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.