Analysis 5: Gaming and Hacking

Elizabeth Novotny

April 23, 2010

Media 280

Analysis 5:

Gaming and Hacking

In today’s world, we see different levels of access and understanding playing a large role in how technology is shaped and used.  Our relationship with gaming and hacking, for instance, says a lot about our modern-day connection with technology.  The relationship a user has with a technical functionality can result in many problems; however, in other cases, it can also be beneficial to society at large.

In the gaming culture, users are always finding ways to hack into systems and cheat.  I don’t believe this to be a big deal, but then again I don’t consider myself to be a gamer.  If I were a gamer then perhaps I would think differently.  Nonetheless, when I used to play video games I would often come across levels that I would find particularly difficult to beat.  When this would happen, I would look up cheats online in order to beat it.  I never thought it was a big deal because, after all, I knew I was only cheating myself.

I think it would be ridiculous if certain game services would go as far as banning players like me in order to eliminate this type of cheating.  Even with online games I still don’t think it’s that big a deal.  I think a lot of times (at least in my case) hacking into games is appealing to users because it is something that is against the rules of the game.  It’s like when someone tells you not to do something you always want to do it anyway.  Hacking into games also gives a person a feeling of empowerment and fulfils the concept of “beating the system.”  No one really benefits from cheating, and as long as no one is suffering either, I don’t think hacking into games is a big deal.  But again, I am not a gamer.

When users have little understanding of a technical functionality many problems can arise.  If a person does not know much about the technology he/she is using, than a person who does know about it can take advantage of the system.  This is where the idea of hacking into computer systems becomes an issue.  In the movie War Games, for instance, a teenager is able to change his grades after hacking into the school database.  Also, in the movie The Net, a computer hacker is able to erase a person’s entire identify.  Nonetheless, hacking into computer systems has also proved to be beneficial in some cases.  There have been times, for instance, where the government has used computer hacking as a means of finding out information in order to prevent events that could have perhaps been disastrous for the nation.

I think it is safe to say that the relationship people have with gaming and hacking says a lot about our cultural connection to technology.  In general, people are interested in technology and we aim to learn more about the technology we use.  That is why there are different levels of access and understanding that play a large role in how technology is shaped and used today.

Analysis 4

Elizabeth Novotny

March 9, 2010

Media 280

Analysis 4 

The relationship that exists between digital media and the society that operates within it is apparent in internet trolling.  An internet troll is defined as someone who posts anonymous messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the intent of provoking other users to enter an emotional state.  Basically, an internet troll tries to get other internet users angry because he/she will ultimately remain anonymous.  A website in particular that appears to have internet trolling is Formspring (http://www.formspring.com/).

Formspring is something I came across on Facebook.  I made reference to the website on my blog a few days after we spoke about internet trolling in class.  Just to reiterate, Formspring is a social media site that enables users to ask each other anonymous questions.  It was launched on November 25, 2009 and has become an early 2010 craze, simply because the site links to the ever popular Facebook and Twitter (which, again, is how I stumbled upon it).

In reference to Langdon Winner’s Do Artifacts Have Politics?, “[w]hat matters is not technology itself, but the social and economic system in which it is embedded.”  When talking about the politics of internet trolling, it is important to take into account not the actual form of harassment, but the way in which internet trolls anonymously harass people, and how those people react to such harassment.  Since trolling allows people to anonymously harass one another, an internet troll can literally say whatever he/she wants to without any repercussions.  The question is whether the person being harassed takes what is said to him/her seriously.  It has become evident that some people do take the harassment seriously while others do not.  To use a tragic example, on March 22, 2010, 17-year-old Alexis Pilkington from West Islip, NY committed suicide after dozens of insulting comments had been posted about her on Formspring in the days leading up to her suicide.

The only way in which internet trolling can be eliminated is if websites create user log-in accounts that are in some way connected to a person in “real-life.”  If this is done, then internet trolls would not be able to remain anonymous, and then perhaps people would watch what they say and to whom they say it.  However, there are many websites that advocate this idea of internet users being able to remain anonymous.  In the case of a website such as Formspring and other sites that do not have user log-in accounts that are connected to a person in “real-life”, it is inevitable that internet trolling will continue to exist.  On the other hand, websites such as Twitter and Facebook would be against this idea of internet users being able to remain anonymous because sites like these have user accounts that are connected to a person in “real-life.”  Websites such as these take into account the values that should be considered when creating internet policy.

