Googlization: A New Synonym for Bullying?

            In Siva Vaidhyanathan’s “The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry)”, he introduces and explains the five major “privacy interfaces.”  These domains are essentially what we can control what others know about us, and “each of these interfaces offers varying levels of control and surveillance” (94).  I am going to decipher the fifth major privacy interface, which Vaidhyanathan calls “person to public.”

            As Vaidhyanathan explains it, the “person to public” interface “…is now located largely online” and also that “…people have found their lives exposed, their names and faces ridiculed, and their well-being harmed immeasurably by the rapid proliferation of images, the asocial nature of much ostensibly “social” Web behavior, and the permanence of the digital record” (94).  For example:  A YouTube user named Dylan Weigle uploaded a video of a red-haired kid defending himself along with his other pale-skinned, freckle-faced friends.  The video of this (most commonly known as ginger-kid) was intended for South Park creators to hear and see.  South Park is a very popular, crude, and humorous cartoon on global television, that previously made episodes in which these red-haired, pale-skin, and freckle-covered people are relentlessly picked on and treated differently only because of their physical appearance.  The show actually started the whole joke that gave these kids a nickname, “gingers,” and also stated that they have no souls.  This joke spread like wildfire across the nation and is actually used amongst everyday people like you and I.  After South Park saw this kid’s response video to their jokes about soulless, red-haired kids, they took it to a whole other level—they had one of the main characters, Eric Cartman, pose as this specific “ginger-kid” as they re-made his whole video, heavily mocking him in the process.  Everything I have just mentioned about the red-haired kid, and also South Park, has streamed across the Internet.  It is now one of the top searches on Google and YouTube when one types in “ginger-kid” in the search engine tool-bar.  This kid will forever be associated with this joke put on by South Park as the hits on YouTube (many different uploads pertaining to the same video) reach several million as a whole.  As Vaidhyanathan puts it, this kid’s face has now been publicly ridiculed and that ridicule will continue with the permanence of the digital record (94).  To watch the video on YouTube, follow the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxocjZ01f2I&feature=related

Arghh, That Be Mine!

            Piracy can come in many different forms than what we are accustomed to seeing in the movies.  In fact, it occurs often in the very industry that brought you movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and others.  The record industry, however, “…was born of another kind of piracy, though to see how requires a bit of detail about the way the law regulates music” (Lessig, Free Culture, Pirates).

            According to the documentary film we watched in class about piracy in the record industry, the term to describe this action that was most common amongst those interviewed was sampling.  These rap stars, hip-hop artists, and undaunted DJ’s consider what they do ‘legal’ because although they may be taking the idea of someone else’s work, the final product is completely their own interpretation.

One music artist/comedian, who goes by the name of Weird Al, has made his name popular by sampling other famous rap artist’s songs and making parodies of them all.  What Weird Al does is take the same beat and rhyme scheme, but makes up his own story making it funny.  For example:  Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’ Dirty” was a very popular song that debuted in 2006.  Weird Al took the song’s rhythm and beat and wrote a completely new, catchy song.  The reason as to why Weird Al hasn’t been prosecuted for copyright is because the U.S. Supreme Court passed the copyright law that states ”…one does not need permission to record a parody” (http://copyright.gov/title17/ ).  Even though he isn't required to, Weird Al always asks the original artist for permission to record his parodies first.  As a matter of fact, most artists consider it a badge of honor when Weird Al asks to turn one of their songs into a parody (Wikipedia).  Both songs can be found on the following links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtwJvgPJ9xw Chamillionaire's Ridin' Dirty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw Weird Al's White and Nerdy

Flickr Works

Grand Theft Auto: Midwest City begins with Sydney looking for ways to avoid her homework and playing video games instead.  In an attempt to fill a void in life (not being a gangster), Sydney plays the new Grand Theft Auto game.  Sydney is controlling the character named Ryan.  Ryan’s current objective is to search for a car to hijack.  He stumbles upon a black Chevy and goes for it.  First, he pulls the driver, Dyllan, out of the car and then repeatedly beats him in the head with a crow bar until he kills him.  After driving for about 25 yards, Ryan kicks the passenger, Marc, out of the car giving him severe road rash.  Once he finally gets rid of the civilians, Ryan proceeds to Chase Bank.  He robs the bank with ease and leaves as a millionaire.  Satisfied with her progress in the game, Sydney puts down the controller and decides to get back to her homework.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68302494@N06/sets/72157627758673235/show/

When we first received this assignment, my initial reaction was this is going to be long and difficult.  Turns out that I was totally wrong.  I was only nervous for I had never done anything quite like this before (you have a knack for that, Professor).  And that’s based solely on the fact that it was just a fun project to take part in.   

