Nazi rhetoric and remediation

This clip from the film "Downfall" has generated many remediated parodies on a variety of topics, including the Apple Cup in 2008, right after the Cougs surprise victory (which made them only the second worst team in college football history); if you are a Cougar fan, I think you'll find this to be quite clever:



Another remediation example relating to Nazis; see visual references to "Triumph of the Will" (as well as Busby Berkeley). ... From Mel Brooks' "The Producers." The two main characters in this piece try to oversell shares in a Broadway musical as part of a scam. The show is supposed to be so bad that it will close immediately, and the guys can skip town with the investors' money. But they need a piece that absolutely will flop. They think they find the perfect script: "Springtime for Hitler."



Here are some examples from the political / commentary sector:





From Columbian.com (Aug. 6, 2009):

"Over 10 years in Congress, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird has stayed tethered to his district, flying back to Southwest Washington for more than 300 sometimes-bruising town hall meetings during Congressional recesses.
But this year, he's literally decided to phone it in.
Instead of appearing in person, where "extremists" would have "the chance to shout and make YouTube videos," Baird said Wednesday, he's holding what he calls "telephone town halls" instead.
Baird said he's using the new system because he fears his political opponents may be planning "an ambush" to disrupt his meetings, using methods Baird compared to Nazism.
"What we're seeing right now is close to Brown Shirt tactics," Baird, D-Vancouver, said in a phone interview. "I mean that very seriously."

"Star Wars Uncut"

"You and 472 other people have the chance to recreate Star Wars: A New Hope. Below is the entire movie split up into 15 second clips. Click on one of the scenes to claim it, film it, and upload it. You can have up to three scenes! When we're all done, we'll stitch it all together and watch the magic happen."

"Star Wars Uncut"

An example of both remediation and participatory culture, which we will discuss later in Jenkins --

Star Wars: Uncut Trailer from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

What's your favorite scene so far? Why?

All about the Eyeborg ...

Per my mention last week: Eyeborg

I will bring the original article this Wednesday.

Schell on "experience design" in games

Jesse Schell has taught game design and led research projects at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center since 2002. His recent talk at the DICE conference covers a lot of ground, offering fascinating insights into the future of gaming, technology business models and, in particular, "experience gaming," or games that mix with the real world.

Ways in which mobile technology is changing us

A few examples of how mobile technology has opened up new ways in which we can experience the world:

Amsterdam RealTime, collected over two months in 2002; click on "view map"

Kim Possible, a new attraction at Disney World that incorporates mobile technology.

Cell Stories, a daily story delivered to cell phones ... and only cell phones.

23rd and Union, a locative experience based on a particularly interesting street corner in Seattle.

Parallel Kingdom, a mobile location based massively multiplayer game that uses your GPS location to place you in a virtual world on top of the real world.

Also, mobile technology can subvert media and government monoliths:

This footage, shot with a mobile phone, of a young woman in Iran, Neda Salehi, protesting the questionable elections there in June of 2009:



Her death, but also this footage, turned her into a martyr around which the Iranians have rallied for dramatic changes in their government.

Technology on the way:

Look past the thin surface of this video promo piece for mixed reality, and what do you see?



And this sort of research is being done at the University of Washington, by Babak Parviz, with computer-enhanced contact lenses:

Hyper Augmented Reality -- The Nightmare

When commercialism and technology combine in bad ways:

Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

Students helping students -- Think about it. What can you do?

New video produced by Michael Wesch, a national professor of the year, and students of Kansas State:

"Created by the Spring 2010 Class of Digital Ethnography to get the word out about K-State Proud, an organization that helps students help students."

WSUV research showcase

Read all about it, here!

First step is to create the abstract.

"Abstract Submission Guidelines

Abstracts should be no more than 250 words, and should include the following elements:

Purpose of project and goals/objectives
Brief project description
Approach/Methodology
Results (if appropriate)
Significance/Implications
Submit your abstract through the online Submission Form. Submission deadline is March 1 by 5 p.m."

You group will need to send me a copy of this draft abstract by Feb. 17 to earn your Prompt 1 points. Please send that to brett.oppegaard@gmail.com, with all of the names of your team members.

Censorship of Snow White, use of the word "retard," offensive poster at Kelso High?

It has been a busy week for symbol-analytic discussions in the Northwest, related to topics relevant to our class.

Here are a couple of links we will talk about Wednesday:

Kirkland Elementary alters Snow White

Rahm Emanuel / Rush Limbaugh using the word "retarded"

Limbaugh: “Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards,” Rush said, adding that Rahm’s meeting yesterday with advocates for the mentally handicapped was a “retard summit at the White House.”



Palin responds

Washington Post column on the term "retardation"

Poster in Kelso gym sends wrong message?

Response from the Longview Daily News