Media Studies 180 Hunter College, Sections 102, 103

Zines: a brief summary of self-publishing

2005-11-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

Here is additional info from the zine talk i gave Monday.

Pictures, notes, and sample zine content.

An essay included in the forthcoming Whatcha’ Mean, What’s A Zine? edited by Esther Watson and Mark Todd, Houghton Mifflin Company, called A Personal History of Zines.

The zine I publish 1-Up Zine, not to be mistaken for Ziff-Davis' 1up.com, which stole my name!

please feel free to email me any questions on zines or self-publishing at raina [at] 1up-zine [dot] com.

books referenced in class-- Understanding Comics

2005-10-31T15:56:00.000-08:00

We talked about abstraction in ads and visual culture when we looked at the disembodied Ecko ad in section, specifically how we can see ourselves, or imagine our own heads on the faceless bodies. I talked briefly about the abstract an image is, the more we are able to identify with it. For advertising, it is a tactic that is used to sell product, when we identify with the people (or disembodied torsos) in the ads.

Understanding Comics deals with how images and sequential art (comics) are read, and a bit about our visual understanding/ visual language. The book is by comic artist, teacher, and critic Scott McCloud. Most highly recommended. Interestingly enough, the book is essay about visual language told in comics form.

An sample of Understanding Comics here.

ASSIGNMENT #3: Print VS. Online? - DUE MONDAY NOVEMBER 7

2005-10-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

How do you get your news? Do you read newspapers or check your favorite sites for the latest info? Listen to news radio, talk radio, or even watch the Jon Stewart show? Or, do you get "feeds" through an RSS (Really Simple Syndicate) readers on your computer?

For Assignment #3, i want you to take a particular news event that has been covered in a PRINT newspaper and in it's corresponding ONLINE publication and compare the two. You will be looking at the same subject on different media.

PLEASE take notes on the questions below, and be able to present your findings in class. I will be collecting your notes.

1) Description: Describe the content, style, orgranization, advertisements, and experience of reading both types of papers.
When you read a newspaper, think about WHERE you read. On the train, at the breakfast table, at a cafe?

What is the experience of reading the paper? Do you share the paper with others? Can you show people articles easily? Can you cut out articles and pictures? What do you do with an old newspaper?

When you are reading a new website, you are reading at a computer. where is this computer station? is it a laptop? is it portable or at home?

How is the experiences different? How does the medium affect design, content, style, and the reading experience of news?

2) Analysis: Is the web version organized in a similar way to print, with the same section topics? Are there elements that can't be duplicated in the other medium? Which one is more interesting to read? Which one did you like more?

3) Interpretation and Evaluation: Will web versions of newspapers prevail over print papers? Or can both co-exist? What do you think? Why do we prefer one over the other? What are the implications of how we get and store information when infomation can be digitzed? An institution that digitized information is changing are libraries. Can you see why?

Key Question: What's more important: the news content istelf of the experience of getting the news content?

Online Newpaper sources:

New York Times

Wall Street Journal

The Daily News

The Post

USA Today

These following publications are journalistic and commentary-oriented, and unique products of the web. Salon.com was created by 5 former editors of the San Francisco Examiner who thought the paper had "lost it's spark." The idea behind Salon, accord to editor David Talbot is the "emulate not the newspapers of the present but the newspaper philosophy of long ago. There are things that new media can learn from old media that old media's forgotten. How to tell a story, how to do colorful commentary." They are worth checking out.

Salon

Slate

Other kinds of news include satire such as:
The Onion, which poke fun at news and what we conside newsworthy. They are known to satirize the right, media spectacles, and celebrities. For example, today's headlines include "Bush To Nominate Next Person Who Walks Through Door" and"Puppy Dies Adorable Death."

clarification of terms- Postmodernism and Modernism

2005-10-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

(Bart Simpson, in a postmodern twist, referring to Nirvana's Nevermind album cover)

Someone asked about Postmodernism and Modernism; while both are cultural movements difficult to condence into a few sentences, I have boiled them down here. You will find explanations of postmodernism and modernism in Chp 1. See table 1.1 on page 30.

Both are artistic movements in culture, new ways of viewing culture; modernism is characterized by the shift from agricultural to industrial society. Modernist view of culture: was rooted in the idea that "traditional" forms of art, literature, social organization and daily life had become outdated, and that it was therefore essential to sweep them aside and reinvent culture. Modernism encouraged the idea of re-examination of every aspect of existence, from commerce to philosophy, with the goal of finding that which was "holding back" progress, and replacing it with new, and therefore better, ways of reaching the same end. In essence, the Modern Movement argued that the new realities of the 20th century were permanent and imminent, and that people should adapt their world view to accept that what was new was also good and beautiful.

