A close reading of WoW tear-jerker

So I decided to look at a bit of machinima made from WoW clips set to the song “Here Without You” by 3 Doors Down. It has been an interesting journey. It is incredible to think that some clips from World of Warcraft set to a cheesy late 90’s love-rock song could make me misty-eyed. I dare you to watch this video multiple times and not be moved at least a little bit.

It’s a Walk Off!

So here’s another video to try to bring some of the concepts we have been talking about together for the past couple of weeks into a juicy video that we can also laugh at: it’s the walk off scene from Zoolander. This is one of my favorite movies ever, and it’s for a lot of reasons that I won’t put here. Anyways, enjoy the video, and there’ll be my post after it.

Using Zoolander as a Synopsis

There are many different reasons for using Zoolander, and I’ll just start with the facts that David Bowie and Michael Jackson are represented in this video, so we’ll use that as a baseline. Also, since we just finished talking about men’s fashion, I’ll take a brief (haha – there’s a pun if you watched the video) look into this.

So Derek Zoolander challenges Hansel to a walk-off as a way to prove that he’s still got the skills to be the best male model out there. He struts his stuff in what I can only imagine to be designer red leather clothes that he can easily throw off to the crowd, as the clothes end up augmenting his skills as a model. They empower him to be better at his craft: male modeling. They are also his identity (mer-man!), as he has known nothing else in his life besides modeling. He’s got the perfect complexion, and also “his hair looks really really good with gel in it”, and the clothes become his second skin, as he becomes super comfortable in them – they are his work after all. They also show the viewer that this second skin that he wears all the time, coupled with his physical prowess, make people think that he is really, really not intelligent. Derek wants kids to be able to read good, too, and that’s a healthy aspiration for anyone to have. The film also shows Derek trying to overcome what he knows and his clothes make others think he is as well, which is what I also got out of the men’s clothing reading. There is more to people than what the clothes they wear, even though this is the only readily accessible access point to their lifeworld. I wonder how we can compare these male models to real male models – what differences would we end up finding?

So also, why do I keep end up talking about clothing and interpretation in this class? This is a central issue I believe is at play in my capstone, and the only way for me to begin to understand a theoretical viewpoint is for me to keep expressing it out loud to everyone.

And Hansel is trying to earn a living, but he’s just as scared of other male models too, which says volumes about the total package of clothing and body posture. That says a lot about phenomenology to me, how bout you?

Also, we should get a chance to bring everyone together to watch this: it’s loaded with different aspects for us to take to the critique table.

(^^)V

“What The Foucault” series: Author

So I was trying to understand the works of Michel Foucault and came across one of his essays titled “What is an Author?” You can get the text here.

I think what Foucault has to say about the notion of an author is very important and is key to our class discussion about authors, architects, musicians, film directors, ciritcs and ultimately designers.

The Title:
Foucault did not make a grammatical mistake when he titled his essay as “What is an Author”. Rather it sets the tone for his entire discourse. He views the author not as a person but as an idea or a concept.

Fantastical Fanservice! (Factorial) Fun

So last time we ended up watching something interesting from the land of France: Godard’s A Woman is a Woman. There was a comment I didn’t get a chance to talk about which is sort of interesting and I think will appeal to most people in our class, so here’s the best way I can try to articulate what I am thinking:

The combination of the camera angles and the audio Godard gives us gives me the impression that not only we are to become the main female character, but we are also to indulge in the fanservice the director is trying to entice us with – an interesting duality. For those who don’t know, fanservice is a term used in the anime and video game culture which focuses on the directors or designers giving the viewer/player what they really want – visceral action combined with well endowed and beautiful ladies (also reminds me of Jay from the View Askew universe, too!).

THAT Four Letter Word!

The other four letter word – LOVE!

Björk is one of my all time favorites. For this analysis I have chosen the video of her song “All is full of love”. The video and the technique used to produce it are obviously genius and the awards and attention it has recieved confirm it. This is what happens when two geniuses, Chris Cunnigham and Björk, meet! Enough with the extolments!! Here is the video!!!

Yes, Casey, You Are a Critic

I don’t want to belabor this conversation about the critic’s authority forever, but people keep writing about it, so I feel that it is appropriate to respond. The concern seems to pertain to the special status of the critic, and what that means, and whether you students get to (or would even want to) say that you share in that special status. Alongside these questions has been some resistance to critic “arrogance” (though no actual examples of this have actually been provided).

I think it will help this conversation to make a few distinctions.

1. There are (so far only hypothetical in this class) examples of actual critics who said arrogant things. No one in the class likes these critics. No one wants to be like them. And several seem to favor tearing them down in favor of a populist “everyman” notion. To me this is no more than a stereotype, unless and until someone can actually come up with an example of such a critic and say why that example is an example of this notion of a critic.
2. There is a notion of a critic as someone who holds a job with “critic” in the title, as in a newspaper film critic. OK, I’ll grant that as far as I know, none of you are this kind of critic. And, frankly, I don’t think that any of you will ever become this sort of critic. So I bring it up only to dismiss it again. Forget about this critic.
3. There is the notion of a critic that I am trying to teach, which is to say that criticism is an epistemological position. Whether a critic is nice or rude is a secondary, after-the-fact issue. All I am hoping to communicate is that to do a critique, one essentially offers and attempts to justify one’s point of view about a design or cultural artifact. If you have a point of view, and if you bother to defend or explain it, then in a sense you are acting as a critic. You do not have to assert a Final Judgment (this is “good” or this is “bad”) to be a critic. You do not have to assert that you have the “best or “correct” or “most valuable” point of view; all you need to establish is that you have a legitimate point of view. You don’t have to be snooty, say mean things, use fancy vocabulary, or any of that. You do not have to work for the Times Literary Supplement or hold a fancy degree.

