Final Blog

What are Comics ? How do they fit in with contemporary media?

I think McCloud brings up many good points in his arguments about comics. McCloud seems to imply that the comic media was not terribly successful when it was first attempted in being brought over in digital format during the 90's. Authors were publishing comic like stories on CD Rom's that incorporated different kinds of media combined, including moving pictures and sound.  McCloud argues that film already does a better job of time based immersion.  This CD Rom form of digital comics did not really represent the comic genre in a traditional way while incorporating new technology to re-invent the medium. It more acted as if to  force the medium into being something that it is not.

McCloud also mentions that perhaps the digital comic medium could be limited due to processor performance and the resolution of computer monitors. As this material was published in 2000, I did some further research into how much the computer industry has grown during this time. Although experts have always speculated about the cost and availability of storage space decades before it was available, we have Really come along way in the last ten years. According to this Canadian website (http://ns1758.ca/winch/winchest.html) one gigabyte of hard drive space in Febuary of 2000 cost approximately $16. In 2004 one gig was down to $4, and now in 2010, with the introduction of the terabyte, one gig is around 16 cents. That is pretty incredible.

McCloud discusses the future of comics and design media as you might illustrate a text book out of the movie Tron at times, implying that comics could become any shape, could be endless, and are essentially limited only by our imagintion. This guy likes comics. He discusses the computer monitor as being not a sterile type of device interface, but a window into this medium. He illustrates this point very well, and say's " The page is an artifact of print, no more intrinsic to comics than staples or indie ink". (McCloud, 222) The way McCloud discusses comic theory in digital format on pages 224-229 reminds me of Prezi and its organizational interface. 

I think it would be fascinating to see digital media including comics become more informative and interactive in nature.  The graphic representation in comics would be especially appealing. If every  graphic representation object and character had their own function, back story and narrative, and the digital interface let you navigate anywhere in the picture, it would provide the time of nonlinear dialogue I picture McCloud as talking about. Everything would act as hyper text and perhaps all of the story line's would share a similar plot and commonality, always linking the user back to the original plot line.

I think the future of comics and design have been very much represented in film and special effects. Films ability to portray the storyboards from comics with CGI and digital technology provides complete immersion in a moving medium. However, this is an expensive process and those in Hollywood have been known to turn on the glitz just to make a buck. This in my opinion could compromise an authors intentions in developing a story of credible literary value. I believe this is what originally made comics so unique in their literary text. The images and characters could be apart of stories that would never be feasible to put into film production due to cost and technological limitations. Also, it seems that the authors of popular comics are often the writers artist, and producers, of their medium. This makes comics unique as we don't see many Orson Well's in any other industries these days. This leads to a critique that includes that comics did, and do not have to always cater to popular ideas and norms, and often looked for a smaller, specialized audience. Perhaps that is why in the beginning, many of the stories appealed to a younger generation.

Comic Definition :  “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence”. (McCloud, 200)

Essentially, the story boards movie producers use to conceptualize the filming process ARE comics.

For instance, what McCloud states about media becoming reality in relation to visual practices and emmersion is interesting. He says “ If you were a spiderman fan would you want to see him in partial motion or full motion ”. (McCloud, 212) Ironicly Spider man the movie was released in 2002. A venerable onslaught of comic book to movie films have since been produced since McCloud published his thoughts in 2000. All of which have been extremelysuccessful.

Comic Book Movies: Adaptations from comics first came to the screen in the form of serials, which were short films played before longer feature length movies. My research has led me to conclude that first comic book to be adapted for the big screen was Superman, which first appeared in the form of a 15-chapter serial in 1948. As for the first feature length adaptation, "Batman: The Movie" came out in 1966, but one can argue that it was not a direct comic to screen adaptation, having been based on the popular tv-series. In that case, 1978's "Superman: The Movie" gets the title of founding father, fitting since it did ignite the genre. 

Source:  http://www.chasingthefrog.com/Most/most_comicb/most_comicbook.php

As McCloud discusses the sequential order of story telling, he reveals that many ancient peoples used the format of comics I their artistic commentary. In cave paintings, in Egyptian tombs, and Trojan columns. We still seem to find these mediums extremely relevant. So perhaps it is just the medium that helps define the culture that uses it. This still conveys a valid message, so the story told within comics is still valid and not outdated. The pictures are more of a tool as opposed to ‘being’ the media itself. Like a picture book. Are picture books comics? I don’t think McCloud would consider them so.

If the print medium as McCloud says, “folded in upon itself” in the form of books, then the digital medium might represent something of a black hole. Space and time existing at once on many different planes.

