I had been looking forward to discussing this article in class, as I had a few things to say about it. The idea of whether videogames are a good medium for storytelling is one that I have debated every so often with other people, as I'm a big video gamer. I read this article with some curiosity, but at the end I was dissapointed with it, namely because of some of the choices the author makes.
To me, the most glaring thing about the article is the three games she chooses. She picks a shooting game, a real time strategy game, and a space combat game. The problem with all three games is that their genres aren't usually known for storytelling. That isn't to say that examples of good storytelling don't exist within each field, but they tend to be the norm rather than the exception.
I am for example, surprised that she didn't mention Myst at all. One of the highest selling computer games ever, Myst has attained mainstream attention, and is the type of game where the story and the puzzles are intrisincally tied to one another. Then there are the Final Fantasy series of games, a series that ever since it moved to the Playstation have become more and mroe interest with offeringa cinematic experience.
The author argues that a game life Half Life, one praised for its storytelling technique is in reality merely setting up set pieces that string the player along, and that if retold, the story would be dull. That doesn't strike me as true, because every story, whether written, played, or spoken about is edited in some way or another. Games then, are edited to show off the most exciting parts.
More importantly, this then takes in no consideration that the experience plays a large part of what a story is.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Internet Justice
This stems from my last post about bowling alone, and how online communities can get together to work on a common goal.
The term internet justice is something that is popping up more and more. Basically it deals with an online community deciding to take actions in their own hands and trying to solve a problem(or sometimes right what they consider an injustice) Very recently an example of this came to light when someone posted a blog entry of how his house got broken into and his xbox was stolen, with the thief later on logging into his online with xbox and taunting him. In a matter of days people had found the thief's identity, his myspace page, his girfriend's page, and his home number. Some even called him and posted the recordings up on youtube.
While the guy did end up getting back his xbox in a way this type of example is slightly terrifying. The idea that people on the internet can find all your information and then go ahead and post that for others to see can be reason alone to keep of the internet.
The whole idea of internet justice ties into two things that we have been discussing. The idea of the spectacle, in which everything becomes bigger and more important, and also of the environment.
The term internet justice is something that is popping up more and more. Basically it deals with an online community deciding to take actions in their own hands and trying to solve a problem(or sometimes right what they consider an injustice) Very recently an example of this came to light when someone posted a blog entry of how his house got broken into and his xbox was stolen, with the thief later on logging into his online with xbox and taunting him. In a matter of days people had found the thief's identity, his myspace page, his girfriend's page, and his home number. Some even called him and posted the recordings up on youtube.
While the guy did end up getting back his xbox in a way this type of example is slightly terrifying. The idea that people on the internet can find all your information and then go ahead and post that for others to see can be reason alone to keep of the internet.
The whole idea of internet justice ties into two things that we have been discussing. The idea of the spectacle, in which everything becomes bigger and more important, and also of the environment.
Bowling Alone
The discussion we had in class regarding the bowling alone paper is something that continues to be in my mind. I'm perhaps biased because of how often I use the internet and the fact that I do belong to several forums in which I participate, but I do not think that that the rise of the internet is a bad thing, and in fact, I fully believe that it keeps us connect, even if we never meet face to face.
The fact is that the internet, and the countless of forums found within are all separate environments that are all inhabited. People discuss things, get angry, make up, etc, just like one would in a real type of community. They have also been known to work for a common goal, (google p-p-powerbook for proof of that).
While it might be true that there are less bowling leagues nowadays, I can't help but wonder about the number of people that now play bowling through their videogames, or compete through the internet for the highest scores.
The fact is that the internet, and the countless of forums found within are all separate environments that are all inhabited. People discuss things, get angry, make up, etc, just like one would in a real type of community. They have also been known to work for a common goal, (google p-p-powerbook for proof of that).
While it might be true that there are less bowling leagues nowadays, I can't help but wonder about the number of people that now play bowling through their videogames, or compete through the internet for the highest scores.
Genre in Horror
The conversation about how slasher and a lot of horror movies present christian ideals got me looking at some of the other different horror movie types to come out recently.
To me, one of the biggest subgenre to come out is what some people class as j-horror. This type of horror movie is usually either asian, or a remake of an asian movie. There tends to be a few similarities, such as the ghosts themselves, who are usually depicted as childlike and able to move in a distorted and unnatural way. The movies almost always deal with outsiders, which I believe stems from Japan's culture.
Japan, being an island has always had a history of being slightly xenophobic. As so, it shouldn't be surprising to see that the main character in j-horror tends to be either someone new to the entire country, or to a house or area. Unlike american ghost movies, where more often than not the main character is tied to the ghosts in some way, j-horror's protagonists rarely have that type of connection.
The continous use of technology is also something many j-horror movies have in common. In the Ring we have the ghost use the phone and the television to reach it's victims. Cellphones have overtaken japanese youth culture, perhaps more than in any other culture. As so, the idea of cellphones in j-horror movies represent two things. One, without them many people wouldn't see the movies as true to life, and secondly, they allow people to in their back of their minds to think 'this could happen to me."
