A narrative traditional structure is a more linear way for understanding or following media. It has a beginning, middle, and end, much like a story. The narrative structure is not easy for organizing or categorizing data. Databases on the other hand, do not necessarily follow those guidelines in order for someone to be able to/know how to use it.
For instance, I want to use the Tumblr blogging site for example. Everything is self explanatory from the time you sign up. There are different buttons in which you can click on and post whatever media you choose. For example, since I’m typing a blog, I click on the “text” button. If I were to post a picture, I’d click the picture button -self explanatory. Furthermore, there are other features Tumblr has like how many followers you have or how many posts you “liked”, etc.. It’s incredibly easy to organize. There is no transition from one point of information to the other.
There is a website about everything and anything that anyone can think of. If you thought about it, chances are other people have too. For instance, a while back I thought about how great it would be if there was a site (or if I created a site) that would tell you what to wear according to the weather. Today my friend linked to this site: http://theweatherstylist.com/. You enter your zip code in and it will generate articles of clothing for what is appropriate for the weather that day or week. This site has style suggestions for every different state so it reaches a broader audience.
According to Horkhiemer and Adorno, the culture industry today is catered to consumer use and everything is standardized. The messages are distinct to each individual receiving it, however the way the messages are communicated are the same. Although the industry tries to cater to the public, it at the same time tries to manipulate them for capitalistic interests.
Media today is all very quick paced and everything has to instantly gratify the consumer. Now we have all these different options with the internet, new devices and social media that help us get connected at once. Getting connected and being able to have a flow of interaction between consumers is a huge market. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook have dominated the way we socially interact with the internet. Advertisers and marketers jump to target people on those websites that have a lot of traffic. Not only do they target people, but the technology has gotten so efficient that the web browsers track the user’s cookies of frequently visited sites and depending on the sites they visit, the ads that they see will be related to the sites. The procedure is standard, to track the internet user’s activity but at the same time they are generating different ads according to consumer interest.
Another medium that has been around is television. I feel like television today has a “reality” television kind of twist to it. It seems like it is now the standard kind of entertainment that the masses want. Society today has adapted this fascination of peeking into other people’s lives on TV. Reality television has never been so popular as it is today. There seems to be a reality TV show for every channel available. Among the popular channels are MTV, Bravo, E!, etc. Most of the people featured on these television shows are not particularly talented or good looking, however they become famous over-night due to the way the television produces portray them. Now these same people are famous for nothing and making bank for appearances and such, like the cast from the Jersey Shore. Even though the consumer is not really “buying” a product, they are tuning into watching the shows and generating ratings for the channels themselves which brings in money for the companies. The industry has found a way to tap into the masses’ guilty pleasures and have been feeding us with all this nonsense.
Aggregation sites such as Google or Bing provide lists of sites as a result of the user typing in keywords. It makes searching for information a lot easier for the user because almost everything you need to know is right there and they did not have to go through other resources like books or encyclopedias. However, with the ease of all this instant information, it does not mean that everything available to us on the internet is correct.
Walter Benjamin believes reproducing a piece of art demeans the value of it. The original piece of art has authenticity, historical value, craft, and experience. In the past, art was a sacred activity, served a cult value and it was not meant to be exhibited.
However, as time passed people began to create art for personal gains because of the desire to bring art closer spatially and humanly. This also brought about exhibiting art and it is no longer a sacred piece of work to serve a religious purpose.
Film, photography and the computer pushed the development of the creation of art. It is no longer an act of hand to paper but it is digitally manipulating visuals to create another art form. The visuals were carefully selected by the creator and the viewer only sees what the artist wants to show.
According to Benjamin, mechanical reproduction changes the reaction of the masses. The reception of the masses are just as important. Machinima encourages the interaction between the masses and it also encourages exhibitionism. Creating the videos to display how the individual is playing the game is a form of art in itself. In a way, both mechanical reproduction and machinima are like conversations within the medium. By creating this new form of media, it destroys aura but at the same time creates its own aura.
For example, Girl Talk, is a musician by the name of Gregg Michael Gillis. He makes remixes using existing music from popular artists. He takes parts of original pieces of music or samples of music to create a song. It is by no means original in the sense of content, but it is a new piece of music in its entirety. I like to think of it as a form of Picasso’s work but with music.
In this day and age, it seems like everything has already been done and nothing is truly unique or original. Artists get inspiration from other artists’ work, incorporate it into their own work, and somehow make it their own piece, creating aura. Even with replications of art, no two pieces of work are going to be identical -especially in the craft and what influenced the piece at the time.
