NML Week 9

Trinh Minh-Ha (1991) "The World as Foreign Land"

Although, the theorization of racial and sexual otherness has become accepted as a legitimate area of study, but vigilance must be maintained in the discourse. Discussions can lead to a predominately Western, mainstream view that emphasizes the foreign nature of the "others." Those who would be categorized as the "others" must be wary and not allow the domination of the dominant thought created by another claiming to be an authority. They must be able to affirm the differences they have while at the same time not allow other individuals to isolate them.

Dominant control of the discussion is sometimes used through the media. The media is often used to create a single collective truth that silences other views. This often stereotypes the "others" and in response, they point out these stereotypes. It creates a certain repetition in the argument that may at first seem tiring, but is actually a powerful tool. It continually re-draws attention to the media and makes people begin to look at invisible meanings within the text. Thus it is not enough to simply make the invisible visible, but to make known the invisibility of the invisible.

Comments:
New media plays with the role of consumer and producer, but I believe that the mainstream will always exist. The thing that people view as the norm and is widely accepted as well as having tons of money pumped into it. As much as we celebrate the our podcasts, amateur videos on YouTube, and our other attempts at being producers, it's never the same as being a part of the mainstream. However, the mainstream is often run by corporations for profit, which has bending over to appeal to the masses with popular preconceived images. You probably know where I'm getting at by now, which is representation of minorities in the media. Minh-Ha's article made me think about the fact that we are often conflicted at seeing some minority actors make it big. It's great to see a person of color in popular media, but the roles that they often end up with reenforces some stereotype. This is especially true when it comes to the queer community. Television shows such as Will & Grace (which actually had straight actors) has created a predominant image of a gay man. While minorities, those categorized as "others" are happy to be accepted into popular discourses, a certain vigilance and critical analysis must take place. The reenforcing of stereotypes only makes the idea of people being foreigners, different, ever the more stronger.

Trinh Minh-Ha (1991) "The Other Censorship"

Art and theory are often separated from each other and considered different practices, but the boundaries between the two are not set in stone. Inevitably a critical practice will cross between the two and serve to upset the status quo, the accepted ideologies. They remain as neither wholly separate or assimilated. To approach it from only one side, either only as an artist or as a critic, creates a standard considered normal, and either eliminates different forms of art, or places them under scrutiny. In a sense, this is another form of censorship.

This type of censorship is often used work done by minorities. Minorities find difficulty in gaining acceptance as either artists or theorists. Even after gaining acceptance, they can be pigeon-holed into a certain domain, usually about their "ethnic heritage." Being pigeon-holed is problematic as they continue to write within what is expected means bowing down to the dominant ideology, but to do differently can be seen as a betrayal of ethnic loyalty. To prevent such a thing from happening, critical practice must be used to constantly question and examine art and its boundaries.

Comments:
The comments about being pigeon-holed are interesting. It's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. It places individuals in a very confining situation in which they do not have any real room to move and truly express oneself. This is especially problematic if there is a continual relation back to the area assigned to you. In a sense, independence as an individual is lost. Individual identity is subsumed underneath a subject. It's the equivalent of being typecast for actors. An individual wants room to explore and experiment but is not given the chance.

As with the other Minh-Ha article, a critical examination of media is of the utmost importance. There is more to a text than what is seen. From stereotyping in the form of acceptance to an invisible censorship, we must be wary and able to look at the meanings behind texts.

Mizuko Ito (2002) "Technologies of the Childhood Imagination: Media Mixes, Hypersociality, and Recombinant Cultural Form

The larger context of media mixing is looked at through the lens of Yugioh. The old form of media mixing usually involved the transferring of text from one form of media to another, usually from books to film or television. The new form of media mixing is a product appearing across several media simultaneously. This new form of media has an influence on the childhood imagination, intricately tying it to the technologies of new media. The media mix itself has provided a new interactivity between the visual imaginary world and the real physical world. In the context of Yugioh, the cards and the game seen in the anime and manga have a real life counterpart that children can engage in. In addition, video games that retell the narrative can be interacted with and physical cards can even be transferred over to the video game. This media mixing causes a change in the social aspects of children. Hypersociality occurs rather than the shut-in, introverted and passive view of children as consumers. There are multiple access points to the text through several media. It begins to pervade several aspects of childhood. From there it goes on to the remixing of the media. Children can re-appropriate it and customize it to their own personal likings. This has also attracted adults who engage in more sophisticated forms of the same thing, such as making their own zines about the characters, methods of rare card collecting and entrepreneurship.

All of these represent changes in the social and cultural interactions of children through the shift from one form of media to another. This leads to the need to take new examination in the relations between new media and life on many different levels.

Comments:
The thing I'm interested in is all of this taken in the context of a popular fad. Pokemon and Yugioh are both popular fads that despite their initial excitement and phenomenon in capturing the attention of many, it does fade. The popularity goes from all encompassing to being a niche. Honestly, I haven't heard much about Yugioh since my senior year in high school two years ago. So what exactly happens to these social and cultural effects once the fad dies? Where does the hypersociality and remixing go? As exciting as a phenomenon such as Yugioh is, it's a rarity. It's multimedia success was directly related to its popularity. There have been other products that have attempted the same strategy, but have failed to catch on. It's too early to look at the great changes that these types of products of on the children and the expansion of imagination. The current fad includes all of this media mix, but the next one might not necessarily pull off the same thing, and all of the things described here may not occur.

Mizuko Ito (2002) "Mobiles and the Appropriation of Place"

Ito examines the changes in the experience of co-presence and social interactions in Japanese youth that the mobile phone has brought about. In particular, Ito looks at how the boundaries of a physical gathering are extended before, during and after the meeting. Before the advent of mobile phones, the normal thing was to suggest a fixed time and place to meet. Now, no fixed time or place need to be set. A general time and place is set and then mobile communications narrow it down. Even the normal manners of being on time are as problematic as a message can be sent stating that one will be late, which allows the other person to occupy themselves until then. During the actual meeting, mobile phones augment the meeting by allowing the invitation of other friends, retrieval of information concerning a conversation, or even as a conversation starter when they receive a message. They also showed no qualms in talking to someone else when they receive a phone call. Communication that would usually not be possible is possible as well, especially with text messaging which can be done discretely. After the meeting, things such as thanks, continued conversation or forgotten bits of information can still be passed on. The effect of all of this is that the urban environment is becoming highly personalized with individuals continuously in contact with each other.

Comments:
Fascinating how this sounds like my life right now, except without the excessive texting as it is not free for me. Mobiles have really changed the way people interact with each other. It creates a new culture and as shown, a new set of rules and social norms. So what about those who do not have ready access to this technology? Yeah, everyone and their pet dog has cell phones now a days, but people have varying models and billing plans, which limits how much and what they use their phone for. For example, I truly dread text messaging because it costs me about 35 cents per message which can pile up when people don't get the point. Anyways, the whole point is what happens to those who do not have access? Do they become isolated from the society, or become a part of a different culture parallel to the one described here? It's interesting that new media is creating a new culture, but those of the old still remain and interact with the new.