Author: kbilic21

According to Benjamin, how does mechanical reproduction change culture? What do you think are the consequences of digital reproduction on cultural expression today? Can a digital work have anything like an “aura? How does the culture of remix (see above video) confirm of refute Benjamin’s ideas?

From his Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Benjamin states a few things on the effect and change on culture. Mechanical reproduction allows for something totally new rather than just a reproduction. What I understand is that it also changes the presence of time and place that the image or piece came from. The process of mechanical reproduction while impressive, allows for a new change towards how we view time and space. More connected to culture, Benjamin asserts that mechanical reproduction effects culture by means of new ways in conditions of the production.

(Jennifer Lee Halsey.Com)

I think the consequences of digital reproduction today is the loss of tradition and time that is associated with a piece. The presence is taken for granted in today’s culture, where everything is so quick and you have limited time to soak up the importance of something before our screen take it away and provide us with something new to observe.

In my opinion digital work can have an aura, although like Benjamin said time and space becomes skewed in the reproduction process, the aura will always remain. I like to think that if one can look deeper into a piece they can find that aura with research. But maybe the aura should be very obvious? I agree that reproduction loses some of that tradition as Benjamin also mentions. Tradition is a key idea here, in that it can be interpreted through time just like these types of reproductions. You cannot expect a piece to remain the same in purpose when it is reproduced across time.

The culture of remix kind of accepts this idea that Benjamin discusses. Because remix combines many different traditions and ideas, while in Benjamin’s argument he recognizes the role of tradition that is changed through mechanical reproduction. The culture of remix I think can also forget tradition and the time and place of a work, which Benjamin would be discussing how important that is and that it is lost in mechanical reproduction.

When you realize you actually have to socialize with people at school in the fall. 

The Medium is the Massage expresses the value for the medium in which something or some idea is communicated. Through Mcluhan’s essay or “mosaic”, he incorporates different photos and arranges words and images to convey a separate message to his textual message. If you focus on the photos, you can begin to see a different side of message, or a new interpretation. What McLuhan demonstrates is that the medium of the communication has a larger impact on the individual experiencing it, rather than the content itself.

(The Medium is the Massage by McLuhan)

The introduction of new electric culture compared to print culture is that this new digital age has allowed for growth in mediums. The media that is emphasized through the new digital age has allowed for new types of extensions of the body. These extensions are the new mediums that alter our perceptions of a certain piece. Lev Manovich’s 5 principles of new media extend McLuhan’s ideas through referencing the important of media elements and their uses, as well as the variability that comes with new media. Manovich discusses Modularity as his 2^nd principle, discussing the use of elements such as images, sounds and shapes and how they are used to form bigger objects, while also keeping their individual identity. This directly connects to McLuhans use of images and symbols, that he uses to tell a story through a “mosaic”, where they all have their own identity, but come together to form something larger.

(Youtube, Blue Lighting TV Photoshop)

Variability is Manovich’s 4^th principle, highlighting how through digital media an object can exist with infinite versions. I think this connects to McLuhan’s ideas in that medium has an infinite amount of ways to be interpreted, and connects with the variability of digital media. Considering that McLuhan did not get to experience this new digital age we are accustomed to, he was very close to so many things that were not even possible during his time.

Manovich’s principles have an effect on social interaction through the interconnectedness of people and new media. In this day and age we are all enveloped with media, whether in the form of using social media, creating digital art, or just owning an IPhone. These principles are all useful to us, for example his 3^rd principle of automation. If you have ever used a filter on your phone, you are using something that is already programmed for that. We use these things to make our lives easier.

I think much of what Manovich discusses goes along with how digital media makes our lives easier in how we use it. The logic of the computer shapes much of how we operate. Our culture of communication is taken to a new place through the logic of the computer, making things more accessible, and making connecting with people more convenient.

What about digital technology makes it a unique tool or medium in human history?

Digital technology has allowed for one of the most human behaviors to continue and thrive, and that is communication. As human beings we are social creatures, we thrive for connectedness and to form relationships. Digital technology has allowed for a fast progressing world of communication. This tool allows for the basic task of communicating to be accessible across the globe, feeding that social being in us. Throughout history we have created tools to assist in communication of ideas and with each other, such as the printing press during the 1400’s, all the way to the I phone you probably have sitting right next to you. What becomes evident is that our attitude towards a need to communicate has led to development of easier and more widely accessible forms of communication.

(WellRight.com)

Along with an ease for communication, digital technology is unique in its ability to make the human’s job easier. As new digital technology is developed, the main advertising that comes along with it is how easy it will be for you, the consumer, to use it. This tool is unique in its ability to progress, always making things easier for us. In addition to making things easier, it makes them much faster, conditioning us to think at much faster rates, which can sometimes come as a fault. In the first chapter of Program or be Programmed, they discuss the concept of time, and how even digital technology (that has no regards for time at all), effects our perception of time. With the text and email alerts we get on a daily basis at the hands of our tech, we become more anxious for messages, and it encourages us to “need” to respond right away. In some ways these unique benefits for communication and ease of access are controlling us.

Digital technology has had the ability to improve our lives in way of efficiency and ease, but all the while changing who we are as people. It is truly an incredible development for humans, but where it may take us in terms of changing us comes with pause for considering the consequences.

Hello Class!

My name is Katrina Bilic and I am a first year student here at WSUV. I am majoring in biology with plans to attend medical school.

I am pretty interested in social media and technology in general. I am probably the most tech savvy in my family, as they usually look to me for help with their phones and computers.

I have never had a mac, so I would probably say I am most comfortable with PC’s, right now I just use a surface pro 3 for all of my school work and stuff like that.