Student Reviews: Remediation (Blog 8)

     Over the duration of this course, we have explored many topics related to the interplay between media and its audiences. The cultural implications of remediation, the socio-political perception with which we percieve Graffiti, are but a few of the interesting topics which we have covered. Anthropology students, Rachel Roy and Chelsea Ousey wrote effective blogs commenting on Mazarella’s article, Culture, Globalization, Mediation. Each offered their own unique perspective on this issue, which are supported by the conclusions of Hong and Chiu in their article, Toward a Paradigm Shift: From Cross-Cultural Differences in Social Cognition to Social-Cognitive Mediation of Cultural Difference.

     Rachel Roy’s blog entry examined Facebook within the context of the author’s work. She highlighted an interesting example of how Facebook, as an internet community was able to unite people under one cause. She exemplified her personal experience during the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver in Flashmob, as well as an even more contemporary example in Egypt’s recent revolution. Roy discusses how the flexibility of Facebook’s nature as a global social medium is what makes it have distance and intimacy simultaneously. This seems reasonable to conclude because of the level of personalization of the medium which allows the user to create a personal outlet which reflects them individually with pictures, posts and a friend network. The vastness of this medium and its ability to transform depending on the individual is what also creates distance which pertains to its global and individually stylistic aspects. Roy later illustrates how the alternate reality and one’s ability to create and manipulate one’s virtual reality is an important aspect to consider. The global nature of Facebook, allows for a venue of cultural exchange whereby individuals are able to appropriate cultural attributes from one another and thus re-create themselves over time. This cultural appropriation may remain solely online, but it also may transition off of the screen and into one’s real life in the form of knowledge at the very least.

     Chelsea Ousey examined Mazarella’s article in application to an ethnographic film on the indigenous people Kayapo. Ousey describes how this ethnographic film was self-mediated by the Kayapo, the result of which enabled them to control their mediated representation. As such, the Kayapo were again as Mazarella claims, able to become self-aware of themselves and percieve their interaction through its mediation. Ousey calls into question the effect of globalization on culture, as indigenous groups like Kayapo are in contact with the film crew who initially filmed them, or the effect of this culture being shown to audiences around the world. Ousey concludes that culture is re-constituted by its interaction with foreign cultures. The process Ousey describes is one in which culture is not percieved as a static element, but an evolving, progressive entity which thrives with new stimuli from foreign contact.

     This argument is supported by two researchers in Hong Kong,  who together examined the effect of media on cultures. Hong and Chiu claim that “cultures as dynamic open systems that spread across geographical boundaries and evolve through time” (Hong, 1). They endorse the dynamic constructivist approach as a framework with which to investigate and perceive culture. They claim that rather than Globalization to be viewed as a threat to cultures, the fusion of cultures can be a benefit in which “multicultural individuals can spontaneously change the cultural lenses that are available to them through multicultural learning” (Hong and Chiu, 14). Therefore mediation of culture is a benefit to both the audience and its subjects.

     Both students drew intriguing insight to Mazarella’s article. The Hong and Chiu study supported their common ideas surrounding the benefits of mediation and cultural fusion. Interestingly enough, I wonder how the students will reflect on their own works, as it has been received and remediated through my blog.

Sources:

Hong and Chiu. (2001). Toward a Paradigm Shift: From Cross-Cultural Differences in Social Cognition to Social-Cognitive Mediation of Cultural Difference. Social Cognition, Vol. 19, No. 3, 2001, pp. 181-196

Let the Right One In: Psychoanalysis (Blog 7)

     Scandinavian films are well known for their psychological thrillers. Their film making style is not characterized by special effects, fast pace, or action aesthetics. Instead, Scandinavian films involve complex plots, characters and play on our Freudian psychological commonalities which act to draw the audience in. The characters and the problems which they face are very relatable and the audience is able to identify with the film. Identity is one aspect that British feminist film theorist, Laura Mulvey, considers of great importance in her study of cinematic gratification. Mulvey describes how audiences identify with characters in films which enable the viewer to project “one’s self into that character” (Gray, 59).

