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Mindset

Humans have always been on top of the food chain. But what if they weren’t? In the anime Parasyte, we are thrust into such a world. Parasites from outer space come to earth and take over human’s bodies. They feed upon other humans as well as those of their own kind.  They can switch between a regular human appearance or that of a monster.

The main character, Shinichi Izumi, is suddenly attacked by a parasite that burrows underneath his skin. On its journey to the brain, Shinichi acts fasts and uses a tie to cut off circulation. The parasite then manifests in his right hand, becoming a part of him. Parasites can sense one another and because they’re a cannibalistic species, they will follow that instinct to eat or destroy each other. Shinichi and his parasitic right hand named Migi, must coexist in order to survive. Yet, they both have difficulty understanding the other's way of thinking. Parasyte illustrates the ideals that differentiate humans from monsters. These ideals are morality, humanity, and fragility.

Morality means that as a society we can make judgements based on ourselves and others behaviours. Because of this, we have the ability to decide right from wrong. Shinichi has a strong sense of this while Migi, the monster, only clings to instinct and survival. During an average day at school, a parasyte user approaches after detecting Shinichi’s presence close by. The parasite's senses are immediately telling it to annihilate him and anyone else who stands in its way. It begins to slaughter teachers and students as it runs up several stories of the school. Migi, sensing the parasite, comes up with a plan. He states that Shinichi can use the large hordes of evacuating humans around him to his advantage.

With human meat shields available, he can save himself and run away. Shinichi refuses, knowing he would rather face impending death than to sacrifice the lives of innocent people to save himself. As a human, he values others of his kind and wouldn’t for a second think to use other people because of his morality. He knows that it is wrong to purposely allow others to die when he is the only one capable of dismantling the situation. Instead, he decides to do what he believes is right.  He escapes to the uppermost floor and starts to devise a plan even though he’s aware that he is weaker. Migi freaks out, knowing that this situation isn’t the most favorable for himself. He wonders why Shinichi would choose to save others rather than save himself and why it is “wrong”. This is due to his lack of morality.

Another ideal monsters lack is humanity. The compassion and leniency to care about those who surround them. Shinichi arrives home after hearing the death of his mother and the hospitalization of his father. When suddenly Migi senses a parasite close by. He prepares for an attack just as Shinichi’s mother walks through the door. His mother’s body was taken over by a parasite, turning her into a monster. Without restraint, she sends a blade right through her son’s heart. Shinichi didn’t allow Migi to defend or attack because he still believed that his mother was alive. Minutes later, he bled out onto the floor. Migi panicked, searching of a way possible to save his host so he could continue to live. He swam through the inner workings of Shinichi’s body until reaching his heart. After hours of repair, he was able to save his life. Upon waking, Shinichi’s body had changed significantly. He could run faster, jump higher, and react quickly as if he were a parasite.

Earlier in the anime, a dog was being kicked around by little kids. Shinichi ran up and protected the dog, stating that it’s life was just as precious as theirs. Yet, after his heart was repaired by Migi, his emotions had changed drastically. The same dog had been toyed with to the point that it had died. While cradling it and saying it was time to go, he took its body and threw it in the trash. When asked why he did so, he blankly replied with “a dead dog isn’t a dog anymore. It’s a dog-shaped lump of meat”. Humans respect the dead and therefore have funerals or at the bare minimum bury the dead. Monsters could not care less what happens as long as the corpse isn’t in their way. This action marks Shinichi’s descent into becoming a monster.

During this period, not only does Shinichi lack humanity but also fragility. So far, Shinichi has experienced his own mother killing him, his father drinking himself near to death, as well as constant attacks from other parasites. Yet, as he becomes aware of this, he realizes that in addition to not experiencing human emotion he also cannot cry. Not once has he been able to grieve despite the traumatic experiences. He begins to wonder why his thoughts and actions have become similar to that of a parasite. A hole had developed in his heart.

It isn’t until one day when he meets a female parasite in the park. Earlier in the anime it is important to note that she also studies the human race closely. She had mated with another human and as a result had a human child. From raising a baby, the monster slowly learned what it was like to care for something else. To protect its life and to cherish it. In a way, the monster was able to comprehend compassion. Cops rushed to the scene, seeing the parasite with Shinichi and began to shoot at her. The cops also assumed the baby in her arms was also a parasite. The parasite cradled the child away from them and protected it, sacrificing her own life for the child’s. Before she collapsed onto the ground, she gives Shinichi the baby. This scene starts to repair the hole in Shinichi’s heart.

