Practices of Looking 26-46

When the authors say that "clearly, our interpretation of images often depends on historical context and the viewer's cultural knowledge. . ."(30). The authors are revering to cowboys(who are sort of long since forgotten because of industrialization), but an image that can be in reference to past things like Vinyl records, VHS tapes and also many past outdated technologies, this younger generations may never known that these things existed. As the culture changes, and many kids are use to having access to things like iPad's and very fast Internet, is changing the culture. I never used the Internet until High school, and didn't have a laptop until my Senior year of High school, which shows how many kids these days are use to having these things around that I never had dreamed of having. As a kid I never had an iPad, or even access to the Internet, so my childhood was primarily based on TV and my bible. The younger generations now have access to these things, which shapes their culture, and life without these electronic devices may seem to them as very odd or even difficult. Kids may even think that these devices have always been around when actually they haven't.

Practices of Looking 337-343

In the book it talks about a simulation game called Second Life, which is a game that is sort of a social life game that allows interaction online (337). This can have some positive effects, but what effects do these simulations have on the real life interactions? Some feel that its now easier to express how we feel via text, messages, and other non-direct ways of communication. This affects how people socialize in real life situations like meetings or conferences and may make people less comfortable because they are so use to socializing indirectly. This can make people not be able to socialize well to others and hinder their social life.

Geocaching Project

This project was very interesting because I had to find a object. In my case I found something that meant something to me. Once I had an inspiration to work with I made two images that I felt that had a deep connection in my heart, This project allowed my to use my creativity very similar to how artist use their skill in creating art pieces like the famous artist like Pablo Picasso. The final aspect that I really enjoyed about the geocaching project was leaving it in a certain area that had a connection with the Triptych. I really thought a lot about this project and it has been a way of expressing myself in a way that would be difficult to do in words.

Practices of Looking 401-413

In the book it talks about how piracy which is primarily in the U.S. but also worldwide affects Hollywood sales (401). The book also talks about how Hollywood films make more money outside the use as well (401). My comments would be that, yes there are many ways to search for pirated movies online and illegally stream movies barely hitting theaters, but I personally, would rather pay to watch the movie in the best quality it can be, then to watch a movie that is recorded on a camera phone that has both bad sound and video quality. I also read online how Netflix is working with some Hollywood movies so that movies can be available on Netflix. By making a movie available on Netflix would help to fight piracy because some people would rather watch a movie at home, then watch it in the theater, outside of their comfort zone. Anyway, most bootlegged movies are going to be significantly inferior to a theater version, which is why I would rather go to the theaters.

Articles: Google changes to 'fight piracy' by highlighting legal sites

Google needs to promote legal websites and demote illegal one. There's one problem with Google doing this, the first is if someone types an illegal website into the browser, they will get hits related to that website, so there is not really a way to get a legal website when the search is specific. Another problem is that when Google promotes websites that pay more to be first when they are searched, is a problem. The problem is that Google should put legal websites first instead of higher paying corporations because what if a higher paying corporation is in fact, illegal. So is Google promoting piracy? Piracy is not just going to go away when there are servers outside the U.S. that can put illegal content online, and Google can't really doing anything to them. One example is Sweden, they have different laws then the U.S. and so they can pirate content, but the U.S. cant really do anything to stop pirated content when millions of people pirate content from servers outside the U.S.

Practices of Looking 389-401

In the book it talks about when the U.S first landed on Earth in 1968 and took pictures of earth from their (391). This was a big accomplishment for the nation and is still a remarkable event. In recent news, something very similar happened when India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars and orbit it. This is quite an impressive feat considering how far Mars is from earth. India is setting a goal for others to improve on technology for not only space travel but probably even to further technological advancements on earth. This is similar to how the U.S. and Russia was in a so called space race, and to see who could land a man on the Moon first. Maybe the next goal is to see who can land a man on Mars which would be a very difficult task to achieve, but with further advancements, it might be a lot easier to achieve.

