wangliangying

[wangliangying]

Critical Analysis

Pregitzer, L. (2022) ‘Women Artists — Still Invisible Today? A Critical Approach to Strategies of Making Women Artists Visible’, On_Culture (Online), 13.

This article was written by Lisa Pregitzer, a researcher in the Department of Art History at the Institute of Art Education at the University of Giessen, Germany, who focuses on analyzing the changing professional identities of female artists in Paris at the end of the 19th and the end of the 20th century. Her research areas include gender studies, modern French painting, and 19th-century art criticism.

This essay tells that many exhibitions in today's society try to address the invisibility of female artists by initiating projects dedicated to them. It also describes the dilemmas faced by female artists, mainly in art historical research, media, or exhibitions, where women are severely underrepresented. As well as analyzing, the reasons for the male suppression of female artists. This essay summarises the difficulties in the visibility of female artists and the social problems faced by female artists through the four points of female visibility, female stance, and the influence of female biographies and works.

The third paragraph of the essay is interestingly written and catches on to the fact that female artists are visible in a different way than male artists and most people emphasize that biographies of female artists rarely analyze their work. Or their work is scrutinized by the male gaze. I personally strongly agree with this point of view, I think of the nude female artwork that is often seen in fine art exhibitions, and the nude male artwork that is rarely seen, because most of the artists are male, and they will inherently think that the nude statues of women are more beautiful. Nowadays, in games and films, there are often female characters with revealing clothes and great bodies. Their breasts and buttocks are prominently depicted in-game artwork. So, this also confirms the author's point that most art exhibitions still have a male scrutinizing eye, and many women are forced to come to terms with their change to a male aesthetic.

In addition, the author also mentions that male artists, when faced with the problem of female gender stereotypes, want more female artists to appear but are afraid that their social status will be impacted by women. Male artists on the one hand offer female artists the opportunity to hold exhibitions, but then make female artists appealing for their biographies rather than their work. Female artists seem to be perpetually famous in this deviant direction. And this behavior of male artists is like not acknowledging the excellence of female artists' works and trying to cover up the profundity of female artists' works through their biographies.

Even biographies of female artists are described as possessing such qualities as ambition, diligence, self-discipline, tenacity, and other such qualities, whereas male artists are seldom described as having such personalities. I thought carefully about these terms and realized that such terms, although all positive, would show the person to be down-to-earth and stable, rather than being described as creative and profound, such artist-like terms. However, words like ambitious, hardworking, and self-disciplined would instead sound like a lack of creativity. This also confirms the author's attitude that male artists do not recognize female artists. In the face of this argument put forward by the author, I believe that the vocabulary in which female artists are described appears to be full of words describing male qualities to describe women, words that have been instilled in males from childhood and as a result have been used to reflect what males perceive to be the good qualities of female artists. These are words in which male artists would feel that they are born, and they would feel that it is very difficult for women to have these qualities and therefore they are particularly emphasized. Although it is said that the author intends to reflect the fact that male artists see female artists as their followers, I read in this viewpoint that males have always been given preferential treatment under the patriarchal system, and they have been instilled with the idea that females are their subordinate relationship from birth, which confirms the author's belief that the invisibility of female artists is not only a problem in the art world, but also a historical, cultural, and social system The problem is not only a problem of the art world but also a problem of history, culture, and social system.

Another interesting point in this article is that she mentions that there are very few great female artists in the world. In analyses of female artists from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century, female artists were not able to study nude models due to the traditional education of their gender and therefore were not able to succeed in the most prestigious field of art, history painting. I am for the most part in agreement with this view, but I think that this view not only responds to the cultural differences between the sexes due to traditional attitudes but also to the male control of social resources. It also confirms the view that female artists are patriarchally disciplined to ignore their existence and the view in the previous paragraph that modern female artists are mostly scrutinized by men. These views lead to patriarchal disciplines exacerbating the attitudes of male artists who see female artists as copycats and followers.