     The Swedish film, Låt den Rätte Komma In, also known as Let the Right One In to English speaking audiences, has characters which are very well developed and share experiences with peers and family members which many can relate to. Yet amongst this familiar setting is a thrilling film about a boy whose first love turns out to be a vampire. The film’s characters deal with power and group dynamics which provide great material for psychoanalysis. The two lead characters, Oscar, the boy and Eli, the little girl vampire, are opposites in nature. Eli is an aggressor, while Oscar is a victim of school bullying. Oscar reacts to his bullying by re-enacting the torment of the day and altering the ending to one in which he retaliates verbally and then stabs a tree with a jackknife. At school, the bullies taunt and whip him until he is bruised. Oscar desperately wants to stand up for himself however, he is out-numbered at a three-to-one ratio of bullies and is paralysed with fear when they approach him. Therein lies a power dynamic within the bully group. The leader scolds the others and demands that they whip Oscar. Although they follow the leader’s commands, one boy cries while whipping him out of guilt and shame and yet he continues, thus demonstrating the hold of the power dynamic. When Oskar meets Eli, and their friendship blossoms, so too does his self-esteem. One day, Oskar retaliates to the bully’s astonishment. Oskar stands tall and proud looking upon the bleeding wound he inflicted on the crying bully. He has a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of relief that overcomes him and alleviates the sore memories of bullying.

       Lancan’s theory on Psychoanalysis describes the awareness of self as a separate entity from the mother which lends to a sense of incompleteness and the “child seeks to overcome that lack and regain completeness” (Gray, 58). Lancan’s theory dictates that one seeks substitutes for this sense of “lack”, in the form of vices or love, in order to feel complete once more. In this film we see that Oscar feels alone, isolated. He is disconnected from his peers and has intimate discussions with no one, including his parents. When Oskar meets Eli, he is seeking partnership to alleviate that lack and this feeling of completeness helps to strengthen him against the school bullies. The companionship which he has with Eli counterbalances his weakness and ‘completes’ him in that sense. Their antithesis of one another is the basis for their attraction for one another and the fruit born of their relationship is their appropriation of her strength and his gentile nature. When Oskar retaliates against the bullies, the appropriation of her strength is evident, and Oskar’s confidence grows. Eli’s character starts off as a dominating figure who manipulates a grown man to murder people and drain their blood for her consumption. She yells at the man and bullies him, yet when she meets Oskar, she appropriates his innocence and kindness. Eli becomes more child-like and vulnerable throughout the film.

     Let the Right One In is a film rich in characters for psychoanalysis. Characters Oskar and Eli demonstrate qualities which both Lancan and Mulvey discuss in their literature on psychoanalysis of cinema. When Eli is forced to leave, their co-dependency is revealed. Oskar attempts to move on but is again confronted by the bullies. As the bullies try to drown Oskar, he is saved by Eli who massacres and dismembers all of the bullies. Eli and Oskar run away together, realizing their co-dependency for completeness. The two characters have many relatable personalities and problems which create grounds for the viewer to identify with them and thus enjoy a greater cinematic experience as Mulvey claims. Oskar and Eli also demonstrate the feeling of “lack” and loneliness which they cure in one another with their relationship as predicted by Lucan’s theory.

Sources

Gray, Gordon. (2010). Cinema: A Visual Anthropology. New York, USA: Berg Publishers.

Radio: Interactive Media and the Cycle of Influence (Blog 6)

     Radio programming has a different effect of mediation than that of film. Without the visual aids, radio communication is forced to put all of their focus on the verbal materials which they wish to communicate whether it is entertainment or non-fiction information sharing. This medium requires the listener to use their imagination to visualise and conceptualise the topics of conversation. This invokes more participation and draws a more active audience than that of film which provides the visual and audio and requires nothing of a passive audience. Radio’s tendency to require and provoke audience participation in the materials lays the grounds for reciprocation of influence between the radio programming and its listeners.

