As we conclude our discussion on remediation, I want you to explore the following questions:
1. Define remediation in the 21st century
2. Draw connections between remediation and digital literacies
3. Draw connections between remediation and composing practices
4. Reflect--your concluding thoughts on remediation
**Per normal: 500 words, dialogue with your classmates, be thoughtful, yet engaging
As mediums, genres, and media have evolved over time, remediation has done so as well. While the aforementioned statement is rather obvious, the reformation of media into what we inhabitants of the 21st century know it as is drastic and multifaceted. From the advent to the more widespread use of digital media, the 21st century reflects the themes of society and the immediacy and hypermediacy for which society strives. Transparency, immersion, and the ability to banish to the willing suspension of disbelief are sought so fervently in this modern era that mediums have adapted to the societal standards that seek, as Bolter and Grusin put it, to use media as “vehicles for defining both personal and cultural identity” (231). The ability to immerse oneself and the want for said ability are part of what make up remediation in the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteRemediation expands to encompass different genres. From still visuals like photographs and paintings to visuals like movies and video games that include multimedia aspects with music and computer use, everything written and published, and everything else in between, media is prominent in the focus of the onslaught of information that the world desires and perpetuates. The widespread use of the internet and the digital devices through which one accesses the internet are digital literacies that allow societal access and the flow of ideas and compositions. Hypermediacy is prevalent in the internet, one of the most widely used genres for remediation in the 21st century. A prime example is the 1996 presidential and congressional contest on CNN Interactive, as presented by Bolter and Grusin. The website offered “continuous streams of results from each congressional district. Their promise was that the viewer could bypass the television coverage […] and get closer to the election itself” (267). Even information presented on television can be remediated into the hypermediacy of the internet and accessed on cellular devices, almost instantly. Remediation, especially in the 21st century, takes people so very close to being within the media. The images against the text and interactive methods of the internet exactly exemplify the logic of hypermediacy.
Composition has also morphed with the times in terms of remediation. To compose a video from the inspiration of the texts inserts a level of mediation that already exists. Therefore, the second mediation, remediation, greatly affects the method of composition. With something already presenting similar or even the same ideas, mediating one more step buttress or alleviates the firmness of the mediation. Alas, remediation is a subject that I find interesting in that it has almost no limits. As Bolter and Grusin present, even the human body and self is subject to remediation whether it be extreme or superficial. The idea that “the authentic self can be achieved through the appropriate digital media, which are themselves both transparent and hypermediated” means that the reliance society has on remediation and media is great in our day and age (233). Refashioning, repurposing, and remediating in the current era emphasize the importance of the presence of media and the rapidity and diversity necessary for remediation in the world.
Not to start off my post with copying ideas, but I really do think DJ’s take on remediation in the 21st century hit’s it on the nose. Just like with anything else, as time goes on and mediums change, the definition of remediation changes along with it. This is why the quote “remediation is the remediation of mediation” is so accurate. Back in the day remediation simply meant taking a story told orally and writing it down. In today’s society remediation is so much more than that. We use remediation to switch between different genres and different mediums. A story told in a book is then turned into a painting, which is then re-interpreted in a photograph which could turn into a movie with a music soundtrack and perhaps a new video game. The possibilities for remediation in the 21st century are almost endless.
ReplyDeleteI think that the most common form of remediation that we see today is in digital form. The release of the iPad and Kindle are two of the newer digital technologies which have been released into society. Both of these technologies take away the need to have printed books. A person only needs to download the book onto the iPad/Kindle and start reading. This technology is a remediation of the printed book. There are many other examples of remediation in our society, like taking a movie and putting it into video game for (ie. Harry Potter). There are so many different mediums available to us today that the opportunity to keep a trend alive—like Harry Potter—is easier than ever.
One of the reasons that the word “composing” or “composition” can be so hard to define for us is because with all the forms of remediation there is a different form of composition. The process that I go through to write a paper is definitely not the same process that I go through in order to make a mini-film on Windows Movie Maker. I also have a different process that I do when I’m painting something. That being said, I think that there are some basic general steps that everyone takes in the composing process for these different mediums. For example, when writing a paper everyone goes through the kind of brainstorming and research stage and then the actual typing of the paper. The difference is that we may have different ways of going about these steps.
Remediation as whole is a particularly helpful tool in today’s society. There are so many ways to teach new ideas and the process of remediation helps those ideas get across. What I mean is that for visual learners, there is probably some kind of YouTube video to guide you step by step through the process. Remediation also allows us to spread an idea very quickly and in many different ways. In my opinion all these forms of remediation can, in some ways, make our lives easier.
Remediation in the 21st century is a lot broader than in centuries before. Remediation now has endless possibilities with the digital age we live in. A person can create a book of health tips, make a workout video, and then make it into an iPone app. We can also create remediation out of anything from any other medium before us, so there is a lot to chose from. First it was turning books into shows or movies, then entering into even clothing in a retail kind of medium, and almost any show has an iPhone app now, not to mention board games and theme parks. Digital media makes remediation in the 21st century stand out against the rest. Digital literacy among today's generation helps the remediation process to reach more people at a higher volume. Children today grow up learning how to use a computer, children I know as young as 3 years old know how to use their parents iTouch and iPhone. Companies that make childrens flash cards also have those flash cards on an iPhone application or have interactive games on the internet. I keep going back into the iPhone a lot I’ve noticed. This goes for any type of smart phone. I think this just reaches so many people in a handheld device and the 21st century person likes that kind of convenience. Everything they need in the palm of their hand. Digital literacies are just a conveyance to get all remediation inside peoples homes.
