Archive for June, 2008

The Mouse is Mightier than the Sword

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

In his contributing article in the Opinion section of today’s New York Times, Daniel Kimmage calls for the use of a different kind of weapon in the war on terror: Web 2.0.  While researching a report for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty which was released in March 2008 on jihadist media, Kimmage discovered that Al Qaeda’s grasp of user-generated web content is tentative at best.  He suggests that we do whatever we can to encourage increased Internet freedoms in areas targeted by the terrorist group, saying, ”There is a simple lesson here: unfettered access to a free Internet is not merely a goal to which we should aspire on principle, but also a very practical means of countering Al Qaeda. As users increasingly make themselves heard, the ensuing chaos will not be to everyone’s liking, but it may shake the online edifice of Al Qaeda’s totalitarian ideology.”

A Google search for “underground press” “iraq” yields little, but by no means does that indicate it does not exist.  (Not able to speak or read Arabic, I can’t search any native languages, and the search terms may also be too obvious.)  Wherever the underground press is, in whatever form, it is in our best interest for it to thrive online, and for the journalists, bloggers, vloggers and everyone else to be afforded any anonymity they desire for their safety and the safety of their families.  As they say, attention must be paid, and this applies not just to oppressed communities in the Middle East, but those in all countries. The discussion of global Internet freedom is a complex one.  It is no less complex than the issues surrounding freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion.  But if we are truly in Iraq to promote democracy and freedom, we have to support a free media landscape.

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Carlin, the FCC, and Finding Our Way

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Sadly, one of our most brilliant and insightful comics has died. George Carlin, who dared to be political and outspoken in his scorn for the establishment, was also a looming media presence for most of his career. Carlin was one of those personalities who showed us where the invisible lines are drawn because, thankfully, he overstepped them routinely. Cultures need such characters to not only point out their flaws, but also to help induce change. They make us uncomfortable for good reason.

What I remember him for, here, is the part he played in helping to establish federal broadcast policy regarding indecent speech. His famous 7 Dirty Words broadcast on WBAI radio in New York City, which led ultimately to the Supreme Court case, Pacifica v. FCC, established community standards as the yardstick to measure the extent to which the federal government can sanction broadcast indecency, particularly during periods of time when children could be in the audience. Before Carlin dared to say what could not be said on TV and the radio, the FCC was able to fine stations for what it considered indecent speech, not taking into consideration what was and is acceptable in different parts of the country, and at different times during the day. It took someone to (boldly and offensively) start that conversation and bring about policy change that is still the legal blueprint used today for broadcast stations. Even though now we have content carried via cable and the Internet, both of which are outside the strict confines of the FCC’s content restrictions, broadcast television and radio remains a staple for millions of Americans. When we no longer have free over-the-air broadcasting, if that day ever comes, I wonder how a counterculture curmudgeon like Carlin will be able to wake all of us up—no matter our age, income, ethnicity or digital abilities–when we’ve gotten too sleepy?

–Katherine G. Fry

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The definition of irony?

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Whenever I encounter a criticism of the media by the media, I become IMMEDIATELY skeptical. Seems such a one has landed in my RSS Reader. I subscribe to well over a dozen blogs and journals that touch on some aspect of media literacy. One of my favorite (and oft-cited here) urls is Ypulse. It does a fantastic job of accumulating posts from other sources about our youth and media. Most times, it typically gives a little blurb about the article they’re highlighting and lets the reader figure out their own opinion on it. Sometimes, they editorialize. And, sometimes the editorial gets it wrong.

Such is the case with their link of the news that Jamie Lynne Spears (younger sister to Britney) has finally had, at the age of 17, her much discussed and anticipated baby. Ypulse takes the opportunity to use this announcement as a way to address the recent discovery of a pact made between a large group of teenage girls in Gloucester, MA to purposely get pregnant. They take the stance that part of the reason this pledge was made at all was because of all of the recent coverage of celebrities (and in the case of Jamie Lynne, underaged) glamorously caring their babies to term. They back this up with the MTV article, and then follow it with a link to a CBS News report on the pregnancy sorority. The article is loaded with assertions that have no academic data to support, but what’s worse is CBS’ inability to point the finger at themselves, and report as if they were independent of their own network’s celebrity-glamorizing programming.