Formspring and other websites that lack concrete log-in accounts allow people to remain anonymous, and that ultimately gives users a sense of freedom on the internet.  Like anything else, some people take this freedom too far and harass people to a point that is beyond what they can handle.  I have seen some of the questions that people ask their friends on Formspring and, to be honest, a lot of them are personal questions that are not appropriate to ask in “real-life.”  So, you have to ask yourself, is it appropriate then to ask such a question on the internet?  The answer is no.  That is why this idea of internet users being able to remain anonymous is dangerous.  People think it is okay to say whatever they want while hiding behind their computer screens and never actually facing the people they interact with via internet.

Formspring

Our class discussion today regarding internet trolling reminded me of something I have come across on Facebook known as “formspring” (http://www.formspring.com/).  Basically, formspring is something that allows people to ask their friends anonymous questions.  The catch phrase for some of those who have a formspring is “Ask Me Anything.”  I checked out some of the questions that people have asked their friends and, to be honest, a lot of them are questions that I don’t think people would ask in “real life.”  The fact that formspring allows the person who asked the question to remain anonymous gives he/she the sense of freedom to literally ask a friend anything.  I found some of the questions to be personal, for example, a person might ask his/her friend a sexual question.  I think this is similar to internet trolling because the anonymous aspect of both formspring and trolling allows people to hide behind their computer screens and never actually face the people they interact with via internet.

Analysis 3: The Medium of the Database

Elizabeth Novotny

March 9, 2010

Media 280

 Analysis 3:

The Medium of the Database

 The relatively new medium of the database varies a great deal from the narrative structure of traditional media.  The traditional media of the past consisted primarily of television, radio and newspaper.  In today’s world, the use of the database medium offers more ways to access and organize information.  Society at large benefits from the use of the medium of the database, as it enables media to be generated in more efficient ways.

There are many ways in which databases affect the way media is generated.  One way in particular is that within databases there are several ways in which a person can upload information, hypertexts being one way in which individuals can do so.  For example, Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia source constructed by society that allows users of the website to access a multitude of information from a single search entry.  The links that are placed within the text of a search entry are numerous, enabling users to upload an infinite amount of information.

In addition, the use of the database makes generating media more efficient simply due to the fact that databases store information for an infinite amount of time.  Database users can ultimately access information from past years when such information was actually considered news.  In addition, the information is better organized due to the structure of the database.  This is unlike generating information from the narrative structure of traditional media typically because it would be more difficult to access old news from television channels, radio broadcasts and newspaper articles from the past.

Databases not only make it easier to acquire information, but they allow users to comment on such information.  The development of blogs, for instance, allows people to do this.  Blogging has become especially popular now-a-days, allowing for direct expression of ideas and opinions.  A medium such as YouTube also allows viewers to comment on what they are viewing.  The ever-popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow people like you and me to comment on news that otherwise would have only been spoken or written about by paid professionals through traditional mediums such as television, radio and newspaper.

It can be concluded that the new medium of the database differs a great deal from the narrative structure of traditional media.   Unlike the traditional media of the past, the medium of the database allows information to be generated more easily by society.  As a result of the relatively new development of databases, information can be accessed and organized in more efficient ways.  Perhaps it can be stated that in the future databases will dominate how society at large generates media.

The Death of the Author

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EyFd-WJERA

Analysis 2: The Culture Industry

Elizabeth Novotny

February 23, 2010

Media 280

Analysis 2:

The Culture Industry

In their essay, The Culture Industry:  Enlightenment as Mass Deception, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer discuss the culture industry in great depth.  Adorno and Horkheimer argue that the culture industry manipulates society into abiding by the principles of capitalism and “[obeying] the social hierarchy.”  Although the culture industry has changed due to the rise of new digital media, perhaps it can be stated that Adorno and Horkheimer’s essay still holds some validity.

 According to Adorno and Horkheimer, the culture industry provides consumers with what they are trained to want.  Due to the concept of standardization, the mass production of products that consumers are trained to desire are essentially all the same, “for culture now impresses the same stamp on everything.”  Consumers are led to believe they have a choice in what to consume, however the reality is that they do not—“[t]he man with leisure has to accept what the culture manufacturers offer him.”

Nonetheless, perhaps it can be argued that a direct cause of change in the culture industry can be derived from the rise of new digital media.  The development of blogs, forums and other forms of online dialogue has changed our status as media consumers.  A medium such as YouTube, for instance, allows viewers to comment on what they are exposed to.  Blogging has become especially popular now-a-days, allowing for direct expression of ideas and opinions.  The internet is unlike film, radio and television in that users of the internet can choose all at once what they want to watch, read, listen to and comment on.  In addition, the ever-popular social networking sites such as twitter and facebook enable us to comment on other users’ content.  As media consumers we now have more options and are given the opportunity to actively partake in what we choose to consume.

