To Speak Is Not To Open Your Mouth

When watching an animated movie do you ever stop to think that Mammoth doesn’t always speak so kindly to that sloth, but wait? Animals don’t talk to each other, talk period, and Mammoths don’t even exist anymore. So why do we enjoy animated films and relate to scenes that cannot happen in real life.

   
     In The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, they say “conveying a certain feeling is the essence of communication in any form.” After reading Chapter One of The Illusion of Life, it became apparent to me how animation does communicate to an audience. The text discussed actions are not only seen as actions but show emotions, feelings, or fears. “Audience Involvement” is how animation remains to be successful. Communication is not so much speech. To communicate is to relay feelings and emotions.

   

We watch animation because we can identify with the storyline and thus we become involved. When watching a film like Ice Age we identify with the animated animals’ feelings of fear, emotions of loneliness and the feeling for the need to belong with some type of “herd”. The viewer’s response to animation is emotional. “We sympathize, we empathize, and we enjoy” animation because it showed something that is familiar to all of us. This can be an emotional reaction we all share, aspect of one’s personality, or a combination of things.

     Looking at a clip from the Pixar short film Presto, the rabbit in the clip communicates with the audience due to his emotional reactions and the situation that he is in. The bunny is kept in a cage right next to a carrot he significantly wants. When the magician, his owner, lets him out of the cage he thinks he’ll finally get his carrot but this does not happen.

     We all have had a time when we really really wanted something that was right before our eyes, literally but someone else would not let us have it. It could be when we were kids and we saw a cookie on the counter but mom said no cookies before dinner or when we saw food just like the rabbit in the clip when we were really hungry but had no time to eat it. Communication is based on emotion and connection. This clip communicates with the audience because it reminds the audience of a familiar situation and feeling. We sympathize with the rabbit because we know how it feels to want something we cannot have. Even though real life rabbits do not move and act as the rabbit in Presto, the situation he is in is human enough for us to understand. We also identify with the rabbits reaching out of his arms for the carrot and the magician pulling him away. Everyone has reached out for something they have wanted or reaching out for something in general is a sign of wanting something.

     Although animation is not always based on realism we the audience make it real. A talking sloth or a rabbit that moves like kid is appealing for us to watch because they communicate to us. Animation plays upon a communication between the audience and the characters. We believe in a character because we relate to its feelings and emotions.
What's that I hear...or see? Bugs Bunny is speaking to you.

Caricature of Realism-What is real?

     Who seems more real Donald Duck or a real duck? Seems like a silly question to ask but Donald may seem real due to the fact that one can relate more to Donald Duck cartoons than watching a real duck at a park. Donald Duck can be seen as a caricature of a real duck. Donald Duck is real in the sense of his emotions but a real duck in real due to the fact that it exists in reality.  

     Caricature is an exaggeration. It can be an exaggeration of a character’s body parts, personality, as well as their movements and actions in animation. I believe that realism is truer than caricature in the sense that realism is more true to reality. Reality is truth but caricature is more of an expression and exaggeration of truth. I believe one cannot have caricature without looking at realism first. To exaggerate something one must have a basis to exaggerate. For realism just look at reality but for caricature it is more about exaggerating reality.

     Yet in animation caricature is greatly seen due to the fact that because of its amplification of reality characters better communicate to the audience. Feelings and emotions are better seen.

     In the clip from Pixar’s Presto, I believe it relies on both realism and caricature. As discussed in Chapter Two of The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, Walt Disney wanted a catricature of realism. In order to capture the audience one must exaggerate but it must be believable at the same time. It has to feel real, be based on realism. 

     The clip is based on realism being that is involves a magician, a rabbit, and a hat. Pulling a rabbit out of a hat is a trick seen and heard about in reference to magicians. The magician looks like a human and the rabbit looks like a rabbit. The magician does not have unrealistic or too fluid of movements. The room that the characters are in, the setting, looks like what a real magician’s dressing room would look like. The cage that rabbit is in and the carrot he is longing for look like the real life things. 

     Caricature is seen in the clip through the rabbit’s movements and actions. Rabbits do stand on two feet at times but they do not move their legs in rotation as the rabbit was when the magician was holding him back. Yet that movement is needed to get the audience’s attention. The movement also evokes the emotion of the rabbit of desperately wanting the carrot and causes the emotion from the audience of sympathy. 

