1 Lecture 2: Post-Book Professor Victoria Meng Does Media Form Affect Experience?

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Lecture 2:Lecture 2:Post-BookPost-Book

Professor Victoria Meng

Does Media Form Affect Experience?Does Media Form Affect Experience?

Previously…Previously…

I. Course Expectations and Requirements

II. Introduce Course Topic and Key Terms

Previously…Previously…

I. Course Expectations and Requirements

1. Don’t fall behind

2. Read the fine print

Previously…Previously…

II. Introduce Course Topic and Key Terms

Previously…Previously…

II. Introduce Course Topic and Key Terms

Emerging

Digital

Media

Technology

Previously…Previously…

II. Introduce Course Topic and Key Terms

Culture

Internet

WWW

Convergence

etc…

Previously…Previously…

1.What is digital media?

1.Why should we study it?

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Lecture 2:Lecture 2: Post-BookPost-BookDoes Media Form Affect Experience?Does Media Form Affect Experience?

THE BOOK

The Book• “OLD” media – but it used to be new!

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The Book• “OLD” media – but it used to be new!• What makes a book, a book?

– Does it have to be made of specific materials?

– Does it have to be made using specific processes?

– Does it have to look a certain way or have specific components?

– Does it have to be used in specific ways?

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The Book as Technology• The object: texts and/or images written

or printed onto a series of two-dimensional flexible material (“pages”), usually bound on one side.

• The skill/activity: being able to pick up, open, read, understand, and put away the book.

• The context: the publishing industry, libraries, schools, etc.

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Film Clip

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Film Clip

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Film Clip

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Film Clip

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Film Clip

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Reading 1

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Reading 1

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“…the more persuasive the medium, the more dangerous it is. As soon as we open ourselves to these illusory environments that are ‘as real as the world’ or even ‘more real than reality,’ we surrender our reason and join with the undifferentiated masses, slavishly wiring ourselves into the stimulations machine at the cost of our very humanity. In this dystopian view, the new entertainment technologies are a means of stripping away the language and culture that give life meaning…” Murray, p.21

Reading 1

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Stories = Drugs?• Separates us from “reality”• Controlled by others• Keeps us from thinking for ourselves

or reflecting on our experiences• Keeps us from connecting with others• Addictive

Reading 1

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“Good” media

“Old” media

Books

“Bad” media

“New” media

Television,

The Internet,

Videogames,

Etc…

v.

Reading 1

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Old does not equal good, and new does not equal bad.

New media does not undermine “culture”

Reading 2

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Marshall McLuhan(1911 – 1980)Media theorist(Really smart guy!)

Reading 2

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Marshall McLuhan(1911 – 1980)Media theorist(Really smart guy!)

• “The Medium is the Message,” © 1964.

Reading 2

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Marshall McLuhan(1911 – 1980)Media theorist(Really smart guy!)

• “The Medium is the Message,” © 1964.

• All media are extensions of ourselves.

Reading 2

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Medium = Message• Not about the content, or “story.”

Reading 2

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Medium = Message• Not about the content, or “story.”• Easier said than done.

– Habit of “reading for” the content

Reading 2

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Medium = Message• Not about the content, or “story.”• Easier said than done.

– Habit of “reading for” the content– Media “disappear” with usage

Reading 2

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Medium = Message• Not about the content, or “story.”• Easier said than done.

– Habit of “reading for” the content– Media “disappear” with usage– Form and content are indivisible

Wrapping Up the Readings

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• “…some truths about the world are beyond the reach of a particular art form at a particular moment in time.” Murray, p. 4

Wrapping Up the Readings

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• “…some truths about the world are beyond the reach of a particular art form at a particular moment in time.” Murray, p. 4

• In other words, all media have limits, which make them interesting.

Wrapping Up the Readings

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• “…some truths about the world are beyond the reach of a particular art form at a particular moment in time.” Murray, p. 4

• In other words, all media have limits, which make them interesting.

• Old and new media share important continuities.

Wrapping Up the Lecture

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• “I Robot…You, Jane” Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1, disc 2, Whedon, 1997)

Wrapping Up the Lecture

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• “I Robot…You, Jane” Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1, disc 2, Whedon, 1997)

• “New Media and Old Storytelling” (Bordwell, 2007)

Wrapping Up the Lecture

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• “I Robot…You, Jane” Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1, disc 2, Whedon, 1997)

• “New Media and Old Storytelling” (Bordwell, 2007)

• The “So What?” test: media forms and experiences matter!

End of Lecture 2End of Lecture 2

Next Lecture: Utopia/Dystopia:

Does technology determine culture?35