Website Designs

All of these websites have very different interface designs. They are not only different from each other, but also from what is expected and typical on the internet. Amazon is an example of a typical online website experience, but if it were combined with some of the interfaces used on the other sites I explored, it would be a very different shopping experience. It is hard to say if it would be better or worse because that is based on the used or the shopper, in this case. Even flickr is relatively simple to navigate and standard. Both Amazon and flickr utilize the search tool, but flickr also had some other, more experimental options.

I found the interface design on flickr, which was centered on the color of the images, to be a little unusual, and I could not understand how that could be practical and a superior means of searching for an image. This style of interface would not really be able to translate well into a website such as Amazon, where it is product based and not color based. I found the flickr map interface to be more useful in comparison to the color-based interface. This would allow the user to find whatever he is looking for based on its country, which is a valid interface design. In fact, this could even be used on another website, such as a news website, where the user could look up the latest news based on the country. I also enjoyed the cover art interface design, but I think it would only make a website more complicated and confusing.

I found the three other websites to be very interesting, but not necessarily useful interface designs. I enjoyed clicking through all of the screens on transbuddha.com. I must admit that I went through the whole sequence because I could not stop clicking, but once it started over again, I stopped. I did not particularly enjoy the one where even when you didn't click anything, the gun automatically shot the dog. I don't understand how that could be useful. On the last website that was looked at, the use was not allowed to click the mouse. I understand how this interface could be easily translated to other types of websites, but it was hard for me to adjust because the act of clicking the mouse was a type of control. After exploring that website for a little bit, I was able to get used to not clicking my mouse. In the end, all of the different interface designs were very fun to explore, but not all of them had practical applications.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology

The Museum of Jurassic Technology was nothing like I expected. In fact, the content was not even close to what I had been anticipating seeing in this museum. The collection of this museum did not display what I had in my mind as technology, although it was technology. I had imagined that the museum would have possibly shown a timeline of inventions in technology that have lead to where technology stands today, but this was not really the case.

The museum was not a continuously flowing exhibit. It was broken up into many distinct categories. However, the museum was not just divided by designated categories, it was separated literally by the architecture of the building and the exhibits. Therefore, walls and categorical names created separate sections within the museum that did not obviously relate to the other exhibitions within the museum's collection.

I was definitely not expecting to see an entire section of the museum completely dedicated to the game of cat's cradle. In fact, it was hard for me to understand how this exhibit related to the others in the museum. I could understand how some of the exhibits in the museum related to each other and technology, but I could not say the same for this section of the collection. The cat's cradle exhibition stood out to me because, in my mind, it didn't really fit with the rest of everything else in the museum. Perhaps that is why it was placed on the second floor. I really don't know. Cat's cradle is just a little game that a lot of children play.

It is difficult for me to understand the thinking behind the Museum of Jurassic Technology. I do not fully understand how everything in the museum relates to each other, and in some instances, why some of the objects in the exhibits were significant enough to be in a museum. While I enjoyed exploring the museum, most of the time I was confused by its contents.

Small World

I had a lot of fun exploring Florian Thalhofer's Small World interactive project. It was not at all as I expected. I assumed I would be guided in a particular order through the fifty-four little stories on what it is like to grow-up in a small town, but I was not. Instead, I had a sense of control to a certain degree. Most of the time there were many different areas to click and continue my exploration in the project, but there were a few occasions when there was only one place to click. Only then was I reminded that my journey through this project could be controlled through the creator.

While I enjoyed my exploration, there were moments when I was overwhelmed by the scale of the project. At times I felt lost. With each click, I was going deeper in the project, but I also wasn't sure if I would eventually see and hear all of the stories. There were also times when I wasn't sure where I was geographically in relation to the story the narrator was telling and how all of the stories related to each other - why certain pictures lead to others. Despite these little aspects, I thoroughly enjoyed Small World.

