This was the last unlecture of networked media, and I must say I am relieved that Adrian mentioned we will be using these blogs next year, that pretty much guarantees they wont be deleting them. I have invested too much time and energy into this thing for it to be ripped away! So I’m just going to trust them on this, if it disappears randomly without my consent, angry phone calls will be made.

We were also encouraged to aim high; we know enough about networking and media to be able to get much more exciting jobs than the camera operator, so why not strive for something higher.

I was reminded that we share agency with non-human, non-living things, which is always a refreshing and enlightening idea.

And finally our tutors gave their final remarks, that is, until our tutorials this week…perhaps I should bring lollies or something…

I will probably write another post with my own final thoughts for the subject/ semester, as knowing me, it will turn into a big ramble session, so I’ll just wrap up this post here 🙂

In the lecture, it was mentioned that the internet is a free economy. Adrian also talked about how some bands will allow people to record their concerts and share it online. I remembered last year when Google teamed up with MBC and streamed an entire Kpop Music Festival for free on Youtube, I watched it all live, and it was awesome, but it still couldn’t compare to if I was actually there obviously. The topic of ‘over sharing’ was brought up, and this made me think of one of my pet peeves.

In my experience, I have found it is far more special and rewarding seeing your favourite celebrities in front of you or near you than trying to record them so you can experience it all later. I recently went to two ‘celebrity/ entertainment’ based events, SQ Entertainments K-fest, and Rudimental’s concert, both times when people were on stage, everyone around me was watching them through their phones or cameras. Its almost expected that that is what you do in these situations. When you spend the entire show looking through a phone screen and making sure you are capturing the moment, you are really missing the point of being there. You go to experience the person first hand, if you wanted to watch them on a screen you can just go to Youtube and watch their other live performances. At the K-wave event, two of the special guests, Simon and Martina, walked in front of me on their way to the stage, close enough I could reach out and touch them, and while other people around me scrambled through their bags trying to get out their phones, many of them missed being able to see them up close, and I am happy I made the decision to just experience these things, and not ruin it for myself by trying to capture everything like a reporter.

It actually made me think about the people who will take a photo of a famous monument, but not one with them in front of said monument. I mean, there are plenty of brilliant photos of that monument on Google, if you wanted to prove you were there, or have a memory from there, at least include yourself in the photo as well.

Also the talk of protocol when writing emails made me  chuckle to myself, because I am so particular about  those things. I write an email, and then read it over, and find all these misinterpretations that could be made, and space out my smiley faces as naturally as I can, and just obsessive about it. Not so much because of protocol when writing emails, but I guess I just have my own protocol on these things.

There were many interesting ideas raised and discussed in this weeks lecture, as well as building upon ideas from previous weeks. for example, the main takeaway idea from the 80/20 reading was that networks do not form randomly, they gradually assume a logical network. Also, the idea that hubs are like those people in friendship groups who seem to know everyone. But although they know everyone, they know most of these people on an acquaintance level, so they have many weak connections, like a hub. When i got home i also had fun with The Oracle of Bacon website which illustrates how Kevin Bacon is a hub in Hollywood. These are the kinds of people that create the ‘small world’ network.

Something i have been pondering a lot since the lecture is the idea of creative freedom. It was suggested that we don’t have creative freedom in many ways as rules and codes have already been decided. The example of somebody wanting to make a sci-fi movie was used; the person wants to have the set up exactly like the lecture room for example, but people say ‘that’s not sci-fi, there’s no sci-fi stuff,’ which means the person would have to conform to the rules and codes of what a sci-fi film is to make this film. Also, there was the example of films being rectangular, why not shoot one that is a circle? And it is viewed on a circular screen.

Now i don’t think this is a question of “why don’t people think for themselves when they create,” i would say it is more of what has been mutually agreed upon over time. People can create circular films if they want to, if there is a specific effect they desire, and they can make a film in the lecture theater if they want to as well, there are no rules stopping them, the film just wont be sci-fi, because ‘sci-fi’ is a classification term. You are only constrained while making that film if you decide initially ‘I want to make a sci-fi film,’ because then, yes, there are certain aspects that make things sci-fi, because sci-fi is a classification system. The first person to ever make a sci-fi film didn’t have constraints, but these films were grouped together and given a name based on similar properties. But if you are  just deciding to make a film, there are no rules and regulations that you must abide by. Also, you can make a circular film if you want to, there is nothing saying you cant, but over time people have found that watching rectangular movies is easier on the eye and mind, because it is similar to the way we see through our eyes. So it depends on what you label your creation as, if you want an easy to watch film, then yes, rectangular has been decided as being best.