This final essay highlights that making female artists visible is highly contradictory, on the one hand, female artists are often subjected to the gendered scrutiny of male art when putting on exhibitions, and on the other hand art criticism and art historical analyses, for example, are patriarchally dominant. Therefore, the liberation of female artists from white male Western artists is still facing a lot of difficulties.

Overall, I chose this article because it gave me an insight into the current status of female artists. It also opened my eyes to the fact that male-dominated society. It has given me a deeper understanding of male-female gender relations. I believe that as a game student, I should think more and accumulate social issues to deepen the depth of my work.

[wangliangying]

Reading

1.Blais, M. and Dupuis-Déri, F. (2012) ‘Masculinism and the Antifeminist Countermovement’, Social movement studies, 11(1), pp. 21–39.

This book is about the impact of masculinity on feminism and the dichotomy between the sexes. This book talks about the relationship between gender issues and social issues in a very profound way.

It made me start to think about the fact that many girls in developed countries have their proper gender consciousness. It also says that men in developed areas are afraid that women will take their place in society and become masculinized. However, in the poor and backward areas, women feel that they are born to be paid by men. I think that the real need for feminist thinking is in the poorer areas, whereas in the developed areas there's a greater need for gender parity, rather than antagonistic relationships.

https://doiorg.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1080/14742837.2012.640532

2.Chatzipanagiotidou, E. and Murphy, F. (2021) ‘'Devious silence': Refugee art, memory activism, and the unspeakability of loss among Syrians in Turkey’, History and anthropology, 32(4), pp. 462–480.

This article is about the current state of artists from Turkey Syria, and countries at war. They are refugee artists. They want to let the outside world know more about refugees through their artwork.

The article mentions that many people think this kind of refugee artwork is free of charge and belongs to public welfare activities. However, refugee art and the danger of war need to be understood by the public, and the better value of art is not to tell people that the world is beautiful, but to reveal the bad side of it. It's appropriate to charge money so that artists can have the money to make better art.

3.Dawson, L. (2014) ‘The Other: gender, sexuality and ethnicity in European cinema and beyond’, Studies in European cinema, 11(3), pp. 151–154.

This article tells that sex began without a distinction between male and female. The need for a social system differentiated the positions of males and females. This leads to women often being oppressed in relationships.

This article makes an interesting point, the distinction between female and male is just as much a social necessity as the above point. I've also been thinking about how people don't want to live longer just because they want to and because society believes that human longevity increases the labour force in society. Just like we do with our gender, men aren't born proud of their strength, and women aren't born thinking that being attentive and considerate makes them good girls.

All the distinctions we make about sex are essentially a necessity of societal development, not a point of difference between males and females at birth.

https://doiorg.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1080/17411548.2014.972672

4.Ezzedeen, S.R. (2013) ‘The portrayal of professional and managerial women in North American films. Good news or bad news for your executive pipeline?’, Organizational dynamics, 42(4), pp. 248–256.

This article focuses on describing, in the modern film industry, most depictions of professional women always have women discussing love, getting married and having children. Even superhero films with female protagonists have a primary audience of men. However, the audience for professional films about women's success is mostly women. That's why the book mentions that women will watch both male and female-oriented films, yet men only watch male-oriented films.

Although the article points out that this is discrimination against women by men in today's society. I believe that discrimination is part of the reason, and more because in the mainstream of society, men are treated favourably and women aspire to be men. However, in female-orientated professional works, men can feel that what they can easily get is portrayed as so difficult by women, and it's more about an inability to empathise.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2013.07.002

5.He, Y. (2019) ‘Boris Groys and the total art of Stalinism’, Thesis eleven, 152(1), pp. 38–51.

This article writes about the reasons for the relatively late development of art in the Soviet Union and the relationship between art and politics. The USSR was a socialist country like China, where art became a tool of the political system and not art.