ReplyDeleteRemediation and composing practices are two very different terms. Remediation is the changing of one medium to another. Composing practices are a little different. A composition can be created in any different form through a medium. From that form it is created in, the composition can then be remediated. So composition comes before remediation, and then can be remediated again and again. Another note to touch on: remediation is just not from one form to another, but one generation to another. Shakespears, “The Taming of the Shrew” was a play made into a movie, which was made into another movie known as “10 things I hate about you”.
I really like to think about remediation. I have a lot of thoughts about how things go from one medium into another, but I never knew there was an actual name for it. It is interesting to me that there is a whole area of study on mediums and genres. The lifecycle of a composition is an interesting thing to study. I like the example Kara T. gave us about how Sex in the City began as a column and then evolved into a multi million dollar film known worldwide. Remediation is like taking a caterpillar and watching it turn into a butterfly. I also like the involvement from the different people that take it to other mediums. It’s a cool process how a person can be inspired by one persons idea and expand it. They can expand it without losing its origin and concept behind it.
Remediation, what is it and how is it used in the 21st century? A question that surely has many explanations to those of us who grew up in the Technological Age, but that boils down to an overall concept: Remediation is the re-invention of a mediation from one medium to another in a way that conducts a new experience for the individual and allows them to experience a higher state of immediacy. Now, let me explain my definition further.
ReplyDeleteOver the past week, we have discussed remediation as the process by which one subject (let’s use Harry Potter) is transformed in ways that bring it closer to a real world experience (i.e. a book to a theme park). Remediation does not stop with the remediation of literature though, but expands to include every aspect of someone’s life, including the person herself, as discussed in chapter 15 of Remediation. In the text, the authors discuss how remediation now not only brings the person into the subject (i.e. through Virtual reality) but also brings the subject to the person.
Remediation takes on the characteristics of not only changing typical mediums such as novels, videos, film, paintings, buildings, etc., but it is also reflected in “the themes of society and the immediacy and hypermediacy for which society strives” (D.J). Bolter and Grusin discuss how “the hypermediated or networked self encompasses…the self of virtual reality” (233). The act of remediating oneself through plastic surgery, in which the body is remediated virtually by a plastic surgeon on screen, then the virtual self is remediated from the screen onto the actual body, defines how the “body itself functions as a medium” in today’s society (237). The 21st century’s ability to remediate everything and anything is an overwhelming theme of this chapter; however, in the conclusion it is stated that “mediation without remediation seems to be impossible” and that fact is highly evident when taking into consideration all the mediums by which an idea is remediated.
In our lives, the idea of immediacy is ever present through the remediation of information technology, yet every new invention is based from an older invention. For example, Twitter, which in my opinion is the definition of immediacy in 2010, is a remediation of Facebook, which is a remediation of MySpace, etc. While this main seem like a burden, that one form of remediation cannot exist without a previous form, I see the idea that one “can remediat[e]…from any other medium” to another as an asset, as Katie states in her entry. Remediation has evolved the literary world into a digital one, as our major serves as a main example of that fact. Literacy does not need to exist merely on paper, but can expand to include all realms of digital media, as my classmates have already mentioned the IPad and the Kindle’s ability to make literature easily accessible. The two mediums use each other to develop further as a remediated medium (i.e. the Kindle would serve no purpose if the literary text had never existed).
In the same instance, composition has influenced remediated mediums as well as been influenced by remediated mediums. Without one, the other would not exist, as the two “refashions them[selves] to make a claim of greater immediacy” (271). Remediation is ultimately the refashioning of previous mediums to bring about the “new by remediating what has gone before” in the hopes of “achieving the ultimate immediacy” (270/268).
During the 21st century, remediation took a drastic step from it’s humble beginnings. Bolter and Grusin focus mainly on the remediation of the self, transforming ourselves to meet the demands of the digital world of the day. Today’s self-remediation involves media such as video and audio chats (over Skype or Oovoo), or throwing our personalities and personal lives onto social networking sites like Facebook that force them into a more public stream. Performance artists are also brought into focus in the chapters, and Bolter and Grusin discuss the varying ways in which these new remediators use their bodies as the source of their remediation as they seek to perfect themselves to their own ideals, be that as a cyborg-human hybrid or a real-life Barbie doll. Plastic surgery is another form of remediation that Bolter and Grusin focus on as extremely prevalent and relatable in today’s society. Women (and their cosmetic surgeons) seek to alter their bodies and faces to fit what our culture views as perfectly pleasing, remediating themselves into that ideal form. Men – and even some women – do just the opposite through bodybuilding. Instead of cutting and slicing away at themselves to find perfection, they bulk up (the women going against societal norms) in order to reach their idea of perfection.
