It been ages since the last time I've had a look at this blog, I didn't even quite remember it.
I've gotten soft on this manipulation thing, I've forgotten what it meant to me, how passionate I was and that's because I've started working in the media industry for real, I'm one of those who do the manipulation, I'm one of those who sell stuff, I'm the new reality maker, whether it's an especially designed one or just simply modified. Have I lost my battle? Have I forgotten who I am? Nope, I've just gotten lazy for a bit, but as for the best things in life, my theories and my ideas are always here, they just need to be awaken and here I am, making coffee for them in a morning that makes me feel excited and fresh... more to come... again!
lunedì 21 febbraio 2011
domenica 8 febbraio 2009
Andre the Giant has a Posse 7'4'' 520lb
After spending most of time researching for the dissertation, I can defenetly say that I'm enjoying this more then I originally thought.
Andre the Giant is following me at every step and the phrase "Obey the Giant" is now my motto. When I started this all thing I didn't intend on making it personal, but now, although the approach I originally started this project with, was more of a scientific one, I can feel it in every moment of my day, and I keep asking myself where this whole experience will bring me.
is not a dissertation anymore, it's me wanting to prove my theory, something that had always been with me, the idea that forces more powerful then I could ever think, are in fact manipulating me, as the greaest part of the human beings that lives in the "civilized world".
the fact that this forces are human-made is what really makes my curiosity work, being in a industry that has as its core the exploitation of the media, make me want to know the real effect that my ideas, pieces of and projects, can have on the people that are watching or using them, I want to know why, although knowing that I'm being used, in the very moment that I buy a pair of shoes that I love, I still want to buy them and after making my purchaise, I feel even content with it. I want to know why even realizing that this world doesn't work as it's supposed to, I so easely get distracted and end up forgetting about it.
I want to understant this system and the facination that it has on most of the people I know, that's my intent.
Andre the Giant is following me at every step and the phrase "Obey the Giant" is now my motto. When I started this all thing I didn't intend on making it personal, but now, although the approach I originally started this project with, was more of a scientific one, I can feel it in every moment of my day, and I keep asking myself where this whole experience will bring me.
is not a dissertation anymore, it's me wanting to prove my theory, something that had always been with me, the idea that forces more powerful then I could ever think, are in fact manipulating me, as the greaest part of the human beings that lives in the "civilized world".
the fact that this forces are human-made is what really makes my curiosity work, being in a industry that has as its core the exploitation of the media, make me want to know the real effect that my ideas, pieces of and projects, can have on the people that are watching or using them, I want to know why, although knowing that I'm being used, in the very moment that I buy a pair of shoes that I love, I still want to buy them and after making my purchaise, I feel even content with it. I want to know why even realizing that this world doesn't work as it's supposed to, I so easely get distracted and end up forgetting about it.
I want to understant this system and the facination that it has on most of the people I know, that's my intent.
mercoledì 14 gennaio 2009
Dissertation Structure, questions and considerations
- History of television, how did the influence of this media changed after the second World war? (example: Italian television, brief history of Italian public Tv services RAI and private services to cable TV).
- Propaganda, Advertising and Art: analysis of the role of art in propaganda and advertising.
- Media excess: the birth of the new media, information highways, the role of the internet. Situation of the internet throughout the world.
- Distraction, freedom of ignore information or to get them in the way that makes us feel more comfortable.
- The comfortable zone: what does it mean to have all this means to ignore the truth or to see it in a less worrying way, how this affect us in our choices and everyday life.
- Freedom? Is it really the era of free information and global communication or just a cage where we are kept? (example: credit crunch, war and Palestine, do we really worry about what’s happening or are we just over exposed to information regarding it, that we feel like it’s something that we are safe from?).
A bit confusing? I guessed so... well:
These are the guide lines to my dissertation and basically the way I'm gonna look into the propaganda's issues and the way it affect our lifes and decision, still translating the first 1000 words (I'm writing it in italian, it's easier ^_^), I'm confident they'll be up at the beginning of next week.
I'm still looking for books, images, videos etc., that I can refer to in order to prove my thesis, the first bit will be more of a phylosophical reflection, to then expose the reason behind the whole line of thoughts.
I'll be happy to take on board any suggestion or advise, have a nice week!
Alex
- Propaganda, Advertising and Art: analysis of the role of art in propaganda and advertising.
- Media excess: the birth of the new media, information highways, the role of the internet. Situation of the internet throughout the world.