Modern socialist countries can indeed be extremely strict in their scrutiny of art, which is detrimental to the innovation and development of art. But I believe that it is not only socialist countries that set up art as a part of politics, but capitalism as well. It relies on rich art and colourful life to attract people to emigrate in large numbers.

We all live in a world dominated by politics, and I don't think our art has ever been truly free.

6.Maguire, C. (2017) ‘Learning With Refugees: Arts and Human Rights Across Real and Imagined Borders’, Art education (Reston), 70(4), pp. 51–55.

This article is about how art is an expression of human rights, and how it can be an aggravating factor for people with disabilities, and refugees …. for social, cultural and artistic identities.

One interesting point in this article is that art plays a central role in facilitating personal and social transformation, meaning that art can help others to better integrate into society. By bringing art to a refugee area, art becomes a comfort food for the refugees and makes them forget about their injuries. This is more about the relationship between art and human rights. A lot of artists think about caring about the world, and they want to make people care about the world as well through art.

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/learning-with-refugees-arts-human-rights-across/docview/1933262169/se-2?accountid=14660

7.Nishi, N.W., Matias, C.E. and Montoya, R. (2015) ‘Exposing the white avatar: projections, justifications, and the ever-evolving American racism’, Social identities, 21(5), pp. 459–473.

This article is about how, in a system that heavily promotes racial equality, the representation of blacks by whites in various media productions has instead exacerbated the racial tensions between blacks and whites. Just for example, classic American films like to write about whites as saviour figures and blacks as servants who follow them. Even awards are given to blacks for playing good mothers and servants in films. In games, they also like to portray that white people wear hoods to make their faces black and do what black people do as if they give black people understanding and respect.

Through this article, I have come to believe that there is no system of equality or respect in the world at all, that everyone's lives are completely different, and that there is still a long way to go to achieve equality in the breed.

https://doiorg.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1080/13504630.2015.1093470

8.Pregitzer, L. (2022) ‘Women Artists — Still Invisible Today? A Critical Approach to Strategies of Making Women Artists Visible’, On_Culture (Online), 13.

This article primarily discusses the decreasing presence of works by female artists in contemporary society's art exhibitions. It reflects the lack of representation and recognition of women in the artist community, emphasizing the need for more attention to address this issue.

There's an interesting perspective in the article that discusses in the context of a predominantly male artist community, many works by female artists are often perceived through a male perspective. This led me to contemplate the prevalence of female nudity in contemporary art exhibitions, where the number of artworks featuring female nudes often exceeds those depicting male nudes. This may indeed be influenced, in part, by the male gaze in the art world today.

Therefore, this article profoundly illustrates the societal phenomenon of inadequate status for women.

https://doi.org/10.22029/oc.2022.1279

9.Saha, A. and Lente, S. van (2022) ‘Diversity, media and racial capitalism: a case study on publishing’, Ethnic and racial studies, 45(16), pp. 216–236.

This book is about, the ambivalence of racial capitalism. On one hand, they want to make their audience predominantly white through the media, while on the other hand, they are promoting ethnic republicanism equality and tolerance. But this preaching of racial equality becomes a tool to make money.

This article got me thinking about how national policies for diverse cultures are often racially peaceful and inclusive. But where politics goes is often to become a tool for profit. As this article mentions, a writer writing books about racial equality can make a lot of money. But I think this is a bad phenomenon. The nature of art is to warn people and make them see more of the differences in the world, not to continue to write about what has already been seen to increase the sense of identity.

https://doiorg.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1080/01419870.2022.2032250

10.Wexler, A. (2018) ‘BLACKLIVESMATTER: Access and Equity in the Arts and Education’, Art education (Reston), 71(1), pp. 20–23.

This paper discusses the fact that even though some schools are willing to waive tuition fees to facilitate access to arts education for non-white students, non-whites still face significant barriers to the arts.

The article mentions that the arts are not suitable for youth of colour to appreciate or to pursue as a future career. This phenomenon does exist. I couldn't agree more with the author that the main cause of this phenomenon, besides poverty, is the lack of regional development. Similarly, the article describes a black man taking his father to an art gallery and repeatedly explaining to him the image of a naked woman and saying "That's not me".