ReplyDeleteThese newly developed forms of mediation, as well as the immediacy and hypermediacy they present, are so typically characteristic of the 21st century, an age in which we feel an intense need to know and feel and see all that there is to its fullest extent. Today’s modes of remediation (and the media we use to accomplish them) have brought us so much closer than predecessors could ever have imagined.
DJ brings up a very valid point concerning remediation and today’s digital literacy. In a world where just about everyone and their mother has an iPhone, Blackberry, or who-knows-what-else with internet access and a plethora of nifty (though somewhat needless) applications, we are living our lives, as DJ says, right in the media. While today’s digital literacy standards never cease in their elevation, and most people know how to use these fancy gizmos and gadgets (which really are a-plenty), the constant remediation of these mediations – which are themselves remediations – causes us to push our digital literacies to unknown extremes.
Along with the constant elevation of digital literacy, there is also a constant evolution and continuation of composition. I have to agree with Allison’s statement about the varying methods of composing for the many media used in today’s digital world. I also agree that composition, in its varying forms, has a general outline. No matter if a composition is a primary mediation or a hundredth remediation, all of them follow some basic production formula.
All in all, remediation is an important part of today’s society, as it has been since it’s early days. Today, however, it has an even more important presence because it gives us innumerable ways in which to communicate with and respond to each other, and learn about [pretty much] everything and anything with just the opening of a browser. Though sometimes it may seem like a daunting concept, it has undeniably made life in today’s digital society immensely more efficient and entertaining.
Bolter and Grusin mentioned in one of the first chapters we read for our class about virtual reality and I don't remember the exact quote but they mentioned that one day we would have computers that the user could, at the touch of a finger, control. It's amazing to read that when the book was published in 1999 and today we just had the iPad come out. Remediation in the 21st century can totally be defined by the inventions of touch screen phones, the iPad, and even stepping into an almost "virtual reality" gaming system with the Nintendo Wii and even Playstation has (or is, I am not a huge gamer) come out with motion activated, interactive gaming. As a child I would have never guessed that I could have a phone with internet capabilities or being able to play Super Mario without a joystick.
ReplyDeleteDigital literacies in connection to remediation would be going back to before computers really became popular. Before that pictures were just taken with an expensive Cannon camera or Polaroid, taken into a photo lab to be developed--then Ta-Da! The amateur photographer has a work of art. Today there is a ton digital manipulation programs to take that modern day photograph to make it into a crazy work of art. Then you have the internet and the World Wide Web where instead of ordering the New York Times, you can now read it online instead of buying 12 issues a year. I'll even go out on a limb to say before the iPod was the Walkman and portable CD player. Again, that is going out on a limb and I am probably just showing my age by saying that, even though I am not that old!
I can say that as far as composing goes for the 21st century, we have a lot of new media to work with instead of just pen and paper. I can't say enough how I love the fact that we get to blog instead of keeping a paper journal. That's a great new use into dabbling with new media in a classroom setting and great to use, especially for those who have not been introduced to the blogging community. Whereas once we couldn't express our opinions except in closed groups of people we knew, we now can get online through blogs or social networks to express our opinions about anything. Outside of the composing as a writer, even artist and musicians have new media to work with like HP coming out with a computer that you can compose music on and artist being able to use programs like Photoshop and The Gimp.
I have noticed that a lot of my classmates who have posted have gone along and said a lot of the things that I have touched upon, so I can't say that I disagree with anyone. I will say that Sarah makes a good point as another classmate mentioned about the likes of the Kindle and the iPad as making literary easy to access and how we would never have had that technology if it weren’t for literature itself. The Kindle beats having to bring your book to the beach and getting it sandy. However, if you're really lazy, no more checking out books at the library. I can see how it might even be used one day in the classroom instead of renting books. All I can say to wrap up my thoughts on remediation is that it is all around us! Get ready and hold on tight because bigger and better things I am sure are in the future with the way everything is coming along in the technological world.
I think Michael’s idea that media today bring us closer together and allow us to experience so many different things is really interesting. While I do agree I think that they also separate us. Sure, we’re all infinitely more connected to people who are far away from us, but when we’re communication via email and social networking we’re not necessarily communicating with each other’s “true selves”. Bolter and Grusin present the idea that “new media offer new opportunities for self-definition” (231) and that “the form our networked selves take is constrained by the formal qualities of the particular media” (234). To me this means that we re-purpose our personality for the medium through which we choose to communicate. When I talk to a family member through email it is completely different than how I would talk to them in person. I leave out comments that I would consider to be more sarcastic or funny in case someone misinterprets them and feel like I need to conform to the guidelines of the medium (using a greeting and a salutation), which are things that I wouldn’t do in conversation. So, sure I’m closer to them than I would be if we didn’t have this type of communication, but who are they really communicating with?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great segway into defining remediation in the 21st century because there are so many new types of media that we are able to utilize and see ourselves through. Remediation in the 21st century to me is a new technologies ability to build upon a previous one while somehow managing to give us more immediacy. I really like DJ’s idea that new technologies will eliminate our suspension of disbelief. I think this is very true and one example that jumps out to me is 3D TV. This new medium builds upon the previous one of HDTV while offering us greater immediacy by pretty much placing us in the tv show. I recently experienced 3D TV and it is so different. Honestly I’m not sure if I would be able to sit down everyday and watch tv like that, it’s almost too immediate. But, I guess that’s how a lot of people felt throughout the centuries when all sorts of new media were evolving.