This segment particularly grabbed my eye:

“Of the students who are pregnant in Gloucester High now, Ireland speculated to Chen, “Maybe they felt lonely or something.” She agreed that Hollywood attaching glamour to teenage pregnancy may also have had something to do with the situation.”

Is it just Hollywood who’s attaching glamour to teenage pregnancy, or is the Tiffany network at fault too?

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In case you have doubts…

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Just in case any of you still have doubts about the abilities of Photoshop, be sure to check out PD’s blog dedicated to outrageous Photoshop mistakes.  It’s good for a laugh, but also a sober reminder of how easy it can be to alter images.  Whether the alteration is a true mistake, or a message taken too far (such as, “This person is thin!”), it’s important to realize that all images and messages are manufactured and retouched in some manner.  This collection reminds you that you’ve got to keep asking critical questions about what you see, and does it in a fun way.

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Toying with history

Friday, June 13th, 2008

I came across a photo exhibit put together by Balakov, a photographer who posts his work on Flickr, which consists of his reimaginings of very famous images from the 20th Century…as portrayed in Lego toys.

I like this one a lot because it captures my memory of the very famous shot that i’ve seen reproduced multiple times on postcards and posters. But, there is one aspect that’s missing, which i think makes this stream of historical photos revisited brilliant. Because they are Lego toys, the dangerous feat that makes the original photo so dramatic is missing. Those men dangling their legs off the steel girder suspended in the air were tempting fate, however these toys are not in harm’s way. You don’t have quite the same reaction to the successor as you do with the predecessor.

When we take a look at another photo redux of his that focuses on a much more violent moment captured on film, we can really see the effect toys as substitutes has on the overall experience of the viewer.

On February 1st, 1968, General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executed a Captain from the Viet Cong army. Eddie Adams’ photographic capture of it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. Balakov’s reproduction does not evoke the same vivid angst and terror of the original. While the Lego figures share the same manufactured smile, it withholds the painful grimace of the Viet Cong soldier in the original image. This is an excellent exercise in how images influence our emotions, how they tell stories, and more importantly, how they define history.

I invite you to check out the rest of the series he put up, where he also has links to the originals he is paying homage to.

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FontStruct

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008

Ever wanted to create your very own font, personalizing every curl of every character in every word you type?  Now you can, without having to dig too deeply into the whys and hows of typeface design, and without spending lots of money on software.  Thanks to a new website called FontStruct, anyone can use building blocks to create their very own font, and then share it with the world.  If you’re not interested in creating a font, you could probably spend hours browsing and freely downloading ones that other people have made.

I myself am not a particular enthusiast of typefaces and fonts, but a very smart review of FontStruct recently appeared in slate.com by Jason Fagone, who is a typeface enthusiast.  The article is well worth reading, commenting as it does on the role of typography in history and the power of how letters are designed, not to mention yet another Web 2.0 community that may one day be comparable to YouTube.

And if you ever doubted the power of typeface to send a subliminal message, take a look at this–if nothing else, it’s good for a chuckle.

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June’s ILLUMINATIONS

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

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ILLUMINATIONS: JUNE 2008

Headlight

~the latest news from The LAMP~

Don’t forget to join us on Wednesday June 4th for “Checking the Monitor: A Forum on Internet Safety” at the Grand Army Plaza branch of the Brooklyn Public Library from 7-8.30pm. The discussion, moderated by Associate Professor of Media Studies at Brooklyn College and LAMP Educational Director Dr. Katherine Fry, will engage panelists and audience members on issues regarding Internet safety such as current Internet regulations and controls, censorship, social networking, gaming and the growing digital world surrounding young people, their families and their futures. Confirmed panelists include Rachel Dretzin (Executive Producer and Director, PBS Frontline documentary Growing Up Online), JoEllen Fisherkeller, Ph.D., (Associate Professor of Culture and Communication, NYU), and Kevin O’Donnell, Esq. (Cyber Crimes/SVU, Office of Kings County District Attorney). The LAMP is proud to present this event as part of the first-ever Internet Week New York. To register, call us at 718-789-8170 or register by email.