     PhD student in Anthropology, Tal Nitsan described the value of women’s radio programming in Guatemala, in a lecture at the University of British Columbia. Nitsan illustrated the effect of radio on its audiences and how that effect comes full circle back to radio, thus creating a self-perpetuating cycle that nourishes both the audience and the radio programming. Nitsan detailed an account of a woman who happened upon the women’s radio program in Guatemala and became a faithful listener. This woman eventually attended the radio’s community workshops on education such as those pertaining to women’s rights. This woman was empowered by this knowledge and applied it to save the life of her daughter-in-law who was being beaten nearly to death by her son. The knowledge passed on by the radio programming had a real effect on the community in which it served. As Nitsan declared, it indirectly saved the life of a woman.

     This woman also became an employee of the radio program, which was mutually beneficial for both parties. She was able to share this story and be an advocate for the radio show, while also benefiting from her involvement from the empowering information and support she received. This demonstrates reciprocity and cycle of influence which radio programs and their listeners can be privy to.

     Franz Fanon describes the influence of media in his article, This Is the Voice of Algeria In A Dying Colonialism. Fanon discusses the role of the radio in Algeria during France’s colonial occupation of Algeria. The radio was a tool which affirmed the French colonial presence to both oppressors and the oppressed who did not own radios and were thereby left out, separated from high society. The French listeners were in part, inspiration for the colonial programming and the radio helped their listeners connect with one another and French culture, society in order to make Algeria feel more homely. The radio gave French listeners “the feeling that colonial society is a living and palpitating reality, with its festivities, its traditions eager to establish themselves” (Fanon, 71).

     The radio then played an equally important role in the reversion of this ideology that normalized and affirmed the French presence. The use of the radio during the Algerian revolution against their colonial masters was in its ability to educate and rally mass amounts of people who were un-involved due to their illiteracy. Radio was able to transcend class because many Algerian natives were unable to read and therefore did not become politically engaged due to the inaccessibility of information to them. Radio reported on the revolution in progress and was involved in creating movement within that revolution.

     In the case of the French colonialist, the oppressed Algerians as well as the women educating one another about their rights, all have this dynamic of radio influencing their audience and the radio itself being a product of that interaction in a cyclical, reciprocal manner. The radio’s strength is in its interactive quality which is influenced by and contributes to the community on which it reports and communicates to.

Sources

Fanon, Frantz. (1965). A Dying Colonialism. New York, USA: Grove Press, Inc.

Nitsan, Tal. (2011). Class Lecture. University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada.

Importance of Context in Remediation and Cultural Appropriation (Blog 5)

     David Novak’s article Cosmopolitanism, Remediation, and the Ghost World of Bollywood, illustrates the significance of context in the process of remediation. He contrasts the usage of the song-and-dance number from the film Jaan Pehechaan Ho, in the film Ghost World, with its remediation by the music band Heavenly Ten Stems. In the film Ghost World, the placement of the song-and-dance number lends an alternative edge to the character. Her appreciation of the obscure film contrasts her “constant scorn for…popular media” (Novak, 44). Conversely, Novak recalls the night in which the Heavenly Ten Stems played their version of Jaan Pehechaan Ho, only to be called racist for their rendition. Novak draws an interesting comparison which calls into question of what context constitutes remediation as trendy, alternative appreciation, versus, racist appropriation. Upon interviewing one of the protesters of the Heavenly Ten Stems concert, the author discovers that the perceived racism is due to the social power dynamics which the interviewer felt was present in society. There was another difference which separated the two remediations, the band dressed up in Asian clothing and accessories, in Ghost World the character merely danced to the music. The protester felt that dressing up in Asian clothing appeared like costuming and made a farce of the culture the band intended to make dedication to.

      A similar example of cultural appropriation is the recent adoption of the ‘n-word’. This word has an awful root in social Darwinist groups, whose Eurocentric perception reduced African decent peoples to a derogatory slang word. This word has now been popularized in the media, especially in rap and hip-hop music videos. However, the ‘n-word’, usage is designated exclusively to African peoples in reference to one another. The word, when used by an African person, denotes an iteration of brethren, solidarity. When the ‘n-word’ is used by a non-African person, is perceived as derogatory as the cultural semiotic reverts to its original meaning.

