Betty Boop and the Colonialist Spectacle

Ok. So, the copy place made a huuugggeeee mistake: only copying every OTHER page of the reading. Yeesh! Ack! This is terrible. So, obviously no reading assignment due for Tuesday.

Instead, watch the Betty Boop film I've embedded here. It's called Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle and was made by the Fleischer Brothers in 1932. Then,
1) give your thoughts on the film's presentation of race and/or gender
2) respond carefully to another student's answers to question 1). Please use your critical thinking skills to position your fellow student's argument in relation to your own. If you are the first person to post, answer question 1) and then post your answer to question 2) a little later (once others have posted).

Bear in mind a couple of things when you write your analysis. First of all, Betty Boop was a very popular cartoon character who appeared as "white" in her other films. And second, The Royal Samoans and the dancer Miri--who appear in the beginning of the film--were supposedly authentic performers from the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific. A much less important factoid is that my favorite Girl Scout cookie took its name from the Samoan Islands, which export coconut products.

Keep up the good work, everyone. Come to my office hours if you have any questions about the next assignment.

The Aesthetic of YouTube

Hi everyone! Here's what I'd like you do. First, read http://www.henryjenkins.org/2006/11/youtube_and_the_vaudeville_aes.html . Then, read the Tom Gunning article in the course reader ("An Aesthetic of Astonishment: Early Film and the (In)credulous Spectator"). The syllabus has the wrong title for the article, by the way.

Next, choose a YouTube video that works well with the aesthetic of vaudeville and the aesthetic of attractions. Respond to BOTH of the following:

Using 2 quotations from the Jenkins article, explain how your video expresses the aesthetic of vaudeville. Using 2 quotations from the Gunning article, explain how your video expresses the aesthetic of attractions. Use specific aspects of your video as evidence to support your argument. Please include the URL of your video, as well.

For your viewing pleasure, here's the video Jenkins talks about in his article:

Your Lucky Day

Hey, folks. This is your lucky day: there's no blog post due for this week. Please spend your time completing Project #2 and doing the reading assignment. Just to repeat: DEFINITELY DO THE READING ASSIGNMENT. Not only is it essential to Project #3, it is critical for Tuesday's class. During lecture, you will do a brief written response that will be handed in and graded by your TA.

I wish you the best of luck for Project #2. Seriously, I want everyone to ROCK IT!

Is Your Reality My Reality?

Alexander Galloway makes the distinction between realisticness and realism. What is Galloway's preferred definition of realism in gaming? Apply Galloway's definition to Reality TV. Would Galloway consider Reality TV a form of realism? Why or why not? Be sure to use quotes from the text to support your answer (and yes, Project Runway is indeed my favorite reality show).

Mechanical Reproducibility/Biocybernetic Reproduction

Hey peeps, since I'm posting the question a little later than I usually do, I've decided to give you until this Tuesday at 3 pm to post your response. Congratulations on turning in Project #1, y'all. OK, here goes:

According to Mitchell, "If mechanical reproducibility (photography, cinema, and associated industrial processes like the assembly line) dominated the era of modernism, biocybernetic reproduction (high-speed computing, digital imaging, virtual reality, the Internet, and the industrialization of genetic engineering) dominates the age that we have called postmodern."

Inspired by Mitchell's argument, you decide to remake Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis for our present-day age of biocybernetic reproduction. You plan on taking some liberties with Lang's original plot in order to translate it from the era of modernism to the era of postmodernism.

Answer the following questions:

1. Summarize Mitchell's argument regarding the differences between mechanical reproducibility and biocybernetic reproduction.

2. How would you remake the scene below to visualize biocybernetic reproduction? How does your new vision for the scene represent our current age of biocybernetics?
In this scene, the beautiful and morally upright Maria has been kidnapped and used to animate a robot, who is given her face and figure. The robot is usually called the "false Maria"; she is as bad as the original Maria is good. Focus on the part of the scene that shows the process of animating the robot. Don't worry about the German intertitles; the main thrust of the scene can be understood without them.

Note: this isn't a question about updating the scene with better special effects. This is a question about rethinking the scene in light of biocybernetic reproduction.