Free Culture-Lessig 213-234

Lessig mentions that Disney used the stories of Grimm to make their ever popular movie franchise (213). But what happens when other companies or people start to do this, Disney starts to bash people like Deadmau5, when Disney themselves has violated copyrighted stories like Grimm which they do not own. Disney is making money off of creativity that wasn't there to begin with and claiming it as their own. Deadmau5's similar actions using a modified variation of Disney's mickey mouse bothers them, while it didn't bother them when they stole Grimm's stories. Disney does this with countless other stories that they made in to a movie adaptation, and as if it OK for them to do it and it's not OK for others. But there may be one flaw to this, which would be where did these original stories first originate, maybe Grimm wasn't the first to make stories which Disney altered.

Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things by George Lakoff

The author has a point when he says that "Every time we see something as a kind of thing, for example, a tree, we are categorizing" (5). I think the reason for this is to create an understanding of something we are not familiar with. It's like if we saw some sort of unfamiliar species, we may try to understand what it is by comparing it to something we do know. That is why categorizing is a great thing to do sometimes. Categorizing is probably even a subconscious thing we do because we categorize something everyday according to how we categorize things. But I think categorizing can be hard sometimes when it is defining music. Some music have elements of many genres and its hard to categorize them in just one word because they may be defined by more than one genre.

Practices of Looking 265-279

In the book it talks about the different advertisements to catch peoples attention that may or may not pay attention to their tactics in selling their product (266). For example the book talks about Quaker Oats and when I go to Walmart I see this brand but I also see a brand called Great Value that also sells oats. This seems to me like advertising method to promote this brand of slightly cheaper goods which appeals to some, or to others it may be a cheap knock off of the original. If someone is under a tight budget they may be more drawn to get the food that says Great Value and this probably what the marketers want to accomplish. Marketing products properly will ensure that companies make money because companies are competing for their products to be sold. I once even thought is it possible for a company to market their items twice, first as a brand and then possibly something like a Great Value brand?

Practices of Looking 223-260

In the book the authors talk about Television and that its a medium of distraction (230). I partially agree with this statement, but what I learned in a cinema class was that many people watch movies to escape the realities of this world. For example people during the Great Depression watched movies to escape the reality of the hard times they lived in. The book also talks about the theater experience being different than it is during a home experience (230). I remember watching the movie "Marvels The Avengers" when it premiered in theaters and to me it was a very epic movie. As soon as it came out on Blu-Ray I bought it expecting a very similar experience. Unfortunately the experience wasn't the same but I still enjoyed the movie. The authors also mention Cultural Theorist Raymond Williams and his commentary about Television's pace and how they incorporate commercials (230). Nowadays with things Netflix's ad free experience and Dish's DVR where someone can record Television and bypass the commercials. Either way, people have ways of avoiding commercials which is changing our viewing experience to a more straightforward approach to viewing content.

Practices of Looking 200-220

The book talks about images and how they are used and copied by others like in the case with Art Rogers and his piece called Puppies (210). This reminds me a little about the copying of not necessarily an image but a symbol known as the Swastika. The Swastika symbol was used by many religious groups and was taken by the Nazis in Germany and for me the symbol brings bad connotations because of how it represented the Nazi group. Also in the book it talks about Cuban revolutionary icon Che and how his image was used, and by simply putting words next to an image can alter its meaning like it also did with Che (201, 203). Images have so many different meanings, and just by altering an image or making it represent something else can drastically change its meaning to the viewer depending on what how and why its used.
                                     Che Smirnoff Vodka Ad                                            Portrait of Che

Practices of Looking 183-200

In the book it talks about how cuts were used to blend a motion picture together by using short shot to shots segments and combining them (189). This technique is something I learned back at CBC, in which I took a intro to Cinema class and we learned a lot of information about film and especially cuts. I didn't notice cuts until the professor pointed them out and ever since I notice them more frequently in movies t.v shows etc. Cuts are prevalent in the film industry but I notice them more during commercials since they are trying to get there advertisement out as fast as possible usually 30 seconds or less depending on the commercial. I also seen a clip of video (which I can't remember the title of the film) where there was no cuts involved and it felt a little awkward because we are so use to seeing cuts in visual media.  

