Visual culture is concerned with visual events in
which information, meaning or pleasure is sought by the consumer in an
interface with visual technology. By visual technology one means any form of
apparatus designed either to be looked at or to enhance natural vision , from
oil painting to televisions and the internet.
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/Mirzoeff-What_is_Visual_Culture.pdf
The digital revolution in computing capabilities,
internet connectivity and communication setup provides a numerous amounts of
information technology opportunities to peoples, governments, non-profits, and
corporate interests. This exponential rise in the use of digital and often
connected stages also shows serious challenges in terms of how best to manage
the information we generate, consume and share in both the real and virtual
worlds.
There is a growing need for innovative solutions that
provide for the effective
management of time and resources. Eventually, these solutions should offer accessible opportunities to improve both efficiency and satisfaction to individuals, government and
businesses in specific areas of interests within the circles (physical,
informational, cognitive, and social) of the modern day information age scene. http://www.hexagoncs.com/digital-age-lifestyle/
We have basically made a move from the physical, for
example books, letters, personal interactions and communications to ebooks,
emails, text, phone calls and Skyping people in foreign lands. It has changed
the way we communicate as a species and our social behavior to reflect our
emotionless machines we buy but end up running our lives for us.
Global Village
The dictionary definition: The whole world considered
as being closely connected by modern telecommunications and as being
interdependent economically, socially, and politically. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/global+village
The late Marshall McLuhan, a media and communication
theorist, coined the term “global village” in his book, in 1964. To describe
the existence of the world’s culture shrinking and expanding at the same time
due to widespread technological advances that allow for direct sharing of
culture, beliefs and knowledge. The claim that it is possible for all the
cultures of the world to become one global village is controversial. Because on
one side, people believe that if it continues, cultural globalisation will lead to
an incredible marketplace where countries of all economic opportunities are
represented and where more privileged countries come to the aid of less
fortunate ones with humanitarian efforts which would make organisations like the UN
much more functional and prepared.
On the other hand, people are afraid that the
evolution of a global village will raise conflicts between cultures, cause a division
of culture, or lead to cultural control by more developed countries and even
bringing them together to build hybrid cultures. Assuming Marshall McLuhan’s
analogy of the world as a global village is an accurate estimate of the effects
of cultural globalisation.
Understanding what these changes will mean for each existing culture
individually, and being careful to consider all sides of the discussion with
equal relevance is essential to forming a universal understanding of what a
global village is. If we are in fact becoming a global village, will we
be able to reach some sort of consensus about how these issues should be
addressed in order to benefit all members of our village equally. If we cannot
determine respectful cultural boundaries in the simplest manner with regards to
language, economy, and the basic means of survival, it is presumptuous to
assume that we can identify as a global village at all. http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/61/understanding-the-implications-of-a-global-village
Postmodernism
Our current period in history has been called by many
the postmodern age and many modern critics are clearly interested in making
sense of the time in which we live. Such critics inevitably run into
difficulties given the sheer complexity of living in history: we do not yet
know which elements in our culture will win out and we do not always recognize
the subtle but persistent ways that changes in our society affect our ways of
thinking and being in the world.
Postmodernism has extreme self-reflexivity. This same
self-reflexivity can be found everywhere in pop culture, for example the way
the Scream series of movies has characters debating the generic rules behind
the horror film. In modernism, self-reflexivity tended to be used by
"high" artists in difficult works strategies can be found in both
high art and everything from Seinfeld to MTV.
Postmodernism has irony and parody. Connected to the
former point, it is the way of postmodern artists, theorists, and culture to
make parodies and. Pop culture and media advertising abound with examples;
indeed, shows or films will often step outside of simulated or fake
representation altogether in order to parody themselves in mid-stride.
Postmodernism has a breakdown between high and low cultural forms. It often
employs pop and mass-produced objects in more immediately understandable ways,
even if their goals are still often complex.
Postmodernism is retro. Postmodernists and postmodern
culture tend to be especially fascinated with styles and fashions from the
past, which they will often use completely out of their original context.