In society today (especially westernized societies) it is hard to find someone who isn’t somewhat digitally literate. I think this goes to show how much technology has penetrated the infrastructure of our culture, if my own grandmother who grew up listening to radio shows now uses the Internet to connect to my family across the globe. I think it is also interesting to note the digital divide that exists in the world. Since we have so many digital devices and their constant improvements available to us, smart phones, the Internet, television etc., it’s hard for us to imagine living in a place where there is no sort of technology at all. I couldn’t imagine going day to day without being able to look at my cell phone, my Facebook or online shop. The farther we advance into the digital world the more the outside world seems less immediate. As bad as it is with so many luxuries available to me I forget that there are people in the world who don’t even have running water.
As far as composing practices are concerned I agree again with DJ’s idea that remediation effects the method of composition. You wouldn’t approach writing a draft with pen and pencil the same as you would on a computer. On paper you have the ability to scribble in the margins, write neat or sloppy etc while on a computer you are restricted to a more linear composing process. The same goes for composing a digital image to tell a story and actually writing the story. Today we are able to compose in so many different mediums and we don’t even realize it. In essence I would say that the process of remediation inadvertently remediates the type of composing that an individual will need to perform.
As DJ and Alissa mentioned, I definitely agree that remediation now is different than remediation in the past. As Katie mentioned, the possibilities for remediation in the 21st century are so much broader than in the previous years. Remediation is not only limited to the making of a painting into a photograph, or a book into a movie, but with the help of all the technological advances, it has grown to incorporate virtual reality software, computers, and video games.
ReplyDeleteWith the help of remediation, digital literacy is enhanced throughout the different age groups. I know back when I was younger, I was not aware of all the possibilities the internet had to offer, but as I got older and computers started being incorporated into the classrooms, then I was able to learn more. It is also quite obvious, when not only do we have computer literacy classes in lower levels of education, but also in college. I know that digital literacy doesn’t stop there, as Katie mentioned, with apps for children that teach them how to do certain things, and are remediated forms of what the actual product might have been in previous years.
As far as remediation and composing practices, I believe that remediation is quite a different term than composing, however they do go hand in hand. I really like the point that Alissa makes, by saying that it is hard to define composition because of remediation. I totally agree with this, because if a work has been remediated than it can still mean that you are composing something, just that it is a remediation of a previous work. You are repurposing a work, but it is still your creation, since in order to be a remediation it cannot be exactly the same. However, if you are composing something, then it does not necessarily mean that you are remediating something. I do think, however, that because of remediation, especially in the 21st century, it is better to incorporate the digital technologies that we have nowadays to make the process quite easier. Even using a word processing document is much different than having to write the work down on a paper, and it also goes hand in hand with what Bolter and Grusin talk about with the remediated self and the use of desktop interfaces.
I had kind of learned about remediation in a different context when I took a communications class this past summer, but they referred to it as synchronization because they were talking about the sales of an artist’s being put into a movie, tv show, etc, so I guess the term changes with what it is referring to, but the general concept is pretty much there. It is interesting to see how so many different ideas can come from a central one, but I guess that is the same thing with literature. I know that when some books allude to others, it is because not one single book is made completely off of original ideas, and sometimes indirectly will have pieces of another novel the author may have read. It is amazing to see how far we have come, as far as technology goes, and to know that it can only go uphill from here. To know that one idea can go from different mediums is not only helpful for society (by learning through different methods) but also good for the public, since we may get to see remediated versions of something we may really like.
Remediation in the 21st century is totally shaped by the Digital Age. Whereas in the past technology was in the background and remediation primarily took place within the mediums of literature and art, today technology is probably the central ground upon which remediation takes place. Technology has created entire new mediums for remediation from the blog post to simply the vast digital access we now have to poetry, videos, ebooks, etc. We are able to fully immerse ourselves in literacies because of technology. As DJ put it, “The ability to immerse oneself and the want for said ability are part of what make up remediation in the 21st century.” Because our generation has grown up with so much at our fingertips it is our desire to be immersed in culture, literature, new technologies…
ReplyDeleteThe definition of remediation in the 21st century is indeed shaped by technology, but the essential meaning of it remains the same. Remediation still the process of remedying something. It is the taking of some medium and changing it in a way that it takes on a new form. It refreshes the original version of that something. It is the revising of something in one medium, changing it and transforming it into an entirely different medium. Remediation is still the mediation of mediation.