     Stand-up comic Michael Richards, former actor on the famous sitcom Seinfeld, discovered the limitation of the term after he was called a racist for using the n-word in a skit at comedy club, Laugh Factory in 2006. The backlash against the comedian was enough to severely damage his career. The audience was outraged that a Caucasian man used the ‘n-word’ because of the socially accepted double-standard of the term. Richards apologized for using the term, thus enforcing this cultural dichotomy. Some argue that the ‘n-word’ should be used by no one, due to its connection to bigotry and racial oppression. In the US, the term recalls a time of African slavery and segregation, which took place less than a century ago. The derogatory term revives cultural tensions and racial awareness. However, for those who use the term, its usage by Africans extinguishes the term. So by using the term, African people diffuse the term and express solidarity for those who would have been subjected to the term in a formerly racist society.  

      This example illustrates the importance of context in appropriation, whether it is media or linguistics. In Novak’s article, he demonstrates to the reader how remediation of the same material can be perceived very differently. The difference which produced this result was the manner in which it was delivered to its audience. Ghost World presented Jaan Pehechaan Ho, as material used to substantiate an alternative persona of the character. By contrast, Heavenly Ten Stems went further and attempted to personify being Asian and resulted in a performance which was not trendy or alternative, but tacky and absurd. Whether it is the appropriation of the ‘n-word’, or remediation through performance or film, context is the most important factor in the acceptance or rejection of items reused.

Works Cited

Novak, David. (2010). Cosmopolitanism, Remediation, and the Ghost World of Bollywood. Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp. 40-72.

Wider social and cultural implications of Graffiti

     The streets of Vancouver, Canada, are decorated one might say, with the art and perspective of graffiti artists. Graffiti itself as an art form, is one of society’s oldest. Found inscribed in stone or painted in caves, anthropologists have observed ancient graffiti to gain a greater understanding about human experience and the culture of that period. So if we examine modern graffiti, what does it say about our society? Interestingly by comparison with ancient times, today graffiti is criminalized and associated with lower social classes.      

     On the City of Vancouver website, it states that graffiti must be removed from private property by owners within ten days of being given written notice by the City. This is in accordance with the graffiti by-law, passed in 2003 to combat graffiti in Vancouver. This by-law also threatens and delivers a five-hundred dollar fine to anyone caught doing graffiti. These enforcements are due to the perception on part of the city that “graffiti is often associated with other crimes”. I wonder how, what many presently accept as an art form, is somehow still vehemently affixed to other acts of vandalism. There is little connection between breaking windows and spray-painting besides their criminalization and perception under the law.

     Graffiti itself as an art genre has various kinds from tagging to murals, which range in both artistic merit and style. Of course the venue for such art is not the most ideal for business owners however, the lack of established or legal location, combined with the passion for artistic expression in spite of which, is what lands this art form on the streets of Vancouver. The City of Vancouver website advertises a list of establishments who specialize in graffiti removal which, it seems in some cases, to be a terrible waste of artistic masterpiece. The removal of incredible mural style spray-paintings actively ignores and denies the artistic merit which it possesses. This seems to be due to a socialized perception of art in reflection of social classes. The association of graffiti with crime and its location, often on the streets, has built up a social and cultural paradigm both for those who remove it and those who create it. There is a subculture which is part of the appeal of graffiti.

A study conducted by Nancy Macdonald in her book The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity, and Identity in London and New York, transcends out-of-date perceptions of class and focuses on the “realm of personal rewards-graffiti as a way of building masculinity, communicating independence, being a ‘nobody’ and becoming a ‘somebody’” (MacDonald, 6). She also emphasizes the passion which graffiti artists possess for their craft. The subculture has its own personal rewards but none greater

than self-expression which lies at the heart of this…crime. Macdonald discusses the lack of understanding in the relationship between graffiti and society at large. Although MacDonald conducted her studies on London and New York, I believe that many of her findings cross national boundaries and can be found here in Vancouver. Just as in London and New York, some Vancouverites couple graffiti with criminality and perceive it as a criminal activity of the low class while there is this lack of mutual respect and understanding between the artist and the municipality.