A think the next mainstream phenomenon is 3D projected imaging. Interactivity with this medium is already happening with video games like the X-Box Kinect.  Digital viewing is also going this direction with 3D technology taking off, 'every where you look'. HaHa!

As we see more comics and graphic novels become feature films it is the severe appreciation and cult following of this media, the artists and the stories they tell, that make people want to see a heightened version of this medium. Also,  I think we are seeing video games that are a bit more specialized in their audience while they are beginning to embody more and more characteristics of film.

So as promises of Virtual Reality have fell by the waste side, and as McCloud says the user wishes to emerge themselves in the medium, we have begun to redefine com=ntemporary meanig of VR. Video games have becoming as much about narrative and character function as the actual control aesthetic, which combine a literary story and interactivity. When I think of VR I think of like the movie Virtuosity or even the Matrix. Perhaps the Danger Room in X-men comics or the Holladeck from Star Trek the Next Generation.

Windows to Other Worlds

McCloud recognizes a computer monitor as a window to view information and images around the world through. This is true. I was surprised however that McCloud referred to portable reading devices as an expense that could side track digital comics for years. Having a book, comic, or graphic novel in your hand not being held back by resolution, monitor size or location goes a long way. It only makes sense that we may try to find comfort and functionality in recreating that aesthetic. For instance, it is said Amazon's Kindle out sold paper copies last year during Christmas. The Kindle uses real ink to emulate that of reading an actual document, which also tends to be easier on the eyes.

I think as PDA’s and computers continue to evolve into the same similar, superior device, many forms of reading and learning will become successful in digital format.  The kindle and  Ipad are hybrid machines that resemble a book style interface. For instance the zoom in effect on Iphones would be successful for exploring hyperlinks through a comic. The interface would just have to be bigger. If you are going to be stuck in front of a stationary monitor or tv it is common to feel as if the pictures should be moving for you. The pathos of recreation is omnipresent. I think there is something to be said of a ‘silent medium’, not being bombarded by sensory information allows some of us at times to appreciate literary and artistic style mediums more, without interruption.

So yes, monitors and digital interfaces are windows. They are a culmination of every tool humans have come to create. A computer and monitor together represent like a Cyber Swiss Army knife. With the aid of this and a blanket, you could travel the universe comfortably and objectively.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them .....(J.R. Tolkein)

The book I would save would maybe be something by Philip K. Dick, like Do androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Bladerunner) or a Scanner Darkly, or perhaps Nueromancer by William Gibson (which consequently won the Philip K. Dick award) I have not read Nueromancer but researched it further after McCloud mentioned it in the reading. I would not save these books so much for my enjoyment as for what they mean and say conceptually during the time they were written. Since our world has developed out of some of these conventions that they mention such as Cyberspace, I think these are historic important texts that provide a social,  artistic, and technological commentary. I was easily and quickly able to find out more about the book Neuromancer and author on Wikipedia, which is why this is the ultimate text medium to me right now. I can easily spend more time on Wikipedia than watching television and that is a very refreshing sediment.

In closing,  I would just like to mention that films like Sin City and Scott Pilgrim vs The World  have brought the comic medium to life like never imagined before. By incorporating text elements and comic like cinematography they allowed the viewer to approach these films as more of a literary medium than a strictly visual experience. Allowing us to create our own rhetorical images and meaning. It also allows an appropriation quality which I believe to be important and relevant in postmodern art.

As McCloud states " Storytellers in all media and all cultures are, at least partially, in the business of creating worlds". I personally become more immersed in worlds of story and imaginative development, than the world of  special effects and over the top production.

Work Cited:

mccloud, scott. reinventing comics. Print.

http://www.chasingthefrog.com/Most/most_comicb/most_comicbook.php

The Evolution of Publishing and the Written word

Over the years, publishing and technology have evolved into complex forms of social transaction. The publishing of the alphabet in Greece around the 9th century, is the original technology of publishing. However in this unique context of the time and hierarchy of Greece,  it was difficult for text to to span beyond the topics that were already familiar and predictable to the reader. 

So far from the scope of expression, ancient texts and literacy in general were used as tools of acquiring and preserving power. As is has come up in past readings, the job of ancient scripts was to preserve, reproduce, and interpret important scripts.   

Scripts were like the MC's of ancient times!

 Creating books by hand was very labor intensive. The creation of the printing press changed the scope of developed society. Digital text continues to change the scope of developing society in way that is constantly evolving and under inspection.
However, "...even though technologies change, the way they are used in social forces remain fairly consistant". (220)
Kalmach.

