subscribe to this page
John Andrew Berton, Jr., writes in this article about the application of older film theories to digital cinema. He argues that theories created when cinema first appeared (in the late 1800s-early 1900s) hold some relevance to the technologies currently emerging. The sense of novelty and the display of technicality over creativity can be found in the emergence of both traditional cinema and digital cinema; because the two technologies have found such common ground here, the same theories about the transparency of the technical achievement of the images can be applied to both eras of cinema. The theories he utilizes focus on moving both “new” technologies’ emphases away from technical achievement and towards a more artistic approach and appreciation. Concepts by Melies, Kuleshov, and a few others – which came about a few years after cinema and first arrived, and once its novelty began to wear off – pointed to the need to add artistry and direction to this new technology. Berton wants to apply these concepts to digital cinema, with the reasoning that “history repeats itself”: the emergence of new technologies (at least media ones) tend to follow this similar pattern of awe with the technical nature of the creation that lasts until prodded to turn towards a more content-driven approach.
Berton’s ideas here hold a lot of relevance to my paper because he somewhat suggests that old media and new media perhaps faced similar beginnings. Since we’re more or less now still in the beginning of the new media phase, we’ve been able to experience firsthand if Berton is correct. I think that there was a time when digital media was so new and cool, that anything it created was met with awe and glee. This has worn off now, but I believe this has transferred to a certain extent to new media technologies like the iPod and the cell phone. Pretty much anything you put on an iPod (at least to the younger generation) is cool not because of what you’re watching, but because you’re using the technology. We’re still starting to figure out what movies and clips work best on a 2” portable screen; it’s likely we won’t discover a good answer for awhile. In the meantime, we’re in the pre-theory phase. Melies and Kuleshov don’t yet apply to the iPod (but do, perhaps arguably, to the computer, which is an interesting separation). Thus, Berton’s overall concept can be applied to my paper in a unique and unexpected way.
Berton’s ideas here hold a lot of relevance to my paper because he somewhat suggests that old media and new media perhaps faced similar beginnings. Since we’re more or less now still in the beginning of the new media phase, we’ve been able to experience firsthand if Berton is correct. I think that there was a time when digital media was so new and cool, that anything it created was met with awe and glee. This has worn off now, but I believe this has transferred to a certain extent to new media technologies like the iPod and the cell phone. Pretty much anything you put on an iPod (at least to the younger generation) is cool not because of what you’re watching, but because you’re using the technology. We’re still starting to figure out what movies and clips work best on a 2” portable screen; it’s likely we won’t discover a good answer for awhile. In the meantime, we’re in the pre-theory phase. Melies and Kuleshov don’t yet apply to the iPod (but do, perhaps arguably, to the computer, which is an interesting separation). Thus, Berton’s overall concept can be applied to my paper in a unique and unexpected way.
belongs to The Relationship Between Audience Engagement with Screens in Both Old and New Media project
tagged Digital_Cinema Film_Theory New_Media Technology by knewbold ...on 13-MAR-07
tagged Digital_Cinema Film_Theory New_Media Technology by knewbold ...on 13-MAR-07
Morley, David, 1949- .Media, modernity and technology : the geography of the new / David Morley. [0415333415 (hbk. : alk. paper) ] London ; New York : Routledge, 2007.
Call#: Van Pelt Library P94.6 .M673 2007
Call#: Van Pelt Library P94.6 .M673 2007
Part Five of David Morley’s book examines the idea of “Techno-anthropology,” or the symbolic meanings of objects in our contemporary world. Morley uses the television as a main example of a modern technology that has come to hold much cultural signification on our everyday lives, and thus devotes a section of his book to explaining how exactly it fits into the world today. He suggests that the television has become somewhat synonymous with home or comfort; though initially a foreign object, it has since redefined the private space and come to hold a more or less sacred place in home culture. Though much of Morley’s discussion here has to do with television in and of itself, he makes a number of points about television that can then be used to discuss its relationship with new media. Also, this chapter points out that the symbolism and meaning of television has changed over time. I’m not sure how to incorporate this into my paper, or if I even need to do so – but I feel that to overlook it might be a mistake. In any case, it should at least be mentioned somewhat, if only to show the evolution of television as compared to new media.
Morley then turns to examining newer media technologies, with the purpose of refuting the concept that with new media comes new social and cultural uses for that media. He argues that while technologies like cell phones and computers do bring with them new ways of consumption, their arrival does not signal the death of traditional social rituals. Living traditions tend to incorporate new technologies rather than become obsolete in the face of media development. This fits with Michele White’s ideas on spectatorship, thus providing a non-traditional viewpoint to help me balance my paper.
That this book focuses very little on a viewer’s actual engagement with the screen prevents this source from becoming a major on for my paper. However, I do think that some of the ideas present here and Morley’s background on the evolution of these technologies can give me some good basic background information, as a foundation for my arguments.
Morley then turns to examining newer media technologies, with the purpose of refuting the concept that with new media comes new social and cultural uses for that media. He argues that while technologies like cell phones and computers do bring with them new ways of consumption, their arrival does not signal the death of traditional social rituals. Living traditions tend to incorporate new technologies rather than become obsolete in the face of media development. This fits with Michele White’s ideas on spectatorship, thus providing a non-traditional viewpoint to help me balance my paper.
That this book focuses very little on a viewer’s actual engagement with the screen prevents this source from becoming a major on for my paper. However, I do think that some of the ideas present here and Morley’s background on the evolution of these technologies can give me some good basic background information, as a foundation for my arguments.
belongs to The Relationship Between Audience Engagement with Screens in Both Old and New Media project
tagged Cell_Phone Computer Media Modernity New_Media Social_Ritual Symbolism Techno-anthropology Technology Television by knewbold ...on 13-MAR-07
tagged Cell_Phone Computer Media Modernity New_Media Social_Ritual Symbolism Techno-anthropology Technology Television by knewbold ...on 13-MAR-07
"International electronic journal that brings together visionary scholars with cutting-edge designers and technologists to propose a thorough rethinking of the relationship of form to content in academic research, focusing on ways technology shapes, transforms and reconfigures social and cultural relations."