Shinichi couldn’t display weakness after his heart was repaired due to the fact he was constantly experiencing one traumatic experience after another. Nevertheless, this parasite who is preyed upon by the cops night and day, decided to lower her guard and take in a child. By taking care of another human and researching society, the parasite was able to grasp the concept of humanity. Witnessing a parasite sacrifice itself for the sake of another enables him to regain the ability to be vulnerable.

Consequently, Parasyte depicts that in which separates human ideals from monsters. In the beginning, Shinichi exemplifies morality by sacrificing himself to save others. On the other hand, once his heart is repaired by a parasite, he begins to exhibit monster-like qualities. When throwing the dogs corpse into a garbage can, this shows his absence of humanity due to a lack of respect for the dead. After several traumatic experiences in succession, he also loses the ability to cry. Subsequently, he observers a parasite protecting a human child, allowing itself to be vulnerable in the face of a death. This event aids him in realizing that what he lost in order to be human was fragility. Humans and monsters often can turn into the other when they stray from their original societal ideals. But at their core, their concepts of life are born from their race.

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The Matrix

Is the world we live in now nothing but a dream? What is the real world and how do we determine the difference between reality and a dream? To those who have experienced nothing but the matrix it's only natural that the “real” world seems fake. A place that’s all too convenient and comforting while in actuality your body only needs the bare minimum to survive. Neo is given a choice from the start by Morpheus in the form of pills. When selecting the blue pill, he accepts the idea that the reality he’s lived in may not be real. Morpheus proceeds to physically prepare him so that he can experience true “reality” for himself. However, after witnessing it, he regrets knowing but can never go back. While training Neo to fight in the matrix Morpheus mentions, "I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it”.

Morpheus’s sole job is to show the truth to those who seek it. Through each step of the process, he is there to help Neo enter the Matrix and experience it. However, he can’t force Neo to free his mind and test it to the limits of what the matrix is actually capable of. Sure you can tell yourself to be faster or punch harder, but can you know it? Can you feel it and execute it perfectly? It’s similar to the phrase a horse can be lead to water but you can’t force it to drink. Morpheus could tell him all day about the matrix or beat the crap out of him and yet say he could win. Yet, if he doesn’t believe anything he says or actively try to “know” that he is stronger, he won’t be able to walk through it.

The reason it is placed in this time point of the movie is because he’s just scratching the surface. He needs not only the ability to fight agents but to realize what powers he holds.

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Play Test

(Not yet complete) 

In Black Mirror, there are several layers of reality that are presented to us. In physical reality, Kipper’s dad died of alzheimer’s. He refuses to answer his mother’s calls and doesn’t know how to talk to his mother let alone have a connection with her. He leaves to go on a trip to try and escape his dreary home life. In a sense he leaves to live out the dream of a traveler for a short while. Make all the memories he possibly can while he can. Even though he’s avoiding his problems, he eventually wants to talk to her in person and definitely not on the phone. When suddenly he doesn’t have any money to get home, he still won’t call or rely on her for help. Instead, he depends on a total stranger that he’s only had a one night stand with to shelter him. He looks to an odd jobs app to try and make some money to get back. Sonya

“Layers on top of reality” with a minor insertion into the back of the neck.

Its the release of fear in a safe space--it liberates you. They keep recording the time in which is begins--

Uses a horror game in which will scan your mind to see what best will scare you. The mind plays tricks when there’s less stimulation-

Theres a man in the window with the light turned on- then there’s noises of him heading downstairs-there’s a man staring straight into him. Who happens to be a bully from high school in his past. People talk a lot when they’re afraid. Voices make you feel less alone even though you are alone.

The giant spider from the  movie earlier in the video that was terrorizing the building. --then katie leaves him all alone pretending that the ear piece is dead.  

Sonya comes and she is real

Kipper doesn’t think he’s in any real danger at all even when sonya is telling him that its super dangerous to do this. People have gone missing due to the app. He doesn’t believe any of it is real

Sonya has a knife and shes going after him- she stabbed him and keeps digging the knife in. Shes the one who lead him there and shes saying he should have called his mom in all actuality  it was a game all along-

It took his memories-he couldn’t recognize himself in the mirror--he doesn’t want to be just like his dad---it literally broke him to the point where he was going to pull him out--he doesn’t know who he is

The experience was more powerful that intended and only actually lasted a second. Nothing he actually experience was real but felt very VERY real to the point of breaking him and making him forget who he is.