Alissa shares an interesting point about the switch from printed books to technologies like the iPad and the Kindle. When I was first exploring what remediation means I think I might have agrees with her that this is an example of remediation. However, I’m not sure I believe that anymore. This certainly is an example of growing technology in the Digital Age, but when you take a printed book and simply put the same exact book into a digital form it is not truly changing the original. It is true that remediation moves across mediums, but it also remedies, revitalizes, renews. I think Alissa’s example of the Harry Potter brand is a much better one. Taking a book from a video game to a movie to a theme park is definitely remediation. As Sarah said, “The 21st century’s ability to remediate everything and anything is an overwhelming theme of this chapter; however, in the conclusion it is stated that ‘mediation without remediation seems to be impossible’”.
Composing practices and remediation influence one another. You can’t have one without the other. A composition is written and it is remediated and then that is remediated and so on and so on… It starts with some type of composition.
When I first began reading and studying remediation I was more than a little bit confused. I am glad to now have a better grasp on what it actually means. I think it is very interesting how society and culture influence remediation and how different an original composition can become after being remediated again and again.
Remediation in the 21st century stretches across media forms like never before. New technology is giving audiences the opportunity to become engulfed in their favorite text. The progress of remediation is really shown in what Alissa wrote about an older style of remediation being verbal stories being written down. Today, Harry Potter book fans don’t only have movies and pictures to enjoy, but an entire theme park of fun. As was stated in the assigned reading, remediation makes up the way we see ourselves. This makes sense, since we’re surrounded by technology and the media all the time. Connections to media also partially shape us and inspire us to sometimes be like characters we feel are relatable.
ReplyDeleteRemediation and digital literacies are definitely connected by new mediums. You can read the news on your cell phone or buy a book on a Kindle. I have seen some mini-computer translators in which you can type in the sentence you want to say in a particular language and your message will be recited from the machine in the language of your choice. Katie points out that many kids use their parents’ iPads or other computer-type machines to practice reading and others skills. When I have to read for class, I usually print out the assignment because staring at text on a computer screen for a long time hurts my eyes. In little time, kids will feel more comfortable reading on a computer screen than on paper because they will be more used to it.
In some ways, though, remediation might be expanding peoples’ literacy practices. People using computers are forced to read to navigate around a webpage or to learn something. If you’re going online to read the news- whether it’s on CNN.com or Perezhilton.com, you have to put in effort to know what is on the page. If you turn on the news or the E! channel, you just sit back and listen to the content effortlessly.
I think remediation might encourage writers in their composing practices. A writer or composer might be inspired by a remediation. Remediation also shows composers (and audiences) how far content can go across so many media technologies. So a composer might start a draft of a cartoon and get really motivated when they realize that, if they come up with a good enough product, it could turn into a big money maker with movies, figurines, etc. On the other hand, though, a very serious writer might not want their novel to be turned into a movie that leaves out half the content of the story. They might not want their well-thought-out protagonist to be embodied by some up-and-coming new teen actress. Either way, the concept of remediation is existent in every type or composition, whether the author wants to embrace it or not.
Now that I have a more thorough understanding of remediation than I did a couple of weeks ago, I see it everywhere around me. As I mentioned before, I think remediation serves as an important and exciting motivator that is expanding the way people think and create. It is an ever-evolving process that promises to create new levels of creativity and invention.
The definition of remediation in the 21st century id truly no different than it has been in past centuries; it is the transferring of information from one medium to another while maintaining the original message. The outstanding difference in the 21st century is the different mediums available for remediation and the way they have leaked into each other. It is nearly impossible to view one medium without noticing elements of another incorporated into its design. It seems that a huge benefit of remediation is the increase in digital literacy; people are become more proficient with locating information and utilizing programs in order to find or achieve a desired result. Rather than passively waiting for companies to remediate their favorite book or song many consumers take it upon themselves to create web pages, videos, and fan fiction blurbs. In terms of remediation and composition, composition is invariably the first step but it is also many other steps. You must re-compose a piece to transfer it from one medium to another where it will work equally as well. A novel becomes a screen play and then is actually filmed and aired. It is vital to remember that composition is not just a onetime thing. I especially liked Micheal’s analysis of DJ’s take on remediation, the fact that we are living in the midst of media due to the readily available internet, high-tech phones, and multiple other devices that we take for granted on a daily basis. How many times do we remediate our own lives without realkizing, it is an interesting thought.
ReplyDeleteRemediation in the 21st Century is not like that of the past. With innovation in technology and communication, we can no longer just assume that one work will be ‘improved upon’ but that it may be ‘improved upon’ in multiple ways and in multiple fashions. Paul Levenson looks at remediation as using new media technologies to improve prior technologies, however in the 21st Century there seems to be more to it. In the past we have seen writings or stories become paintings, paintings become photography, photography become movies and it has always been a linear progression. With the rapid development of media technologies, we can see that remediation now means, not only improvement, but a ‘refashioning’. Remediation has become a trait of our ‘genealogy of new media’ and has not put a halt to linear improvements but has allowed new technology to remediate work on a parallel plane.