Postmodernism is cultural movement that came after modernism, also it follows our shift from being a industrial society to that of an information society, through globalization of capital. Markers of the postmodern culture include opposing hierarchy, diversifying and recycling culture, questioning scientific reasoning, and embracing paradox. Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding modernism. In music for example, “pomo” music contains characteristics of postmodern art-- eclecticism in musical form and musical genre, and often combines characteristics from different genres, or employs jump-cut sectionalization (such as blocks). For example, a Gwen Stefani song which references musical “Fiddler On the Roof” or a hip hop song that samples an older song is considered Postmodern. In the horror movie Scream, when the characters reference other horror movies, it is postmodern. “Pomo” tends to be self-referential and ironic

Postmodern style is often characterized by eclecticism, digression, collage, pastiche, and irony. Postmodern theorists see postmodern art as a conflation or reversal of well-established modernist systems, such as the roles of artist versus audience, seriousness versus play, or high culture versus kitsch.

Another resource for general cultural definitions of almost anything is the open access, ultra democratic Wikipedia. Its a online encyclopedia of sorts that ANYONE can edit. Here is the definition of Postmodernism and modernism.

MIDTERM: things to keep in mind

2005-10-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

here is the study list for the short answer ID questions, most of you probably already received them off the Blackboard. Just wanted to remind everyone that when answering the questions, we will be looking for
1) the definition and
2) the relevancy to media studies, or why the term is siginificant and important in a cultural context.

For example, not only will you have to explaing what postmodernism is, but cite and example from media culture, and why it is important to media studies. Or why what a monopoly is in the context of the media and culture industry, not necessarily other industries (such as automotive etc).

You will only have the amount of discussion time to answer the ID's, so remember to budget your time wisely, and have all the defnitions memorized.
_____________________________

High Culture
Low Culture
Mass Communication
Media Convergence
Postmodernism
Modernism
Linear Model of Communication
Map Model of Culture & Communication
Monopoly
Oligopoly
Limited Competition
Synergy
Direct Payment
Indirect Payment
Psychographics
Myth Analysis
Vals
Association principal
Focus groups
Payola
Cultural Imperialism
Mook
Cool Hunter
Libel
Slander
Invasion of Privacy
Copyright
Shield Laws
Public Figure
Obscenity
Fairness Doctrine
Cover Music

Music Culture: Hip Hop books and other resources

2005-10-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

In what ways has music and music culture been commodified, and does it still "represent" a community even after it has become mainstream?

Here is a list of addition resources that you may find interesting on music subculture, authenticity, and politics related to music. In conjunction with the lecture today that touched upon hip hop, there are a few books I'd recommend if you are interested in learning more about the rise and social conditions that gave birth to movement known as hip hop. Many people know punk rock as having political anti-estabishment, community oriented roots; however hip hop is a culture that also comes from a specific community, and that there are still hip hop artists today who produce community oriented, political and non- commodified work.

Can't Stop Won't Stop by Jeff Chang. Here is a link to the NPR segment with the author, who also used to own Solesides record label (now Quannum, who represent Blackalicious) and a hip hop journalist himself.

Black Noise by Tricia Rose. Highly recommended text. Rose, a professor at NYU interviews various musicians, artists, b-boys and b-girls who were around in NYC in the late 70's who remember the rise of hip hop. A sociological study that also analyses the social and economic conditions from which hip hop came from-- in the mid 70's, industrial manufacturing was moved out of NY, and projects where relocated to the South Bronx. Many disenfranchised Black youth, who had technical skills from vocation training that was now not useful to them, now were out of work, and went through junk yards and hobby shops to resurrect old technology. She interviews everyone from KRS -One to Chuck D, as well as the kids on the street she grew up with.

Wild Style, the movie. About the grafitti scene in NY in the 80's. Interesting to watch, to see how hip hop has changed over the years. Note the handmade flyer above. Compare with what a mainstream hip hop show would be like.

Commodify Your Dissent: Salvos from the Baffler. Was the the book I mentioned in class, with the piece by music producer Steve Albini about the ins and outs of the music industry, "The Problem With Music."

Are there still underground movements, even after the culture has become mainstream? Is there really a way to detect what is mainstream and what is authentic or commumity oriented?

Gwenihana article

2005-10-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hi, here's a link to the article i read in class, Gwenihana on Salon.com. You might have to sit through a commercial but sign up for salon, its free, and its worth it!

please feel free to post opinions on this blog.

ASSIGNMENT #2: MIA on NPR - DUE MONDAY OCT 17

2005-10-10T22:55:00.000-07:00

Class assignment #2

Please listen to the segment on MIA on NPR.

In one double-spaced typed page due MONDAY OCT 17, briefly describe what the music sounds like; what kind of influences it might have, and where you think it comes from. Specifically, does it sounds like hip hop? Indian? What country does it seem like it's from? Does it have one sound over another, or is it a blend?

After analysing the sounds of MIA, secondly comment on whether or not you think the music represents a real community experience. MIA is from England, and was raised in South London. Is her music authentic Sri Lankan? Is it British? Is it hip hop? Does it matter how it is categorized? Would it be different if MIA was not a woman of color, using different exotic styles of music? Does she use exotic imagery and sexuality to promote the music? How?

MIA is known to have a "revolutionary" star personae, her father was known to be an Sri Lankan activist, and even her artist name suggests a war-like feel. Is it anti-establishment music with a message or dance music? If the music is financially successful, can it still carry anti-establishment messages? Can mainstream pop music carry a message or values? In what ways popular music helps us understand democratic values and commodification of culture? Explain.