So in that way, i didn’t really understand the point Adrian was trying to make, i guess that people should think about possibilities rather than just following the norm without questioning it. But the examples didnt really prove anything for me. If you label something before you create it, then you must create it to fit that label, that is obvious. It is ridiculous to say Titanic could be a sci-fi film because ‘screw constaints!’ because sci-fi is a classification of a genre, and Titanic does not fit the classification, so instead it is classified as something else.

However, if the point was supposed to be about letting your creations have agency, and not to force them to be something, then yes, I agree. I do find this a lot when i am writing essays etc.

I liked the thought of Melbourne establishing itself as a creative capital, i mean, for someone who has been all up the east coast cities, as well as Adelaide, its easy to see the difference between there and here. It makes me happy that i have lived here my whole life and have grown up in this creative environment. I remember reading a tumblr post from someone (i cant rememeber who, sorry!) who exchanged here from America; and she was so surprised to see all the graffiti and tattoos being displayed freely. She said that tattoos were normally hidden where she was from, but here, most people show them openly and so many people have them. I was then able to appreciate living in a place where there is more artistic and creative freedom, and less judgement about the way people choose to express themselves. Actually a friend of mine from Art last year focused on intense concepts and much of her art was very confronting, featuring nudity and suicidal imagery. But it was so encouraged by everyone and she was praised for being so exploratory and personal. I love communities like that, which is probably why art camp was one of the best times of my life.

I was a little confused in the lecture when we began to discuss how finite the internet is, and i will probably ask about this in my tutorial, but initially we were told the internet is infinite, and it can continue to expand indefinitely because it has no shelf space, but then we were told to get rid of the idea that the internet is virtual, as it produces carbon emissions, relies on nonrenewable resources, and requires enormous amounts of electricity and warehouses to store data. So, the concept of the internet seems infinite, but, like anything, it cant keep growing forever, unless we find a new way to source it.

I thought the idea of what mainstream is today was interesting, that the idea of what is mainstream could be dissipating because of thing like the internet, where unpopular bands can have shelf space forever. Also that mainstream music like one direction tries to appeal to the listener by using really broad language and descriptions so the listener feels like the song is about them. On Saturday night i was talking to my brother about this actually, because we were reflecting on bands we like and used to like; mentioning that we used to like linkin park back in the day. I then added, ‘because their lyrics are so broad and applicable to anyone.’ for example, “everything you say to meee, brings me one step closer to the edge, and I’m about to break!'”i mean anyone who has ever been annoyed or mad at somebody else can pretend this song is about them easily. So it was fun that the lecture connected to that conversation i had had a few days earlier.

One of the main things I have been reflecting on since the unlecture this week, is whether video games are a form of hypertext narrative. Well it’s obvious that they are not, but I would certainly disagree with something proposed in the lecture; that “at the heart of all games, they are like a game of pinball.” You attempt to hit the buttons and do the right things, if you do it well you win, if you don’t, you lose, and that is why they are different to hypertext. I would certainly not put myself in the ‘gamer’ category, however, being close with my older brother, video games have always been around to catch my interest, and i can conclude that while they are all classified as ‘video games,’ many who are familiar with them know that they differ in more ways than just the cover art.

The motivations and narratives of each game are different. There are games where you either win or lose; multiplayer games, many platformers, where you are trying to get to the end for completion reasons, to achieve that 100% next to your file name.  However, many games have taken an entirely different route.  Many that i am exposed to feature prominent story lines and character development, and although you may do slightly different things along the way, you still go on a journey to arrive at the end of the story, like a book. And for that reason too, not to ‘win’ the game.

Nobody completes and experiences the heartbreaking endings of ‘The Walking Dead (game)‘ and ‘The Last Of Us‘ feeling as though they had won the game. Likewise, nobody loses in these games either, even if you make a bad decision, you keep going from where you left off. Even World of Warcraft can be classified as this type of game, when you die, you do not ‘lose,’ you walk around as a spirit, find your body and keep going. When you get to your highest level, you may have taken slightly different paths, but you have generally been to the same places and completed the same quests as most people who share your class/ race. In Divine Divinity, the world is so impressively complex and climactic, yet realistic and mature that i would definitely relate it closer to the experience of an amazing novel, rather than a game of pinball.

