Sexuality Online

I thought that the unit about sexuality online was really interesting, especially regarding racial and gender stereotypes. As a small Asian female, I've experienced a lot of stereotypical approaches online. On online mediums such as facebook and myspace, I've been approached and friend requested so many times by numerous males with comments referring to my race and looks. At first, I thought it was really annoying and disturbing, but after a while, I got used to the idea that stereotypically, Asian women are looked upon as "sex symbols" in a way. However, after our discussions in our rhetoric class, I realized that it's actually pretty sad that this conception has become so commonly accepted. According to Mia Consalvo's article, girls, especially teenagers online get insecure and create false impressions of the world based on what’s presented online.

On another note, I’d also like to discuss the effect of video games on female players. I personally play a lot of video games, and I usually play these with my guy friends. However, whenever we play games, there are always female characters that are dressed in very scantily clad clothing. My friends would always jokingly make snide comments about how sexy she looked which made me feel really uncomfortable. This is the topic that I wrote my final paper on, and I really think that these games should be made more realistic (both for female and male characters) to represent a more relatable game world. 

A Reflection on Ryman's Air

Although it's been quite a while since we've read Geoff Ryman's novel Air, I'd like to discuss the theme of gender roles and stereotypes by observing some of the characters in this novel. If we look at the female and male characters in Air, we can see that in general, the female characters are portrayed as more intelligent, determined, and strong-minded while the male characters are mostly depicted as irrational and not technologically savvy. For example, Mae is the female protagonist of this novel, and she definitely represents a positive image of women. When she learns about Air, she doesn't back away from it; instead, she strives to master its intricacies so that she can help the rest of her village prepare for the second coming of Air. She comes across as a character that never gives up fighting for what she believes in, even though the majority of the village is against her beliefs and efforts. She is also a very successful businesswoman who has to work extra hard to support her husband, and later herself. Her friend, Kwan, is Eloi and thus suffers from some stereotypes associated with this native tribe. However, she strives to defy and disprove these claims by using Air to create pages that reveal the truth about the Eloi. Again, as a woman, she is portrayed as a strong character.

Moving on, the men in this novel are definitely not represented in a very favorable light. First, Mae’s husband Joe is probably the least positive character in this novel. From the beginning, we can see that he doesn’t really know what he’s doing – Mae has to help him with his business but even then, he doesn’t listen to her advice. He’s also very irrational and extremely mean to his supportive wife. Additionally, Teacher Shen is the male schoolteacher of Mae’s village. He believes that what Mae is doing is wrong, and thus denounces her in front of a crowd of people. He is seen as very behind the times and irrational with his temper. Furthermore, Mr. Oz Oz is a member of the government but is there to help Mae help her village. Although he has the right intentions, he is illustrated in sort of a helpless and stupid manner. Thus, with these characters, we can see that women are portrayed in a much more positive light than men are in Ryman’s novel Air. I thought that this was quite interesting, especially because Ryman is writing as a male.

 

Consalvo's Hot Dates

In Mia Consalvo's essay Hot dates and Fairytale Romances, the sexuality presented in games is explored. Typically a male heterosexual character is the protagonist of the game, because heterosexuality seems to be what is deemed "normal" in society. They usually appear very masculine and rulers of the worlds, whereas girls are given more of a vulnerable position, waiting to be rescued by the brave men. Both characterizations interact throughout the games while expressing these characteristics of masculine men out on some sort of adventure, trying to win the heart of the female character. This is exemplified in Final Fantasy IX. The main character Zidane is out to save the princess Garnet. On the surface it is a game involving a heterosexual romance that "naturalizes male-female sexual relations and punishes woman who attempt to deviate from this system." A second approach of looking at this is that it is an interactive game, where the player has control over the actions and decisions the characters in the game make. Therefore the players' own view of sexuality, whether they be heterosexual or gay, may affect the actions he or she chooses and the path the character follows.
This second approach is exactly how the Sims is played. The gamer can create and control actions of characters. The characters can be manipulated in every way imaginable, from the way they look and dress to when they go to the bathroom. Their sexuality, in effect, is also controlled. The player chooses the gender of the character they want to create first and foremost. This decision comes from the player's own views. For instance, if the player is female, they might want to create a female like themselves and play the game choosing things to do they might do in real life. In the game there is also the option of having a family. However, only males may be married to females and vice versa, but marriages between males and males or females with females are not allowed, despite having the option while in the game to kiss and sleep with sims of the same gender. They may even be given the option of adopting a baby together, but marriage is not an option allowed between them. These options in the game allows us to study the sexuality in games and what is and isn't allowed in games, reflecting the same ideals present in society.
Both examples of games and their sexuality show how games should be looked at more than just on the surface. It also shows that though many games contain heterosexual ideals, they can be interpreted in many different ways by the person playing. They are interactive games that require controllers to move the game along in whichever direction the player chooses.

