Lesson 24:02:15

Plato's allegory of the cave: 

Immersion & flow - immersed so fully in the simulated world that they don't believe the truth about the actual real world 

Hyper reality - you don't know the whole idea of the real world and you're stuck in one idea of what is real

Simulation - other people putting the simulation in (shadows) - celebrities 

Panopticon - you're trapped and other people can see you in the real world and the cave is like a prison, people can keep you chained in or let you out to see the real world

Technology has bought us to a place in history that has allowed us to produce simulations (avatars, 2nd lives, immersive reality, hyper reality) - this postmodernism: the collapse of the real and artificial. Baudrillard suggested we can no longer tell the difference - we are lost in simulation. This opens us up to the concept through familiarity with virtual worlds/virtual identity that reality itself is a simulation. Ironically by moving to digimodernism, we find our selves in Plato's cave.  

Conclusion assessment

B grade - emphiness - rejecting the traditional ideas - lack of belief in progress 

1)how is gaming more Pomo then BM and WIR? 

gaming is more post modern compared to WIR and BM as gaming is a doing word so therefor the audience is introacting with the game making it immersive. You cans create an artificial version of yourself making you an avatar. The TV program doesn't let you interact with the films or programs   

2) how is gaming more Pomo then 1980s retro games 2 ways - fluid Identity and immersion flow 

Where the retro games only allow your to be one person within the game, where as games such a sims3/4 allow to recreate yourself and also and do things your wouldn't necessarily perform in actual real life making it hyper real. You can progress through out the game. You don't have to keep anything the same, change is always allowed 

3) how is TV (mod 1950s) trying to stay relevant? BM 

BM uses post modern theories to warn the audience which is by the use of dystopia. Talks about pomo in a negative way to reduce the amour which it is used.  

Lesson notes - gaming

Immersion - deep mental involvement in something, break separation of real and artificial - you begin to have emotion towards your sim and will become a addicted to making them have a good or a bad life

Flow - a game where you need to complete levels to continue but now you are part of the game - the game just continues and has no end to it

Fluid identities - construct a new version of our selves, a hyper real version of you, we don't have a set identity - you can create a sim version of yourself, it's a hyper real simulation of you

Simulacra - a simulation of someone or something - given away by the name, the sims is about the life of simulated characters

Ironic position/ Detached position - viewers watch a programme knowing it's bad but watch it to see what other people are watching - 

Sandbox games - there is no limit to what you can do, free roaming - no limit to the sims, you can cheat to gain more money and if your sim has children you can then play as them if your sim dies

Avatar - a simulation of a person, designed to look like you - a sim is an avatar of someone you have either created or an avatar of yourself 

What does zizek suggest about hyper reality and fluid identity? 

He is saying how we prefer ourselves in the hyper real world and feel more real in ourselves there, although it is hyper real. It's our pleasure to reinvent ourselves in a hyper real world and we feel as though it's real - we are immersed into it. 

Historical - narrative has weakened, hyper reality and simulation has strengthened, audience theories have weakened 

Cultural value (has meaning/significance) vs popularity

Gaming is post-post modern, more post modern than black mirror;

Because of fluid identities and removal of barrier between text and audience 

Fluid identities in second life: her real life is in the game, she is making money out of a virtual shop. This is a sandbox game, you make an avatar of you and live a second life. This is post modern because there are no consequences to real life, it is very like sims where you become immersed into the game; this woman has become so immersed that it is now her career 

Conclusion

Gaming is more post modern than black mirror and wreck it Ralph because it blurs the boundaries between text and audience. You cannot have the game without the audience but the TV or film will still exist without them. Games are a simulation of reality and blur the boundaries between real and artificial. Some games also contain no grand narratives and no human progress. Games are deliberately post modern so gamers become immersed into the game. It's is rejecting structures of of grand narratives and collapses structure between real and hyper real. 

Gaming is more involved than 1980s retro games because we are now allowed to follow a sandbox game, giving no narrative and no real life consequences. It also allows you to escape to your virtual self and become part of the game. Baudrillard believes you are escaping to your better self online whereas zizek thinks you are escaping to your real self. It is rejecting that text and audience are separate things.

 Film and TV have been around for a long time so to relate to a post modern audience they have to incorporate things that are breaking boundaries between audience and text. For example X Factor and Big Brother, the audience determine the outcome by voting. 

Film is using nostalgia and intertextuality to relate to a post modern audience and is incorporating gaming. For example wreck it Ralph uses Mario kart, pacman, sonic and halo. 

Post modern game

The Sims

The Sims consist of multiple examples of post-modenism.


It is hyper-real, there are features such as aliens, wear wolves, vampires etc. You can also make the sims look anyway you want, no matter how crazy this is.

It is also a simulation, given away by the name Sims.

It could also be considered, by the way you play the game, that it is more about style over substance. This is because you could spend hours designing the person/people and their home and not really be bothered about the actual story they will live. This has developed even more over time, as you can change colours and designs of almost everything in the Sims now, whereas in the first Sims there was little to choose from.

It can be seen that the Sims does not consider morality. In the Sims you can cause death, affairs and bullies. In the newest of Sims, Sims 4, you can give your Sims traits. Some of these can be seen as immoral, e.g hates children and mean. 

You can also make the Sim isolated and have individualism in the game. You could shut them off from all communication possible, give them no phone or computer. Or you could lock them in a room/house so they are trapped. This is like a panopticon - you are always watching your Sim but they cannot escape.

The Sims also collapses the boundries between real and artificial. The Sims makes you feel as though your Sims have feelings and are almost real. You are immersed into the game and want to give them the best life possible. 

Style over Substance HW

Do audiences like empty texts?
It can be argued audiences now prefer 'empty' texts. This is because a lot of TV programmes, music videos etc. now are more focused on the appearance of it rather than the actual story behind it. Therefore it's empty because it has no meaning behind it or story.

Is style more important than narrative?
Yes, it is often seen as more important now that the media text looks good rather than having a good story. An example of this is this video for an advert for TOWIE. This is because the show shows peoples lives, and gives people a view of what they would rather have their life like. 

Black Mirror Questions

Task 2:
Intertextual Mood Board - what references does Black Mirror make to other texts - consider Reality TV, Games and Social Networks

Annotate and analye, with screen capture examples:
1. What meaning or commentary does it offer on these media forms - cynical or hopeful (why is this PoMo?)
2. Is this a Parody or Pastiche of these texts?

3. What is the role of technology and consumerism in these episodes? What does this do to the concept of 'humanity' and 'community'?

4. How do these texts reflect the 'emptiness' and 'lack of belief in Grand Narratives' (Justice, Morality, Love etc)

5. Why are these episodes Dystopian (examples) and why is this concept Post-Modern?

6. What is the intended purpose of these episodes, and why do they so heavily use Postmodern Concepts?

Answers: 1. It makes media look cynical and as though it wants to ruin while trying to fix somethings. 
2. It is a pastiche of X factor, WII and sims.
3. Their life is technology and they are part of the technology. Their avatars are what make them a community but they are not really together.
4. People have no morals and do not care about other people.
5. They are representations of how the world might be and we will be stuck in a prison.
6. The episode is almost a warning of what will happen if we become too emersed in technology.