Lara Croft- The Ongoing Discussion

Wow, the lengthy analysis of Lara Croft in the artcle called "Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo?
On the Limits of Textual Analysis" was quite insightful. It is definitely relevant to my topic, so I may use it as a source. However, some of Kennedy's ideas were quite out there. The whole transgender bit involving a male playing Lara was a bit hard to envision. I definitely wouldn't have "consider[ed] the fusion of player and game character as a kind of queer embodiment." Perhaps I am biased though in thinking that Lara Croft is more towards the "cyberbimbo" side because of something I read somewhere. I don't remember where I read it, unfortunately, but it said that Lara Croft's chest "bounces". Ummm...is that not a male oriented detail or what?

I think it would probably help me form my own opinion of Lara had I played the game myself. I actually should try to play it in Green sometime. Reading this article and another one I obtained for my research "What Women Want" brings two opposing views into play, but I can't give my own insight without having played the game before. When the game came out, I didn't find myself wanting to play it because a strong, pretty girl lead would empower girls. Actually, I don't think I had a playstation when that game came out, so I wasn't even able to consider getting it. Anyway, before I digress too far, I'd have to say that while Lara Croft could be a potential feminist heroine, the whole protrayal of her as a sex object does limit that view. I do agree with Kennedy that many readings can formed of Lara, but as to which is the most probable, that remains to be seen. I'll have to get back to you when I play the game...hehe.

About the Blogging Assignment

Having a blog is always exciting since it's a place where one can informally speak their mind. For this reason, I enjoyed keeping a blog for the class. The way it was done this quarter was fine with me. I liked having articles to read and comment on. I was never at a loss for what I should write about, though deciding what to say about the articles was tough sometimes. I wouldn't suggest the research-log because I think students wouldn't be very insightful for the most part. I know that if I kept one of those I'd be most likely blogging about how I still need to conduct further research each week. A lot of us, as I am sure you know, are big procrastinators, so a research-log would most likely reflect this. Of course, I am not saying this is always the case, but I know that this type of blog assignment wouldn't be as effective as the present one. As for weekly blogs, I think it'd be difficult only because of how to determine what students should write. By telling the students to just blog once a week, the results would be interesting but varied. The comments aspect of the blogs I enjoyed, because it is neat to get responses to your postings. I definitely think that should be kept as opposed to a discussion. I think online discussions are fine, but maybe it'd be even better if they were somehow done on the blogging system rather than an academic panfora-type deal. That way the discussions would be less intmidating and more informal, thus easier to partake in. Overall, I think the blog assignment is fine how it is, but a few added changes could make it more interesting. Maybe doing one free write for one of the entries could help spark the discussion about how blogs are used. Blogging enjoyable (at least for me) because the writing environment seems more individual and personal. Hopefully it'll be able to be carried over to next quarter new and improved. :)

On Wikis

When I first heard that we were going to talk about wikis, I was really confused. I had never heard of wikis before (just like I had never heard of leet speak). Thankfully, we have to read about the topic we are writing about...hehe. Anyway, the whole concept of wikis is really quite interesting. A friend of mine showed introduced me to Wikipedia, and I was amazed at how much information it contained. Plus, it's free!! At the time I didn't quite grasp the fact that random people wrote the articles on Wikipedia (as opposed to random, but hired people). After reading the article "What is a Wiki?", I finally discovered what this "wiki" was.

The other three articles brought up some key issues I was thinking about when I found out what a wiki entailed. It's neat that anyone can edit the site, but that definitely brings up vandalism and trust issues. I would think that saving copies of the pages before editing would be wise, especially if someone was trying to ruin the wiki. I would think that the content and purpose of a wiki becomes its best protection from vandalism. If the purpose for making a wiki is to inform, like Wikipedia, I would definitely think only those who enjoy sharing knowledge would write. Perhaps my thinking that mostly professors and experts on the subject contribute to wikis is from exploring only Wikipedia. I can see where wikis could be helpful in the business world, though. Instead of having to tell someone to update a website, any employee could add to it after a meeting or make suggestions. I suppose the "ugliness" of wikis could cause them to lose their appeal since they'd have poor e-rhetoric in the visual sense. I think, however, that the overall conecpt seems pretty exciting in terms of new online communication where even the viewer becomes an author. My only concern is over copyright. I wonder if there would ever be a copyright issue within a wiki? Or do they already take care of that when you agree to contribute to one?

