Archive for October, 2007
“I’m Here Because I’m Bored”: Getting at the Nature of Ludic Computation
Judd Ruggill, Department of Media Arts, University of Arizona, Tucson — October 30th, 2007|
With all the critical and popular attention computer games are getting these days (and deservedly so), it’s almost hard to believe how long the medium has been inborn to the software that makes personal computers go. For example, it has been over fifteen years since Microsoft first started bundling Minesweeper with its Windows operating systems, systems that because of their ubiquity have deeply influenced the nature of digital communication.
That’s part of the beauty of Minesweeper: Th [...]
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Dharma Orientation Film
Roberta Pearson, Institute of Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham (UK) — October 28th, 2007|
Say someone accidentally stumbled across this clip on Youtube and had no idea what to make of it. Is it an old documentary, the product of an obscure cult, the celluloid trace of a mad conspiracy? Say our someone then googled the mathematician Enzo Valenzetti mentioned in the clip. Clicking on the first site would take our someone to a site authored by Enzo’s son, Enrico, complete with link to Enrico’s blog. Enzo states that his father was a brilliant mathematician who died a suspicious [...]
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The Soft Bigotry of Sensemilla?
Kyle Nicholas, Old Dominion University — October 26th, 2007|
In a cramped kitchen redolent with marijuana, a dreadlocked black woman wearing a bandana dispenses bud and bromides to a made-up, model slim white woman who relaxes against the kitchen sink, sipping home-brewed tea. It’s a typical scene in Showtime’s “Weeds,” now in its fourth season. The show presents an ironic – some might say alarming -- take on upscale suburban life, a life of rampant ennui and incidental cruelties. Heylia James (Tonye Patano) is described by Showtime as “the s [...]
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At the Border
Tara McPherson, University of Southern California — October 25th, 2007|
Two hunky beach boys dive into the sand, propelling a volleyball over a high wall. Bright sunlight glimmers, and the sound of ocean surf and a pop beat gently drive the soundtrack. The video’s grainy and rough with a bouncy, DIY aesthetic. As the boys dive into the sand, seemingly intent on their play, a voiceover situates this happy scene along the San Diego-Tijuana border. We soon learn grim statistics about the function of this wall – its role in staking out a deadly line in the sand. [...]
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Can activists prank us to a better society?
Afsheen Nomai, University of Texas — Austin — October 24th, 2007|
Watching Yes Men member Andy Bichlbaum perform this interview, I am first struck by the sheer bravado of the prank. Here he is, on international television, posing as a spokesman for Dow taking “full responsibility” for the Bhopal disaster. His nervousness is palpable and what he says is certainly shocking from a number of perspectives. But ultimately I wonder about the degree to which such a tactic advances social critique. The subsequent coverage of this prank made transparent how the news [...]
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Entitled much? The Performance of ‘Other’ Englishes
Catie Berkenfield, Old Dominion University — October 23rd, 2007|
English has the third largest number of native speakers and is the single “richest” language when we account for the gross domestic product of countries where it is an official language, as well as accounting for almost 25% of the international economy (Parkvall, 2006). English is a megapresence in intercultural contexts throughout the world, yet performative representations in U.S. film production continue to leverage the language attitudes of some monolingual English speakers toward other [...]
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Another Ignorant Schoolmaster: The Common Craft Show
Christopher Lucas, University of Texas — Austin — October 22nd, 2007|
The Common Craft Show is a monthly series of short explanatory videos produced by Lee and Sachi LeFever, available on blip.tv and Youtube.com. Their stated goal is to introduce simple technological tools using everyday English and a charming low-tech presentation format they call “paperworks.” In addition to the “Wikis in Plain English” program I’ve included here, others have explained social networks, social bookmarking, RSS, and, in the most recent month, a departure into eco-politic [...]
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Who’s a Terrorist? Global hip-hop, Palestinian nationalism, personalized (my)space
Avi Santo, Old Dominion University — October 17th, 2007|
The Palestinian rap group, DAM, has successfully navigated the global mediascape in order to both address local Palestinian struggles and engage an increasingly transnational diasporic and cosmopolitan consumer base. They are simultaneously placed and placeless. Their Myspace page offers selected music and videos (also distributed through Youtube), information on their international and local touring schedule, and boasts 12,971 friends. Their website offers lyrics translated into English for th [...]
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Constructing “human”ity - what’s at stake in shifting (uni)gender-ing?
Radhika Gajjala, Bowling Green State University — October 16th, 2007|
The followling video is entitled "Unigenderse". The artist's statement is available both on the website at http://www.angeladams.net/show.html and at the youtube site. Please view those before commenting.
I came across this artist's work on youtube, as I was looking to see how gender was being narrated there.
Before I insert my comment - let me say I enjoyed it and think it contributes to dialogues about gendering. It is a useful site for teaching, analysis and discussion.
This summer, [...]
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After Macaca: Virginia’s Next Youtube Moment
Tasha Oren, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee — October 31st, 2007