Topic 3 - Alphaville + New Wave Cinema

This week we watched Alphaville (1965), the French new wave film directed by Jean-Luc Goddard. The movie is supposed to be set in the future, in a place called Alphaville, but the whole movie is shot using real world locations in France.

Jean-Luc Goddard apparently filmed the movie, in then modern day France, to criticize the cold, heartless buildings and architecture prevalent. He also plots Technology as an enemy of the people, through the form of the totalitarian computer system Alpha 60. Its purpose is to control peoples' emotions, permitting only logical and quantifiable thoughts, rather than raw human emotion. This can be applied to our reliance on technology and the control it exerts in our lives. We are also alienated from real people and social situations because we tend to use online social networks, Mobile Phones and other forms of communication to talk to others.

The readings this week were all related movies and to Alphaville. The first reading i went through, the Film and Screen Glossary, defined technical words used in the film production industry. It was a good insightful read that helped me understand the more technical side of film making.

The other readings were about French new wave cinema, specifically Alphaville. It seems Jean-Luc Goddard was one of the Pioneers of the movement, and didn't mind alienating his audience from the character and the narrative.

The readings this week definitely helped me to understand and appreciate better the motive, narrative and general complexity of Alphaville.

They briefly went through the history of new wave French cinema.

In the accompanying tutorial we were instructed to get the weblog addresses of at least four other classmates. This seemed slightly daunting for me as i am an admittedly reserved character. Nevertheless, i got the four required web addresses, before classmate Clinton decided to create a new course forum thread where we could post our weblog addresses.

Secondly, we were asked to consider how we use new communication technologies to communicate with friends and family.

My Experiences with New Communication Technologies

Undoubtedly, new communication technology has made the world a global village. We can use the internet to chat to people we have never met, from all parts of the world.

I have people on my MSN Messenger contacts list who i have never met. One such person is my uncles' friends' son. Another is someone i met in an online game. There are a few other random people on my list who i only know through the internet.

Amazingly i still feel like i know a person if i get to know and talk to them online. However, it is certainly easier to create an online persona, as i have talked about in an earlier post, than it is to talk to someone face to face. This is the major difference between real social interaction and using online messaging programs. Even someone reserved like myself can feel more confident knowing that i am relatively anonymous using MSN.

MSN Messenger, of course, has been around for a while and has become the most popular instant messengering program in Australia. I can remember using this program as far back as 2002. As is the case in High School, students are easily pressured or willing to indulge in what is popular at the time. This was probably the deciding factor in my choosing to use MSN Messenger like my peers. That and the fact it made it easier and cheaper to chat with mates after school.

Of course, it took we a while to realize that my conversations were recorded by MSN Messenger, and kept in a conversation history folder. Some of my conversations were considered inappropriate by my parents, who found the transcripts of my conversations on my computer. To me, privacy is an issue as i can see how sensitive information might be leaked to eavesdroppers and others not supposed to received this information. This being said, i am happy for my parents, and parents only, to monitor my conversations, as i respect them and want them to trust me.

Topic 2 - Is Email Dead?

In week 2 we looked at the idea of email being a passing fad or form of communication.

The lecture covered the problems associated with Email, such as the copious amounts of spam received by those who use Email. We briefly touched on the various scams proliferated through Email. Nigerians seem to be the most successful scammers (and that’s not a dig at their people, by the way).

We also got to see the results of the New Communication Technology Survey. The questions were to do with our reliance on technology, with one question asking: How dead is Email? Apparently everyone used email to some extent. This leaves little doubt that Email is still an important and widely used form of communication. I personally think Email is great.

In the tutorial we talked a little bit more about Email before starting our blogs.

Again, the subject of Email being used to exploit people came up. Chris told us how scammers can just mail bomb millions of Email addresses with their shady scams, with a small percentile of those likely to fall for them.

After we finished talking about Email, we started our Weblogs. We were encouraged to use the website Blogger.com, a widely used blog creating website. I found Blogger to be very functional, and I thought it was rather user friendly. I haven’t customized my blog yet, though I’m quite happy with its current design.

The required reading for this week was the first few sections of the “Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents.” The introduction talked about blogs heralding in a new era of “free expression.” Bloggers in countries such as Iran and China that have limited liberties in freedom of expression can do what mainstream media in those countries aren’t always allowed to do: tell it like it is.

The handbook also covered some technical blogging jargon. Words and acronyms such as “RSS”, “Wiki” and “Permalink.” I think it will be useful to remember what these words mean, so I am grateful to have such a handbook.

The last section I read was about using the best blogging tool to set up and maintain your blog. It seems different blogging tools have different attributes. Blogger is described as being the biggest, but having limited features.

Topic 1 - Second Life

In my first lecture in New Communication Technologies we watched a report by ABCs Four Corners on the massive multi-player online game Second Life. Second Life allows the user to create a virtual person, called an Avatar. Second Life appeals to people because their create character doesn't have to mirror real life attributes.

This seemed well and good, but the report covered several issues concerning Second Life. Players hide behind a cloak of anonymity and obscurity, allowing them to indulge in certain activities that would incur judgment from real life society. Players were able to simulate sexual activities with other players and visit seemingly depraved areas in Second Life with relative ease. Players had little protection from intellectual property thieves. Their is no real ethical code enforced in Second Life, raising the question: how is an online society like Second Life governed?

To be honest, it isn't.

Introduction

Hello. My name is Michael Spring and I have made this blog to chronicle the various tutorials, lectures and provided readings involved in the New Communications Technology course I am taking at Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus.

I'm using Blogger for this and it seems to be a fairly functional blog creator and I am impressed by the relative ease in which I can navigate through the various tabs. Blogger has a sort of sandbox feel to it and so I think customizing this blog will not be too difficult.

Each week I will be updating the blog with a post of approximately 300 words with 100 words allocated to Lectures/Screenings, Tutorials as well as the required readings. I won't just summarize what I learn and read but I will also be analysing and expressing personal viewpoints on the content.