Aoife Parkin

McDonald’s Game Does Not Play Nicely

The McDonald’s computer game was interesting and addicting to say the least. I thought it was pretty amusing how we were assigned to play a video game for homework. When I first clicked on the link, I did not know what to expect. The page opened and I instantly went to tutorials. I thought to myself that the tutorials were extremely long and I sort of skimmed through a lot of it. The song playing in the background stood out while navigating through the interface. I was then ready to play the game.

I starting playing and I gave it a few tries; I tried learning how to strategize as I went along. I noticed that the game was a lot more difficult than I expected and, then, I soon realized that there was no way to “beat” the game because it is never-ending; however, this did not discourage me from playing. In fact, it made the game more addicting. I continued playing and even told my girlfriend to play it; she too enjoyed playing the game. I inevitably ended in bankruptcy every time and a lot of times it did not take much time. I believe my highest score was $60,000. I noticed that the further I progressed in the game easier it was to lose. I played until I decided I should work on other homework.

What I find especially curious about my experience with the game is the potential effect of playing. The game forces one to utilize all of the negative actions a corporations can take, with no regard to the well-being of society, and does not allow you to play the game as a “good” corporation. The game definitely serves as a medium of persuasion, which makes me take a step back and reflect back on the roles of video games in society. Sure, video games serve for the entertainment of the player, but what subliminal message do the games intend to spread? It is important to be aware of the persuasiveness of games and not allow the games to manipulate.

I enjoyed taking Rhetoric R1A….I’ll miss everyone :/

-Kevin Pineda

Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet

A person’s race is a very important part of a person’s live. Race is the way in which a person identifies themselves with others. The virtual world, by which I mean online video games, chat rooms, social network sites and other communities online should be a place where individuals can feel comfortable being themselves. However, there are great amounts of people who do not input their race because they believe that other individuals will not approve of them.

In Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet by Lisa Nakamura, Asian-American, African-American and Latino users decided to exclude their “real life” race in their descriptions. I believe that these individuals should not be afraid of posting what they are. They should be proud of their race and not care if immature people on the Internet are going to judge them. These groups of people already get judged in the real world. They should be able to be themselves in the virtual world.

As an American-Mexican woman I have learned to value my roots and I have learned to appreciate and respect other cultures. I am proud of what I am and I do not exclude my race in the virtual world because I want people to know who and what I am. I do not want the “Default Whiteness” to be on my social network site. I think that people need to mature and begin to embrace every different culture that exists. When this happens the virtual world will be accepting and so will the real world. However, I don’t see this taking place in my lifetime, but I hope that I am wrong.

I know that I did not speak very much in class but I really enjoyed this class. Air is now one of my favorite novels. I literally could not stop reading the book. I would always read ahead because I found the book too interesting to stop reading! Thank you for everything!

Claudia Andrade

Digital Arts and Culture '09

For those of you interested in what advanced work in new media theory looks like, check out the schedule of presentations at this year's Digital Arts and Culture conference:

http://dac09.uci.edu/

I'll be there!