I certainly agree that video games are not similar to hypertext narrative, but to simplify them to the level of pinball or a board game is just as inaccurate. There is a difference between ‘winning’ a game and ‘completing’ a game, in the same way one would complete a novel. With the best games of today, it is not about doing a good job, to get the most points, or to win, but to experience the narrative. Just like in stories, you don’t win anything at the end of ‘The Last of Us,’ you are just faced with the ending to the story, which explains why the endings can even lead people to tears, and have profound effects on them, as well as the huge subcultures that form around the experience of the game. To conclude, a more accurate description of video games would be somewhat similar to those ‘choose your own adventure’ stories everyone read as a kid, where you arrive at more or less the same ending as everyone else, but far more adult and complex.

*casual 2 week hiatus….*

So, I’ve been thinking about hypertext recently…

Hypertext storytelling is FAR more expansive than just ‘choose your own adventure’ style books. While authors do have a large amount of control over that people think when they read/ consume what they are presented, this becomes more complicated with the idea of telling stories through hypertext, as no specific narrative, structure, causality and ending mean that interpretation of what people make of it. You interpret the story based on how you have created it.

Although this idea is rather mind-blowing, and at first hypertext fiction sounded exciting, i don’t think its something i would really enjoy. A story which is different each time you read it, as well as for each person that reads it is cool, but reading has so much more worth than just giving you an experience, it creates shared experiences (with minor interpretive differences) which you can discuss and learn from. You can learn from them because you are learning from what the author is presenting, but if fiction was included into the hypertext structure, I just don’t see how that could work. If I’m choosing where I am going next, I can learn things and explore things but I wont get a sense of what the author was trying to get across and where the story was going to take me, I would have to take myself there, which seems far less fun.

Honestly, the way I am picturing it now, is like browsing a wiki made up of fiction and false events/ knowledge, with no specific structure. So what is there to keep me reading/ draw me in?

I enjoyed this weeks lecture, although the lead up was a little odd. It may be because my tute only had 3 people, but although my question was answered, I felt in the tute I was awkwardly forced to make up a question that I really didn’t need answered. I eventually came up with a question, but I honestly didn’t have anything to ask at this point, which means when it was answered I was just kind of like, “…cool.” I just wonder if the other questions on the list that weren’t answered were ones that people really wanted discussed. I feel like perhaps maybe I cheated them out of getting their question answered… But since attending the lecture, I will say that I enjoyed the discussion that came from my question, and it seemed like other members of the cohort were interested too, so that’s good.

My question was the one about whether the things we publish online are validated only after someone else reads/ consumes/ acknowledges them. I already was aware that publishing my work online is an important aspect for me, a way of reflecting and organising my thoughts, like a journal, OR a visual diary! One of my first posts on this blog (well it was my second one to be exact) was about how the ‘Ocean of ideas’ thing reminded me of the importance of keeping a visual diary. Turns out I was correct, keeping this blog is just like how it was keeping a visual diary, but no so much visual as written. It’s nice when things make a loop like that, when they come back, something that happens frequently when you organise your thoughts like this.

I had a cool epiphany when I realised that my blog doesn’t really exist, the page isn’t there waiting for me, it just appears when someone seeks out its content. Trippy. Also the idea that every time we hyperlink out to something else (which I have done a fair bit), we are building the web that is the internet. We are making connections.

Additionally, the idea of writing for an imagined audience. I never really thought about it like that, but i do keep this blog in my style; the way i write, the flowers under the header, all that, so I guess my readership would be people who think like me, or like my style. So yeah, the blog isn’t just constructed randomly, I make sure it is something I can be proud of, and hopefully that style of what I think is good, also appeals to other people.

Overall, although when I posed the question I was like ‘I have to make up a question before I leave class so this will do,’ the discussion that sprouted from it was really enjoyable. Each academic had something interesting to say and add, as well as the students; I liked the comparison of our blogs to trees that fall when nobody is around, or TV shows that nobody watches, and discussing whether they have value because of that existence. I equally enjoyed the panel’s explanation and discussion of this thought, the difference between what something is, and what it means; another epiphany inducing statement.

