lynnie's blog

The essay “Undefining ARG” really irritates me. My knowledge of ARG’s is very minimal and my hope that this essay would shed some light on ARG’s in general was thoroughly diminished by the end of the essay. Who the hell wrote this… and who is his/her target audience. I realize the author stated that you needed some understanding of ARG’s to grasp the concepts, but damn. Here’s what I got or think I got, if anyone would be so kind to clarify and point me in the appropriate direction it would be greatly appreciated.
So, an ARG has three basic elements Audience, Author, and Plot, ok?  read more »

So, advertising is a critical thing, but what are the lines. Even in my small town advertising has created a battle ground. I live in a town that has grown really quickly in the last few years and just happens to be on the way to two popular beaches and a couple of state parks that border rivers. Needless to say during the summer we have tons of tourist and college students pass through our small town. In the last five years billboards have started sprouting up along the main road like weeds.
The picturesque views that were once abundant and taken for granted now often have these huge eyesores in them. However, the businesses which are being advertised have seen a large increase in out of town business. So now what? The almighty dollar and peoples livelihoods versus a beautiful sunset or an entertaining view, of the wildlife versus the details on the next restaurant.  read more »

During ch.5 on pages 119-120 Ryan explores the importance of shooting and moving. The faster and the more realistic the pull of the trigger and the destruction that follows the better. These actions "exploit with a frightful efficiency the reactive nature of the medium".
During class we discussed how some games and simulators may be used to help or encourage things like school shootings. I'm wondering how many people who have actually play these games, but do not actually shoot and kill things in real life realize the huge difference. Why are we creating such realistic games about destroying one another. the fascination with violence and the variety of medium that we use to demonstrate and practice it is amazing and really scary.  read more »

One of the subjects that Ryan touches upon is the fact that films are make believe rather than "real" because we all know that the drama is being staged and usually captures something be it a tradition or event that exists independently of the movie. It reminded me of something we touched upon in class again, how enjoying a work of fiction requires a willing suspension of disbelief. ---timarach

I really think the components of Ryan's argument which were described above by timarach ,are truly ingrained in our society. From an early age we teach children the difference between the imaginary and the reality of things. When children have bad dreams we try to calm them by describing how such "monster" can't exist.  read more »

---From scrolls, to books of all sizes, to digital books and software, all media is constantly transforming... adding and subtracting... and in these days, blending with others.

But of course, is a digital "book" really a book? Is listening to an audio book the same as reading the physically bound pages of a codex. --- according to Melfi "The Medium of the Book"

According to dictionary.com a book is:
1.a written or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
.
3. a division of a literary work, esp. one of the larger divisions.  read more »

During our class discussion, I found it very interesting how video games are censored and criticized due to there graphics and/or symbolized violence (or lack thereof). When thinking about entertainment of the past I found it rather fascinating to compare Gladiators to video games. Although there seems to be an outcry on how realistic and detrimental these games are to young peoples perceptions of actual violence they really aren’t any worse than the entertainment of the past. In fact, modern society seems to have used technology to reduce the physical pain that comes from violence while still managing to entertain. By removing ourselves from the pain we are really mimicking what is taking place in our society. Wars which are fought today are done so with such advanced technology that those fighting often are doing so from thousands of miles away. Maybe, video games really are a “Prospective of our existence” as suggested in the documentary we watched.

Okay, I understand paragraph one of Ch.4, the "context plane"= story and "expression plane" discourse (I understand that).
-expression plane: "statement" is the basic component of the form of the expression, i.e., posture, shots/angles, a whole paragraph, or a single word (I am still okay)- these manifest a "single narrative statement".
NARRATIVE STATEMENTS 1.)process
2.)stasis
****(and now I get really confused...)
"corresponding to whether the "Deep Narrative" (not surface linguistic) predicate is in the mode of existence (IS) or action (DOES)."  read more »

Until recently reading Jennilee's Blog I hadn't given "Krazy Kat" much serious thought, however after reviewing the information that she had provided a link for "Krazy Kat" took on a whole new level. After learning more about the author I became highly impressed by what the gentlemen went through to get his ideas and beliefs out to the public.
This comic strip not only is funny, but is more in depth than what I saw at first glance.
even the one on pg.125 takes on a whole new meaning when you apply certain stereotypes to the characters.
thanks Jennilee for your blog... it help me get a better grip on more of the symbolism and meanings in "Krazy Kat".

The discussion on passage was really interesting. After playing the game, I realized that I played the game very similar to how I actually live. It was a little unnerving when I sat down and realized how little I actually see. After racing towards the end several times only to die it became apparent that I was missing the overall point. Life, on and off the game obviously becomes better when you slow down and enjoy what is taking place rather than what you think should be taking place.
The symbolism which was brought to my attention in the discussion solidified my initial feelings. It was fascinating to hear how different prospectives contributed to the overall meaning and enjoyment of "life".