Artists for Movement

The United States is known as a melting pot nation: with a slew of ethnicities, religions, and ideologies blended together to form one diversely unified nation. No one person originated from this land, as our founding fathers migrated to the coasts of the East Coast from Great Britain. For these reason the subject of immigration hits home to many of us. Personally, as a child of two Mexican immigrants, it is a subject met with personal accounts and sympathies for those who tread arduous journeys to reach America, which many see as the “land of dreams”. In his/ her article “Border Hacks: Electronic Civil Disobedience and the Politics of Immigration”, Raley discusses political power in art and media that allow voices of opposition to be heard, despite the quieting by the slanted, political main stream culture. More importantly does Raley emphasize individual power in forming resistance to positions we do not agree with are simply unjust.
With a massive number of “3,500 people [who] are reported dead attempting to cross the United States” (3), it is evident that something must be done with the way the U.S.-Mexico border is dealt with. Although these individuals are attempting to enter this country, their consequences for their actions are not equivalent to the consequence they are given, death. Raley continues to explain that “Minutemen claim the right to make sovereign decisions about friend and enemy” (8). Minutemen are in general right-winged Americans strongly against the ideas of foreigners entering our country, and although this may not encompass the nation’s beliefs, the still hold the power to catch and return people back to their home country. These individuals grasp someone else’s life in their hands – whether or not they achieve their goal of reaching a land where they’re potential matches the opportunities provided, or whether they return to a life of scrounging for jobs at the local tienda(store). Our nation and culture continuously refers to these struggling individuals as ‘Others’ or ‘Aliens’ which in turn deems them “neither alive nor dead, but interminably spectral” (10). As a result, American citizens dismiss the migrants’ human characteristics and lump them together as a bounded society – without looking more in depth into their various experiences that each one of them has. Therefore the “war against terrorism is a war without end will be one that justifies itself endlessly in relation to the spectral infinity of its enemy” (10). As the political continues to dehumanize immigrants and impersonalize their efforts, a resistance by American society will persist because it is as if they are fighting nothing—just another meaningless face of the many.
In order for the whispers of the opposition to become more audible, forms of art and media allow for widespread coverage and personalization. Trebor Scholz and Carol Flax’s hypermedia project, Tuesday Afternoon, “contrasts issue of individually experienced border control” (19) by superimposing a map of the U.S.-Mexico border with a QuickTime video of someone walking along the border, short stories are presented in hypertexual form—from a woman being denied entry to a country after displaying her faulty travel visas, to a women given thirty days to leave the country after her marriage of convenience is nullified. It also estimates where people have fallen to death along the border. All of these accounts allow the large population an opportunity to open their eyes to personal accounts of the dismay and pain that may come along with being denied access to a country. It is not merely a trip back to where you came from, rather it is a shattering of hopes and plans that are extensively made; it is a more comfortable life denied, it is a denial of harnessing one’s potential. In art demonstrations such as this, first person accounts are presented in a way where those not familiar with this kind of exertion can see the disappointment in a migrants face, feel the moment of rejection, and make opinions of their own as to the raw nature of immigrating. This art form encourages “freedom of movement” (18) in that all the hardships would be solved if people were allowed the mere freedom of going where one chooses. It is the “revenge of nomadism over the principle of territory” (23). This idea is a large idea, in that has grand possibilities to it. Why create divisions among the global community? It is a form of separation between races, classes, and ideologies that perhaps creates feuds among nations as we seem to feel that we cannot relate to one another.
Continuing to individualize the process of crossing borders, the Border Film Project gave five hundred people disposable cameras Minutemen and migrants to record their experiences. With images such as migrants walking and Minutemen on the lookout for illegal citizens crossing the border, these images have a “memorializing capacity as well” (28). As the country creates a sense of invisibility for migrants, these photos create a sense of true reality because they are direct representations of the events that happen in life along the border.
It is essential to give separate identities to those people who are courageous enough to attempt to enter this country. Although they are not legally admitted here, they risk their lives and reputations in forging that extensive journey across the long, hazardous journey. By robbing them of their individuality, we rob them of respect as a human being. Would you consider my parents as one of the ‘Other’? As the faceless, bodiless, mindless? Just another immigrant? These art and media projects allow my mother and father to gain their defining features once again. They now become human.

Information Terrorism

The author in “Border Hacks” differentiates between Web Activism and Hacking – which was classified as “information terrorism.” True, in some cases Web Activism can be harmless, and can be used to raise public awareness. But, as discussed in “Photoshop for Democracy,” activism, even in the form of parodies, photoshopped pictures, and other related “harmless” activities can cause great damage not only to political candidates but to larger groups as well. Some of these images are used as “terrorism” because, on the Internet, nothing and no one is really safe from un-filtered images, from controversial debated to outright lies. Just as Joseph Goebbels, a truly dark and sinister, but brilliant propaganda figure, once said, “a lie spoken a thousand times becomes the truth!” On the internet, just one YouTube video can become popular, “go viral,” as it is called. These will be copied not one thousand, not ten thousand, but hundreds of thousands of times, maybe even millions, as what happened to the now-famous Gary Brolsma video popularly called “The Numa Numa Guy.”

While a short clip of a teenager (Brolsma was 18 at the time) dancing to a Moldovan song may cause little alarm, the rate at which it spread across the internet (over 700 million views estimated by now, allegedly copied thousands of times to other websites) shows the power of the web to carry any information, including disinformation, inciting terror in the citizens of a nation, causing social disruption, and, possibly, rebellion.

One of the reasons for this is that people are basically willing to take what looks and sounds scary, frightening, out-of-bounds, and accept it as true. This is the same principle as that which dove hundreds of people to large-scale paranoia during the UFO-scares of the 50’s, thousands to protest everything from the Vietnam War to oppressive government control in the 60’s and 70’s, and still drives thousands of protestors today. Lies are easier to make attractive, they are, in a way, as Venus Flytraps to unsuspecting flies – they look very pretty, they are easily acceptable, no matter how illogical, and they are very often malicious on many levels.

Thus, Web Activism can and often is a very potent form of terrorism, especially in the societies where people easily believe in many things. One example is from 2008, when a YouTube user found a large number of black containers which reminded him of coffins and uploaded a somewhat long clip of walking around them and even inspecting one. A few weeks later, that very video became Russian News, with newscasters quite seriously claiming that America must be preparing for World War III, having allegedly made “millions of bio-degradable coffins.” News stories like this often appear in various Russian, European, and even U.S. publications, mostly about what happens in nations other than the one which published the paper. Thus, if one video was for a time a cause of serious dismay and un-comfort on a national level, then any political “activism” can be boosted to the level of a serious national security threat. And thus, should also be classified as potential information terrorism.