Maus and the Comic Triangle Concept

Throughout the first chapters of the book Understanding Comics, many concepts are brought up regarding comics and how they can convey not just ideas and concepts, but also convey messages of differing meanings.  One such concept, a chart that appears on page 51 of the book (also on pages 52 and 53 for a better understanding of the chart), connects pictures, realism, and language into a triangle that represents the "pictorial vocabulary of comics or of any of the visual arts" (51).

To give a brief summary, the triangle works like this:

- The closer to language, the simpler the art becomes
- The closer to realism, the more realistic the art becomes
- The closer to the picture plane, the more that each individual line, shape, and color can be themselves and not pretending to be something else.

For the purposes of this reflection, we'll be ignoring the the picture plane part, as that mostly deals with art being art and not to convey a narrative or idea.

This concept lends itself very nicely towards Maus.  One of the most noticeable things is that, art-wise, the comic centers around generally stylized (but still simplistic-looking) anthropomorphic animals, each one symbolizing a different nationality/race/religion - the most notable being that the Jewish people are represented as mice while the Nazis are represented by cats.  While still having mostly detailed backgrounds (with the occasional panel dark and detail-less background), the characters themselves lend their simplicity to give the illusion of realism while not being real.

Language-wise, the story is told through the eyes of a Jewish survivor from World War II.  Going back to what I said earlier, the fact that the art of the story is told using anthropomorphic animals lends itself to the dire and bleak times facing the Jews during the war.  Not only does the cat-and-mouse visual idea lend itself well to the story, but it also gives the reader a sense of the visually horrifying nature that Jews faced during WWII.

Maus' WWII narrative roots and the artistic anthropomorphic style of cat-and-mouse gives the reader a more visual idea of the horrors of WWII that befell the Jews.  Using this chart's concept helps give the reader a better understanding of Maus' mature theme.  When used correctly, as in the case of Maus, the chart can be the best weapon a person can have in creating a comic that best suits its focus - both in visual and narrative sense.

In-Class Assignment - Frames

During class today, we discussed how frames work in comics/graphic novels and how their layout can subtlety convey messages that our subconscious recognizes.  

The image above, found in issue 46 of the comic 'Transmetropolitan', demonstrates this concept precisely and cleanly. In it, the main character (named Spider Jerusalem), reflects on his current predicament after the events that occurred in the issue preceded this one.  He eventually concludes that he is in a coma after realizing that he is still alive (which he references when he alludes to God "giving up his throne to" Spider).

The layout of the two panels brings this image together of Spider's comatose isolation. The thin, white line between the two panels subconsciously brings up the feeling that the balance between Spider's life and a vegetative state is fragile, almost as if ready to crumble at a moment's notice.  The excessive use of black ink surrounding Spider also helps convey his imaginative self suspended in a mental space devoid of everything but his own mental likeness.  It projects to the reader that in this state, Spider is surrounded by a darkness that has resulted from his coma.  This darkness, along with the shading of Spider's face accenting his grim but self-philosophical reflection, adds itself to this image of being trapped within one's own mind.

VALS Assessment and Thoughts

Striver/Experiencer

     These are the two words that stare back at me after completing the VALS assessment test.  To be honest, I actually think these two words really reflect my interests and my personality to almost a T.  It's...also rather odd, all things considered.  Most of the questions asked mostly about life things and about faith, ideals, and the like instead of asking about aspirations, life goals, and things I would normally assume to be on things such as this.

     However, I do realize now that, after taking this assessment, I learned that I always feel like I need to experience new things, as well as being told flat on my face that, as a Striver, I have a problem with impulse buying (which isn't too far from the truth, as I sometimes have the urge to purchase a bar of Laffy Taffy every time I go through the checkout at my local grocery store or at least buy a booster pack of Magic: The Gathering cards from the nearby hobby shop).  However, I also know now that, as an Experiencer, I tend to love new things - video games and books, especially - that give me a sense of adventure and a certain freedom to travel the world that I, as I am now, cannot and are unable to do.

     If I was asked how my interests would be used to appeal to me as a consumer, I'd ask to be directed to the either the local Books-a-Million or GameStop store, as these are probably the only two ideal places in the world where I would literally have to be escorted out of the building at closing since there would be about half the store that I would love to own or purchase, despite my lack of income.  Throw me a good video game with an interesting cast of characters and an engaging, interactive story and gameplay, or a book that sounds less like a bad Twilight fan-fiction and more like an original work of fiction, and I would practically throw my money at you with due-haste.

     That reminds me.  I must start writing video game reviews again.  I have been too terribly bogged down with a collection of games I have yet to play and not enough time to really sit down and play them.

Digital Storytelling Project - This is How Singers Are Born

The Future of Music Podcast

Podcast Title: The Future of Music


Release Date: Feburary 18th, 2013 (tentative)


Podcast:

Summary: This podcast is aimed at briefly going over music and its interaction with technology throughout the years. Also quickly delves into the range of music genres that have spawned from said technological advancements and quick quips on both points of view on whether technology has affected music positively or negatively.