            There are two quotes from two different readings that I would like to talk about because one defends the other.  “That success is at least as much a product of Flickr itself as it is a product of the contributing photographers” (Rebecca Blood, Web blog).  The next quote makes a strong case for this statement.  “…Flickr user Laretta Houston uploaded her first image onto the service… She describes the progression from amateur to pro in a series of milestones” (Jennifer Marderazo, article).  In a matter of eight months, Houston went from buying her first camera (which was extremely) to setting up her very own studio and is now a professional photographer.  This just happens to be only one of many cases.  For instance, a photographer on Flickr who goes by the name of “Miss_M” experienced similar success.  Miss_M posted a photo in response to an advertisement through Flickr which asks others on the website to post and describe the story behind the photo that made them popular.  Miss_M posted this photo knowing it was not her best work, but surprisingly she received an offer from the editor of the “Everything” magazine.  She sold the photo and it was used in a story within the magazine.  On the Flickr website, Miss_M is known as a “pro” photographer.  I do not know how long it took her to reach that status.  However, she still had a photo, which she considered “not that good” sold and published in a magazine.  This is another prime of example of a person who went from “unpopular” to a “pro” on Flickr with a published photo in the professional media industry.  Follow this link for Miss_M’s picture:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/the_world_through_my_eyes/discuss/72157594459605789/page2/

What Copyright?

            Walt Disney is arguably the most influential person of the 20^th century due solely to his imagination and success, and continuation of that success, in the media industry.  In 1928, Disney took Buster Keaton’s idea of Steamboat Bill, Jr., combined it with sound effects and called it Steamboat Willie.  It quickly became popular amongst viewers.  “The effect on our little audience was nothing less than electric.  They responded almost instinctively to this union of sound and motion”  (Walt Disney, 22).  Disney and Mickey Mouse both became legends leaving their footprints in the media industry.  What one does not always realize is where the spark of Disney’s imagination and ideas came from. 

            The fairytales of today differ from the original fairytales of the past.  They may generally have the same plot line, but there are some very strong differences at parts.  For example, Walt Disney’s version of Cinderella depicts the ugly sisters not being able to fit the glass slipper on and eventually giving up on winning Prince Charming’s heart.  While on the contrary, the original Cinderella fairytale tells how one of the ugly sisters actually severs part of her foot off with a knife to make the glass slipper fit.  What I’m saying here is that the original fairytales are actually very gory and also sexually inclined.  Disney took the ideas from old fairytales and turned them into his own family-friendly stories.  “This ‘borrowing’ was nothing unique, either for Disney or for the industry…The key to success was the brilliance of the differences” (Lessig, 23).

In today’s television media, Matt Groening’s The Simpsons make a mockery of the old fairytales with the cartoon that Bart Simpson always watches called “Itchy and Scratch.”  This cartoon (unlike those actually on TV) portrays a cat and a mouse and both have the same goal in injuring and/or killing the other.  The cartoon shows the full extent of their injuries including blood and the like just as the injuries and such were described in the original fairytales.  “Itchy and Scratch” does not only transcend from these concepts, but in fact the really short cartoon within a cartoon harnesses and makes it their own in an effort to cause laughter. 

Broadcast This

            YouTube has forever changed our generation.  People today use it for many reasons including work, recreation, and curiosity.  It is not out of the ordinary for teenagers and adults to sit on YouTube and watch videos all day compared to watching TV or reading the newspaper.  YouTube emerged out of the democratization of cultural production around five years ago as an almost instantaneous hit.  It is a social networking/media sight in which its users are able to upload their own videos for consumers and other users to indulge themselves in.  With these possibilities brought into focus, one can easily assume that those they see on a YouTube video are celebrities.  However, personally I disagree with this statement when taking an overall approach to the matter.  Users may produce videos that generate millions of hits, but does that mean they receive votes for an Emmy?  The answer is more than likely no.

            For instance, in an article titled YouTube and the Mainstream Media the author wrote, “A common assumption underlying the most celebratory accounts of the democratization of cultural production (Grossman, 2006a, 2006b) is that raw talent combined with digital distribution can convert directly to legitimate success and media fame” (Jean Burgess, 20).  This may be true, but only in a rarity.  There are millions of users uploading their own videos for a chance of fame.  However, there are two distinct differences between fame and popularity.  One does not simply become infamous after posting a video that produces millions of hits.  I have never heard of, or seen, or even assumed that a person on YouTube with a hit video would receive an award from the American public at the Oscars and the like.  One is merely a popular icon on YouTube and often only for a period of time.

            I don’t want you to get me wrong – I think YouTube is great.  Our ever-changing generation has embraced YouTube for what it is, and collectively we have modernized because of it.  The internet has changed us just as much as we have changed it.  Those changes are just simply not life altering.