The quintessential first lecture of a course is one of vague relation, add something as eclectic form-wise as media and this will ultimately increase that. I have yet to find out what it is that I specifically want to in this area, so the vagueness of the lecture matches this in a way that is actually beneficial, contrary to what one might expect.

N. Katherine Hayles’ 2007 study of ‘Hyper and Deep Attention’ surprised me in the way that it suggested that the younger generations of Y and Z’s tendencies for employment of hyper attention may not necessarily be derogative to their learning. It is almost a cliche now to hear the older generations who have the spot light lament how our generations are forsaken in the way they have short attention spans, and are more easily bored. Yet Hayles interestingly questions of whether this is a negative way of learning at all, instead suggesting this may allow for further advances in science and technology, where such multi-tasking is necessary. It also lead me to ask the question, is our higher standard for deep attention an example of impatience, or simply our constant searching of a higher standard in quality of what we pay attention to? I think it’s important to realize the amount and quality of content has grown an enormous amount since generations X and Baby Boomers were at the age our generation is at now. We may not be as impressed with the costumes of Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 Planet of the Apes now when we have seen the artistically and technically outstanding visual effects in Matt Reeves 2014 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It is in my belief that once we have seen a certain level of quality in content, anything below that degree (that may have been seen as worth attention before), becomes significantly subjectively unworthy of the same level of attention we once paid to it.

The lecture also made me question what characterizes the way I learn. If I take into account the way I learnt in year 12, I discovered at the end of the year the best way for me to understand was to have previous years work laid out in front of me to draw inspiration. This is wholly indicative of the fact that I lack the same apparent creativity that my classmates in this course naturally hold. Therefore drawing inspiration from literal content laid out before my eyes allows me to (or at least attempt) to keep up on the creative side of things.

In terms of what I hope to learn, I have assembled a list of 10 things I hope to achieve/gain a better understanding of come the conclusion of the 3-year course.

Comparison of Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 ‘Planet of the Apes’ compared to the recent 2014 Matt Reeve’s ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’