Eventually, I realized that there was one ending to the project. After each story played, boxes appeared that lead to another little story, which was somehow connected to the previous story that was told. This could be considered the space. However, there were times where I couldn't always see the connection between clips. This made it a little confusing sometimes, but it was still intriguing. The narrative structure was not continuous, as the user had the ability to make his own selections and the story had an ending. This provided for a very interesting interactive media experience. I found Small World to be a fascinating project.

Videodrome

I honestly don't really know what to think of David Cronenberg's Videodrome. I understand that the movie is focused on the overstimulation of primarily violence and sex through television and electronic media. This was in fact made quite clear throughout the entire film in extremely graphic ways, which I found too difficult to watch at times. Not only were these scenes practically unbearable to view, I also never imagined that I would have to watch something like this. I never wanted to put these types of images in my mind. Hopefully, I never have to see this or any other film like this one again. I'm sure there are many other movies that convey the same types of messages in a less graphic manner.

In this film, electronic media seems to dominate the culture, controlling the minds of its many viewers and influencing their thoughts and actions. This follows Marshall McLuhan's theory that people can be controlled through media. With printed text, for example, people were able to read the text and draw their own individual conclusions and interpretations from the message. This process is different in electronic media. Now, the information is instantaneous and reaches groups of people, not just the individual. Also, the media can be altered to send one uniform message to the masses, taking away the individual's personal interpretation.

Videodrome definitely does a thorough job of highlighting the problems that can occur from overstimulation through media. While I felt that this movie was completely over the top and unnecessarily graphic, I understand that it was trying to make a point. However, I believe this point could have been made just as easily in a less obscenely visual manner, which therefore could have reached more people. I for one would not have willingly picked this movie to watch, and with its R rating, I know there are many people who would avoid seeing this film. In today's culture, overstimulation is taking place with electronic media, as in violent video games, but it has not yet reached the level that is shown in Videodrome. I must say that I was completely disgusted with this film.

Second Life

This week I went on an adventure in the postmodern flaneur known as Second Life. After creating my Second Life account and downloading the program onto my computer, I went through some of the tutorials with my avatar, which I named Ktown Braveheart. The visual appearance of the game, such as the look of the characters and the environment, instantly reminded me of the Sims, which I had played for a little bit a few years ago. This was interesting to me, because I had always thought of the Sims as a game, not a recreation of our world. Second Life was supposed to be more like a virtual world than a game. However, Second Life looked the same to me as a game that I was very familiar with, which made it harder for me to accept it as a real alternative world.

Once I had gone through the brief tutorial, I was taken to my home, which was called Korea 1 on the map. In reality, this was not my home because I had not purchased any land. The tutorial had explained how to control my character, but it had not clearly addressed the layout of this virtual world. From that point on, I found Second Life to be rather complicated and confusing. I had absolutely no money, and the only way I knew to get money was to actually pay for the virtual currency with my credit card, and I did not want to do that at this early stage in my experience. I wandered around the town for a little bit, but I didn't find anything except empty buildings and other people who were just walking around. I talked to a few of those people, but that just seemed strange to me because I didn't feel well-versed enough in the game to have an interesting conversation with them. Although it did not seem like another real world, I was impressed with the somewhat realistic appearance of the scenery and the buildings. However, even the parts that did seem like the real world in Second Life were overshadowed by the fact that the avatars could fly. Walking through this virtual world was very different to me from walking around in the real world, and I missed things that I would usually take for granted such as being able to actually touch and smell things. Perhaps my feelings would be changed a little if I actually understood completely how to navigate the game, but I couldn't find that information during this first visit to the site.

In an episode of The Office called Local Ad, which aired in Season 4, the character Dwight is completely obsessed with Second Life because he says his life was so amazing that he wanted to have two of them. This was my first impression of Second Life, and after exploring it for a little while, it seemed like it would be rather difficult to replicate one's real life in this game; but maybe if I understood how to maneuver through the virtual world more effectively, it would not seem so complex.

