#criticalreflection

[nicolesthoughtsonconsumption]

The Role of Consumption in Structuring my Day-to-Day Existence & the Academic Study of Consumption

Consumption plays a significant role in our day-to-day existence because it allows us to meet and cater to our needs and desires. The act of consuming is defined as the act of using, eating and/or digesting resources or products. Moreover, we consume whether it is intentional or not. These can be in the form of consuming goods like food, information, shopping or travel for leisure and entertainment. “Consumers embody a simple modern logic, the right to choose.” (Gabriel, 1995). According to Gabriel, choice is a powerful tool that consumers have access to and that consumerism is able to drive the economy. In modern society, consumers are able to practise their ability to choose what they would like to consume and how much of it they consume. These choices are also often shaped and projected through one’s social and cultural backgrounds, as well as one’s personal autonomy. 

In the following paragraphs, I will discuss my own consumption in terms of food, shopping, information as well as entertainment with the aid of the unit readings and some sources of my own research. 

Firstly, as a basic human necessity, one has to eat food and drink beverages to quench one's hunger thirst. Since eating and drinking is already practised since young, oftentimes we do not think much of it anymore because it has become a natural part of our lives. However, what we may fail to realise is how our choices in consumption structures the way we live. On a daily basis, I get to choose what type of meal to consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner or the additional snacks I would consume throughout the day. However there are certain factors that affect my decisions. For example, as a consumer, I have the option of deciding whether I would like to purchase an affordable meal in a food court or if I would opt for a meal more costly than usual in a restaurant. My finances (at the time being) however, determine if I am able to treat myself to a dish that is slightly more expensive than my usual lunches throughout the week. As a student who still mainly relies on her parents for financial support, I have to check if the supposed meal is within budget and how often I can splurge a little bit more on food. This may not be an issue to someone of a higher socio-economic status and can thus have lesser limitations and have broader food experiences. Through this, we can observe that consumption can be an indicator of one’s social class. 

Next, I would like to talk about shopping. “Throughout most of recent history, shopping has been viewed as a laborious activity, one that must be undertaken as a means of survival. The activity rarely, if ever, possessed qualities that could be considered enjoyable” (Timothy, 2005). That is not the case for me though, shopping for clothes is a leisure activity for me and one that I particularly take in. I enjoy taking my time to browse through the store to select articles of clothing that strikes my attention. As I grow older, I find myself being more particular about the quality and price of clothes so I spend a bit of time roaming around different stores looking for the best deals and good quality fabric. As a teenager though, I used to impulsively buy clothes as I found myself influenced by trends online and I had wanted to dress similarly to my favourite artists. It was also some form of retail therapy for me. Looking back, I do not even wear these clothes anymore because of its quality and it is no longer my style of clothing. Unfortunately, mass produced fast fashion apparels were the most affordable option as opposed to ‘sustainably-produced’ clothes. Many individuals vilify people who buy fast-fashion clothes because it is produced unethically but sustainably produced clothes are not cost-friendly to most people. In a chapter by Littler (2014), it is questioned if ethical consumption is “...mainly used as a high-end status pursuit for the moneyed classes, a panacea for middle-class guilt?”. For instance, ethical consumption is marketed to the more affluent and ‘educated’ society, where they have the means to afford and live the eco-friendly or green lifestyle which then further divides the rich and poor, increasing inequality amongst society. 

Thankfully, I have realised that impulsively buying clothes in bulk is unnecessary and a waste of money. This change of mindset has reduced my spendings on clothes and has also lessened my tendency of over-consumption. I rarely visit retail stores nowadays but I still do find myself surfing the web to browse through clothes. Now, I am more selective of items I purchase and am trying to build a capsule wardrobe which consists of staples and long-wear clothes as opposed to buying ‘trendy’ clothes which I am only going to wear less than 10 times. 

“The problem is not that people own things: the problem is that things own people. It is not consuming but consumerism we criticise; not affluence but affluenza” (Hamilton, 2005, p8). To expand on this phrase, many struggle with conspicuous consumption where wealth and status is displayed through branded or materialised goods. Personally, I have yet to experience this because I currently do not have much interest in luxury items. It is however not unusual for one to see, especially in this age where almost everything is shared online. Through influencers and celebrities, we often see them decked from head-to-toe with branded items perhaps due to sponsorships or so as to present them of a higher socio-economic class from the masses. I can see why this form of consumption may be detrimental to those who fantasise about that certain lifestyle. 