ReplyDeleteAs remediation attempts to almost satisfy societies need for immediacy, transparency and hypermediacy, the progression of technology opens up new platforms for composers to explore. With the rapid development of computer hardware and software, the world has become home to the ‘digital citizen’. Composers must now be ‘digitally literate’ in order to compete on the same playing field as everyone else. We have let our desire for immediacy and transparency to ask for new ways of remediation. Look at the composing of a symphony. Mozart did not have the computer software or sound studios most use today. But through the progression of technology and the ability to become digitally literate we are able to remediate works not necessarily at a higher quality, but more towards the standards of media society expects.
The example of Mozart’s method of composing to that of today’s conductors demonstrates the effect remediation has on the composing process itself. Composers of the 21st century have so many new mediums, so many new ways to remediate works that it has no necessarily changed the composing process itself, but added a new dimension to it. It literally has. The last few years has seen a boom in the production of 3D films and a rise in their popularity and quality. Could this be considered a remediation of film? Personally I feel that society is the one that can define the remediation of work. Like Alissa mentions about the development of E-Books through iPads and Kindles, it is progression that meets the needs of people. The need to not have to hold a leather bound stack of pages but swipe through digitalized words with your finger. We are the ones that demand it. We set the standards. As long as society demands transparency, immediacy and hypermediacy, technology will progress and remediation will come in all forms of media to refashion works to our standards.
In the 21st century, remediation is the way of the world. With bigger, better, and faster technology than ever before, almost any kind of media we deal with today has been or will be remediated. Remediation is, as we all already know, the reinvention of some kind of media, taking it from one medium to another. I like the way Sarah emphasized the point that remediation should create a new experience, and one with more immediacy, for the viewer. It’s true that most remediation provides for a greater sense of immediacy. But what does this do to our composing practice? I feel like there can be both positive and negative influences from this… On the up side, the availability of new, “immediate” technology can make ideas a reality in no time at all. Even the shortest film used to require an extreme production process. Now, Windows Moviemaker lets you take pictures and short videos from your hey, digital camera, and whip up a short film or music video in no time. Now a days, people think of their work in relation to lots of new digital media. How will this transcribe online? In film? Sarah also said that remediation has evolved the literary world into a digital one. Sadly, I think this is completely true. I feel like some people aren’t even interested in reading up on something if they can’t do it online. All magazines and newspapers are online, and more and more books are available for digital readers every day. Christ, even my social life is becoming digital. Thanks, Facebook. The fact that so much of our everyday lives are becoming digital faces us with a problem: digital literacy. I don’t just mean computer literacy, but also technology, information, media, and visual literacy. Not everyone is native to this kind of language. Even people who know how to use a computer can have trouble navigating a website or knowing where to find information. Aaaaand, let’s not forget the digital divide. Some people don’t even have computers. Yikes…
ReplyDeleteAlex says that remediation might expand some people’s literacy practices. Although this might be true, I feel like it kind of breaks down the value of the original work (call me old fashioned). Don’t get me wrong, though. I love the Harry Potter movies, and visiting the theme park was quite literally a dream come true. But still, neither of those things compare to what happens when you actually read the books. The theme park might bring Harry to me, and me to him, but it’s still not the same. When someone else is doing the imagining for you, it takes you out of control of your experience. We’re at the mercy of the filmmakers. The fact that movies, as Alex mentioned, leave out half the content of books sort of destroys the book in the remediation process. I refuse to watch the movie The Count of Monte Cristo, for the simple fact that what I see there will replace what exists for me in the book. I love that book so much, there’s no way a movie would be a better media for the story. Just no way… I’m all for the age of technology, I just think we need to use discretion in the remediation process. After all, good things take time :)
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ReplyDeleteRemediation in the 21st century is the same as it has always been: the transferring of content into different streams of media, while keeping the same message. I agree with Jessica in her idea that within older time periods remediation lacked immediacy. She states: "Remediation in the 21st century to me is a new technologies ability to build upon a previous one while somehow managing to give us more immediacy." All these new forms of technology bring the audience closer to the content of the medium. She also gave a great example with her discussion of 3D TV, and the way it changes the experience for the viewer. As far as the Kindle and iPad being forms of remediation for printed text, I have to side with Sammi and her opinion: "This certainly is an example of growing technology in the Digital Age, but when you take a printed book and simply put the same exact book into a digital form it is not truly changing the original. It is true that remediation moves across mediums, but it also remedies, revitalizes, renews."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex when he says that remediation has become a motivation for people to expand on their knowledge of literacies. Taking Sarah's Harry Potter example, lets say you're a die-hard Harry Potter fan. You've read all the books, seen all the movies, but once the video game comes out you're stumped. You're an older generation of fan, so you're not too familiar with video game consoles. Since you love Harry Potter so much, you decide to consult your nephew and be schooled on the ways of the Wii. That right there is expanding your own literary practices. You just learned to use a new form of technology due to remediation.
Remediation has definitely made composing easier and more accessible. If in the past you were the one who hated writing with pen and paper, now you have a long list of options! Remediation has made composing a lot more attractive for society today. Everyone wants to have blogs and create a somewhat opinionated and admirable persona via web. But, is this a good thing? While composing has been made easier, does that mean the quality of the composed works have diminished? Have expectations for pieces dropped? As Jessica mentioned before: "when we’re communicating via email and social networking we’re not necessarily communicating with each other’s “true selves”." I agree with her statement. Although the desire to compose has risen, the authenticity of works have dropped. I have seen and continue to see it everyday.