To me, one of the biggest subgenre to come out is what some people class as j-horror. This type of horror movie is usually either asian, or a remake of an asian movie. There tends to be a few similarities, such as the ghosts themselves, who are usually depicted as childlike and able to move in a distorted and unnatural way. The movies almost always deal with outsiders, which I believe stems from Japan's culture.
Japan, being an island has always had a history of being slightly xenophobic. As so, it shouldn't be surprising to see that the main character in j-horror tends to be either someone new to the entire country, or to a house or area. Unlike american ghost movies, where more often than not the main character is tied to the ghosts in some way, j-horror's protagonists rarely have that type of connection.
The continous use of technology is also something many j-horror movies have in common. In the Ring we have the ghost use the phone and the television to reach it's victims. Cellphones have overtaken japanese youth culture, perhaps more than in any other culture. As so, the idea of cellphones in j-horror movies represent two things. One, without them many people wouldn't see the movies as true to life, and secondly, they allow people to in their back of their minds to think 'this could happen to me."
Gender roles in comics
After watching the movie Dreamworld, I began to think of the issue of gender in one of my fields of interest, comic books. It isn't much of a suprise to find out that there are many similarities between the field of music videos and comic books, for the roles of the genders did not come from either field, but were long ago set up, and it is only now that people are trying to break it.
in both fields we have women that are used as 'eye candy'. Music videos have girls gyrating around, while comic books(especially in the 90's) have been notorious for drawing girls in revealing or tight clothes in the cover, whether it suits the story or not. In fact, artists like Greg Horn and Adam Hughes have become succesful and well known in the comic field mainly for their ability to draw beautiful looking women.
Since the early days of comics females have namely been used as plot points, mostly as a damsels in distress that the hero needs to be saving. Even female superheroes have not always been portrayed in the best light. Wonder Woman, arguably one of the strongest portrayals of women nowadays started off as being well known for tying up whoever she was fighting, who usually happened to be female.
Male characters haven't had it much better. Mostof the time they have been portrayed as the pinnacle of masculinity. Strong, intelligent, good looking, and with broad chests. Even so, there are stands outs, such as Spider-Man, who are almsot every day man, along with the occasional gay hero,
in both fields we have women that are used as 'eye candy'. Music videos have girls gyrating around, while comic books(especially in the 90's) have been notorious for drawing girls in revealing or tight clothes in the cover, whether it suits the story or not. In fact, artists like Greg Horn and Adam Hughes have become succesful and well known in the comic field mainly for their ability to draw beautiful looking women.
Since the early days of comics females have namely been used as plot points, mostly as a damsels in distress that the hero needs to be saving. Even female superheroes have not always been portrayed in the best light. Wonder Woman, arguably one of the strongest portrayals of women nowadays started off as being well known for tying up whoever she was fighting, who usually happened to be female.
Male characters haven't had it much better. Mostof the time they have been portrayed as the pinnacle of masculinity. Strong, intelligent, good looking, and with broad chests. Even so, there are stands outs, such as Spider-Man, who are almsot every day man, along with the occasional gay hero,
Narrative criticism and elections
It's really fascinating to turn on any news channel and just watch five minutes of their election coverage. As we discussed in class, the media, and society in general likes to place people into easily relatable situations, and so we get terms like "underdog", or "up and comer", because we are familiar with those terms from movies and books, they are ingraned into us from an early age. What's shocking though, and something that the Daiily Show constantly lampoons is how quickly the narratives can be switched around, alnog with the fact that the narrative that one news show applies to a candidate can compltely contradict what the other news show is giving them.
Even the candidates themselves are guilty of this. Of course we all recall the last presidential election and whole flip flopper thing, but just recently as Hillary was making the rounds through Phidadelphia she began to describe herself as "Rocky Like", because it not only creates a nice bite size quote for her campaign to use, but because everyone automatically knows the story of Rocky and what she's alluding to.
Even the candidates themselves are guilty of this. Of course we all recall the last presidential election and whole flip flopper thing, but just recently as Hillary was making the rounds through Phidadelphia she began to describe herself as "Rocky Like", because it not only creates a nice bite size quote for her campaign to use, but because everyone automatically knows the story of Rocky and what she's alluding to.
“Elves, Wookies and Fanboys: Star Wars and Our Need for Stories.
I enjoyed this article mostly because I can completely relate in the idea of getting swept along into the hype of a story. While not necessarily a big fan of Star Wars, I have encounted many people that are devoted to those movies. The idea of fandom is something that afflicts almost every hobby or subject. Anyone that plays in a fantasy league would be considered a fandom of that particular sports. Star Trek, Buffy, and X-files are all series that have created fandoms, to the extent that entire conventions are set up and visited by people.
I do agree with Roberto Rivera when he says that society needs story. That's in fact part of my paper dealing with Spider-Man, and how the myths of old are constantly being regurgiated into new visionst that meld with our current society.
I do agree with Roberto Rivera when he says that society needs story. That's in fact part of my paper dealing with Spider-Man, and how the myths of old are constantly being regurgiated into new visionst that meld with our current society.
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