For entertainment, I consume a lot of media to satiate my boredom and curiosity. To be frank, I could spend hours, mindlessly scrolling through social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. I also receive news information from these applications. I suppose that because the content is bite-sized, it is easier for me to digest and consume. Content that shows up on my timeline becomes more and more personalised because of the data collected through my likes. This would then send an instant gratification to my brain because the system shows me videos or pictures that I am interested in. However, I find that my social networking usage decreases my attention span. I find it harder to focus and sustain my attention during longer forms of media like 3-minute videos or long articles. I prefer watching TikTok videos because they are short-form content rather than long Youtube videos as it is difficult to sit through a whole video. From a scholarly journal, it is discussed that individuals are constantly on “an information overload from both the quantity of information available and the speed of which information gets into the hands of individuals through advertising and multimedia” (Carstens et al., 2018). This means that in an information and an attention economy, we are persistently exposed to information and it is unavoidable. Whereas attention of individuals are scarce or deficit because one has so many choices of consumption. The increase of social networking usage could be interlinked to the fact that human beings are social creatures who desire to be a part of a community (Lukinova et al., 2014). Since social media allows one to connect and communicate with people from all over the world, the human desire to interact with one another is fulfilled. Therefore, social media usage and consumption rises. 

Through the readings, one is able to critically analyse the semiotics and reasons of consumption. Consumption is complex and comes in a variety of forms. We not only consume physical, tangible goods but we also consume experiences whether it be in consumption of food or through our shopping experiences. In restaurants, one takes in the ambience of eating in a store, usually in the presence of other people who are dining in. There are unique visual and audio elements when one sits and dines in a restaurant as opposed to eating at home. The same goes for physically travelling to the shopping centre. Shopping malls are designed to attract consumers of all different profiles. Even though it may be unsaid, one can recognise that certain shops or shopping malls are targeted to a particular group of people (especially the rich and more privileged) because their consumption of goods drives the sales for such luxury stores. 

However, consumption should not be polarised to “purely negative” nor should one categorise it as “purely positive” (De Solier, 2013). One should not automatically criticise an individual for being unable to use ethically-produced goods because for many, they are not affordable. From Littler (2011), ethical consumption may be used by the government and corporations to push the narrative of responsibility to individuals on making an environmental change and ‘go green’. Whereas these big organisations do not take the accountability for making real change given the power they have yet are profit-making through the supposed ‘pro-environment’ products they sell to consumers. 

To conclude, the academic study of consumption helps to define how acts of consumption could be influenced through social, cultural, environmental and economic factors. It acts as a guide for me to be more conscious and critical of what I consume. The concepts I have learned allows me to realise and be more aware of the negative implications of consumption on an individual and societal basis. Although we have a choice as the consumer in what we consume, it also makes me question whether this so-called ‘power’ is just manipulated and curated by companies in order to profit off of us. Lastly, it also helped me realise that pursuing our consumption habits may be a means to better one’s life, one’s formation of self-identity, as well as in pursuit of happiness. 

[nicholasandriani]

Review, Seven Levers for Social Change through Games: From Settlers of Catan to Autonomía Zapatista. Issue 17 of Game Environments Journal

Cati Hernández, Noemí Blanch, Pablo Garaizar, Emiliano Labrador, 428-448, 2022 The article “Seven Levers for Social Change through Games: From Settlers of Catan to Autonomía Zapatista” by Cati Hernández, Noemí Blanch, Pablo Garaizar, and Emiliano Labrador, published in the Gaming Journal, provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential for games to promote social change. The authors argue…

[collectifreflection]

[printstudios]

I’ve been following #letstalktools with @cfpr_research and wanted to contribute by proposing three tools that have significance for my workshop-based art practice and in reference to my current interest in David Pye’s seminal publication ‘The Nature and Art of Workmanship’ . The hand-carving tool has been a staple tool in my printmaking toolbox for over fifteen years and represents the ‘Workmanship of Risk’. With direct access to a CNC router @fellesverkstedet I have recently acquired a two-bladed carving tool which represents the ‘Workmanship of Certainty’. The third tool is the ubiquitous smartphone, a digital device for documenting and disseminating, and represents the ‘Critical Reflection’ in my artistic research. @sofie.boons #davidpye #workmanshipofrisk #criticalreflection #artisticresearch @khio_printanddrawing @khio https://www.instagram.com/p/CDJG2ySJ-yh/?igshid=8t5y0ok6smwo

[grad503-kayleigherwee]

Reflection

Since I’ve only just learnt Illustrator and Photoshop, I am happy with what I can create with it now, but I want to improve it to become professional and efficient in it.

I enjoyed creating vectors and icons and would like to improve upon it because I think it’s quite a useful skill to be good at.

I have improved with the pen tool in Illustrator, but I am at a beginner level and struggle to make objects unless I’m tracing something for it. I managed the in-class and SDL activities fine, but once I wanted to create my own designs or without tracing, I struggle to control the lines and anchor points the way I would like. I think what I can do with it is good enough for my designs so far, but if I were to go further in adobe and create more complex and professional designs it would be good to be better with it. I also haven’t used clipping masks except for the in-class activity, I would like to further my skills on it.