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Depression and anxiety today has become more common than ever. Most people at this point think it’s totally normal to have suicidal, self-incrimination, dysmorphic thoughts. To end it all because you’re not worth anything, that you’re a failure because you don’t work as hard as others, that your physical form is disgusting. Why would you ever go to a therapist when everyone suffers like this? If you go to Art Center you probably experience some of  this on a daily basis. No, I’m not undermining mental illness because it’s common, I want to state that the monster here is a problem because its common. Thoughts of depression and anxiety from overworking, always being told we have poor time management skills when we risk everything, and the unavoidable escape of comparison. We are in a working environment where everyone is put up against the other whether you like it or not. The mentality is to work until you drop. If you’re dropping a class, it must be because you’re lazy and you can’t handle it like everyone else. Sure there is the occasional mention to go out and have a life since you’re homework is going to look awful anyways, but why is that? Is it because you can’t go out much, let alone have a life, and be expected to complete everything without losing a shred of sanity?

In thesis 6, a lot of the culture I’ve experienced so far is something repulsive that is made out to be attractive. Let’s take sleeping for example. Even though Art Center has designated sleeping rooms and claims that they don’t “recommend” all-nighters they’re unavoidable with the workload that is given. I’m sure they know that even while few there are some students that live there. When you attend time management workshops and explain how many hours you work and are getting a very lackluster amount of sleep they act like it’s a surprise. “Oh, you’re not getting 8 hours of sleep every night? We need to change that.” When clearly if you’re taking five classes and want to graduate in 4 years, it’s next to impossible without somehow destroying your health. Most people who do work sleepless nights end up with great work, but at what cost? An “A” in the class? Better skills? Along with the critical after effects of crippling stress and anxiety that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

When I speak to upperclassmen about how their first few terms went it’s usually responded with “yeah...I didn’t sleep much that term” or “Oh, yeah I had to retake this class because the workload was too much”. Everyone blows it off as if it’s 100% normal to suffer. In fact, if you didn’t sleep a couple days in a row, people start to respect you even more! While I do understand that Art Center’s motto is to be the biggest hardship of our lives to make after-life easier, doesn’t it cross a line when it starts to have permanent effects?

I do understand that Art Center is a wonderful place of learning and I’ve grown more in 4 months than ever thought to be possible. But once you’re put back into reality, even if its just for a few months it really makes you think about the toll its placed on you. You suddenly remember to take showers and eat meals regularly. All the pressure from teachers and students is lifted. Who knows, you could maybe even go outside today. You may just remember at one point in time you were okay with yourself.

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Monster

We live in an age where nothing is unified. Everything is divided up and broken into tiny subjects. Some of these things are individuality, subjectivity, gender, and culture. When brought together it creates monstrous hybrid that lurks over us day to day. 

In Thesis I

Cohen talks about how the monster is created due to the time we’re living in, the emotions we have, and specific spaces. Born from societal fear, anxiety, and the need to be independant. So for example the only thing I could think of is the upcoming topics in today’s society. Like gender or sexuality and how others are discovering themselves more freely. To become more than just a binary world. 

In Thesis 2

No matter what topics culture brings up, they’ll always come back again and again.

Like gun control or state laws- everything is always in constant conflict and will never just sit quietly. There is always someone out there trying to push their opinion on others. To create the change they want to see in the world. Society can’t come to a consensus. As time passes we all seem to have the same sort of problems. He states that as vampires die and are reborn in different wear- they all conform to the new social movement that is currently happening.

In Thesis 3

The monster can easily evade any type of classification and invites society into a new world. It spreads a crisis and makes what is repulsive attractive. The monster always wants new and fresh. All traditional methods are done away with and at the same time always in place.

In Thesis 4

What the monster is itself is difference. Difference meaning topics like culture, politics, race, economy, and sex. One culture sees another as “different” or “weird” and makes assumptions about what they are. Then flies around and tells society that this is how they actually are and makes them out to be the bad guy.  In manifest destiny, native americans were slaughtered all because their way of life was seen as barbaric. All through out history, events like this reoccurred. The holocaust, slavery, etc

It also includes gender identity and sexuality. A woman who tries to go out of the gender social norm is seen as someone who’s trying to be “manly”. If a man bosses around a woman, he’s a leader. If a woman bosses a man around, she’s a bitch. God forbid you’re a homo or more than half the world hates you instantly.

In Thesis 5

The monster defines what is possible and what is not. Sets borders of where and where not you can go or what to think and not to think. Keeping a hierarchical system in society as it has been in the past where women are inferior and men control everything. It regulates what is of the norm and what is not. This includes sexual desire, gender identity, sexuality itself, race, and much more. It controls what is taboo and normally has a underlying reason. For example incest and interracial sex or marriage is “taboo” due to the notion of purity. Or how racism and misogyny still continues today and doesn’t receive as much attention as it should. The monster fears contamination, impurity, and loss of identity. How races will often lie about what happened in order make themselves look better.

