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Information Artwork Summary for Border Podcast

Recorded for the absurdity and satire regarding surveillance tactics used for the southern border, the research that went into this mini-interview was accurate in current methods and practices used to catch crossers.  From biometrics to horse patrol that is currently being used, weaponized mole-rats were evidently the joke (although not too far off as in WWII we tried to militarize dolphins).  By impersonating BP, I touch upon the border budget and how effective our current methods are in this current climate.  By putting some relevant information out there, hopefully, people will be more informed about the current wall situation.

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Sarah Castillo

Information Project

Outtake #4

Research: Border Security Tactics

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The Yes Men Summary

The Yes Men seek to fix problems in the government via stunts.  As more of progressive ideology, for the first stunt, they hoaxed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  More into details, the Yes Men organized this hoax by masquerading as Chamber of Commerce lobbyists and held a national press conference meeting.  With this, they announced their change in stance on climate change (which they don’t believe in) by announcing a reversed platform of supporting the climate change crisis.  The hoax ended up on news networks like FOX and got national attention.  After the hoax, the Chamber of Commerce tried to raise funds to counter the damage the Yes Men have caused as well as tried to sue them for being victims of a hoax.  The finale was that the Chamber changed its position on climate change and supporting the cause.

As for the second stunt, the Dow and Union Carbide hoax were evidently more elaborate than the first that made Dow lose 2 billion dollars in stocks.  It all started when the Yes Men made a fake Dow website and got invited to a BBC international television broadcast.  The purpose of this was to receive justice for the Indians involved in the Union Carbide chemical explosion that killed thousands and left chemical waste around the site.  After the first event they got invited to, it did absolutely nothing and they weren't caught.  After the BBC interview, Dow refused their acceptance of responsibility and in the end, they lost two billion dollars in stock.  Although it seemed like they gave Bhopal false hope when they visited India, it ended up being a resurgence of international attention about an issue that was hidden under corrupt businessmen that got used to the lifestyle of greed.  The people of Bhopal rejoiced for the attention it needed as they also got sweet revenge for the fallen.

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Manufacturing Consent Summary

Manufacturing Consent is how, especially in our political society, obtain public information from sources outside our grasp.  Information starts to become a political power.  In the discussion, Chomsky has provided 5 different ideas on how we obtain information and how it’s used (and concepts that dive deeper into those).  

The first filter discussed in Manufacturing Consent is ownership.  Mass media has a huge impact on political power.  As mass media is a corporation, they want to profit.  Profit, by any means, is acquired by political figures (and other political sources as well) or can we sought by others only if they receive their money.

The next filter is advertising or in other words, mediums funding sources.  Since journalists don't get first picks with broadcasted information, advertisers sweep in as they give funds for more consumerism.  The product advertisers receive is you.  You’re the product.

The third filter is the media elite.  Journalism is flawed because of the idea of complicity.  All big media knows how to influence each other, which brings in journalists into the loop by reporting on compliant information.  Real journalists are pushed to the side.

The fourth filter, flack, discredit and trashes sources.

Last, but certainly not least is the fifth filter: a common enemy.  Having a common enemy instills fear which powers hide behind to influence people's opinions.  

Three journalists that were interviewed discuss the importance of critical analyses in regards to Chomsky's information ideas.  Before, many thought that we live in a free press society, which isn’t that true.  Democracy has flaws that many ignore.  The truth is that just like communism has false propaganda, democracy is the same.  

When finding information, everyone has to be careful.  From personal experience, this video touched upon ideas I knew but helped clarify the circles that are created by the five filters and how they trick us just like any communist state.

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The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan Research Summary

Although a weird title, the Massage is actually a message about how information influences humans over time.  Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian philosopher theorist well known for his communication theories sought out new ways of communication in the future (as his theories were publicized in 1967).

As we move forward from these theories into the now, many of his predictions are seen in a great amount today when it comes to communicating in the digital age we live in.  As our mediums change, so does our minds.

Over the last decade, technology was given to us at a rapid pace, and to this day, keeps innovating onward just as fast.  As the human mind adapts to our environments, so did our brains.  Interestingly enough, our minds now retain less than what they used to because technology is able to speak our minds with less critical thinking.  For example, when sending emojis to someone, it takes less thought to send an emoji than an actual thought-out message.  Conversations are being replaced via a different form of communication.  Starting at a young age, it was even mentioned how kids turn up the volume on the TV to tune their arguing parents.

Social media has become a platform for activism and unforgiveness as well.  Social media became a platform of communication to share like-minded opinions, therefore creating big forums of reaction.  These can be so strong that it can help overthrow a government.  As it is a form of activism, it is also an unforgiving way of communication, as when people are videotaped and false accusations.  Even if immoral action is being performed, the forgivingness comes from the fact that the internet is forever, and their lives are forever marked.  As this can be good, it can also be bad.  This can be said for people who are convicted or something, slandered, and then their life is forever changed for something that was found to be false.

When the medium has become the “massage,”  this means that whatever new form of medium is being used to communicate, it becomes an important part of the message being produced.  A modern example of these theories are gifs sent in group chats. 

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Artwork Summary for Datamoshed video

In short, I created a datamoshed video using various programs such as HxD and Avidemux 2.6.7 to remove most I-frames.  Relating to the concept of privacy in class, I chose an informative, Spanish tech video that describes phones.  While phones can be used to invade people's privacy, this art piece actually represents my personal experiences when marketed advertisements. Although having a Hispanic background, I have no connection to the culture, and when marketed Spanish advertisements by the data collected by me (or listened to), I have no idea what’s being said. 