I also noticed a few times when I remove backgrounds or subjects in photoshop, I still get jagged lines or bits from the removed part left, I'd normally use an eraser or spot healer to remove it. With more knowledge on photoshop tools and effects I think I can fix this.

At first, I didn’t use grids at all, I can make square and rectangle grids easily, but not circular and I struggled to use them efficiently. I would like to improve upon this for future work and better incorporate them into layouts.

From the past weeks I’ve learnt how to use the basic toolkit of both Illustrator and Photoshop, I learnt how to use layers efficiently and to my own liking. I was introduced to the pen tool but would like to improve my skills with it, and I learnt how to use Photoshop and Illustrator hand in hand, and a few other skills within each program.

I know I can improve on my poster, but I am proud with how it came out and I think it combines Swiss poster styles and Herbert Matter’s Poster styles well enough. Next time I would like to try starting by recreating reference poster designs or basing my designs from them, and then turn it into my own design from there, instead of starting from nothing and trying to match up the desired style when the poster is already laid out.

In the beginning of week 5, I started getting stuck with my poster designs and not having enough ideas for it or liking what I had. I eventually came to design I liked after many changes, edits and hours in Illustrator and Photoshop. After receiving feedback, I explored a more Swiss design approach, and I wasn’t exploring different paths and ideas or using grids very much until then. The brainstorming helped with finding more ideas, I went back to the previous ideas I had documented and written down and experimented from there.

When I started designing posters, I realized I didn’t have a very large source of relevant assets, I had to create as I designed, which worked out fine, but if I had more to work with from the start I wouldn’t have to create and test, and then create more after seeing if it worked or not. I think I could’ve saved myself some time and stress if I had planned my assets a bit better.

I’ve been homeschooled my whole life, so everything is quite new to me. I am proud of myself for what I have already achieved and learnt in all the courses.

I’m really enjoying everything, thank you to everyone involved!😊

[hollyoxleylevel4]

Transition - Week 8

For my final task for Transitions, I needed to create a 100 word critical reflection one one of the themes I have learnt in this unit. I found this helpful because it started my 500 word critical reflection that I needed to submit at the end of this unit.

[inthenameofthebody]

[drraptjr]

Reposted from @drcourtneyrose Still reflecting on the depth of the discussions I had with students after the assumption activity (check out my latest IGTV video). This piece by Jason Irizarry highlights just how intricate and unique the identity development process is and how limiting superficial, race-/ethnicity-based understandings of culture. For educators, and really those of us working in any field, it is necessary to be explore the nuances in the way culture is developed and performed and how this should inform our work. * * * #teachersofinstagram #culturallyrelevantteaching #culturallyrelevantpedagogy #teachereducation #classroommanagement #blackteachersmatter #urbaneducation #teacherssupportingteachers #teacherselfcare #selfcare #teacher #criticalreflection #selfreflection #dialogue #voice #love #teacherquotes #educationquotes #quotes #educationalequity #reflection #hiphoped #mindfulness #passion #creativityfound #identity #culture #hybrid #race https://www.instagram.com/p/B7z47gJAQJW/?igshid=11qlhce12dpmo

[cinematicquack]

Critical Reflection - Single-shot dialogue film

‘Call’

An over-worked, young woman is struggling to keep her life together when her absent mother calls her

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

Over the past few weeks, I have been developing a script for a single shot dialogue film. It began from a stimuli image that I picked at the beginning of the term.

(Gregory Crewdson’s, ‘Cathedral of the Pines’)

The image has an unsettling atmosphere and makes the viewer feel like an outsider observing this girl. The composition also drew me in as it distances the audience due to the framing of the walls, making them feel like an unwanted observer.

I then began to create some ideas for a dialogue screenplay. I liked the idea of spectating a painful moment to make the audience both uncomfortable about the situation, and sympathetic to the character. My idea was to capture an argument between a girl and her unsupportive mother over the phone, only hearing the girl’s side of the conversation so we can sympathise more with her. I wanted to challenge myself by creating a one-sided argument. When writing the screenplay I struggled to create a naturalistic conversation; I improvised and also watched many scenes from films to try and create the realistic dialogue, however, I still feel that my final draft isn’t as natural as I want it to be. I sat in my kitchen whilst writing my script as that is where I wanted the film to be set. I feel this helped me as I could plan out movement. I also created a floor plan to help document the movements I wanted.