- Distraction, freedom of ignore information or to get them in the way that makes us feel more comfortable.
- The comfortable zone: what does it mean to have all this means to ignore the truth or to see it in a less worrying way, how this affect us in our choices and everyday life.
- Freedom? Is it really the era of free information and global communication or just a cage where we are kept? (example: credit crunch, war and Palestine, do we really worry about what’s happening or are we just over exposed to information regarding it, that we feel like it’s something that we are safe from?).
A bit confusing? I guessed so... well:
These are the guide lines to my dissertation and basically the way I'm gonna look into the propaganda's issues and the way it affect our lifes and decision, still translating the first 1000 words (I'm writing it in italian, it's easier ^_^), I'm confident they'll be up at the beginning of next week.
I'm still looking for books, images, videos etc., that I can refer to in order to prove my thesis, the first bit will be more of a phylosophical reflection, to then expose the reason behind the whole line of thoughts.
I'll be happy to take on board any suggestion or advise, have a nice week!
Alex
giovedì 13 novembre 2008
Propaganda - Step One
Will You?
Premises
Propaganda is one of the most powerful weapon used in the 20th century, it’s power increased during the decades thanks to new and more sophisticated communication media, the possibility to change in a easy way every content to specification means having the control of almost every message sent to a target.
Concept
If the premises of propaganda are true, every action we take on content makes a difference.
If we take pictures of common people and add or remove features or simply modify them, the reaction of the person staring at it will change, the feelings toward that particular kind of image will either show sympathy, anger, discomfort, tenderness and all of it depends on the message that the person manipulating the image will want to send.
Will you? Is a project based on this theory, it’s a video that shows a number of images modified with the propaganda principles, it aims to show what manipulation can actually do and the power that it has on our everyday life.
In this modern age where communication is everywhere and we are overexposed to messages and information, is there any chance that we would ever be able to say if what we see and what we feel is actually a product of reality or simply a reaction to a message that someone else is filtering and eventually manipulating for us?
The questions are:
- Why would I ask myself something if someone gives me answers that keep my mind in a comfort zone?
- Am I psychologically brought to accept a positive or a negative message?
Exposing an audience to a series of repeated images with different messages: negative, positive and neutral, is a way to find out the influence that today’s media have on population, if we are really free to understand what’s behind the surface of an information, or if we are so used to get a single point of view and we get confused when we are shown different points of view and we have to search the answers for our self.
Structure
Will you? Is a video composed with the same principles of an advertising, the rhythm is fast and will not give the audience the actual time to think about the real message behind it.
Its purpose is to send a number of messages though images of people treated in different ways, for each subject there will be three different versions:
- The normal version, which presents the subject without any kind of photo editing, will represent the truth.
- The good version, which present the subject edited with ameliorative attributes, will represent the first propaganda style, the one that want the audience to perceive a message of reliability and comfort.
- The bad version, which present the subject edited with pejorative attributes, will represent the second propaganda style, which aims to give the audience negative feelings toward the message presented, discomfort and fear.
Each picture represents the truth seen from different points of view and the principles of propaganda itself.
sabato 12 gennaio 2008
The Perpetual Mask
I’m not really sure of what it means but it seems like everybody is hiding under a constant promiscuous mask today. Internet, which was meant to deliver freedom to people, is now becoming some kind of a jail where many people inadvertently seek their freedom through a persona they create, trying to convince themselves that every lie written on a stupid chat and every false opinion in a forum can actually make out their personality.
I thought that such an amazing form of communication was meant to be useful and well, actually it is useful, but not when you use it to delete your real life and you find yourself stuck in this unreal and false world that someone wants to deliver to you as a new way of living things. So many young people are simply losing the pleasure to hang out and actually know other people for real, their smiles, their angry faces, their voices…
Something went terribly wrong, not everything…but something surely did.
You can say that through a chat or a dating site you can get to know a person for their feelings, without seeing their exterior, but is this really true? Don’t you want the “all inclusive” thing? I mean the whole package? Don’t you wanna see a thing when you buy it? Why should this be different for a person you want to share yourself with? Don’t you wanna see the eyes of a person you call love, or friend?
Maybe it’s just me, maybe I am the one who just doesn’t get it, maybe I’m the one who’s talking shit, but wasn’t the community thing meant for fun? How did it become a parallel life? How did it become this kind of ‘half life’?
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