DNA Sequencing: Unlocking the Code

Biotechnology is an important part of living in the twenty-first century. In relation to the medical field, it has allowed for more levels of truth and reality to be exposed through such advances as x-rays, MRIs, and even sonograms. In fact, sonograms completely revolutionized the process of pregnancy, at least in America. Now through the sonogram people have their first look at their child and their baby's first little picture.  Biotechnology seems to have an impact everywhere.

There were seven different projects on the Critical Art Ensemble website. The website for the project called Society for Reproductive Anachronisms starts with the Manifesto section by showing a picture of a naked female and a naked male, who is holding a naked baby, with the words written across the image "No Genetic Alternations Necessary." These are powerful words. Biotechnology is all about advancing science to learn and see more. However, the Society for Reproductive Anachronisms is against the use of technology in any manner when it comes to the aspect of sexual reproduction. Much research has been done on the manipulation of DNA with animals, but it seems that the point of view of this project is that it should not be done, or at least taken seriously. Without the assistance of biotechnology, there are enough anomalies in this field of human reproduction which science can't explain. This is discussed in the Procession of the Damned section on the project's website. In the Fertility Aids section, other non-biotechnological methods are discussed. It seems that only natural methods should be utilized, from special herbs and unique recipes to help with reproductive disorders, to fertility rituals that have been practiced for centuries. 

This particular project on the Critical Art Ensemble website appears to have negative emotions towards biotechnology, or at least its involvement with these issues. This project feels that the input of science in this matter is very bad. In class, we discussed how the scientific visual culture has been responsible for changes in our environment. Biotechnology would like to experiment with modifying DNA to create people who look a specific way and to hopefully be able to predict what people would look like before they are even born. However, the Society for Reproductive Anachronisms is against this practice and its interested in bringing this issue to the attention of the masses.

"An Inconvenient Truth"

I found Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, to be a very interesting straightforward presentation of global warming in relation to the world today. In last week's short film that I watched by Eric Faden, Tracking Theory, the message was difficult to interpret at first. I was actually forced to watch the movie a couple of times to fully comprehend the message he was trying to convey to the viewer. This was not the case with An Inconvenient Truth. After watching it once, I felt that I had a nice grasp on the topic of global warming and understanding of its many implications.

I had never seen An Inconvenient Truth before, so I had no idea what to expect, other than Al Gore talking about the issue of global warming, which I already knew was very important to him. As the documentary began, I was relieved to discover that the whole movie was not just Gore standing at a podium showing slides of images and facts relating to global warming. To me, that would have been extremely boring. Instead, the documentary was able to draw in the audience by showing Gore outside of the public speaking environment. It did show Gore delivering his infamous global warming slideshow presentation to large groups of people around the world, but that was not the whole movie. There were many scenes with Gore away from the crowds of people discussing this issue in a manner that created a more intimate environment, where the audience could feel like he was talking directly to them. This style of presentation was not present in Eric Faden's Tracking Theory. There was not that same sense of intimacy with the narrator or insight into the narrator's commitment to the message in this movie as there was in An Inconvenient Truth. In Tracking Theory, it seemed as if the film was trying to trick the viewer the entire time, whereas in An Inconvenient Truth, the movie revolved around uncovering and discussing the hard facts of global warming. Tracking Theory was done very artistically, while An Inconvenient Truth was one hundred percent committed to explaining the facts of global warming to the world in a way that would inspire people to change. Although the styles used in the making of these two documentaries were clearly different, they were both successful in the presentation of their arguments. Both of these films caused their viewers to continue thinking after the film stopped rolling.

Eric Faden: "Tracking Theory"

I thought that the stylistic methods employed in Eric Faden's video essay, Tracking Theory, helped to present his argument in a way which was engaging and visually entertaining to its viewers. In the behind the scenes section of the film, the statement is made that, "The film explores how the railroad and cinema changed human perception in the late 19th century." At the end of this short visual essay, I felt that Faden's argument and original ideas had been successfully expressed.