     Perhaps if the multiple styles of graffiti were not grouped and treated under one by-law then there could be better appreciation for certain types of graffiti such as mural, to the exclusion of others such as bathroom stall etchings. This might allow for better integration of graffiti with society whereby the municipality could better control and coordinate with graffiti artists where they may be allowed by the city to paint. This would provide a venue for those who would prefer to do it legally and for those who choose to remain on the other side of the law, they need not change a thing. Better integration would however, facilitate a greater understanding of the art and alleviate some of the  out-of-date social class stereotypes which still coexist with graffiti.

     .

   Sources:

MacDonald, Nancy
2001 The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity, and Identity in London and New York.

Palgrave Macmillan: 2-45.

Jai Ho, Jai Who?, Jai YouTube

     It was interesting to watch the evolution of the Slumdog Millionaire story from film to music video, to westernized music video and then the subsequent home videos which people produced thereafter. Each evolution of the original was such a departure from the last, and yet still retained some semblance from the original in a few dance moves along the Indian Bollywood continuum. In, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin discusses the value which art takes on once it has been reproduced. Benjamin claims that the original piece of art loses its value as it gets reproduced, in this case, repeatedly. The Slumdog Millionaire film is condensed and fitted with a dance sequence in its first reproduction in the soundtrack music video. The video depicts scenes from the film and illustrates some scenes which are to represent social and cultural aspects of India as well as the film’s plot. In the reproduction of Slumdog Millionaire, I find that the story line of the original is lost in the proceeding reproduction by the Pussycat Dolls. The Pussycat Doll version is notably vacant in terms of plot or substance. The production is reduced to costumes and erotic women gyrating their hips to an Indian backbeat. This Westernized version isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does appeal to a more western audience for marketing purposes. It is however, vastly different from the original music video with only a few congruencies in dance moves carried forward and the appearance of singer A. R. Rahman.

     The next two reproductions which we viewed on YouTube, people create their own interpretation of dance for the song which illustrates the influence of the media on them and their influence on the media as they direct the movement coordinated to the song. The first video which has an English speaking man and a woman from a western country dancing to Jai Ho with a hybrid of Indian dance movements from the original Jai Ho soundtrack video, mixed with what appears to be a bit of HipHop dance styling. The context of the film may be lost but the cultural Indian Bollywood style dance is here, being learned by Western people on the other side of the globe and mixed with the African-American originated dance style.

In the other youtube video, we view some young teenagers performing a dance on stage to Jai Ho while incorporating partner style, formal dance movement popularized in Western countries but originating from Latin America. They infuse this partner style dancing with Indian Bollywood style dancing, again from the film.

     In both YouTube cases, the precise original piece of art may have been lost or reduced along the way however, the spread of culture through media connects people and gives way to cultural fusion. Therefore the reproduction of art has a social and cultural on the audiences who view them. The positive aspect of globalization lies in that cultural fusion facilitates greater common ground between different cultural groups. This translates into less xenophobia and increased tolerance and understanding for other walks of life. So the reproduction of art facilitates the creativity of its reproducer and its additional perspective lends to a broader audience who, having viewed a derivative of the original, have been influenced by the original in its, albeit diluted, form. As Arjun Appadurai dictates in his book, Modernity at Large, these influences are important social and cultural phenomena which now need to be integrated into the field of anthropology so that we might better understand our ever-evolving contemporary culture. Appadurai writes that our “lives are inextricably linked with representations and thus we need to incorporate the complexities of expressive representation (film, novels, travel accounts) into our ethnographies” (64). The evolution of these representations in media influence us which then in turn influences the evolution of global cultures at large and this is worth being examined. In perspective, the ever-gyrating Pussycat Dolls may have not lent much authenticity to Indian culture or the original film itself however, their exploitation of these gave exposure to a much greater audience.

sources:

Appadurai, Arjun
1996 Modernity at Large. Public Worlds 1(2): 48-65.