     Realism is more true than caricature if one references both with reality. Animation is not so much about being real but more about feelings that exist in the real world. One can draw or animate anything they want, anyway they want but that character is going to evoke real feelings that exist in the real world. Realism is already closer to reality. Emotion and feeling does not have to make it seem real. 
Then again is something real as long as you believe in it?  

Forbidden Access

   There are no rules. At least not many in American cyberspace. One can Google anything they want. This is not the case in China. The Chinese government that already has the reputation of constraint, bans certain internet searches and sites. Should the U.S. government have the same right. I believe the government should have the same right but only on subjects of security.

Free flow of information is essential and a right to citizens. The internet is the largest source of information. One should be able to find information that is non bias or swayed. China has banned websites on a banned spiritual movement and pro-democracy websites. There have been 136,000 non-registered sites and 1.5 million pieces of information banned. More have probably been added by the day. There are even paid commentators who comment for the government on those who criticize the Chinese government. The Chinese are trying to guide their people toward one way of thinking and only expose them to what they want them to be exposed to. I believe one should have an open mind and not be swayed. 

The only things I believe should be banned by the U.S. government on the web are information such as how to build a bomb or wiretap a phone. These deal with issues of security. Why would one want to know how to build a bomb anyway? The people who should know, perhaps a bomb squad, will found out in training. There is no need to have that information on the internet. 

Wiretapping ones phone is an invasion of privacy. Sure there are big brother cameras now but they are not meant to invade. One should not have the information to wiretap another phone. Unless again, it deals with their job like the police. The government should not abuse their capabilities as well. 

Certain websites and searches in schools should be banned for obvious reasons.  The youth of this country do not need to know how to make a bomb. Elementary school students do not need to be able to search violent images or pornography. 

America is based on freedom. Freedom should extend to the internet. Yet certain things should be banned to protect our freedom and Americans. No one wants a child to have a bomb in their backpack.  

Team Tufte or Team Byrne?

     This is not nearly as serious as the Team Jacob vs. Team Edward debate but it is relevant in the world today. PowerPoints are used to teach students and used in the careers those students obtain after school. Team Tufte said “PowerPoint is Evil” in a Wired magazine article. Team Byrne wrote “Learning to Love PowerPoint” in the same magazine. I am Team Byrne for the fact that I see PowerPoint as a very useful tool. I learn best visually and with note taking.

     Tufte made the argument that PowerPoint “elevates format over content” and needs many slides due to little information on each slide. This can result to boredom as a result of a slow and long PowerPoint presentation. Byrne on the other hand said with PowerPoint one can organize ideas, attach content, bend the program to ones needs, and then it runs by itself.

     PowerPoint can be long but I believe that it can turn boring if the presenter does not present the information in a way that will keep ones attention. Tufte said that with little information on each slide more detail is needed for a better understanding of the content. The presenter of a PowerPoint is not restricted to voicing the bullets that are on a slide. PowerPoint is an outline for elaboration. Elaboration made with words or with content.

     While in my Comm. and New Media class we watched a Scott McCloud lecture on TED.com where he discussed comics with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation. On the PowerPoint there were no bullets but rather visuals and pictures. His lecture was the opposite of boring and his visuals were part of his discussion and all he had to do was press a button to continue his discussion. The PowerPoint gave greater understanding to what he was saying.

     Granted I do believe that PowerPoint can be too animation driven at times and drag on but used and presented cleverly and efficiently PowerPoint is very useful. A long boring PowerPoint presentation can be as boring as a long lecture with no extra content.

Coding 101

As simple and as everyday browsing the web is today; does anyone ever think about how it is put together? People browse the Internet on their phones, on their televisions, and it is used to teach. We know how to use it but don’t usually know how to create it. Taking a computer mediated class this semester I do not really know how to create websites.

Sure there was the craze of MySpace and Xanga before Facebook and Twitter where people created their own site with codes but most people did a copy and paste. I understood the codes for the most part and changed them to my liking but I could not build a whole website from scratch. I hope to learn codes better and learn to make a website in this class. I feel excited to learn code but at the same time codes for a whole website entails plenty of letters, numbers, and symbols in front of me. Yet one must know the basics to thrive.

Anything you can do, I can do..too

Men are more complicated then woman. I know plenty of men would disagree with that claim. Although when looking at how men and woman approach computers and technology, men are more complicated in this since. This notion can be seen in a 1994 Newsweek article, “Gender Gap in Cyberspace” by Deborah Tannen. The world has greatly changed, especially in technology from 1994 to now but what Tannen says in her article still remains true. There is still a gender gap in cyberspace. Women are more interested in just having a computer work while men want to control the computer and understand how it works.