The presentation of the actual events that were taking place in the movie were so convincing that I was unsure of how it was created until reading about the process in the behind the scenes section. The notion of showing the audience what an early film essay might have looked like, instead of just describing it, was brilliant. I truly felt like I had been transported to the earliest days of cinema. At first I was not sure if this black and white footage was original. It was only at the end of the video essay, when the black and white footage transformed into color, that I realized the truth. The sound of the film projector and the crackling pops on the film added another layer of realism to his argument. The attention to detail in this area I found to be absolutely incredible. I believed it was actually vintage film. The soundtrack also seemed to serve as a vessel that transported its captivated audience to another time in the history of cinema. I thought it was very important that every point Faden addressed in his film was supported with relevant images, which I found to be rather engaging. The text that flashed on the screen, enclosed in decorative boxes, also reminded me of a throw-back to early cinema. All of Faden's artistic decisions were clearly deliberate, with the intention of supporting his argument constantly in mind.

In the end, I found the argument of Faden's visual essay to be completely compelling. His facts were presented in an engaging manner, one that allowed the audience to see exactly what he was talking about. The narration of the film was very informative, but it did not overpower the messages that were being presented through the images. Every aspect of the stylistic methods employed by Faden worked together to create a powerful visual argument.

Appropriation & Re-Appropriation

Appropriation and re-appropriation have played a major role in how people have expressed themselves in American culture. In fact, everyone borrows from others. After reading about these two concepts, I began racking my brain for instances that I thought stood out in recent history.

When I was thinking of appropriation, I thought of one of my mother's favorites, Pat Boone, who was a popular American singer that got his start in the 1950s. Boone became a success because of the covers of R&B songs, originally performed by black artists, which he released for the white community. For instance, his cover of Fats Domino's Ain't That a Shame was a huge hit that received a lot of airtime. The original release of the song by Fats Domino, however, was limited to a select audience, although now it is a classic. Boone took fantastic R&B songs that were not heard by many people and re-released them as covers to the white community, exposing a group of people to music they might otherwise not have heard. During this time in American history, this was not uncommon, the release of covers by white singers of black artist's musical creations. Therefore, it could be said that many white singers were actually stealing the music of the black culture and changing it to appease the white mainstream culture. Although mainstream American society would not have been exposed to the original R&B music at that time, in this circumstance, appropriation may have stymied the musical aspirations of many black artists.

When it came to re-appropriation, I remembered seeing a documentary about the inner-city dance subculture in New York that revolved around "balls" and created the 90's dance style known as voguing. The ball culture was started by the gay "drag" community, which emphasized high style cross-dressing as a means of self-expression. These balls were competitions where people would "walk" for trophies and prestige in hopes of one day becoming a legend. Experienced competitors would often times dance and vogue while walking in various genres of drag. Later, the specific style of voging began to revolve around model-like poses combined with sharp movements. This style was very popular among this subculture, but it became a craze after Madonna released her now famous song called Vogue. In essence, Madonna grabbed onto this style of dance, making it trendy through her song and spreading voguing to popular culture. In this case, re-appropriation allowed the mainstream American culture to experience a fabulous form of new expression through voguing. To individuals in the drag community, voguing was a way they could live out their wildest dreams, to be someone they knew they could never be, and now the world could experience that too.

Robert Frank: Visual Interpretation Strategies

I actually combined two of Robert Franks photographs for my Studium/Punctum image. I wanted to create an image in which the man on the motorcycle and the policeman would be the complete center of attention. In the original picture of the men, I felt that the background took the focus off of their dynamic, so I decided to place them in a different setting. That's where the road comes in. I thought it would be the perfect backdrop for the message I was trying to convey. Now theses two men were basically in the middle of nowhere, and yet it seemed like the road could take them anywhere. Right when the man on the motorcycle thought he was free from everything, he was stopped by the policeman. In essence his freedom was momentarily lost. One of the aspects of the picture that really grabbed my attention was the look in the eyes of the motorcycle man. Through that look, I was drawn into the picture, so I tried to highlight the man's eyes without making it obvious. To me, this image shows how we are never completely free, but sometimes we deceive ourselves in hope that we are.  That usually works unless, like the man on the motorcycle, we are stopped by something and brought back to reality.