From this article, I felt that many artists have their ideas about protecting the planet and caring for refugees. But art cannot warn the whole world. Art belongs only to those whose ideas resonate.

[wangliangying]

Blog Post 10 Diversity, inclusion and theories of ‘race’ and gender 

1/12/2023

Speaking of race and gender. It occurred to me that as times go on, not only feminism but masculinity, genderlessness …. The numbers are all increasing. This increase back leads to a deeper and deeper divide between each opposing ism.

In fact, the purest meaning of gender is to reproduce, but as society evolves, this pure meaning is changing. In The Second Sex, it is mentioned that "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman"(Simone, 1949) which shows that gender has come to symbolize a social responsibility.

This reminds me of the film Barbie, which focuses on the topic of male and female identity. In fact, Barbie, the film, stresses at its core that both men and women need a sense of identity and that we should need more egalitarianism. However, because, in the real world, there is more emphasis on feminism, Barbie becomes a representation of feminism.

Although it may seem that women are not dominant in society and that men and women are indeed not equal. But in fact, both men and women face the pressure that comes from gender issues. As society has evolved and women have risen in status, the success of women in the public sphere has banished men from what they believe to be their rightful place. (Blais, 2012) Therefore there has also been a lot of masculism. I believe that the issue of gender is like the red pill effect, where men do not see the female dilemma and women do not see the male dilemma.

But why Barbie has become a feminist, I think it's the fact that women have the power to consume. In modern society, when we overemphasise feminism, there is a lot of masculinism that is also on the rise. This rather aggravates the antagonistic relationship between men and women. Reducing the antagonism between men and women and getting a relationship where men and women work together with the same power and equality is suitable for the betterment of society.

Reference

Blais, M. and Dupuis-Déri, F. (2012) ‘Masculinism and the Antifeminist Countermovement’, Social movement studies, 11(1), pp. 21–39.

Simone, D. B. (1949) The Second Sex

[wangliangying]

Blog Post 9 Making sense of VR, AR and MR technologies.

27/11/2023

Talking about VR, AR and MR reminds me of a game called Pokémon which can be played directly on your mobile phone. The principle of AR is used, holding the mobile phone and scanning the streets to make Pokémon appear on the mobile phone.

Same point as Bolter and Grusin.Photography was supposedly more immediate than painting, film than photography, television than film, and now virtual reality fulfils the promise of immediacy and supposedly ends the progression.’(Bolter and Grusin, 1999）

I think this game is a representative of AR technology, it is a game and reality want to merge, a lot of people can rely on "Pokémon" to the street to walk more exercise.

But there are also a lot of limitations to this type of game. I think it's more suited to countries with smaller populations. If you walk down the street in China with a Pokémon in your hand, a scan is full of people, and there's no way a sprite is going to stand in the street. And beware, when playing the game, cross the street and watch out for getting hit by a car. Especially since China is a large and densely populated country, there are also a lot of cars on the road.

Therefore, although it is said that Pokémon Go is a good idea, it is not very safe or feasible.

Reference

Bolter and Grusin (1990) Remediation

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Blog Post 8 EMOTIONS - The visceral side of digital media

25/11/2023

Today in class we learned about the impact of visuals on emotions. Through this class, I realized that the plots of many film and television works are relatively ordinary, but due to their excellent artistry, they have high ratings.

“Lev Manovich concurs with Haraway in that, emerging virtual technologies offer up new spaces for subjectivity that move beyond Marshall McLuhan's “cool” media, to present a new “hot” media of intensities and affect for digital artists to explore (Manovich, 2001).” (Petrey 2023). For example, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is one of them. This story is about a corrupt city in the future. The male protagonist lost everything due to a shooting incident. Later, he met the heroine and her team, embarked on the path of crime, and finally died for love. In fact, Lu's story is unremarkable, and I even feel that the details of the characters need to be improved. For example, there is no process of how the heroine falls in love with the hero. The overall story also does not reflect the depth of the current state of contemporary society.