Postmodern architects for example will juxtapose exaggerated, medieval, and
modern elements in the same room or building. In pop culture, think of the
endlessly recycled TV shows of the past that are then given new life on the big
screen (Scooby-Doo, Charlie's Angels, Batman, Spiderman, Robocop). Postmodernism
has this tendency as a symptom of our loss of connection with historical
temporality.
Postmodernism has a questioning of grand narratives. Modernists
also questioned such traditional concepts as law, religion, subjectivity, and
nationhood; what appears to distinguish postmodernity is that such questioning
is no longer particularly associated with an advanced academics. Given the predominance
of visual media (TV, film, media advertising, the internet), both postmodern
art and postmodern culture gravitate towards visual (often even
two-dimensional) forms. Pop culture also keeps coming back to the idea that the
line separating reality and representation has broken down (Dark City, the Matrix,
the Truman Show, etc.). Postmodernism disorientation. TV and internet, again
cited as an example as is postmodern style, which attempts to disorient the
subject entering its space. Another example may be the popularity of films that
seek to disorient the viewer completely through the revelation of a truth that
changes everything that came before (the Sixth Sense, the Others, Unbreakable,
the Matrix).
Postmodernism has secondary orality. Whereas literacy rates had been
rising steadily from the introduction of print through the modern period,
postmodern society has seen a severe reversal in this development as more and
more people are now functionally illiterate, relying instead on a flood of oral
media sources such as TV, film, radio and especially the internet; because the
Web as infinitely expandable, centerless,
inter-connected information system. http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/postmodernism/
Culture Industry
The Culture Industry is one in and of itself that
focuses on the media and mass marketing. However due to extensive publicity and
advertising, all cultural products, including human beings, have become
commodities that shares little to no meaning. Communicatively, a problem arises
in that any sense of genuine dialogue is also lost. This industry gives reason
to believe the individual is an illusion that is manipulated by authority,
those who reside in the dominant class.
Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno define the
Culture Industry through its focus on the media and mass marketing. This
industry is unique in that it does not reflect economic processes and basically
becomes standardised and so
variation is meaningless. This includes the media, art, ideas, meanings, and
the individual consciousness and that we humans can only think in terms of
means and ends. In other words, we are made into commodities we must retail. Once
we sell our marketed product in either word ourselves, we will have then become
sellouts. In short, the rise of the individual turns into the downfall of the
individual. http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Papers/App_Papers/Porter.htm
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is a form of technology which creates
computer generated worlds or immersive environments which people can explore
and in many cases, interact with.
Virtual reality has its advocates and opponents which
are mainly due to a lack of understanding about this technology and its
capabilities. Unrealistic expectations coupled with lack of awareness regarding
technical limitations means that for many people, virtual reality is difficult
to grasp or even take seriously. http://www.vrs.org.uk/
The simulation can be used for real environment for
training and education. Nothing on Earth is like stepping outside of a
spacecraft to perform a spacewalk. But astronauts do have ways to prepare for
the experience of extravehicular activity. David Homan is involved in one of
those training method; practicing spacewalk tasks in an ultra-realistic virtual
reality environment. Our facility uses computer graphics, head-mounted
displays, data gloves and haptic-feedback devices. Haptic technology provides a
"touch" response to actions. Together, all four of these simulate the
look and feel of doing a spacewalk around the International Space Station and
the space shuttle orbiter. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/spacesuits/careercorner/david-homan.html
The development of an imagined environment for a game
or interactive story. The Oculus Rift is the latest in technology used for
games and interactive stories. But to get to the point: it works. This is Journalists
Lev Grossman’s account on the device. “They put me in a demo based on the
Unreal 4 engine. Nothing fancy, just a winter landscape, a looming castle,
light snow falling out of a darkening sky. The feeling of immersion is
difficult to capture in words, but as soon as you’ve got the headset on you realize
that every time you’ve played a video game, ever, your mind has been doing the
work of ignoring the fact that your peripheral vision is full of reality:
non-game stimuli. Once you put Oculus Rift on, you can stop working. You can
relax. Your peripheral vision is full of game.”
Watch the
Matrix trilogy for a good trip!