The Dead Media Project

Phonevision was a television station experiment of Zenith Electronics that was conducted in Chicago, Illinois. Zenith began working on the technological aspect of the experiment in 1931, but it wasn't until 1947 that a complete working system had been completed, thus creating the first pay television station in history. However, that was just the beginning. Zenith had the technology, but it needed to test the market. Phonevision was then trademarked and, in 1951, the FCC approved a limited test of approximately 300 households in the Chicago area. The main idea behind Phonevision was to make Hollywood pictures available to people through their televisions at the price of $1, which was actually relatively expensive at that point in time. In this experiment, Zenith made Hollywood films available every day for 90 days to these households in order to track the financial results. Through its small test group, Zenith found that these households watched roughly 1.73 motion pictures a week. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to spark any further large-scale investments in Phonevision, but Zenith wasn't ready to throw in the towel. Through technical problems and television industry objections, Zenith fought to establish Phonevision as a worthy alternative to commercially-sponsored television. In fact, Zenith didn't stop fighting until 1986, but Phonevision never quite caught on. However, that was not the end of pay television. It was actually just the beginning.

The concept of the pay television station never completely died. Phonevision had actually influenced a huge financial industry and arguably helped pave the way for today's Pay-Per-View. This newer technology allows subscribers of cable or satellite television to watch movies or special one-time events, particularly sports, for a fee. When it comes to the idea of paid programming, there is a definite marketplace; if there wasn't, this media would have drifted off into oblivion like other failed media ventures. Phonevision was unique in that, although it never succeeded monetarily, it left a significant mark in the growth of in-home media. During the early years when Zenith was trying to launch Phonevision, radio still ruled the entertainment platform and television was just coming into its own. It seems that the timing for Phonevision was just off by a few decades. 

In the 21st century, technology seems to even be moving past Pay-Per-View. With iTunes, viewers can download the latest episodes of their favorite television shows, or rediscover classic Hollywood Motion Pictures, on their own time and at low prices. This industry is constantly evolving and it is hard to imagine where it will be in the coming years, but I definitely do not see this concept dying. The current culture of the United States is one where people are constantly on the move and pressured for time; therefore, the idea of selecting the specific television show episode or the film they wish to view, and then downloading it quickly, is very appealing. Unless the culture of this country changes drastically, this form of media will continue to have a marketplace.

Einstein and the Atomic Bomb

I was shocked to learn that Einstein's hugest regret in life was sending the letter to President Roosevelt supporting the construction of the atomic bomb. Through Three Winters in the Sun: Einstein in California,  I was able to gain more insight into the life of this famous scientist and his views on war and the atomic bomb. This DVD-ROM presents the life of Albert Einstein in an abstract, yet organized, multimedia format, which creates a personalized experience, allowing the viewer to select the exact aspect of Einstein's life that he wishes to explore in detail. The information was presented in an eye-catching and illustrative manner that reflected Einstein's life as a scientist and freethinker.

In 1933, while living in Germany, Einstein declared himself a militant pacifist who was willing to fight for peace. However, when he moved to the United States, he was able to see more clearly the events that were taking place overseas. This revelation brought him to the conclusion that self defense was indeed valid. When rumors began circulating that the Germans were working on an atomic bomb, Einstein felt that it was necessary for the United States to also build the atomic bomb for defensive purposes. If the Germans had been the only people who possessed the atomic bomb, their military advantage could have lead to world domination. Albert Einstein did what he believed to be in the best interest of the country. Einstein's granddaughter, Evelyn Einstein, doesn't believe he would have made any of the political statements he did without first being approached. It was not his idea to write a letter to President Roosevelt about the atomic bomb, but when he was pressured, he decided to put his opinion in writing. The Manhattan Project was the result of this letter, but Einstein had no further impact on the atomic bomb. He was ironically denied clearance by the Army to work on the project based on a recommendation from the FBI. However, Einstein felt responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb, and that was a burden he carried with him throughout his entire life according to his granddaughter, Evelyn Einstein. Later in life he was quoted as saying, "Perhaps I can be forgiven [for writing the letter]... because we all felt... that the Germans... might succeed and use the atomic bomb to become the master race."