In Thesis 6

Most of the time when something is seen as repulsive, it tries different ways to make it popular and new. Taking what is repulsive and making it attractive. It cannot be held by simple binary. We experience horror and fear as if its fun because its reassuring to know that we live in a world where there those types of things don’t exist. Or at least trick us and desensitize us into what is really out there. We know when that sort of terror will end because of minutes in a movie or numbers on a page. 

In Thesis 7

No matter how we try to push ideas back they will always resurface with even greater human knowledge. We acknowledge that it exists and then question why does it exist? Why do we have these sort of thoughts that can either better or destroy the world?

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Michiko Kakutani

1.What does Jaron Lanier, the computer scientist, mean when he observes that the dynamics of the Web are leading “authors, journalists, musicians and artists” to “treat the fruits of their intellects and imaginations as fragments to be given without pay to the hive mind”?

This means that a lot of the artists today are not being paid for what content they create for society. Most of it can be viewed for free or downloaded illegally. It’s called “illegal” yet everyone gets away with it. Sure while we do have copyright laws in effect they’re not really enforced well with how broad the internet is so most artists are left unpaid for their work. Its also disgusting to think that most of the time society feels like they “deserve it” and are “entitled” to have it be free for them. 

2. According to Mr. Lanier and others, in what ways is the Internet changing the way we read, write, seek and process information? What do you think of these observations? 

Mr.Lanier and the others observe the internet as a type of enemy. Because of it we can easily reference snippets of information and use it to our advantage. They believe it is shortening out attention span, changing the world into a place where the world only wants a summary. No one reads a whole article or book anymore, they just tend to skim. Therefore, it makes our writing and research process shorter. I don’t think their wrong on wanting a summary of information; however that doesn’t mean that the world will never read a whole book again. Many people chose to immerse themselves in a specific niche like he explains. Although if something catches someones attention in that niche then the person will read all of it. 

3. How do the backgrounds of the writers who are examining Web-induced changes in thought and culture lend weight to their arguments?

This is because specifically each one is  larger name of people who are involved in every day practice of online discourse. All of them actively participate and use the internet to preform their jobs. They’re there to witness the injustices that occur. 

 4. What is “cyberbalkanization”? How could it be dangerous? What are the implications for the establishment of truth, “consensus and common ground”?

Cyberbalkanization is websites like twitter or tumblr where you can pick what types of information you’d like to receive. But what tends to happen is that you can get biased information instead of facts so when people come together they mix up the two. No longer is there a singular true “fact” or “common ground”. Sure, you could be very experienced in one area lets say like TV shows or movies. But when it comes to a discussion based on the current events, news, or history you have no information on it because you never encounter it. Or all you ever do is watch Fox News. A lot of your information is being controlled with a bias behind it for its viewers. Sure you may get some facts but you’re actually getting more opinion than you think. 

5. What is a “deconstructionist” approach to literary and other texts? 

A deconstructionist skims through the article and only picks out specific information and points to grab the most out of what they’re reading. When you have the main points of literary text a lot of the other information is just fluff. This is why most people tend to just try and find a summary of what is happening instead of reading the actual text. 

6. According to Neal Gabler, in what way is celebrity “the great new art form of the 21st century”? How does the article’s author, Michiko Kakutani, feel about this claim? 

Celebrities and their lives from various shows create drama which draw people in. While having a large audience it does the same thing a lot of art can do--distracts humans from their every day life and the important things going on around them. While doing so though it creates a community form a common opinion. 

7. How does Ms. Kakutani assess the various remixes in the culture? 

He thinks while there are great works of remixed art such as Lost Books of the Odyssey, most of the renditions seem to be in quantity rather than quality. Lazy imitations can be seem everywhere and even down to the celebrities we have today are just slightly different from the past. Plot is easily predictable and just transfered in to the next genre or niche that the media comes obsessed with. 

8. What does Mr. Lanier mean when he says “since the Web is killing old media, we face a situation in which culture is effectively eating its own seed stock”?

He means that if we keep recycling what was created we’re going to run out of ideas/originality eventually. Once we use up everything in every possible combination we’ll have nothing left which is why its crucial to find “originality”. 

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Side To Side

For clothing it’s all very much current sexy workout attire. Crop tops, lace ups, deep V’s, and chokers. The only thing that doesn’t match well is their shoes being high heels. The shorts are cropped to where it's just pretty much like underwear. A lot of the shots as well go back and forth between a longer front shot and short backside shot. Plenty of flirtatious camera angles of Ariana Grande with the light framing her. Other than that they tend to focus on the dancers exposed asses in slow motion or specifically the “side to side” swaying motion.