Page to Screen

This reading discusses how hypertext is a new textual medium that deconstructs linear narrative. The act of reading on a computer screen is indeed different from that of reading out of a book. For instance: http://www.wikipedia.org/  Ha! You cannot get that out of a book!

The key idea in hypertextual structure is the link ! The incredible volume of information and its potential accessibility, define the speed in which information can be accessed on the WEB.

The way which material is read and understood can be implied by the author by using an "Affect Transfer' principle. For instance, if I bring up the topic of Evolution, the reader might think of many things. The relation of evolution to science and religion, or perhaps just Monkeys, in this case Fast Food!


One fascinating aspect of this phenomenon is surfing. This refers to our ability to screen information very quickly due to the high volume of stimuli in which we are bombarded with on a daily basis. It is easy to get off track if something catches your attention. Did you get preoccupied with the Fast Food link above? We often flip through channels, stations, and other media so quickly, it is difficult to stay focused.  However, "With such capabilities, the Web can give readers an enormous opportunity for discovery and synthesis" (120)

Work Cited:
Burbules, Rhetorics of the Web.

"Reading about how writing and publishing were practiced in technological contexts that pre-date desktop computers...affect things like writing process and writer-reader relationships."(Kalmbach 220)
This guy had excellent penmanship, as I'm sure did many of his peers. I can't help to think what their websites would have looked like?

 The reading states that the alphabet writing system was developed in Greece and was the original technology of publishing. Have you ever seen the Arabic Alphabet?

Now there's some cultural difference. I often wonder how others in different cultures text on cell phones using their seemingly astounding and intricate libraries of meaning. This I will do more research into. Anyone?

I find it fascinating how the scribes of the Middle Ages adopted the Greek Alphabet and thought it of pinnacle importance to preserve ancient manuscripts and produce good copies. Although, their job on many occasion was to interpret these scripts while reproducing them. This leads me to believe there could have been some rhetorical spin on reproduced documents perhaps to accommodate the interests of those in power. After all, I may read something a different way for a buck! Would you?

Johannes Gutenberg, born in Mainz in 1398, is considered to be the father of the printing press. By 1500 printing was scattered all throughout Europe and even the New World. One of the most influential, circulated books in early printing was:  

Saducismus Triumphatus: or Full and Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions by Joseph Glanvil printed by F. Collins London 1681

Essentially, this book describing evidence for the existence of witches, influenced the Salem witchcraft trials, which took place 10 years later. I find it ironic that at the opposite spectrum of social horror, sits that of burning books, not witches.

The Psychology of Rhetorical Images: A Critique

How exactly do images persuade? In other words, how do representational images work to influence the beliefs, attitudes, opinions-and sometimes actions-of those who view them? (P.26)
The influence of shared cultural values In an attempt to demonstrate how the cultural and psychological work together in the persuasive process. (p.26)



The reading also states, to paraphrase: representational images prompt emotional reactions which in turn cause an unreflective, irrational response. My question is irrational to whose standards? Would that be the scientific community with there scientific method? Emotions in my opinion are a bit irrational, that’s what makes them intangible, as is much of the symbology and imagery in our lives. I find it kind of arbitrary to put representational images and emotion under a scientific microscope when there is so much in the universe that’s unexplainable. And when the reading talks about the ways persuasion can occur, promoting methods that are useful and valid, I sense a lack of imagination. I think what is being overlooked is the powerful and acute sense of 'emotional intelligence' which I believe far proceeds that of the contrasted 'emotional vs. rational.'
"The most effective way to increase an objects rhetorical presence is to make it physically present-but of course this is often not possible." This is way we use rhetorical images and symbols to communicate. BooYah!

Blog #2

My name is Justin Floyd and the following events took place at the Meltdown Music Festival in Kennewick WA. Our band Plants Eat People were asked to play a two day long music festival, promoting original local music in the area. The festival took place in the parking lot of Kimo's bar and grill and it was 'HOT'. It was the middle of July, and none of us were enthused on the fact that the promoters requested all acts be present by noon on the day of performance. This meant showing up five hours early, setting our gear outside in one hundred degree weather, and initiating a "Meltdown". I couldn't help but think of the luxuries Cover bands were enjoying at this time during the summer, having not been invited to such a honorable, independent, and yet torturous event. Perhaps they were enjoying time on the river, partaking in water sports. What I would give for a passenger seat in a rustic 1988 Honda, with windows down at a cool 45 mph. On the other hand, the beer was free, which in turn, contributes to this embarrassing story I think.

