Blog 1 Banksy Image S2

A picture is worth a thousand words says the old adage. There are some artists who even have the ability to capture much more than words, stirring emotions and ideas with their work. One such artist is the anonymous Banksy. One of his pieces, featuring a dove wearing a bullet proof vest with crosshairs on it, is a prime example of his ability to create rousing works of art. To better understand the image one must first look at its most basic form. The image itself is an image of a white dove, holding a branch with green leaves in its mouth. The dove is wearing a dark gray bullet proof vest. Over both the dove and the vest are red crosshairs, resembling what is seen through a scope. The meaning of the colors is also paramount in order to understand the true message behind the image. The dove, a symbol of peace, is bright white, representing purity and innocence. The green of the branch could represent life and a new beginning where peace and hope could be planted and cultivated. The striking dark gray of the vest is in contrast to the white purity of the dove, almost tainting it with a more sinister objective. The red of the crosshairs can represent rage and violence, while the crosshairs themselves could tell of intelligence and calculations as it takes a calm and level head to fire at a moving target accurately. All of these parts come together to try and make a cohesive image. The image itself though is not the end of the story of this work of art, the back round and stetting of the image are also key. The back round is simple in that it consists of nothing but a light gray back round. This color choice of a back round is profound in that the gray of the bullet proof vest is darker, a conscious point to use a darker color than the world surround the image. The physical setting of the image is also important as at the end of the wing tip of the dove is a square imperfection in the perfectly smooth wall. This imperfection brings reality back into the foreground of the image.

            When all of these elements of the image are compounded there can be many different political and social messages to be found. One message that seems to be a possible could be that the white dove represents peace carrying green life and prosperity but it is a peace that must be guarded from hatred and violence that has become smarter and more deadly. A peace that has to use means that are darker than the world around it as the back round is a lighter shade of gray than the bullet proof vest. If this peace has darkness is it then truly peace? The dove also has its wings out spread, in flight, bringing peace to the world in the mist of opposition. The sad thing is while this ideal is beautiful; reality, taken form in the square imperfection in the wall, clips the wings of the dove, reminding everyone that peace is an idea that is imperfect and flawed in reality.

            Banksy is an artist that will forever be remembered for his varied work and anonymity. Each of his pieces was created to debates over the political and social message behind the work. The unorthodox style and raw but calculated images spring forth ideas and emotions that lead to discussion and change. Banksy has created an image that is worth more than a thousand words. He has created an image where thoughts and emotions collide.  

Blog 2 The Machine Stops Claim S2

Bob Mondello wrote a stirring piece entitled, “Our Media, Ourselves: Are We headed For A Matrix?” In this article we can see that Mondello makes many claims, one of which is his belief that the as we as humans advance technologically in society we become fearful of the possibility that we will lose our identity and thus our humanity. If the objects that help us define who we are become smaller and more compressed in the digital age, will that hold true for our identity as well? Mondello makes an argument that holds a truth that is not beautiful or desirable but truth none the less. Fearful thoughts of Mondello’s such as, “… the media in people’s lives are supplanting the people in people’s lives, and about what’s getting lost as the world goes digital – all those cool album covers we had as kids, the stacks of paperback sci-fi novels, the toy soldiers. Won’t the next generation be isolated without them – cut off like Vashti, starring at screens all day?” are not uncommon of the older generation when viewing the children of the modern age. But is this fear warranted? Is this really what could become of humanity, a generation of Vashtis?

For some the answer is a resounding false. Liz Reeder commented, “I don’t see the difference between a record and an mp3, a hard copy book or an ebook other. I’m pretty sure the content is the same, and the art is still art. It’s just a lot more efficient and organized, now.” Mike McIntosh also believes in a different idea than Mondello, saying he prefers, “… an evolution toward simplicity (not sterility or isolation) where the greatest value is placed on our emotional and relational connections (which takes up no space) and the quality of our ideas.” There is a tragic flaw to these arguments though that sadly removes the physical human element from the equation. What is art but its medium, its depth, its emotion? If all viewed from the same screen the art is the same, pixels on a screen, not a human manifestation of emotions or thought. Also Ms. Reeder fails to see that humanity by nature is not completely organized and efficient, it is possible to imagine yet physically impossible to obtain. Mr. McIntosh also forgets that the body and mind cannot and should not be separated. If one believes that ideas, and emotional relationships are all that matter then we are becoming dangerously close to a world such that personifies E.M. Forster’s, The Machine Stops. At the end of the story, as the Machine is dying, the narrator shares these insights.

“…beautiful naked man was dying, strangled in the garments that he had woven...And heavenly it had been so long as man could shed it at will and life by the essences that his soul, and the essence, equally divine, that is his body. The sin against the body – it was for that they wept in chief; centuries of wrong against the muscles and the nerves, and those five portals by which we can alone apprehend – glozing it over with talk of evolution, until the body was white pap, the home of ideas as colourless, last sloshy stirrings of a spirit that had grasped the stars.”

Mondello’s idea that our society is fearful of losing its identity makes a sound argument when looking at what the advances in technology have done thus far to the world. Technology reduces needs and experience. This reduction extends to humanity as a physical presence. While many can attempt it so far it has been impossible to capture humanity on a screen.  Should we be afraid? Yes, if only for the fact that your reading this on a screen right now.

Blog 3 Learning Outcomes S2

A person is exposed to three thousand advertisements a day, according Jean Kilbourne and her documentary, Killing us Softly. The statement may seem fictional at a glance, but the reality is there advertising is everywhere: on our shoes, our clothes, our pencils, backpacks, notebooks, televisions, phones, computers. The advertisements litter our word all in the hopes that we will be influenced enough to by their products. The truth is that advertisements account for only a small portion of the grand scope of mass media. The claim can be made that mass media is inescapable. The reality is that if one lives in America or anywhere in the modern world, exposure to mass media can not be avoided. Mass media can come in many mediums, this due to the hope that many variants of the same thing will be more effective in reaching a broader audience.  An example of this can be made readily available by looking at “The Onion” The Onion is company that spoofs news coverage and reporting all in the name of comedy. While the premise is a one note song, the different pitches of that note are numerous. The Onion has many variants such as: The Onion News Network on television, The Onion on Facebook, The Onion on Twitter, The Onion Newspaper, The Onion website, as well as the subset AV club, Onion Sports Network and their separate marketing. All of these are under the same umbrella, yet each is a different medium of mass media in the hopes that the product will be consumed by as many customers as possible.

Some may believe that it is possible to avoid mass media or ignore its effects on their lives. Humans are social creatures and the truth of this matter can be simply put by John Donne, who penned the famous line, “No man is an island” in his work "Meditation XVII,"  It is not possible to completely  detach oneself from the world and thus from mass media. Media continues to pervade all of society and will not cease for any one man, any one island.

The claim that mass media is inescapable is one that is relevant to Learning Outcome One: Examine different forms of communication within media. Areas to be considered include- advertising, news coverage, opinion, blogs, and mobile media.  The claim takes into account the varying ways in which media is spread and how it is virtually impossible to remove yourself from it. There are simply too many avenues and mediums in which mass media exists and is able to spread its message, whether that be ideas, advertisements, or morals.  As long as electricity exists, computers are running, satellites are floating up above, phone wires drape across the landscape, airplanes are flying, then mass media will not only exist, but flourish and thrive in a world that can not seem to escape is influence.