Free Culture-Lessig 53-79

Lessig mentions that his friends have bought pirated DVD's that they well could have afforded (64). There are some places that sell pirated or bootlegged copies of music, movies, and countless knock off items based from the originals at a very cheap price. that call themselves flea markets. Like I told my friend where did he get that CD from and he said at the flea market. Also I have seen people watching movies that barely hit theater and there they are watching the movie on their own TV was shocking. Also it was interesting how controversial Sony's introduction of the VCR with the record button which infuriated big Companies like Disney (75). Back then VCR's and their recording capabilities is rivaled by today's use of Dish DVR's that have recording capabilities as well.

Practices of Looking 49-62

In the book it talks about how images have different meanings to the viewer depending on many factors and basically a image can mean something totally different to someone else (50). This reminds me of hand gestures like for example a thumbs up can mean something totally different to someone else's culture. Not only is our culture involved in us determining an images meaning but also mentions aesthetics and taste. Sometimes images are considered by some to be in good taste and some are not (56). If someone says that a piece of art is in bad taste, its all biased because we all have different tastes in art and different opinions. and to someone an ugly piece of art could be seen by someone else as a beautiful piece. The lava lamp is example of what was considered an ugly thing in Europe and considered a wonderful thing in America during the 60's (57).

Free Culture-Lessig 15-30

Lessig also talks about how people build upon new creativity from past creators without acknowledging them (29). This kind of reminds me of what is known as Cosplay, which is basically anyone dressing as one of their favorite heroes. If someone wore a Superman outfit isn't this violating copyright laws because they don't own the character. Someone doing this would have to have the property right? But Cosplay is very popular and many do it and the copyright owners don't do anything to stop this. This reminds me of the doujinshi and how it it is illegal but nobody really tries to stop there production (25-26). Maybe the reason why people don't do anything to people who do Cosplay is because they allow exposure of the creators character and being sort of a walking advertisement to companies like in Superman's case DC comics.

Superman Cosplay

http://3yygnpths4h2fy4k52n9sqs1c23.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Superman-cosplay.jpg

Free Culture-Lessig 7-15

Lessig brings many good points but what caught my attention the most was when he said "...absolute property over ideas and culture" (12). He also mentions property rights as well which made me think of something I read online a couple of days ago. A musician named Deadmau5 pronounced "dead mouse" was being sued by Disney because the resemblance of what he wears on stage resembles the character Mickey Mouse who is copyrighted by Disney. It feels like Disney is an example of these corporate Giants trying to take over ideas and culture as Lessig puts it. Disney is trying to obtain all these property rights like Marvel and Lucasfilsm are under their control. Basically Disney controls the content being produced which could influence our culture on  the internet as well as other media sources. The author also mentions that never in history has our culture been as controlled as seen in today's modern day. Also that there has never been more attempts to control the uses of our culture as it is today (12).

http://www.tutsking.com/wp-content/uploads/disney-mickey-mouse-head.jpg    http://static.gigwise.com/artists/wenn3154736_600.jpg

Practices of Looking 145-151

By quoting the words of great philosopher Plato, the authors help to expand the definition of the word realism so that the reader can get an understanding from a historical perspective like his (150). He says that the way an image has depth is like deception and not realism (150). Like for example art pieces that are done in high relief show the depth of an object but still do not depict realism according to Plato. Depth helps to bring a different perspective to the viewer which can sometimes aid in the realism of what we see.

Ex: High Relief   

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Qajari_relief.jpg

Practices of Looking 9-26

The authors make a good point about what images represent to certain people either denotative or connotative (20). Basically the more people know about the history of a photograph or even piece of art, the more they can relate or understand that time period. The only drawback to some is that photographs and technology that have recording capabilities can be used to reveal the truth that some people would like to be kept secret (26). The myth of photographic truth and its meaning have become more clear because of the advancement of technology. The ability to tamper with photos or videos is very simple now with the use of editing software so the truth of what is actually being seen could in fact not be the truth.

Practices of Looking Intro

The authors makes some references to people of relevance that have said things about "culture" and its meaning (2,3). This helps to strengthen the authors definition of the word culture since its meaning is very broad. If the authors didn't provide any references to other people this would have made their definition of culture less convincing. Also by referencing past and more current sources on the meaning of culture and visual culture this provides a more thorough and informative definition of culture.