Coming up on July 12: our first annual Media Scavenger Hunt! Get your family together to explore the media you see each day in your neighborhood. We’ll give you a list of different things to find, such as positive representations of women, advertising techniques to identify, ethnic identity and more. Lunch will be provided by Fairway, and raffle tickets will be sold to win great prizes–including a 1-year membership to Zipcar, tickets to the Bronx Zoo (also courtesy of Zipcar), and an iPod Touch from Tekserve! Check www.thelampnyc.org for more details as they become available.

In workshop news, May was a month of expansion as our BCUE workshops got started. We went to an all-girls school in Williamsburg and ran a phenomonal workshop on advertising and gender images, and then we went to Bed-Stuy for a workshop in short-form documentary. We’re also looking forward to starting our residency in the fall with P.S. 107 exploring print and video news with fifth graders.

If you’re interested in getting involved with the LAMP, why not volunteer? Our rapid growth means that we are needing more help and can use people to assist in classrooms, help out at events, edit videos, design graphics and more. To find out more, send us an email explaining what you’d like to do, how much time you can give us and your age.

And…we are pleased to announce that the LAMP is now the official media liasion for Park Slope Parents!

Spotlight

~Joe Santangelo, LAMP student, “On the Web”~

Occupation: Freelance content editor and soon-to-be vintage collectibles vendor at Brooklyn Flea.

Location:Park Slope, Brooklyn

Favorite website: Ebay, of course!

What got you interested in learning more about Web 2.0? After working some four and a half years as an editorial and press coordinator for a high profile medical journal, my job was suddenly eliminated due to corporate downsizing. Rather than return to a conventional office environment, I opted to try my hand at freelance content editing. I knew at once that my lack of networking skills put me at a
distinct disadvantage when it came to looking for work as a freelancer. Suddenly, the comfort level and complacency that defined having a full time job was replaced with a feeling of insecurity and an unfamiliarity with a whole new marketplace. Being on the far side of 40 didn’t help matters much. I knew it was time to venture out of the safety of my self-imposed cocoon and begin to network like everyone else.

What was the most valuable thing you learned in “On the Web”?On a personal level, being introduced to web sites like LinkedIn and
Sologig provided invaluable tools to stay current and connected in my search for freelance work. And discovering the Google Reader was a revelation (thanks LAMP).

How has media literacy changed the way you live and work? I’m feeling a whole lot more connected these days, especially after the LAMP workshop. As I mentioned above, I will begin selling some of my vintage collectibles in the coming months at Brooklyn Flea, a new flea market in Fort Greene. I intend to use my web site and blog to promote and market my wares. And thanks to the LAMP, I won’t need one of those Antiques Selling for Dummies books to figure out how to do it.

Gaslight

~a look back at this month in media history~

June 1, 1926: Cultural icon Marilyn Monroe is born.

June 15, 1992: During a sixth-grade spelling bee, Vice President Dan Quayle misspells potato as “potatoe,” making him the laughingstock of the media during the election.

June 18, 1898: First amusement pier opens in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

As a non-profit grassroots organization, your support is essential for the LAMP to continue.  When you make a tax-deductible donation to the LAMP, you are helping us to cover basic costs so that we can continue to offer our workshops at no cost to participants.  Checks can be made out to Friends of Community Board Six—be sure to write “The LAMP” in the memo field, and thank you for your contribution.

The LAMP
Shining light on our multimedia lives

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