Tannen wrote, “Men want to force computers to submit. Women just want computers to work.” This is still true today. Men are motivated by the social structure that “says if you don’t dominate you will be dominated.” It is the stereotype that women are not interested with the challenge of fixing computer problems or getting the biggest and best computers. Men want to be on top of things like with cars. Men want the better engine, the higher horsepower when women usually just look at a car and say it looks nice or it’s fast not referring to the horsepower. Women usually don’t take the time to learn about technology and computers or at least not as long as men do. They just go to someone who knows about computers. “More men rather study the instruction booklet than ask directions from another person”, said Tannen. When a computer is being fixed men either want to be the ones fixing the computer or want to be involved in the process.

Women are more interested in connections and relationships but both men and women are attracted to the social uses of computers. Tannen speaks of how she became hooked on email in 1994. Since then social networking sites have taken other the world. Email and conversions in cyberspace are not physical. People tend to open up more. Women will speak to each other or be vocal physical or not. Men have been perceived as being more reserved. Tannen says that face to face conversions for men are too intense and once you start it is hard to stop the conversion. With computers it is safer for men and if you don’t want to talk to someone, just don’t respond to their message or just log off. Tannen described how when she saw she had emails she felt loved. This can be seen today with facebook notifications or how many twitter followers one has. People like to connect with others male or female.

The gender gap Tannen spoke of in 1994 has been shrinking greatly since then. The world is becoming more and more technologically based. These advances in technology have affected everyone’s lives and therefore everyone, male or female, must learn about technology in order to succeed and live in society. Men still want to know how things work, have the best, and fix it themselves. Women still just want technology to work and are attracted to its social uses. Yet both genders have learned how to use technology. Men have learned more through research while women have learned through being hands-on. Gender gaps in many areas have been decreasing but there are still glass ceilings and stereotypes that are keeping the gaps open.

Desire for Media

It all goes back to sex. Speaking from a Freudian perspective this is true. When applied to media, the notion of sex connected to the media is relevant today. Freud spoke of desires and unconscious thoughts as well. When applying Freud to the study of media he makes sense. How media is today goes along with the ideas of Freud.


Freud spoke of desire. Desire for things, phenomena, and appearances. Desire in speech and language. Desire into structures and subject to rules. Desire linked to images. Media which includes advertisements, television programming, movies, and music all show or describe what we want. "Wunsch", Freud's word for the linkage of desire and image is seen here. Image and desire is also seen in jokes, patterns of play, words of expression, and dreams. We understand the workings of desire, unconsciousness and consciousness through these images.

We are also moved by conflict between nature and culture, body and mind, and pleasure and reality. Look at the popularity of reality shows where there is a reward for the conflict of pleasure and reality. First off reality shows are really not reality. They are scripted or have people doing things they would not do in the real world. The reality show "The Real World" is an ironic example. People participate in the show in order to receive a reward which is toward pleasure. In the conflict between body and mind, take the show "Survivor". Where participants go without basic needs of food, cleanliness, clothing, and well established shelter for an extended amount of time. Their bodies must be telling them they need food, a shower, but their mind tells their body to take it in order to win and receive the money.

Freud also discussed the reality principle and pleasure principle. The reality principle is when we feel we must conform to social needs and are driven to social formations. It channels the libido toward objects and aims. Media channels the libido toward what object and aims. Media is part of society which dictates how one is supposed to act and want. The pleasure principle is when we are driven toward pleasure. Media plays on these pleasures. We may see a movie, buy music (or download music), or watch a television show because they display things we may want or a life we want to live.

Media is the id and ego referring to Freud’s structure of the psyche. The ego is pre-consciousness and deals with basic drives. The ego can be seen in the news. The news speaks of what goes on in society. No emphasis on desires just reporting what is going on in the world. The id is unconsciousness and deals with ones wishes. The id can be seen in pornography and programming like MTV. These types of media attract people due to their wishes.

Freud was all about desire and pleasure. Media is all about desire and pleasure. One will not keep watching something or listen to something if they do not enjoy it. Media attracts people due to want they like and want. There has been the idea of subliminal messaging. Subliminal messaging is frowned upon but media has been and will continue to market to ones consciousness and unconsciousness mind.