Link to watch ‘Call’ on google drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LcuZTQAea8zPijlxC3DLKum4v2k4qOxQ/view?usp=sharing

For the actual film, I wanted a dulled-down Wes Anderson style shot. I love vibrant colours and I feel that utilising colours will create a more appealing shot. I also feel that the use of colour will help emphasise how the young woman is being treated like a child by her parent. I was originally going to make the shot super vibrant, however, my cinematographer Euan suggested we make it a bit duller to emphasise the unsettling atmosphere. I feel this really worked as it made the bright colours seem a lot sadder and gave the scene a bleaker tone which allows the conflict to shine through.

Before university, I have never worked on a proper film set with a crew, so I have very little experience. This term I really wanted to gain an understanding of the process of working in a crew and I feel I have achieved this. This was also my first time directing and I feel I managed well, I was able to direct in a constructive way whilst still being strict enough to get across my vision. I really benefited from the hard work of both Euan (who helped me get the shot I wanted) as well as Molly (who did a great job acting).

I feel that most of my team were very committed and enthusiastic. However, Josh had a huge lack of communication and didn’t do anything on set apart from hold the boom mic. I feel he made the process a lot more stressful than it had to be. Fortunately, everyone else was very enjoyable to work with. All of them gave creative input and communicated well. They also put up with me having panic attacks which is very much appreciated. I would in future like to be stricter on my crew so that communication issues do not occur again. The most satisfying element was watching the final cut, I am super proud of it even if there are a few things I would change.

I feel that the final product is good. I would’ve liked to develop my script more so that the dialogue flowed better and was more naturalistic. I also feel that the footage is a bit flat, however, I don’t necessarily mind this as I feel it gives a more observational style to the scene. I feel that Molly’s acting is amazing, she manages to convey the frustration and also guilt that the character feels. The moment of silence at the end of the scene is really striking and I feel Molly’s acting is a key part in how successful the final product is.

I really wanted to create this film as I wanted to challenge the idea of ‘respecting our elders’. I feel that in life we should not have to feel guilty for being angry at our elders as a lot of the time, they have done something to warrant that anger. This is based on my own experiences and feelings and based on the feedback I got from the class; they also resonate with the emotions.

Moving forward, I will make sure my future groups understand the importance of communication as I do not want this stress in future endeavours. I will also focus on making my scripts more naturalistic in dialogue. I also would love to try to direct again as I want to gain more experience in production roles.

[naturecolourslove]

Glass ceilings

Shattering the glass ceiling hurts. 

And passing through the shattered glass also hurts because those who pass through the glass ceilings inevitably end up carrying the shards with them. 

- Sumbal Sabah

[sticksandstoneseducation]

So excited. This is coming! We're publishing a reflective journal unlike anything else. #sticksandstoneseducation #phoenixsupportforeducators #reflectivepractice #eylfreflections #criticalreflections #learningthroughplay #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhoodteacher #earlychildhoodeducator #eylf #earlyyears #earlyyearslearningframework #smallbiz #playmatters #playideas #imaginativeplay #preschool #preschooleducation #kindy #kindergarten

[nicholasandriani]

Review: This Time it’s for all the Marbles. Social Injustice in Digital Gaming, Issue 17 (2022)

As a games studies scholar, I must say that Issue 17 (2022) of the Gaming Journal truly stands out as a remarkable addition to the field. Titled “This Time it’s for all the Marbles: Social Injustice in Digital Gaming,” the special issue offers a critical examination of the complex intersections between digital gaming and social injustice. The introduction to the special issue is particularly…

[collectifreflection]

a meditation on the body as a political tool & 

how we can reflect on each other / self & recognize they are always changing 

[psychnstatstutor]

#PsychnStatsTutor #Cairns #PeaseSt #sign is #go ! Will bring it in at night given the rate of silly-bugger in the hood. #tutor #psychology #statistics #SPSS #Excel #online #facetoface #phone #university #criticalessay #researchreport #literaturereview #criticalreflection #presentation #researchproposal #thesis #researchmethods #stats #analysis #distancestudents #tutorlife #studentlife #graduatepreneur #education #appliedpsychology #student #tertiary #highered (at Cairns, Queensland, Australia)

[sujini123]

Book launch + presentation : The German Library Pyongyang 북 프리젠테이션: 독일평양문화원 . . . #사라반더하이데 #김경만 #김소라 #이동영 #saravanderheide #germanlibrarypyongyang #goetheinstitut #northkorea #criticalreflections #삐소리가울리면 #updatingblogsoon #아트선재센터 #artsonjecenter #주한독일문화원 #☄️ #💥 (at 아트선재센터[ARTSONJE CENTER])

[surveycircle]

Participants needed for online survey! Topic: "Classroom climate, critical reflection and personal attitudes" https://t.co/q7g7CXaKKD via @SurveyCircle#ClassroomClimate #CriticalReflection #integration #multiculturalism #bachelor #survey #surveycircle pic.twitter.com/YYEUVkASp7

— Daily Research @SurveyCircle (@daily_research) March 26, 2020