On-line Communication and Relationships

How the internet affects relationships and communication has been such a big issue these past years. I am among millions of people who use it, so it's weird to think that all these millions of people could be potential isolated and/or addicted users. The CNN article discussing the problems caused by IM is worrisome, but the correlation between mental illness and IM is still such a gray area. I would think IM would be a contributing cause to mental illnesses but not the only cause. People who are depressed would most likely feel unable to reach out to anyone, even if they are online. If they did, perhaps it would even help them.

Moving from the grim side of IM, I found the other articles concerning its growing potential interesting. Online communication offers many possibilities, as seen in the "Rock Goes the Vote" article and Stanford Daily article on ITSS's use of IM. Instant messaging can reach so many people around the world at lower cost than telephone (or so it seems to me...). The use of IM to encourage teens to vote was very interesting. It is a good strategy to reach this technologically crazed generation. I am a part of this craze because enjoy AIM. But sometimes I think I am a little too much into it, I suppose. From writing witty or silly away messages to setting up my profile, I could waste a lot of time on aim. I talk with friends and family or even find myself browsing through away messages as I do work. I wouldn’t say I am addicted, but I can see where it can get in the way of relationships. Why must I walk down the hall to see a friend when there’s AIM?

Overall, IM must be used with caution. Like with most things, if used wrongly, IM can be dangerous for some. For others, it’s just another means of finding out what friend’s are doing or procrastination. It will definitely be interesting to see what the next big communication jump will be after IM.

On Hypertext...

I really love books in general. A freshly purchased book is always so exciting; while a walk through the library can fill you with wonder at how much information is out there waiting to be discovered. All of this sounds grand and dandy, but that little factor of laziness kicks in. Why go out to the bookstore or library when online books are now available? The accessibility of books online seems like an all right idea, except for publishers, of course. But I wonder how successful they could really be?

The "Electronic Reading" article from Hypertext Now makes several good points in favor of online works. Screens that ease reading online are available and laptops could be made to be as "snuggly" as a book. However, the article's assertion that a user cannot get "lost" within a hypertext novel remains to be questioned. I found the "Electronic Labyrinth" article to be just that--a labyrinth. It was overwhelming to navigate through the site's many links, so I ended up reading only a couple of articles. I am wondering if that was the site's purpose-to show how overwhelming a novel's information can be when inserted into a medium which is made for concise text? Well, I suppose the tedious task of navigating through the links can be compared to turning the page of book. But I wonder, which is easier?

Overall, hypertext cannot have the same charm as a book. Something about the classic tradition of printed text is so appealing. It is tangible and visual in a romantic sense that appeases all who love to read. I find that online articles are convienent and very informational, but books still have their unique magic. In the end, I think it depends on preference. Those who like hypertext novels can go ahead and sip their coffee alongside their laptops. We booklovers can go snuggle our favorite novels on the couch--no links required.

Post-Conference

Yay! After my conference with Christine, I am now exicted for my research project! Which is a surprise since I wouldn't expect to enjoy researching, but my topic is quite interesting and has a lot of possiblities. Oh, my topic, by the way, is woman and gaming, the one I described in the previous entry. I have finally adhered to the advice of choosing a topic I like. Even though I did attempt to follow it last year in PWR 1, my project (Harry potter and religious objections) was more stressful than fun. Now my only worry is trying to narrow down my topic. Darn, another decision.

Research Project Topic Ideas

Picking a topic has always been hard for me, probably because I am very indecisive person. So I found the past topic section on the e-rhetoric site very help. After noting some areas I might enjoy, I picked a couple topics I was interested in exploring:

1) Gaming issues: women and gaming. It would be so interesting to research how the number of women playing video games relates to the number of men and if certain genres of game are played more by a specific gender. Obviously, many games aim at a specific age group of males, with their "largely endowed" female characters and prevalent violence. However, does this prove men would be more likely gamers than women? Or is the "stereotypical gamer" not necesssarily a man? These types of questions I would like to address in my project if I chose this topic. This article I found is fitting for the type of research I would like to do. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3615278.stm.

2) Media issues: digital photography and digital art. I would actually love to learn how to do this type of art (graphics and such), so researching this topic would be interesting as well. Several issues I could explore stem from this topic, such as the (much too broad) question "what is art?". How does digital art distinguish itself from other forms of art and is it any less than the others because of its use of computers? It would also be interesting to explore how digital photography affects the media and advestising. If ads can digitally enhance their products, is the marketing world further exploiting consumers? So overall, aside from learning about how digital art is made, I could also research the issues surrounding this medium. Here's an website that reviews one digital artist's work. It's pretty neat. http://www.sherryart.com/newstory/dotan/dotanreview.html