I understand nonfiction to be a genre that involves any content that is factual or based on reality. Nonfiction media generally presents the truth in an informative manner; consumers of nonfiction media assume that they are being presented an authentic and accurate view. Documentaries, photographs and news reports are seen as popular forms of nonfiction media, which follow these conventions of presenting the truth. In contrast, fiction media deals with information, events, and characters expected to be partly or largely imaginary.

In the week 2 reading ‘Reality’  by David Shields, Shields explores the ideas of fiction and reality. He uses prose to illustrate how we interpret reality, stating: “The story’s not important, what’s important is the way the world looks. That’s what makes you feel stuff”, and, “All the best stories are true”. This implies that the author highly values the world in its authentic, raw form over representations or constructed images.

By noticing reality, we are able to document and create nonfiction media that depicts the world as we perceive it. Nonfiction is important as it allows us to learn more about the people, places and things that surround us, and strengthen our understanding of real world events.

I understand noticing to involve selectively attending to stimuli within an environment, such as sounds, smells and other sensory information. By shifting our attention, we are able to take in something’s overall composition as well as its unique features. This is important as it allows us to become aware of our surroundings and can inform our understanding of the world. Additionally, a developed ability to notice is a valuable skill as a media practicioner as it allows us to perceive the world in new and interesting ways.

The week 2 reading by John Mason outlines several levels of noticing: ordinary noticing, marking and recording. Ordinary noticing is a passive process and involves recalling stimuli after a cue from someone or something. A heightened form of noticing is marking, which does not  involve a cue and is an active process- for example, commenting on a sign as you notice it in your environment. The most active form of noticing is recording, which is the act of physically capturing something so that it stays in your memory. Recordings can be returned to, for example a photograph or a note.

Through the readings and in class discussions I was able to differentiate between intentional and unintentional noticing. The former involves a deliberate, conscious effort to notice, whereas the latter occurs on a subconscious level. Another interesting point John Mason makes is that while it is possible to sharpen someone’s sensitivity to notice, the most they can do is attempt to increase their likelihood of noticing. By telling myself that I would notice a particular stimuli, I feel as though this challenged me to pay more attention to my surroundings and increased my likelihood of noticing the subject.