While the concept of remediation was somewhat confusing to me at first, I understand it a lot better now. This is due to the fact that it's such an active part of my life. I constantly see remediation being done, and considering my major (and this class), I will have a good amount of remediation projects under my belt by the end of my time here on earth. I love and embrace creativity, and remediation definitely proves to be one of its greatest advocates.
Remediation in the 21st century has taken on a whole new meaning. Since technology is continuously changing all around us so are the types of media. Remediation takes place everyday, everywhere, sometimes without many even knowing it. A good example of this is music. On the radio you may here remixes of songs that are 10,15 years or even older. Although it may sound familiar, it has been changed or altered in some manner so that it is not the original version.
ReplyDeleteRemediation allows society to change and improve existing formats of different types of mediums. With the advancements in technology provided for us today, the possibilities are endless. Everyday things that you may not think about such as, Twitter or YouTube is a way that you personally could create your own interpretation of an already existing medium.
In my opinion remediation is way for the audience to relate that subject or medium to their lives at that point and time. Just like fads change throughout the centuries, it is important to remediate in order to keep up with the latest technology. This makes the subject more appealing and relatable to the latest audience. For example, just like if you don’t continuously update the software on your computer it will eventually crash and be replaced by another, the same will be done by mediums that aren’t remediated. In order to stay in the game, you have to keep up with the new rules each season. Remediation is exemplified in so many ways in the 21st century. Novels have remediated into TV shows that have remediated into Movies that have remediated into barbies and action figures and clothing, that have remediated into video and board games, that have remediated into life size amusement parks and rides. Through programs such as Photoshop pictures are remediated by distorting images so that they are slightly different from their original.
Things that are a norm at this point in time weren’t even introduced or invented 20 years ago. I remember getting my first cell phone, well more of a go phone when I was 14, now kids as young 6 or 7 are handed cell phones almost as if it is expected. Even before that, postcards turned to email and email turned to cell phones, which then remediated into text, which now has been remediated to skype. Technology has allowed us to come from sending letters across the world in weeks, to exchanging smiles in seconds.
Remediation is all around us, in various forms. I believe that our society and societies years from now thrive on remediation to relate to the world. As long as the world is still standing, remediation will continue to take place.
Remediation in the 21st century has been and will continue to be taking a main idea/message and communicating it over different mediums. Jenna’s comment that “With bigger, better, and faster technology than ever before, almost any kind of media we deal with today has been or will be remediated.” Makes one realize how remediation has been changing over the years and will continue to change especially with the creation of different mediums. For example, now creating a blog is an option while previously blogs did not exist. I have to agree with Zack a hundred percent regarding his comment that “Remediation…has not put a halt to linear improvements but has allowed new technology to remediate work on a parallel plane.” Technology has been developing so fast that it is nearly impossible to see how mediums have progressed from one to another because so many transcribe from incorporating aspects of different mediums into one. With all the different types of mediums out there they often overlap and most times you get a mix of two mediums. The increase in digital literacy has had several benefits to remediation. Ashley made an interesting point that in previous generations remediation were created for individuals while now individuals have the capability to instantly create it for themselves. “Rather than passively waiting for companies to remediate their favorite book or song many consumers take it upon themselves to create web pages, videos, and fan fiction blurbs.” Janice’s elaboration is Alex’s point that “remediation has become a motivation for people to expand their knowledge of literacies” couldn’t be more accurate. No one wants to feel out dated or not up with times and because of that it forces people to become more knowledgeable on different literacies. For example, many of us have seen our parents progress from not know how to send text messages and know what Facebook is to now were many of us get text messages from Mom and Dad and are Facebook friends with them.
ReplyDeleteRemediation in my opinion has changed the game up for composing in a few aspects. One for sure is because of remediation those you may have not like the conventional style of writing may be able to take a liking though blogging or creating Youtube videos. The only reason this is even possible is because remediation have allowed mediums to keep up with the times. Like anything else in life mediums need to continue to progress in order to appeal to different audiences. While remediation has changed the way of things in a positive light it has also done some damage in the unique department. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook alter what and how a person might communicate something in order to be “cool”. Where as prior to these mediums people who now blog may be the same people, who had the come in an earlier generation, would keep a journal. The difference is with a journal its private and not under public scrutiny where as with these new social networks and websites everything is so public, even when you think its private, so one can never be there complete unfiltered self I feel.
Upon first reading about remediation I wasn’t sure I understand the topic fully. After this all it only made me realize how much remediation is part of my life and how I even actively contribute to it. Remediation surrounds us on a daily basis and will continue to be a part of our society that will continue to expand. Remediation has allowed for so many things that were once seen as impossible to be possible. Prior to invention of the world wide web communicating with those across the world was difficult and news we received was what we were told via television, now I barely get any news from the television, let alone watch as much television programming when so much of is readily available online.
