Media is Taking Over

Gonna be a quick blog this week, ladies and gents.

I was reading in the POL book (chapter 6, specifically) about how media has become part of our everyday life. I hadn't really thought about how much. It has become a MAJOR part of nearly everyone's lives. It could be getting the news from TV (or radio, or the paper, or the internet, or...etc.). Checking your email. Online banking.The media is everywhere, and I think it is something people need to be aware of, as it could potentially become a problem (for many reasons, such as a dependency on media).

Run Away from Thomas Edison!

While reading this week's section of our Lessig text, the first thing that stuck out to me (probably because it was that first part of the reading) was the people who went to extensive lengths in order to make the kind of film they wanted to. Due to patents on certain aspects of filmmaking, many filmmakers went all the way to the West coast to get away from these patents. I actually found this kind of cool that people would go to such great lengths to do what they love, and it is pretty sweet to see what the movie business has become because of this.

The I of the Bee Holder

Recently, in another class (FA 331 taught by Doug), we have been talking about what makes art and what the definition of art really is. After some discussion, the general consensus seemed to be that art is whatever the viewer sees it to be. As the saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." 

From this section of reading, we learn the importance of the viewer in regards to artwork. Nearly every work of art is designed with the viewer in mind. This is something I often forget, and something that is immensely important in regards to art.

On that note, I leave you with this little gem that Google provided for me:

The Internets and Dying Chickens

So...after reading pages 1-30 of Lessig, (Yes, I accidentally read the first six pages. I'm not too happy about it, although I did get a good chuckle out of the chickens dying from smashing themselves into their barn walls. Stupid chickens!) I have a much deeper understanding of the history of the internet and what it all really means. I was born in 1993, and seeing as the internet started to become a normal household commodity sometime between 2001 and 2004, I never really have known what it is like to not have internet. By the time I was old enough that I would want to use it, it was readily available.

I found the idea of "piracy" vs. "property" to be very interesting in this section (mentioned on page 13). When talking about literal real world objects, it is a bit easier to determine to whom this object belongs. With a non-physical object, however, such as a software or digital photograph, it makes things very easy for someone to steal it and claim it as their own. This is a prominent issue that comes along with the internet and one of which that all internet users should be aware.