So this got me thinking, people are actually more susceptible to visual influences. This also symbolizes why the cyberpunk style is popular. We can think of cyberpunk as a global phenomenon Myerson, S. (2020). Although cyberpunk symbolizes our technological progress. But looking back at our lives, we live in an online world, and playing games online with friends has become a social need. Sometimes when we lose a game, our teammates immediately start scolding us. While playing the game, I forgot about the rice cooking in the pot. I think our real life is really cyberpunk, and we would rather place our spirits in the virtual world than find happiness in reality. People don’t even like to think deeply about problems.

Reference

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022) Directed by H. Imaishi. CD Projekt.

Myerson, S. (2020) ‘Global cyberpunk: Reclaiming utopia in Japanese cyberpunk film’, Science fiction film and television, 13(3), pp. 363–386.

Grant, P (2022) The affective flows of the sublime in Martina Menegon's new machinic subjectivity, New Techno Humanities, pp.130-135,

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Blog Post 7 Diversity, inclusion and theories of ‘race’ and gender 

20/11/2023

To navigate the social world, human beings form stereotypes by relying on perceptions (thoughts) and influences (feelings) to determine correct behaviours. (Bouchard, J. 2022) Although these stereotypes are narrow and blind, I believe that stereotypes are a mirror of a country's cultural development. This is because a country's culture is essentially a continuation of its policies, and the continuation of its policies determines the habits of its people. These habits create stereotypes and make them a shadow of the culture.

In most American works, the Chinese are always the villains. For example, the American film "Arrival" tells the story of aliens suddenly arriving on Earth, and the heroine has to learn the aliens' writing to talk to them. And this film contains the attitudes of different countries in dealing with aliens. Among them, China represents a villainous party. In this film, the Western countries' attitude towards aliens is to learn the shape language to understand the alien culture, which reflects the American sense of freedom and democracy. However, in the film, China is on the same side as Russia and deals with the aliens by firing missiles, building borderlines, and wanting to kill them aliens. This film embodies the confrontation between capitalism and communism, the stereotype of Russia as a fighting nation, and the disdain for China as a country with a centralised system.

However, Chinese films also often portray Americans as villains. Some of Jackie Chan's classic films include American villains, such as "Who Am I" about China and the United States competing for the Magic Stone. We can also use this story to look at the Chinese for the Americans, who did the kidnapping of the scientists and still always think of getting rich.

‘Race’ can be a powerful means. E.g. Solidarity created in the name of 'race' (Paul,J 1987). There is actually no cultural divide, it starts with various films and media that make people sick of stereotypical influences. Because anger can also serve a positive democratic function (Löb, C., Rinke, E.M., Weinmann, C. and Wessler, H. 2022) With this democratic function, western capitalist politicians can use all sorts of outrageous things to get votes. Eastern communist politicians, again, can exaggerate the bad things about the West to boost national confidence. Many ordinary people may never leave their hometowns; the most they can do is to go out and travel. Where do you get the stereotypes from this close-to-closed life？ Let's just say that our stereotypes are not our own, we are living in all kinds of untrue media.

References

Who am I (1998) directed by J.Cheng and M.S.Cheng [film] Orange Sky Golden Harvest

Bouchard, J. (2022) ‘Getting the Picture: Defining Race-Based Stereotypes in Politics’, Frontiers in political science,

Löb, C., Rinke, E.M., Weinmann, C. and Wessler, H. (2022) ‘Unpacking the Determinants of Outrage and Recognition in Public Discourse: Insights Across Socio-Cultural Divides, Political Systems, and Media Types’, The international journal of press/politics, 29(1), pp. 194016122210842–294.