So I guess what I took from the events preceding this lecture, as well at the lecture itself, is that it is worth reflecting and discussing, because that is how you generate new ideas.

Out of the 3 lecture videos this week, the one I was most interested in was Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk. Particularly with the idea that schools kill creativity. We touched on this idea in a previous lecture, something about possums and kangaroos, and the way children see them in comparison to the way adults see them. Anyway, I just realised how true it is. Because I remember when were were choosing electives we wanted to do in year 10, and I wanted to do art, design, that whole deal, but I wasn’t able to because my coordinators thought it would be more useful if I continued Japanese instead of art, a subject I despised. Nothing against languages, languages are fun, its just the class that I didn’t like, for reasons outlined in this TED talks. I wasn’t good at Japanese, and it meant that in every class I would get things wrong, so I didn’t want to continue the subject. I know with languages there is a clear right and wrong, its not creative, but I know what it feels like to be that kid who keeps getting things wrong, and if that subject was art or design or something, I would have definitely stopped trying to be creative and I would’ve stuck to what was safe and what other people are doing. Because in school, being wrong is embarrassing, you know?

Actually at the moment I have been on and off teaching myself Korean language, and I have learned and remembered more from that then I did with 3.5 years of learning Japanese. Because in the comfort of my own home, yeah I get things wrong, but there isn’t the stigma attached to it, the teacher doesn’t give you that look of ‘wow, did you really just say that?’ and this means that I am happier continuing my education in this field, because I’m not afraid to be wrong.

And with specific reference to creative tasks, I have mentioned year 12 art a few times on this blog, possibly because it was a favourite subject of mine. But my former classmates and I all agree, that most people in the art world don’t like showing people ‘works in progress,’ particularly with technical drawing, photo-realism etc. Sure in the end its going to look great, but before you are finished, some things are in the wrong position and you have to re-do them, and some things don’t look right, and artists can see that and correct them, hence the title ‘work in progress.’ But there were so many occasions when we would be working away in the art rooms, only having just started a drawing or something, and ‘school tours’ would come around and look at what we are doing. The tour lady would make some rude remarks about whose art looks better up on the walls, and would shoot us judgmental glares if we were working on something sub-par, a kind of, “cant you make it look like the school makes good artists?” kind of look. If I was younger and more sensitive, I might have decided that I should just not do art, because I’m wrong, its not good enough, but luckily by age 17/18 I was able to decide the lady was just being a jerk instead.

In short, I would hate for anyone to think their creativity is inadequate, because, well, the TED talk explains why.

The audience involvement this week was fun! Even though I didn’t really contribute, I still felt it kept the lecture more interesting, but still, I walked away without any specific idea about it, perhaps because although there was a ‘theme,’ it all seemed like stuff we had kind of covered in the previous week in regards to design fiction. I think the best thing, would have been to have this lecture last week, and just have everyone make sure they’ve done the reading before the lecture. that way, people can do the readings, come to the lecture with questions about it, go home and write their blog posts about it having their questions answered, and then reflect in the tute. I know this ‘design fiction’ stuff is sort of carrying over as an idea, but I was ready for some new discussion and new ideas. Honestly the lecture felt kind of like a tutorial to me, which is fine, except that I had been at the tutorial a few days prior and wanted to expand and develop on these ideas just a bit more in the lecture. HOWEVER, I can’t say I zoned out or anything, it was still engaging, and is in accordance with the feedback that has been given so far, so a solid 7/10. Pretty enjoyable.

*sigh* I think perhaps I was less engaged with this weeks unlecture. That conclusion only arrived when I realised there wasn’t one really strong or interesting point that resonated with me. Normally I can remember lectures by something that was said, even if it was insignificant, because it lead me to an epiphany. Perhaps that’s not the right word, but I suppose I try to take an amount of life knowledge and understanding from every situation or piece of information I am exposed to; a way of justifying to myself that I haven’t wasted my time. (not saying the lecture was a waste of time!)  I did think it was a step in the right direction including other tutors, and I did like the ‘you are the one who should make it relevant’ thing, but I guess if I’m going to every lecture there will inevitably be some that I’m just not that into. I guess this is that week for me…maybe I just got out of bed on the wrong side that day.