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This is an informative Spanish video that I have corrupted for the sake of art.

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Artwork Summary for Steve Jobs GIF

Steve jobs is a fairly rich man, however, he is also human like any other person.  This gif is hyperreality in that Ashton Kutcher, the man playing the character “Steve Jobs,” makes the real Steve Jobs more of an action hero with his love life, his inventions, and his family.  It’s more dramatic.  The symbol of the lightbulb in the other eyeglass is to represent the ideas behind the movie, yet the real innovation is with the real Steve Jobs.

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Artwork Summary for Rugby GIF

To create this Rugby ball gif, I combined stop-motion animation and drawing animation to touch upon the concept of simulation.  By making the leg robotic, it simulates what a real leg could do while kicking a ball. Even today, people have prosthetic legs that simulate real ones and are slowly becoming more life-like.

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Video Summary of Rick Roderick, Baudrillard: Fatal Strategies (1993)

We are living in an apocalypse, yet all we can do is follow Fatal Strategies.  

Baudrillard, a post-modern French social theorist, argues society technology has already overcome humans, as humans, and reality is or in the process of disappearing completely.  In Rick Roderick’s video explaining Baudrillard’s Fatal Strategies and the concepts of reality, hyperreality, simulation, and simulacra, he discusses how technological advances have changed human relations including what is the truth.

Reality itself can be simulated.  Simulation is the imitation of reality.  Looking inward, quite possibly are living in a simulated world.  Thinking about it, video games like Farm Simulator (a game where you literally simulate farming) are of modern-day simulations we don’t think about taking over our minds.  This starts to lead us into simulacra.  These simulacra are a simulation, however, they’re copies that have no original aspects to them anymore or never had them in the first place. The movie TRON Legacy and The Matrix are simulacra’s in that both of them simulate a different concept of society, yet they deviated so much from our current world that they don’t have any relatable aspects left in them.  Hyperreality, more so an overexaggerated reality.  As Roderick says, “it’s more real than real.”  This is shown on TV every single day.  Reality TV like The Bachelor, Keeping up with the Kardashians, and Love Island are real.  yet, they’re more than real.  They’re what we want to be real.  With the Bachelor, girls are to win the love of the single male bachelor and get married to them, which is supposed to be true.  However, most of these marriages end in divorce.  These shows are purposely edited to change the perspective of the viewer.

Even war can be altered from reality, even though wars are the realest events that could happen.  The only option to deal with the apocalypse is to use Baudrillard’s Fatal Strategies.  

The object will always win over the subject.

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Summary of Slavoj Žižek on personal identity and the 'inner self'

Slavoj Žižek, a Slovenian Philosopher, is introduced in an interview to reveal the truth behind the ‘inner self.’  He begins by discussing how a fake persona (like when people make fake accounts online as someone else) isn’t actually fake.  To explain, creating a fake persona is actually who the person is, but society has pressed them to be the person they don’t want to identify with.  Contructing who we want to be is taking initiative into morphing our true selves, but society hinders our progress.

Slavoj goes on discussing how the mask isn’t hiding the real you, as the mask was the real you all along.  Shocking, as we are conditioned to know that the mask always hides a person.  The mask we make is our external drive to be the ones we want.  Thus the mask is the real truth.

Why should we keep the persona?

Our true self (quoted) is “full of shit,” and “misery.”  This is because society has told us to change.  Our masked personas start to come out in fiction.  Another example of this is rich people in love.  Society has told them to stay in their class and marry within.  What if a rich person was to put on a fake persona that they’re different in the hopes to find their real true love?

People are already are what they are.  The ultimatum of this interview is how expressing yourself is the key to obtaining the true self.  Rather than holding in this concept of inner truth, which is a lie we keep seeking and will never find, one obtains the true self by executing who they want to be rather than just wishing on a star.  It’s the life we construct that makes us true, versus just holding back everything we could offer.

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Artwork Summary “The Self”

Jennifer Aniston, Paris Hilton, Kylie Jenner hold a high status during their decade.  “The Self” that is portrayed is how Hollywood women in their decades influence younger girls.  Famous women often define what girls should do or follow. Each photo, that represents the decades from the 90s to 2010, has my face photoshopped on the women.  The photoshop job is obvious to further represent girls that feel they are given unrealistic expectations of their identification.  In the last photo, these women are together with icons that are negative impacts on their mental health, just like young girls view on Hollywood.

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Artist Project Summary for Montage Image

The goal of my photoshopped montage was to create a juxtaposition based on religious symbolism throughout monotheistic texts. I created this Garden of Eden-esque environment that involves a dove, a religious book, and two-snakes.  The dove is carrying away one of the snakes from its home. However, the dove is supposed to be a symbol of peace. Snakes have been deemed as evil, yet only are aggressive when bothered.  The juxtaposition created was that the idea of peace sounds nice, but to achieve peace, there is always concealed harm that goes unacknowledged (or purposely ignored). 

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Artist Project Summary for Montage Video

In this 20-second long video, fireworks are being banned as they’re “super” dangerous.  Conversely, America is ready to fight other countries using all its power (including nukes) if necessary.  War kills millions, but what about fireworks? Rather looking at the specifics, this juxtaposition is a general commentary of the irony behind some of the U.S.A’s laws and political choices.  In a way, it might comment on how America can be egocentric.