Resources:

Baran, Stanley J. Introduction to Mass Media: Media Literacy and Culture

Asahi TV - Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid Technology)

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

Auto-tune Technology History

http://www.antarestech.com/about/history.shtml

Guardian Magazine

www.guardian.co.uk/music/interactive/2011/jun/11/history-modern-music-timeline

Timeline of Sound & Broadcast Technology
http://www.classicthemes.com/technologyTimeline.html

Sponsors: Shepherd University, Comm 203 - Comm and New Media

Host: Kevin Wohlrab

Co-Hosts: Mark Eberhardt, Emily Turner

Team Members: Mark Eberhardt, Kevin Wohlrab, Emily Turner

Editor: Mark Eberhardt

Media and Medium - Four Questions/Four Answers

     Often today, you can nary get by a day without technology impacting you in some way, shape or form.  People around you are busy walking here and there, a smart phone in hand, some music in ear, or a snippet of text in sight.  For me, my life has been based solely around technology.  To which I must answer the following questions:

Question 1)  When has the medium proved to be the message in your media consumption?
Question 2)  What is a good example of how new media technology has acted as an extension of your body?
Question 3)  What is prime example of how you engage in the 'global village?'
Question 4)  Based on your reflections on the impact that media has had on you, do you consider yourself a technological determinist or a structuralist?

     To answer the first question, the only really big medium that has proved to be the message in my consumption of media has to be when I first got my first glimpse of the internet as a child.  At the time, the internet was just starting out (before the days of social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, etc.), but back then, it was probably the biggest eye-opener to me.  The fact that - and this is especially true, as when I was young, I had an...let's just say my mind as a kid was more expansive in terms of grasping concepts than today - I could literally communicate with people from all over the world from home (we had this ancient thing called an AOL chat room - I always stuck with the video game sub-chat because I was a huge gamer even at that point of my early childhood).

     For questions two and three, I'll need to go a bit more in-depth and talk about something that I'm pretty sure a vast majority of people know absolutely nothing about it.  In Japan, there are these vocal synthesizing programs called 'Vocaloids', which are essentially "vocalists in a box".  They are software programs designed to take pre-recorded samples from different voice actors and make them into regular singers.  There is also a free version of this synthesizing software called Utau, which allows regular folks, like you and me, to record our own "vocal samples" and, in turn, transform our voice into a vocalists'.  Now, to be fair, I can't really sing.  I always have a hard time hitting a high note (or any high note, for that matter).  But with this software, I can sing (albeit aided by the program).  For me, this is the extension of my body, or more my persona.  For example, my voice is mostly mono-tone and boring.  However, with this program, my voice sounds more like that of a singer's.  Here's a quick sample (it is in Japanese, but it does convey the same point):




     This also ties in with the third question.  With the vocal synthesizing software that I personally use, I have become good friends with other users from all over the world, from other parts of the U.S to the U.K., and even one in Japan.  Without this software, I would not have met these wonderful people or even known they even existed!

     In terms of the fourth question, I find myself to be more of a technological determinist.  Without technology - its improvements and failures - I wouldn't be the person I am today.  I constantly fumble with my smartphone so I can listen to music, look up things on my iPad in-between classes, and play video games with my friends on my computer.

Copyrights and Copylefts: Their Role in Today's Technological Age And How They Interact with the Internet.

     The Internet is an enigma, constantly shaping and reshaping itself on an almost instantaneous cycle.  Every day, new ideas are created, new topics are discussed, and new images, eBooks, fan fictions, etc. are uploaded to the World Wide Web.  However, one thing that has always been a problem is the use of Copyrights.  For those who don't know, a copyright is, in essence, a legal acknowledgement stating that one or more parties owns an intellectual property.  A perfect example of this would be like if I wanted to make a walk-through of a Legend of Zelda video game, I would not (under any circumstance) be able to say that I owned the rights to the actual game.  It is essentially this: You cannot claim that you own the rights to a property that you don't actually own.

     There have, however, been steps taken to lessen the burden of legal issues stemming from the copyright monolith.  One such step is in the form of the Creative Commons, which is a database of music, video, audio and the like that is free for use to the open public.  These help give those who want to do things, but are unsure if what they're using is leaving them open to lawsuits, the perfect way to express their ideas and convey their messages.  However, there are times where Creative Commons just don't work, especially with media sharing sites such as YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, and so on.  For that, there is what is known as the Fair Use law.  Just like what Stanford University states on their website, "Fair use is a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism."  An example of this is someone making a music montage using clips from a television show and overlaying a specific song over the video.

     Now how does this really impact the internet?  Well, it impacts the Internet tremendously.  So much so that, during the proposals for two separate anti-piracy laws called SOPA and PIPA, there was a huge uproar against it (though it mostly went by practically unnoticed by the major media groups).  Officially noted to have the intended purpose of stoping the illegal distribution of copyrighted material on the internet, the bills were actually designed to essentially allow companies to issue cease-and-desist orders against anyone for posting, uploading, or even mentioning a product, in some cases, of media (an example incident would be with Sega flagging videos of the video game Shining Force III on YouTube)!  The bills were, ultimately, voted against.  But the overlooming shadow of having a person's ability to speak their mind on the internet would be their greatest ally  Since the laws , both bills have yet to be reintroduced to Congress and the Senate.

     What do I think of the copyright dilemma?  I believe that the Internet is fine where it is in terms of copyrights and their usage.  Sure there will be times where people file lawsuits against others who go and break the laws of copyright , but a small part of the actual Internet user-base does not make up the Internet community as a whole.  Instead, the fact that we have Creative Commons works floating in existence and the Fair Use law allows us leeway into making user-edited or user-created content.