Image and Event

Reading Guerin and Hallas introduction to their book, their assertion that "the image is at its most stable when its functional, goal oriented, silently reinforcing a textual discourse" (2) is quite an intriguing one, and one I believe rings true. As they note earlier on, there is such a proliferation of images that we do not take the time to reflect on them, and often only see them for a brief span of time.

Having the textual discourse, be it a traumatic event, a video game, or a message for a brand, allows the image to become more important, to be representations of something more. In the case of video games, our groups focus for our seminar, a central character or a picture/video of an event can represent much more than just the image. Be it Master Chief from Halo, Mario from the Super Mario series or others, those images now represent much more than just a cartoon or CGI character, as a textual discourse has been attached to them in the form of games and experiences by those gamers. 

Guerin, Francis and Roger Hallas. "Introduction." The Image And The Witness. Trauma, Memory and Visual Culture. Ed. Frances Guerin. New York: Wallflower Press. 2007. 1-12. Print.

Reflection on New Media Session

Reflecting upon the session, it was quite intriguing to hear the views of classmates on a number of questions, especially in respect to the threat of New Media to Literary studies. As someone who has studied both Literature and Media in my schooling thus far, I believe that both can very much co-exist, and that as I had mentioned in class, may simply lead to new forms of consumption of literature, helping to ensure the study of literature continues on well past the heyday of the printed book.

Thinking about New vs Old Media also had me reflecting upon the resurgence of many "Old Media" devices that are now popular again, such as the Record Player. Perhaps due to my age, or my circle of friends, it's more likely that I will hear someone speak about purchasing vinyl (and often go purchase it) than I will hear say they are going to buy that compact disc (CD), which was one of the forms of New Media that replaced it. It's not that the record player has been upgraded or changed, but that nostalgia and unique qualities of certain media forms evoke something that cannot be replicated in some forms of New Media. Wonderful discussions in class, that left me thinking. Looking forward to the next.

Beginning Theory Post-Structuralism

Post-Structural critique of representation (Berry 70) is defined as being the task of "deconstructing" a text. Moreover, "Deconstruction" is defined as "applied post-structuralism" (Berry 70). This method of deconstructive reading is focusing on the unconcious dimension of a text. Furthermore, this technique is supposed to unmask internal mistakes or uncertainties of a text. Deconstructionists are trying to find "disunities" in a text on these levels: tone, tense, attitude and linguistic quirks and so forth. (Berry 72/73). For the upcoming research questions it might mean that one has to read the texts more carefully to be able to give a proper answer. The topic for our symposium will be Video Games as a Culture. At this point I am not really sure in how far Post-Stuctural critique of representation can be applied.

Berry, Peter. Beginning Theory an Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory."Post-structuralism and deconstruction." Second Edition. Manchester University Press. Manchester, New York. Ch. 3, p.61-63; 70-73.

What is New Media?

The last session was focused on the question "What is new media?" based on Robert K. Logan´s work Understanding New Media. The solution to this question was that New Media has a main emphasis on visuality, so it can be seen as art. Furthermore, the question in how far media would be a threat to literary studies came up. In some ways, it definitely is a threat, because it is becoming more difficult to value the quality of new types of literature, due to the speed New Media is developing. Moreover, new innovations change the type of consumption of literature (Kindle, iPad). Another interesting question concerning Old Media becoming New Media was uttered. Old Media becomes new thanks to new innovation. This process is called "remediation" (Logan)

Logan, Roger K. Understanding New Media: Extending Marshall McLuhan. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. 4-13. Print

What is New Media?

In chapter one of Roger K. Logan’s book Understanding New Media, the author focuses on the definition of old media, new media and “new media”. He emphasizes that there is a difference between the term new media and “new media”. Whereas new media defines only the newest media, “new media” are “digital interactive media” (Logan 5). To say it in other words, today “new media” has to consist of a computer chip which enables its user to produce content and information accessible to a worldwide audience.
Media in general function as tools serving the user’s needs. Furthermore, he explains that media are related to and linked with each other. This shows that “media” – old media as well as “new media”- is a very broad topic and it will be interesting to analyze its complexity during the following weeks.

Logan, Roger K. Understanding New Media: Extending Marshall McLuhan. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. 4-13. Print

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What is New Media? - Theoretical vs. Methodological Considerations

In the first chapter of his book Understanding New Media Roger K. Logan defines the term “new media” as highly interactive media which offer two-way communication. Furthermore he describes a clear distinction between “old media” and “new media” but, at the same time, says that these terms are relative and will apply to different kinds of media as time passes by.
Logan also briefly mentions that electronic games are “new media” as well, but his book will put no specific focus on them and thus it might not have a huge impact on our symposium topic Video Games as Culture.

Logan, Roger K. Understanding New Media: Extending Marshall McLuhan. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. 4-13. Print