Arrival (2016) directed by Denis Villeneuve [film] Fulmination Entertainment Lava Bear Films 21 Laps Entertainment

Paul, G. (1987) There Aren't No Black in the Union Jack

[wangliangying]

Blog Post 6 visual culture and identity

12/11/2023

Today we learned about visual culture and identity. I believe that symbols and visual elements play a vital role in shaping the identity of a person, group or culture. This can include flags, logos, symbols or other unique visual elements that build and express identity through the messages and symbolism they convey. For example, men's and women's restroom signs use visual elements such as women's skirts and men's pants. Colors like pink are associated with women, while blue is associated with men.

Stereotypes reflect common expectations about members of a particular social group. (Ellemers, N. 2018) People first need to observe and experience before they can form subsequent cultural identities, but this observation can only last a short time and is a way to form stereotypes. Therefore, the media often deliberately uses terms such as gender and sexual orientation to classify groups and create stereotypes. For example, in Chinese news, gender is deliberately added before some traffic accidents, such as "Female driver fell into the river", and the term "female driver" is deliberately added to create the stereotype that women are not good at driving. The Fast & Furious is a movie about racing and crime, where male drivers far outnumber female drivers. This also reflects the stereotype that women are not good at driving.

However, not all visual stereotypes are inherently negative. When a brand's positioning is consistent with its home country's personality stereotypes, the brand will be evaluated more favourably than when its positioning is inconsistent. (Magnusson, P., Westjohn, S.A. and Sirianni, N.J. 2019). In other words, stereotypes are actually a personal protection mechanism that gives us the most suitable environment for development.

Finally, I believe that when using stereotypes, we should promote their positive aspects. But at the same time, everyone should make their own personal judgment about the negative impact of stereotypes. Everyone should distinguish right from wrong in his own heart.

Reference

Magnusson, P., Westjohn, S.A. and Sirianni, N.J. (2019) ‘Beyond country image favorability: How brand positioning via country personality stereotypes enhances brand evaluations’, Journal of international business studies, 50(3), pp. 318–338.

Ellemers, N. (2018) ‘Gender Stereotypes’, Annual review of psychology, 69(1), pp. 275–298.

Fast & Furious 9 (2021) directed by Justin Lin [film] DreamWorks Animation Television

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Blog Post 5 Session 5 - SEMIOTICS

30/10/2023

This course covers the meaning and importance of logos. Logos not only play a role in identifying and conveying information in appearance, but I think when used effectively, they more prominently reflect a sense of social responsibility and the changes of the times.“The domain of ideology coincides with the domain of signs... Whenever a sign is present, ideology is present too. (Barnard,M.1996)

Take animals, for example, in the previous story. Herbivores will be portrayed as benevolent animals, while carnivores will be portrayed as villains. Because herbivores are controlled by humans, they give people a symbol of docility, while carnivores often have a symbol of ferocity. The most representative animals of villains are wolves and foxes. The villains in "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Three Little Pigs" are wolves. In the past, fairy tales, while still obsessed with the extension of aesthetic pleasure, tended to associate beauty with moral behaviour. (Campbell, J. 2021)

But with the development of society, stories with wolves as the protagonists include "Wolf's Dream", and stories with foxes as the protagonists include "Zootopia" because today's society has changed from letting people do the right thing to tolerance and tolerance. Respect the existence of multiculturalism. This will cause some symbols to start changing. Therefore, symbols are actually in sync with the development of the times.

Reference

Campbell, J. (2021) ‘Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales, Social Justice, and Aesthetic Disidentification’, Studies in English literature, 1500-1900, 61(4), pp. 687–706.

Barnard, M. (1996) Fashion as Communication. London: Routledge

"Zootopia" (2016) directed by Byron, H and Rich, M [film] Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios

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Blog Post 4 Session4 - strategies of realism

15/10/2023

In this lesson, we learnt about the strategy of realism, which provoked me to think about the relationship between art and reality. Art cannot always be completely realistic, and it tends to omit certain aspects of reality.