Benjamin, Walter

1936 The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television.

YouTube.com

Official YouTube version of Jai Ho from the end of the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRC4QrUwo9o

Pussycat Dolls Jai Ho,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piWMN_VNg3Y&feature=related

Slumdog Millionaire Dance Jai Ho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7AuQKFlhXI

Karan Khokar and Divya Ikara- Jai Ho Dance - Tamil Sneham - Tampa, Florida,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqWkFMoLocM

The BBC does Haitian Cholera

   

     The media coverage surrounding the cholera epidemic in Haiti details the suffering and challenges which the Haitian population faces in this national crisis. In my evaluation of the BBC reports of the disease outbreak, the BBC’s coverage has not largely contributed to either the creation of the conditions in Haiti, nor much of its assistance in its aftermath. Rather, the BBC’s media coverage is generally politically neutral as is its role to serve as a medium for information exchange and ideally, not as a venue for judgement and slanted political dialogue.

     Philip Gourevich discussed how foreign intervention can escalate crises in his article, “Alms Dealers”. Gourevich illustrates the challenges and ethical dilemmas which occur as a result of humanitarian aid. Gourevich lists several humanitarian missions such as in Biafra and in Sierra Leone, both in which humanitarian aid contributed to an increase in violence. He states that in consideration of these results, one must question whether the good deeds outweigh the negative side-effects which occur despite humanitarian good intention. Unlike the crises Gourevich examines, in the case of Haiti, the crisis is not of violent conflict nature, it is disease ridden. Therefore, the role of the media does not directly affect the outcome of the outbreak. Unlike terrorists who increase their violent crimes to attract media attention, the disease is not cognitive and not influenced by media in the same way. The BBC should not be evaluated in terms of affecting change in the news they report but by how holistically and accurately they report on their topics.

The BBC does describe the symptomatic effects that the cholera outbreak has had on the population however, they also include much more political and social information as well as academic studies to substantiate their reports. One of the reports made by the BBC discusses the failure of humanitarian aid to make good on their promises for billions of dollars which remain at large. Their discussion also includes findings from a study which is much like Gourevich’s article on humanitarian aid organizations, claiming that some:

• undermine the capacity of the state
• have no accountability to people they serve
• do not always work in under-served areas when asked to by government
• lack coordination
• are top-down and top-heavy

 The BBC’s inclusion of this study opens up the discussion on Haiti to a broader debate and academic evaluation of humanitarian aid at large. This reaches beyond the typical two-dimensional news reporting which depicts diseased and helpless looking people and footage of crying babies.      

     The BBC also released another report which fleshes out the epidemic in terms of the disease’s origin and the political context in which the disease was introduced. In this report, the BBC reveals that the cholera outbreak was thought to have been originated from the UN Peacekeeping troops from Nepal. The report claims that a French disease expert has traced back the cholera strain to the Nepalese troops who have been stationed in Haiti since 2004 to alleviate socio-political distress. This report provides some context and depth with which to understand the complexity of the outbreak in Haiti. Although the BBC report does not specifically discuss the effects which UN troops have in foreign countries, this report does leave the reader with information which lends the reader to question whether foreign aid is creating more harm than good in the countries they occupy. The BBC’s account of the cholera outbreak in Haiti is very informative and provides for fruitful discussion while remaining neutral. The coverage examines the fundamental causes including Haiti’s infrastructure, for the cholera outbreak and its spread across the country. It is not the role of the media to solve political problems but to thoroughly and objectively report information to the masses and the BBC has done a credible job on this subject.

Sources:

Anonymous
   22, Oct. 2010 Scores die in Haiti cholera outbreak

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11608551, accessed Feb.10, 2011.

  23, Oct. 2010 Haiti: Cholera slows but fears of spread remain

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11622523, accessed Feb.11, 2011.

   10, Nov. 2010 Haiti: Cholera confirmed in Port-au-Prince

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11721995, accessed Feb.11, 2011.

   16, Nov. 2010. Haiti cholera reaches Dominican Republic

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11771109, accessed Feb.12, 2011.

   8, Dec. 2010 Haiti cholera: UN Peacekeepers to blame, report says

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11943902, accessed Feb.12, 2011.

Doyle, Mark

  2011 Haiti cholera challenge failed by agencies

BBC news, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12458930, accessed Feb.11, 2011.

Walker, David

2010 Haiti races to stem cholera epidemic

BBC news, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11729665, accessed Feb.11, 2011.