I’ve decided this week’s lecture break-down deserves a soundtrack – so click play and start reading!
One of the main arguments presented by Adrian this week was the idea of materialism, and how it has subconsciously shaped our understanding of the world, as well as the smallest of technologies we take for granted, such as a book or a window. Needless to say, I walked out of that dreaded Building 56 more confused, mind blown and hungry than ever.
I felt ungrateful for everything that ever was. For thinking the paper book was so simple and un-complex compared to a high speed, shiny, retina display smart phone; for thinking windows were rectangular “just ‘coz”; and for taking granted of how diverse and materialistic language is. Its peaks and troughs, colours, textures, depths and rhythms are vibrant and physical. Language is, and I quote: “sexy, beautiful and dangerous”. And here I was too distracted by Zac Efron to even notice.
Even Betty’s interjections throughout the lecture/symposium/unlecture had me thinking – such seemingly basic ‘non-technologies’ have a cultural physicality to them, such as the way by which some languages require reading from right to left as opposed to left to right. I had never considered how this could affect the way different cultures read images. I have a few friends whose first language is Hebrew – a right-to-left language. The lecture definitely inspired me to chat to them about if they feel as though they view imagery any differently. I’ll post about their responses soon!
This week’s lecture surprised me with another slap-in-the-face dream-crushing moment (this seems to be a reoccurring theme in Networked Media lectures). In Adrian’s discussion of the construction of stories, (besides his deconstruction of the traditional ‘beginning-middle-end’ format) he mentioned that there’s no such thing as an accident in a story – that they’re literally “accident-free zones” – and that therefore my life is most definitely not going to be like a movie. Sure, I wasn’t aiming for The Notebook, but a little RomCom can’t be too much to ask for…? According to Adrian it just might be.
See you next symposium xoxo