Pessimism, sweat glands, and heat stroke aside, this was a good opportunity because the festival was well advertised and heavily sponsored. The organizers were going to release a live meltdown compilation CD with one song from each act. The song of choice was picked by the band, and would be recorded and mastered, free of cost. This idea already had all of us a little on edge, wanting to do our best, making no major mistakes. We came upon an agreement on which song we would use, and we were to play it third in our set. This would allow the sound engineer to dial in our sound appropriately to ensure the best recording possible. While wanting to support our fellow performers, the heat was just to unbearable. We retired inside for food and cold drink.

When it came time for us to sound check, things became slightly complicated. To allow for quick transitions between bands, all acts were to share a ‘communal’ drum kit which would remain onstage. Our drummer did not like this. He threw a bit of a hissy fit. This brought us out of our comfort zone, therefore we continued to drink beer and smoke cigarettes onstage, while our drummer, continued to pout and wrench around his newly introduced apparatus. Not so recently, Washington state passed a law that banned smoking inside all public establishments. So being able to wield our habitual tobacco wands in an avenue of drink and entertainment, was a bit of an adolescent thrill. On the recording that resulted you can actually here our singer say that she “ashed in her water” and our rhythm guitarist retort “ that’s ok, I almost set the stage on fire “. The latter which surely would have been more embarrassing.

So after climbing through some other technical difficulties, and finishing our set, it was dusk and we were done. Although as much fluid as I consumed to supplement the sweat that poured off me, I still took several trips to the bathroom. Upon completion of our set, I realized my last trip I had failed to fully consolidate my wardrobe, as my zipper flared open staring at the audience. Had my fly been open the whole time. Yes, why yes it had. Did anybody notice? Bright daylight, five feet high, making loud noises onstage…why…I’m sure someone had.

Check out the song here:
http://www.tri-cityevents.com/meltdown/

I believe a 'simplified' understanding of amplification through simplification is that: an idea or icon is subjective and carries a narative. Scott Mccloud states that his cartoon is ultimately the reader carrying his or her own narrative, and the simplified entity of the cartoon allows an easier accessibility. He says "By stripping down an image to its essential 'meaning', an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can't".(201?) Ultimately by stripping an image of its fine detail and identity, you allow for less or perhaps more biased, realistic influence for the readers interperatation. I believe this could be dangerous if used in any form of propaganda, as it has. The following cartoon appeals to entertained sensibilities. While appealing to our symbolic and iconic nature, it allows the cartoon as a venue, to downplay the severity of actual events.



works cited
McCloud, Scott. "The Vocabulary of Comics. " Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World.
Ed. Carolyn Handa. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's 2004. 195-208.

Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric

Authors Foss, Foss and Trapp, the authors of ‘ Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric ‘ define rhetoric, they state “ , it is an art and a discipline that facilitates our understanding of the nature and function of symbols in our lives. How we perceive, what we know, what we experience, and how we act are the results of our own symbol use and that of those around us; rhetoric is the term that captures all of these processes “(1). This is a stimulating, broad and almost endlessly interpretational definition provided by the authors. So…I kept reading.

The reading states that the art of rhetoric originated in the West with Corax of Syracuse, dealing with political land disputes the time. Corax implied that probability could be argued on either side of a duspute, and that effective speech would consist of an introduction, proof and then conclusion. The sophists of the time, at first thought to embody wisdom, were not accepted in Greece. The Sophist’s inclination to teach their wisdom relied on a belief that “ , truth and reality do not exist prior to language but are creations of it “(6). This in my opinion could be considered indiscriminate of ethnicity or social class being that the Sophist’s believed the art of rhetoric could be taught. However, by charging for their services, can’t help to remind me of modern day lawyers, who for the right price will provide a court of law with both truth and reality.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eW87GRmunMY?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eW87GRmunMY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

It seemed that a second trend of rhetoric in the renaissance, concerning to speech and poetry, focused only on style and delivery. Rationalists of the time such as Ramus conceited that all logic be dictated by invention and organization and perhaps with less of the abstract and analytical reasoning of rhetoric. It seems culture can go through cycles of abstract fantastic thought, but when countered by strong idealism in science, societies of thinkers are able to coddle technological advancement. I believe organization and science compliment artistic endeavors and theories, and that this breads tolerance and appreciation on both sides. In this way we are creating more inricate layers and symbols to the rhetoric in our everyday lives.

Works Cited


Foss, Sonja, Karen Foss, and Robert Trapp. Contemporary Perspective on Rhetoric. 3rd ed. Carol Rowe and Neil Rowe, 1-15. Print.

DEFINITIONS

Aristotle: Rhetoric is "the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion ".
 
Francis Bacon: Rhetoric is the application of reason to imagination "for the better

moving of the will."

works cited
stanford.edu. 25 Aug 2010
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/english/courses/sites/lunsford/pages/defs.htm