This reminded me of a game called SimCity, in which the player takes on the role of the mayor and is responsible for building, maintaining and managing his city. The game contains various realistic elements of city management, such as road construction, urban planning, traffic management, resource availability and environmental protection. Players must balance various demands and challenges to ensure the continued development of the city and the satisfaction of its citizens.

This game is known for its highly realistic simulation of city planning and management. Players can experience the complexity and challenges of city management, the size of the city, traffic flow and environmental impact. This makes SimCity an extremely realistic game that appeals to players interested in city planning and management.

However, the 'SimCity' series, while known for its highly realistic city simulations, is not an exact replica of reality. The games contain a number ofseveralof several simplified and abstracted elements to enhance the overall gaming experience. Here are some of the simplified aspects:

Simplified Economic Model: The game's economic model is relatively simplified to make it easier for players to understand and operate. While real-world city economics involve numerous complex factors, the game typically focuses on key indicators like taxes, employment rates, and budgets.

Time Scale: Time in the game usually passes in an accelerated manner to allow players to observe the city's development within a shorter timeframe. This differs from the time scale of city development in the real world.

Environmental and Social Factors: The game may simplify or overlook some complex social and environmental factors, such as crime rates, political decisions, pollution, which can impact city development in reality.

Freedom in City Planning: While "SimCity" allows players the freedom to plan their cities, certain real-world regulations and limitations may be ignored or simplified in the game to provide more creative freedom.

Even though these real-world factors are ignored, the game maintains a high degree of realism, allowing players to simulate and explore the various complexities of city management. This balance makes the 'SimCity' series a broadly appealing urban simulation that offers gameplay and entertainment value. Consequently, although these animated images may not bevisually realistic and/or physically indexical, they areundoubtedly informative and possess a truth value thatlegitimises them and should prevent viewers from automaticallydisregarding them as fictional”(Erlich 2011)

This example made me realise that art is not about achieving perfect realism; in fact, the pursuit of absolute realism may hinder the player's experience. Thus, art involves a process of selecting and omitting elements from reality to create meaningful and engaging experiences.

Reference

Kessler, E.H. and Bartunek, J.M.(2014) Designing Management Maps and Apps.nsights for Discovering and Creating Our Management RealitiesThe Grand Design, byHawkingStephen and MlodinowLeonard.New York: Bantam Books, 2010.Reality lsBroken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, byMcGoniqalJane. New York: Penquin Books 2011' The Academy of Managementreview,39(2),p.234-243.

Erlich, N. (2011) “Animated Documentaries as Maskin”. Animation Studies. 6.

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Blog Post 3 Session 3 - SOURCES - Intertextuality and Transmedia

8/10/2023

This time, we have learned about transmedia, which has both advantages and disadvantages.

Rich Narrative Experience: Transmedia storytelling can provide the audience with a more in-depth and multi-layered narrative experience, allowing them to explore more information about characters, plots, and the fictional world.

Diverse Audience Engagement: Different media platforms and content forms can attract various types of audiences, from movie and TV viewers to book enthusiasts, gamers, and comic fans.

Business Opportunities: Transmedia storytelling offers diverse business opportunities for creators and brands, including box office revenue, book sales, video games, toys, and licensed products, among others.

Creative Freedom: Transmedia storytelling allows creators to exercise their creativity across different media forms to showcase various aspects and elements of the story.

However, transmedia also has many drawbacks. For instance, it can be complex and challenging to coordinate. Meeting the resource requirements can be difficult, and audience engagement can vary. However, I believe the most significant drawback for the entire industry is when it comes to well-known intellectual properties (IPs) with massive and passionate fanbases. Creators may feel immense pressure from these fans, leading to a prioritization of fan expectations over independent creative direction. This can result in a decline in the quality of storytelling and creative exhaustion.

A controversial example is the final season of the television series "Game of Thrones." This series, based on George R.R. Martin's novels, had been highly acclaimed throughout its run. However, the last season garnered widespread negative feedback, especially regarding the plot development.