I therefore believe that the rise of new digital media is an element of diversification of the culture industry.  Opinions and reactions are emphasized and accounted for, as opposed to one person or a group of people deciding how the mass population should think.  Of course, one problem that could result from these new forms of digital media, however, is if people simply reiterate what the controlled forms of media emphasize.  That aside, new digital media is beneficial to consumers of the modern world.

Originality vs. Reproduction: The Role Aura Plays in Media Today

Elizabeth Novotny

February 16, 2010

Media 280

Originality vs. Reproduction

The Role Aura Plays in Media Today

In his essay entitled The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin discusses the importance of aura and how it relates to media, specifically the popular culture of the modern world.

In an age of mechanical reproduction, the authenticity of an original work of art is lost when it is reproduced.  Nevertheless, I believe the reproduction of art comes with its own feeling of authenticity.  In its reproduction, the art work is given a new aura different from that of the original.  According to Benjamin, “[t]he presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity.”  Benjamin argues that authenticity is derived from originality.  Furthermore, he suggests, “[e]ven the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element:  its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.”  Although there is validity to this, such an idea is debatable.  The counter argument would state that the reproduced work of art is not “lacking in one element,” but rather it simply possesses a “unique existence […]” different from that of the original.

In his essay on the reproducibility of art, Benjamin concludes that an original work of art possesses a certain aura.  The aura a work of art possesses is what differentiates the original from the reproduced.  According to Benjamin, the aura of originality is what brings authenticity to artwork.  Benjamin suggests that authenticity is established through originality.  Original art work is authentic because of the history of the artwork itself.  The experience the original artist had when creating his work of art is impossible to recreate.  The feelings and emotions that were felt by the original artist can never be felt in exactly the same way by another artist.  Therefore, the authenticity of an original work of art is impossible to reproduce.  In addition, Benjamin later proposes, “[…] that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.”  One may conclude the aura of an original work of art is impossible to reproduce.

Although the authenticity of an original work of art is lost when it is reproduced, I believe the reproduction of art comes with its own feeling of authenticity and gives off its own particular aura different from that of the original.  Such an example would be the reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s notorious painting of the Mona Lisa.  When various other artists reproduce the Mona Lisa, it is created with feelings and emotions different from those felt by da Vinci, giving it a new experience in its creation.  The history of the reproduced art is different as well.  The reproduction of the Mona Lisa is therefore given a new aura, making it authentic in its own way.  If one were to view the original Mona Lisa in Paris, then perhaps that experience would be more powerful and moving than, say, viewing a reproduced Mona Lisa. That is not to say, however, that both paintings were not authentically created. (http://sarahkatt.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/original.jpg)

Benjamin’s concept of aura plays a significant role in today’s media, specifically the popular culture of the modern world.  Film, photography and the computer are three different forms of media in particular that have altered the meaning of images in numerous ways.  The introduction of film, for instance, enabled plays to be transformed into movies.  The creation of cinema allowed audiences everywhere to view what was once only available as a live performance.  Unlike theater, film allows the director to manipulate the audience into seeing only what he wants it to see, giving the film an aura different from that of the play.  The introduction of photography allowed artists to capture a moment in time and space objectively, rather than painting it subjectively.  A photo is ultimately given a feeling of truthfulness and, with that, comes an aura different from that of a painting.  The introduction of the computer has allowed for nearly anyone to post videos and opinions for people around the world to view and/or critique.  Perhaps the best example of this is YouTube.  In addition, machinima is another medium that has without a doubt its own aura.  Machinima is defined as animated filmmaking within a real-time virtual 3D environment.  More simply, machinima is making films from video games.  Producers of machinima take footage that is not theirs, however they make it their own by using it to create completely new forms of art, giving it a new aura.

Benjamin argues that “a work of art has always been reproducible.”  In his essay he later proposes, “[m]echanical reproduction of a work of art […] represents something new.”  Art in various forms has been reproduced since the beginning of time.  Benjamin states, “[a]round 1900 technical reproduction had reached a standard that not only permitted it to reproduce all transmitted works of art and thus to cause the most profound change in their impact upon the public; it also had captured a place of its own among the artistic processes.”  Perhaps it can be concluded that Benjamin does not clearly establish the creative line that exists between an original work of art and the reproduction of it.

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