Remediation in the 21st century is based on constant upgrades and renovations. It’s about taking what we already have and making it new and exciting, even if the previous model or version works perfectly fine. To me, it’s all about keeping the audience enticed and wanting more.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Jessica with her example about the 3D TVs. I think that the fact that the TV has come from a small box with black and white pictures, to pictures that literally jump out at you: well it seems like too much to handle. I haven’t personally tried these TVs, but I feel as though it would be overwhelming. In fact, that’s basically what the entire remediation process in the 21st century is: overwhelming. It seems they do it on purpose; it’s almost like brain washing. The constant upgrades and the power of big companies have the ability t make you think your 3G Iphone is not enough, or that you need a faster computer even though yours is already fast. It’s all about change, and the fact that if there is a possibility that a previous innovation could be faster, better, or more attracting... well that that is what we “need”.
One example that comes to mind for me with remediation and digital literacies is the age bracket and location in the world associated with digital literacy. It’s interesting to me, because when I was 8 years old I was playing outside and in gymnastics every day. I didn’t know what a cell phone was and I didn’t care. I knew that my mom had one but it didn’t strike me as interesting, and I certainly had no desire to get one. Now, it is not unusual to see 8 year olds with cell phones, iPods, mp3 players, and more. The age bracket that starts the remediation process these days has lowered tremendously. This factor is also an important role in why the companies “upgrade” so often, because they know that a portion of their buyers are young and their attention will shift easily if not attracted. In retrospect, while the US has 8 year olds that have cell phones and iPods, there are 8 years olds in other countries who do not know what a cell phone is. They do not even know what a computer is, or anything technological for that matter. Their lifestyle is so vastly different from ours that it’s hard to imagine a time that we too were on their level.
Remediation has definitely made the composing process easier. For instance, the task of typing compared to writing is much more time efficient and affective. The simplicity of a “back space” button versus having to re-write an entire paragraph on paper seems like a no brainer as to which is more useful. On top of that, remediation has made brainstorming and researching, two important components of composing, much easier and faster. With the ability to read books on the computer, pinpoint your search within the book, and format the information so that it fits into your model of work, remediation certainly has brought bigger capabilities to the composing process.
Overall, I do feel that remediation has taken a large role in society today. The lifestyle we have all been accustomed to have been formed by remediation. One question that comes to mind for me when reviewing the idea of remediation is this: Would we be happy if remediation had not taken over our lives and reformulated how we live? But what hits this question back even harder is this: are we even happy now? We have this everlasting desire to replace and reinvent and remediate everything, and I really do not feel those characteristics represent someone who is truly happy. That is not to say that remediation is a bad thing, I think it just appeals to different individuals differently.
remediation. something that is known between the world that can connect a society together. The way it re informs a situation into another genre and culture shows the extent that the remediation world can take. It is a clever process that can change something so similar into something so complicated or even more similar, it is completely up to you how you re-mediate something or how you define the re-mediated form.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Jessica in the TV sense. The way that television has transformed from black and white to now something so technical as HD TV is quite a change. MP3 players and cassette players to the now Iphones and Ipads is just a magnificent change that it is even hard for me to generate in my head. These remediation techniques is what keeps our society moving in the ever changing world. The age bracket in which remediation hits is quite different too. You would be seen as very wealthy if you had a TV in the old days, where as now, if a young boy doesn't have a TV to connect to his Xbox he's not cool.
The way remediation has also taken over in the composing world too is quite remarkable. I still think that the Harry Potter example is by far the best ranging from a book to action figures and an amusement park. I think it is clear that remediation is everywhere in the composing world. A lot of hit books, TV shows or films are often remediated into another different but extremely successful genre, showing the diversity in the composing world today.
I think that remediation is a very clever technique and to really define the difference in remediation and just changing into a different genre is hard but when remediation is really perfected, it is clear and the huge phenomenon of what could be is created. The world has been reached out to by a process that can really take over the world and the composing field.
Remediation in the 21st century ultimately means the removal of other mediums. The more we see different mediums cross sectioning one another, the less differences we tend to notice. An example that comes to mind is with painting, photography, and then we have digital photography. Who knows what will be next. Although, complete hypermediacy can be a cumbersome thing. I've heard people joke about IMAX movies and immersive technologies of the like being able to 'see better than in real life.' How do we know when enough is enough? I guess one day we will find out. As other mediums seek the claim of greater mediacy, they build upon the work of other mediums. Things are constantly being reinvented. As others had said before, digital literacy is becoming more and more dominant just about everywhere you look, especially in the US. What this means for remediation is finding new ways to find hypermediacy by being more digitally advanced. Which is actually interesting to me since the aim of hypermediacy is transparency. Remediation in todays digitized world changes just about everything we know about composing. With so much information in the world today coming at you faster and faster as the day gets longer, it's hard to avoid this fact. Newer technologies make it even easier to accomplish more faster with even more information. Speed seems to be the essential theme here. Digital innovation is making information even more readily available while simultaneously changing the way we compose it. It's primary effort seems to be to make this easier on the composer. Even when someone is assigned to compose something visually appealing, why go out of your way with the mess of painting something when you can have a more precise eye-drawing digitally artistic composition? Of course, not everyone feels this way, but it seems to be where this world is going.
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