in the spirit of things...

Memes

I'm not particularly fond of Ryan Gosling, but for some reason the "Hey Girl" Ryan Gosling memes are pretty amusing. I think after the success of The Notebook, and his subsequent movies, Gosling developed a huge following of mostly underage girls obsessed with the idea of his character, and have since romanticized him. But, its definitely transformed into something else entirely.  There's a whole tumblr devoted to the Hey Girl memes. This is the kind of meme where the fun is in the entire collection; one standing by itself isn't as great  as when you view them all together.

 Also, here is a clip of Gosling actually reading his fan-created memes in an interview.. and a meme that transformed out of that..

A simple and traditional virtual space are pictorial images or televisions commercials- mediums that capture a space to represent the real, but are merely doctored or set up scenarios. Many people often ask the question, "Is that real?" but they never really ask themselves what "real" actually is. This reminded me of Jean Baudrillard's concept of the simulacra and simulations. He claims we are living in a hyperreality, much like Neo's, where reality does not actually exist--the boundary between the artificial and the real has merged. All images are actually reproduced constructions of what we perceive to be reality. Like the shadows on Plato's wall and the simulated world in the Matrix, it is difficult for individuals to clearly tell or realize what is artificial and what is real. The virtual places in images, advertisements, commercials and so on, whether photoshopped, doctored, or edited, are meant to reflect physical realities in the "real world," but are many times computer- generated. The advancements of technology often make us forget this notion, and we will still accept the image as a true. For example, there have been controversy surrounding heavily doctored and photoshopped images of models, whose increasingly flawless characteristics and barbie-like body measurements are unachievable to the average individual.  However, this particular look has become an end-goal for many young girls, who see such an image and believe it is reachable, when in truth, it is artificially constructed through modern tools of technology.

 Unfortunately, unlike Neo, it is not as easy to escape from the Matrix by just taking a pill. The modern advancements of media and our current over-simulated environment, which we perceive as "real" , make it difficult to view ourselves and our society through a true, clear lens. I would suggest detaching oneself from as much media and technology as possible,  but that would, in turn, also move oneself further and further from society as a whole. I don't know if escaping the "Matrix" and taking advantage of all that technology has to offer is possible. There are compromises people would have to make. For instance, as much as I have been convinced to buy one, I still do not own a smart phone. At times, this can be very inconvenient, but it prevents me from being over-simulated, living in the virtual spaces of my phone 24/7.  There are many individuals who do not have a Facebook account or are part of an online community. Although they are experiencing a sense of liberated detachment from these virtual, unreal spaces, they are still missing out on the evolving technologies that our society has to offer.

city settings

I took and edited these four photographs to represent the opposing emotions of optimism and pessimism. The photos are either taken of a window, or through the perspective of looking out of one, to conjure up image of self-reflection. This motif expresses the idea that one's perspective is constantly changing; the gloominess and vastness of the city can feel entrapping, yet sunshine and the omnipresent skyline offers a boost of optimism and a reminder of the endless opportunities the city has to offer.

sunday encounters

Marshal McLuhan

McLuhan states, “it is only too typical that the ‘content’ of any medium blinds us to the character of the medium.”  This statement is only half-convincing. Although we are constantly being bombarded and introduced to a new and vast array of different mediums, such as eye-catching interactive advertisements, 3D movies, social networking tools, smart phones, and so on, it is easy to get distracted and wrapped up on the content, apps, and information these mediums offer. Yet, because we are also becoming more and more comfortable with emerging forms of mediums, I also believe there are those of us who are more aware of the actual messages being communicated. McLuhan’s enhances his argument that the “Medium is the message” by providing examples of mediums that we normally would not consider to be mediums, such as electric light. Electric light is not  immediately seen as a medium because it doesn’t appear to have any “content.”  McLuhan’s statement that it is not the content but is, “ the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action,” is the most persuasive element to his argument. A contemporary example of this concept is the online blogosphere. As Andrew Sullivan explained in his article, “Why I Blog”, the internal characteristic of blogs has transformed means of communication and interaction for writers and bloggers everywhere. What matters is not the subject or content of what is being blogged, but the fact that the blog medium has created a new form of “human association and action.” Blogs created a new sense of intimacy, immediacy, and connection between writers, journalists, and the everyday blogger, a kind of “open-source market.” As a new type of media outlet, blogs have reshaped and combined a variety of mediums to form a whole new one. Sullivan mentioned the significance of  hyperlinks used in blogs, something that McLuhan would possibly argue is a medium itself, since "the content of any medium is always another medium."