" that seems to be synonymous with the pure mention of it, as well as how its enveloped most, if not all of society with the sprawling movement of the Age of Information. While I would of course touch on other media and of course the more American (or otherwise) counterpart would still be evaluated as both a method of comparison as well as cause and effect, as well as what specifically draws people into such a seemingly lifeless - if not life taking at times - hobby.

 

Also a sport, apparently.

IB4- The Lorax?

   

 

This past weekend, I rented a few documentaries on food issues because I was set on taking either the Super Size Me or Food Inc. route to paper two.  However, my sister also rented the new Lorax movie, and as I watched it (and thoroughly enjoyed it) I realized that the Lorax has a much deeper meaning.  A deeper meaning portraying the roots of environmentalism that also integrated with my previous research topic concerning the conservation of energy.  This strategically placed message is not only found in The Lorax because Dr. Seuss had a knack for introducing controversial topics to children in many of his books. This leads to the most prominent conception that Dr. Seuss targeted the children as an audience to convey his environmental message.  But why? Why not write a book towards educated adults, they are most likely to absorb the information better and understand the concept.  Why not make another documentary such as The Inconvenient Truth? (aka: the green movie Al Gore was in). This suggests that the answers to how the Lorax redefines the cause, states its purpose and capture of the audience is in why Dr. Seuss approached a kid friendly movie to portray such a serious topic.  My paper will delve into the different mechanisms used to capture the intended audience and how this effects the purpose and redefines the green conservation of energy cause.  As the Lorax says “Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.” (The Lorax, Dr. Seuss).     

 

IB 4 - Laura Beckwith

I had been trying to wrap my head around the concept of crowdsourcing as a cultural artifact. Crowdsourcing has many different aspects, it's certainly not an uncommon occurrence  In fact, it's happening more often with the progression of the internet.

I had been looking up music videos on YouTube, when it occurred to me. So many bands use their fans as a way to create new videos, artwork, posters, and other various elements for their band. It's an awesome opportunity for everyone. The band, gets a video done for free or very minimal cost to them. A stellar fan gets the pride factor of being able to tell everyone they know, their kids, their kid's kids that they got to make the music video for "Dig" by Incubus . Incubus isn't the only band that has found a way to incorporate their fans into their creative process. Other bands such as The Classic Crime, The Vaccines and Blink-182 have all found ways to include the fans. "Wetsuit" by The Vaccines  used a combination of their own video, with fan's photos from Instagram. Incubus is one of the few bands that I have found that hosted a music video contest, and officially named a fan as the "winner". The Classic Crime hosted a contest, but the winner was never really announced. I think that is a crucial part of the process. There needs to be an end winner of some sort, I don't think that the decision should go unheard.

When I was looking up videos that bands had made by including the fans, one of my favorite examples that I uncovered was from Blink-182. I am not the biggest Blink fan, but I have never seen anything like this video. It stood out on so many levels. When launching their new single, "Up All Night" they wanted to find a way to show off the song. Blink-182 partnered with AT&T to search YouTube, finding all of the music videos that fans had posted over the years, using their songs without their permission. Instead of going to YouTube and reporting all of the accounts, instead, Blink rewarded their fans in a sense. They created a video, using their fans videos, to showcase their new single for their new CD. The launch of "Up All Night" was not an ordinary new single, for Blink fans, this was huge. Blink-182 had not released a single in nine years, until this video of course. Can you imagine, being a fan watching "Up All Night" by Blink-182  after anticipating the release of their new song for however many days, then suddenly flipping back in your chair when you see yourself in the video? I think this music video in itself is an excellent example of how our culture puts a lot of emphasis on music, especially in our generation.  With so many different bands, genres and fan bases out there, how do bands stay connected with their fans. I think the way that Blink pulled their fan base back and plugged them directly into their new sound was a unique way to involve the people who have supported their music for so long. In reality, bands would be nothing without their fan base. Finding ways to include them is the best way to ensure that the band themselves can continue to do what they love, while the fans can continue to hear what they love.

In a way, what Blink-182, Incubus, The Vaccines and many other bands in today's era of music did, is in a sense a form of crowdsourcing. They found a way to use their fan's creativity to show off their music. I think this can be a very practical way of creating some incredible work for a band. Many fans will create work for a band just because they love their music. Often, before I go to a concert, I will create a poster, or if I have seen a band preform live before, I'll print out photos I've taken to have them sign. For many fans, having the chance to create something that could be used in the long run by a band could be a dream come true.