When Einstein discovered the Special Theory of Relativity, he did not intend for it to be used as a weapon, but there are always people in the world who are willing to take science to a deadly extreme. I believe that Einstein made the correct decision in writing the letter to the President. Self-defense during a time of war is a critical matter. Einstein only wanted the United States to be able to defend itself against Germany. Even Einstein could not have foreseen the future. If the United States had not been on an even playing field with Germany, the fate of the world could have been disastrous.

A Look at "The Five Obstructions"

Jorgen Leth had no idea of the monumental task that awaited him in the multiple remakes of The Perfect Human. The opening scenes of The Five Obstructions gave little hint to the novel approach to filmmaking that was to follow. When I first started watching the film, I had no idea what to expect. I knew absolutely nothing about the filmmakers. What was their style? I had never even heard of The Perfect Human. Would a film focused on the remaking of a movie five different ways be too repetitive? Could someone remake a film five times and have each movie be brilliant and still true to the original? Those were my questions. As the movie progressed, I became intrigued. However, it wasn't until after the film had ended, and I had had time to reflect, that I recognized its genius.

The relationship between directors Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth fascinated me from the instant the picture began. I was amazed that Lars would dare ask a man like Jorgen Leth to participate in a challenge of this nature, but I was even more shocked to learn that Jorgen was a willing participant, even if it was his pride that compelled him to commit. Jorgen was determined and confident that he could prove to Lars that no obstruction could stop him. To Jorgen, an obstruction was just another dimension of creativity added to his film, a way of forcing him to approach his most recognized movie from another angle. Not only did the obstructions inspire creative genius, they gave birth to a competition. Every time Jorgen succeeded with a remake of the film it was a victory that served as retaliation against Lars for daring to think Jorgen would fail.

Throughout the experiment, the obstructions were a clear point of contention. Every time Lars played god and handed Jorgen his list of obstructions, Jorgen was outraged, and rightfully so. Lars treated him like a child, which Jorgen was obviously unaccustomed to. It seemed as though Lars took pleasure in creating these obstructions that Jorgen hated. However, even when they had their differences, they always respected each other. In fact, I believe all of the obstructions actually strengthened their friendship. Lars was able to take Jorgen to a level of creativity that may never have been reached otherwise. I learned that obstructions are a powerful tool of inspiration. Not only can they be used in filmmaking, they can be used in other art forms such as writing, composing, and painting. The possibilities are limitless. To me, the most unusual and challenging obstruction in this film was in Cuba. I couldn't imagine a movie in which every shot was twelve frames or less, but Jorgen did, and it was brilliant. It was one of the most visually captivating short films I have ever seen.

It was said throughout the film that Lars' intention in this experiment was to help his friend Jorgen overcome some of his personal angst. On the other hand, it is possible that Lars' single desire was to crush all of Jorgen's creativity with obstructions, forcing him to make a less than perfect remake of The Perfect Human. I would like to imagine that it is the combination of both scenarios that contributed to the spectacular success of this directorial experiment. Jorgen was able to maneuver Lars' ridiculous obstructions, and I would like to believe that Lars did help Jorgen with some of his personal problems, although they were more emotional than cinematic.

After watching this movie, I was curious about it's mastermind. I discovered that throughout his career in film, Lars von Trier's work has been provocative, constantly pushing the limits in filmmaking. Just as his movie Dogville was daring, shot completely in studio with few props, so was this film. Nothing about this movie was normal, not even the process of filmmaking, but it was its originality that made it genius.