The video keeps featuring stationary spin bikes and the backup dancers all working out but what it comes down to are the lyrics.

“I've been there all night I've been there all day And boy, got me walkin' side to side (side to side)” “This the new style with the fresh type of flow Wrist icicle, ride dick bicycle Come true yo, get you this type of blow If you wanna Minaj I got a tricycle”

Ariana Grande is known to not be afraid of sharing her sexual experiences. Many of her songs on her album Dangerous Woman speak of them. In this song, the topic is of soreness related to the sexual act of riding. The stationary spin cycles best show a form of “riding” for the majority of the video simulating the motion. In the shower scene, a lot of the dance movements feature not only sexy choreography but trouble standing. Even in the scenes where she's solo in a boxing jacket, there’s a pommel horse which also causes pain. However, the dancers and Ariana herself don’t seem to be in too much pain. Working out normally comes along with soreness but a pleasurable type of pain. This is why most of them are pumped up and energetic. Visually it communicates that even though they’re working out which is strenuous, they’re having wild fun. What really confirms it though is the singular lyric of Nicki Manaj focusing in on “dick bicycle”.

“These friends keep talking way too much, say I should give ‘em up” “'Cause I know you got a bad reputation Doesn't matter, 'cause you give me temptation And we don't gotta think 'bout nothin' ('bout nothin')”

On the flip side, it’s sending out another message. The lyrics mention that her friends tell her she should give up the man she’s with. Arian mentions that she knows he has a bad reputation but still doesn’t want to back out. It's a song that’s to tell the world to be who you are and do as you please. All the women through out the video are shown in a strong confident light. Although in the sauna portion, the men are like dolls with robotic movements. They’re just there as a display but it also shows that they’re being toyed with. The female in this situation is the one in control of the relationship.

“Uh, I-I give zero fucks and I got zero chill in me Kissing me, copped the blue box that say Tiffany Curry with the shot, just tell 'em to call me Stephanie”

Finally, there is the beef between Drake and Nicki Manaj. At first I was super confused because they don’t match with the natural rhythm of the song. That’s because lyrics above are stolen from a Drake song that Drake stole from a previous Nicki Manaj song. Nicki Manaj is dating one of Drake’s worst enemies and Drake decided to steal the lyric and afterward mention how his enemies started dating his enemies. For a while too, Drake had always been interested romantically in Nicki Manaj. She in turn stole the lyric and placed it in this song to get back at him. This only enhances the narrative of the lyrics further, showing a strong confident woman that’s not going to let herself be torn down. She wants to be in control of the situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXiSVQZLje8

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Blog Assignment #1

Kurt Anderson speaks of the majority. Yes, the everyday working man or woman. Not many choose to venture out from the standard flannel and jeans. However, that’s not the case for everyone. Many stylish amateurs, as he calls them, in this day and age do work on their appearance and not just hipsters. While it may be more underground and not as widespread, there is influence but it comes from other countries. Specifically China, Korea, and Japan. While the current trend in Forever 21 may be Kitsch and a throwback to the 90’s, a popular type of aesthetic is Japanese street fashion. Although it is bold and sort of expensive to import, the majority don’t speak of it but its not as if it does not exist. There’s many ranges of styles and aesthetics to choose from today, but the majority are those that choose to go with a “plain” approach. Old Navy survives on them because they only want to wear the bare minimum of basics.

When he address a larger aesthetic, Hipsters in particular, they’re known to rehash the past. Vintage is what’s stylish for them but not for all. Independent brands and shops open up like Fickle Wish from other countries and if others adopted it as they had bell bottoms or corsets, we would see a dramatic shift in wear. A major part of this however is research and cost. To find these unadvertised inventions is a few google searches away but not many take the time to do so. Then you have to have the money to afford it! Anderson mentions that people flock to apple stores and then go home to their outdated equipment like Aeron Chair. There are new chairs created like the Micasa Cocoon but it’s over $2,000 to purchase. In society today if you invent something new and cool, regardless of what it is, it will put a hole in your wallet.

On the other hand, I do agree that creativity is a double edged sword. While creating and inventing new things can be profitable it can also be a huge risk. If society chooses not to adapt to a new invention then it will destroy that business. While capitalism has to create new things to stay profitable it also has to play it safe. This is why today we get subtle variations in products bit by bit to test out how a certain market reacts to the product. For something more outlandish or “independant” normally it’d be built up from Kickstarter to see what kind of backing they’ll receive.