Interaction Criticism and Aesthetics by J.Bardzell

Summary:
Super short version:
Existing ontological methods are great but hey, let’s do some epistemolgical stuff to make HCI even more awesome! Plus it’s needed!!

Short version:

• We are not doing this (Interaction Criticism and Aesthetics, herein referred as ICA) well yet!
• This is really hard to do.
• What would this look like in HCI?

Longer version:
Page 1:

• “Culture” is the new buzz word in HCI.
• We are doing great so far, but have a long way to go.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel – Critical theory and aesthetics have already cracked down some pretty huge things that we are just becoming aware of in our field.

Cultural Theory: An Introduction by Philip Smith

Chapter 1: Introduction
Summary:
1) Definition frameworks of culture
2) Themes of cultural theory
3) Areas of debate

Observations:
Dick Hebdige in his book “Subculture: The meaning of style” talks about two basic trajectories in defining culture.

• First the classical and conservative notion which considered culture as a standard of aesthetic excellence i.e “the best that has been thought and said in the world” (Matthew Arnold, 1868).
• The second notion is that of an anthropological once which considered culture as “the study of relationships between elements in a whole way of life” (Raymond Williams, 1965).

Even though the latter notion seems liberal, it early proponents (like Richard Hoggarts and Raymond Williams) believed that such a study required a literary sensibilty to “read” the society and that the two different notions of culture could actually reconcile.

At this juncture enters our hero Roland Barthes, a French writer. Smitten by the works of the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, Barthes wanted to look at culture through the semiotic lens. Even though his method was rooted in linguistics, when applied to cultural theory it opened up new possibilities.

This history tour was to identify how these these three specific eras map directly to the definition frameworks and themes of cultural theory in this reading. It also helped me understand the article a little better. So I thought I would share this.

A Structuralist Reading of Change.gov

On November 6^th, just two days after winning the highest office in the government, President-Elect Obama launched Change.gov marking the first time a President-Elect has used funds provided for by the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 for a website. This in itself represents a change in the way the Obama Administration will conduct government business. Of course the two previous administrations have also had President websites, but the Obama Administration represents the first digitally native presidential administration in US history. Change.org is not just another government website, but represents the deeper level in which technology has influenced the Obama campaign-turned-administration and how it will affect the federal government in the future.

 

In the transition from campaign to administration, Change.gov represents the new popular incarnation Obama into an institution. The site continues with a similar, but deeper color palate from BarackObama.com, that grows more similar as your scroll down the page. This, along with the serifed fonts – noticeably bolder than those found on other government websites such as WhiteHouse.gov – and black-and-white photos for Barack Obama and Joe Biden suggest are more serious tone. It is no longer about campaigning and politics, but about governing and policy.

 

Also in comparison to the current administration’s website, Change.gov has a much more modern, clean, and open feel. Where WhiteHouse.gov has solid lines to delineate sections and diagonal line coupled with gradients – reminiscent of Yahoo! or EBay. This has the connotation of big business and corporations – a government run for profit. The clean, sleek aesthetic of Change.gov however has a feeling of blog-like authenticity and honesty. Likewise, the lack of navigational icons and larger serifed text implies a meant-to-be-read literariness lacking in WhiteHouse.gov.

 

Following along the lines of current web trends, Change.gov also includes a variety of YouTube videos by Obama as well as other members of the transition team, a blog, newsroom, set of agenda statements (which citizens can write in suggestions about), and the ability to sign up for “transition updates”. All of these features invite citizens to observe the transition process, marking an unprecedented attempt at transparency. The fact that a both a newsroom and blog exist suggests that the administration is professional while still approachable. Certain items are “news worthy” while others are personal, requiring a blog post instead.

 

Three of the main navigation links at the top encourage citizens to get involved with administration. The “American Moment” offers a chance for visitors to post content (carefully screened) on the site. “American Serves” highlights the changes Obama plans to enlarge programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps. And also prominently positioned is the employment section of the site. All three of these represent a change towards a more participatory democracy.

 

Inaugurations plans are also emphasized throughout the site. At the top there is a countdown of the days until the inauguration. Also, the inauguration is rather lavishly listed as the only upcoming event. This focus on the official transfer of power – as well as the existence of the site itself – represents a further lameducking of President Bush.

 

Much like Obama himself, this Change.gov has an optimistic feel, looking towards the future with energy, but also a conservativeness made visible by the institutional motifs manifest in the deep colors and serif fonts. After a very pop-friendly web presence during his campaign, this site solidifies Obama as a truly being president. Like the lead font, launching this site with federal dollars was a bold, but prudent move. The transparency reflected in its design sends a positive message. Let’s just hope is keeps our elected officials honest.

“Interaction’s interesting, ’cause, you know, it’s-it’s a new art form…”

So I was just watching Annie Hall – a brilliant movie if you’ve never seen it – and I there was a bit of dialogue I thought might sort of make the case for why we should do interaction critique (At 2:25 in the video below). The part in italics I think is the most poignant (How’s that for a critical word!). Just substitute photography for interaction and I think there’s some great insights here.