In the final season, some viewers and critics believed that the creators, in their efforts to conclude the series, might have sacrificed depth and complexity to meet audience expectations. This, in turn, led to rushed character developments and plot decisions that appeared inconsistent, resulting in a drop in quality compared to previous seasons. Some viewers were disappointed as they had hoped to see more intricate plotlines and character development rather than a simplified conclusion.

This example highlights the challenge in transmedia storytelling, where sacrificing plot and character development to meet fan expectations can lead to adverse effects. Creators and production companies need to carefully balance fan expectations and story quality to ensure that they do not compromise the complexity and creativity of the narrative. This exemplifies a significant challenge within transmedia storytelling — finding the equilibrium between satisfying audience expectations and maintaining story quality.

Reference

lrwin, W. and Jacoby, H.(2012) Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts DeeperThan Swords.1:1st; edn.Hoboken: Wiley.

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Blog Post 2 Session 2 - TOOLS - Medium specificity in the digital age

1/10/2023

In this class, I learned the different types of artworks, and the artwork has different forms.

One of my recent works is to use various 3D software to model and render an ancient Chinese interior style. Then I used PS to make modifications. Through the lens of medium specificity, this work is unique because it combines the traditional process of drawing with the digital tools available to create a seamless blend of the old and the new. The digital illustration medium can easily use computer software to create its materials and textures, and with 3D assistance, drawing does not become very complicated. The work can be easily edited, saved and shared, increasing its reach.

As far as overall art is concerned, I don’t think my work is a complete work of art, although I have designed houses and characters. However, there is no medium to make them soulful. And the Art Station I use is just to let others know that I have come up with these things. If I want to give it a soul, I think my illustrations become the cover of a book or album or become part of a game. If I use different tools, such as traditional painting materials, the work doesn't have the graininess of computer rendering, which takes more time and resources to create, and it won't be as easy to edit and share.

"Blade Runner 2049" is a film work using the film medium. It combines visual storytelling, sound, music and performance to convey its narrative and themes. The film's medium allows it to blend elements such as stunning cinematography, special effects, sound design and cast performances to create a rich and immersive experience unique to the film.

I think "Blade Runner 2049" may still need some improvement in terms of artwork. While it combines various artistic elements such as visuals, music and storytelling, it does not fully integrate other sensory experiences such as touch or taste. But overall, this kind of production is positive as it immerses the viewer visually and emotionally while still leaving room for the plot.

If Blade Runner 2049 was made using different tools, the experience would be drastically different. For example, as a novel, it would rely more on descriptive prose and the reader's imagination to convey the world, potentially having a different emotional impact. The impact of these changes will be a shift in audience participation and interpretation. Different tools may highlight different aspects of the story and themes, resulting in a unique yet distinct experience.

Reference

Omry, K. (2020) ‘'Cells. Interlinked': Sympathy and obligation in Blade Runner 2049’, Science fiction film and television, 13(1), pp. 107–112.

[wangliangying]

Blog post 1 Session 1 Narrative Theory & Interactive Narratives

26/9/2023

Today I had a class about different narrative ways of games. From this class, I know the narrative way has a process like a circle first is to equilibrium, then disruption of the equilibrium, recognition of the disruption, an attempt to repair the damage, and at last, the new equilibrium. Finally, becomes a circle.

That make me think about the film, ' The Shining' The narrative of the movie "The Shining" is that they were on vacation in the mountains, but the father went crazy, and then it snowed heavily and there was no signal. Fortunately, the son has the power of the Shining, which reminds his mother that his father will kill people. The mother found foreign aid, and the mother and son escaped safely.

In addition to movies, the narrative method of games is somewhat different. One of the narrative methods is all picture-based narrative. Although this method is not common, when combined with a network way, many very famous games will be produced. For example, Dark Souls and Soul series games usually contain pictures and network, which was usually for act games. The tree way also be used in games, especially story games.