Assessment Item #3

"The idea of internet as cyberspace has been part of our contemporary culture for some time, particularly in the popular medium of film. But is the concept of cyberspace still relevant to our contemporary society? Discuss with reference to your own experience of contemporary media."


Cyberspace has become a part of our modern day culture. It's easily said that most people have come across cyberspace in one form or another. Whether it be in the form of film, media, books, or within the Internet itself, cyberspace is still relevant in most cultures. This essay will introduce cyberspace, explaining what, when, where, why and how it started. It will walk through the beginning of cyberspace in the medium of film, through to the most popular films and most recent film titles. Cyberspace is still evident in many popular films, therefore it is still relevant to our contemporary society, and understanding of this will become apparent throughout this essay.

Cyberspace is difficult to define, although it is used to describe the virtual world within computers and the internet. William Gibson first used the word "cyberspace" in his book, Neuromancer, written in 1984. Gibson defines cyberspace in his book as a "consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphical representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the non-spaced of the mind, clusters and constellations of data." (1) By this definition Gibson explains cyberspace as anything numbered, categorized or seen as data. With the publication of Neuromancer in 1984, William Gibson introduced the world to the concept of cyberspace, and science fiction has never been the same. He mentions that cyberspace is something that is "experienced daily", proving the point that cyberspace is still relevant in one way or another in our contemporary society.

Although Gibson is the main theorist who provides the reasoning behind cyberspace, it's would be prudent to look at another definition. Within Cyberspace: the human dimension, David Whittle explains that "Cyber connotes automation, artificial control, and computerization. Space of course means a multidimensional place." (2) Here Whittle breaks down the word and is able to form two meanings. Evidently defining cyberspace as a computerized multidimensional place. He also gives reference to numerous manifestations of cyberspace: telephone conversations, electronic mail, telephone mail and answering machines, newsgroups and forums, mailing lists, chat rooms, web sites, multi-user domains and conference calls. (3) Although majority of these things seem extremely mundane and not really ever thought of as "cyberspace", millions of people around the world live in it every day. But the most popular medium that we come across cyberspace is within science fiction films.

Cyberspace has been a part of our film industry for almost 30 years now. The first major film in the industry was Tron, filmed in 1982 and directed by Steven Lisberger. The film is based around a man named Kevin Flynn, who digitally breaks down into a data stream owned by a villainous software pirate known as the Master Control. Flynn finds himself in the internal, 3-D graphical world of computers. (4) Although it’s the first film of its kind, Tron helped pave the way for cyberspace to become a reality rather than an unknown existence.


The next big film concerning cyberspace hit the big screen in 1995. Virtuosity directed by Brett Leonard tells the story of The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) which has developed a sadistic, intelligent, and dangerous virtual reality entity which is synthesized from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers. They would like to train police officers by putting them in this virtual reality, but they have to prove the concept first by using prisoners as test subjects.(5)


Although the films concerning cyberspace are mostly fiction, they have played a Vitol role in creating awareness of cyberspace amongst our contemporary society. The easily most popular cyberspace movie is The Matrix directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Set in the year 1999, Thomas Anderson (also known as Neo), lives an ordinary life. By day he is a software techie, but at nightfall he turns to his more lucrative business as a hacker. Untill one night, a strange woman named Trinity seeks him out and introduces him to a character he has been waiting for: Morpheus. Morpheus presents Neo with the truth about his world by shedding light on the dark secrets that have troubled him for so long. (6)

The Matrix has totally advanced and improved the way the public looks at cyberspace. The film was a major hit and went on to win dozens of awards, earning its spot as the most popular cyberspace film today.

So that brings us to a more recent cyberspace film, The Cell, released late in 2000 and directed by Tarsem Singh. The film follows the story of Catharine Deane who is a psychotherapist who is part of a revolutionary new treatment which allows her mind to literally enter the mind of her patients. This takes her on an unexpected turn when an FBI agent comes to ask for a desperate favour. (7)


Cyberspace is evident in our everyday life, yet most people don’t know it. Films in our contemporary media containing the recurring theme of cyberspace tend to associate the public further with the concept of cyberspace that has become present in our everyday society. Therefore cyberspace within the film media is still highly relevant.

Footnotes:
1. 1984: pg.128
2. 1997: pg:5
3. 1997: pg.8
4. http://www.imdb,com/title/tt0084827/plotsummary
5. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114857/plotsummary
6. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/plotsummary
7. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209958/plotsummary

Bibliography

Books:

Krug, Gary 2005, "Communication, Technology and Cultural Change, Sage, London
Miller, Steven 1996, "Civilising Cyberspace", acm Press, New York, New York
Whittle, David B. 1997, "Cyberspace: The Human Dimension", W.H Freeman and Company, New York.
Gibson, William 1984, "Neuromancer", Ace Books, Canada

Internet:

IMDB, http://www.imdb,com/title/tt0084827/plotsummary, Accessed on 19/10/09
IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114857/plotsummary, Accessed on 19/10/09
IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/plotsummary, Accessed on 19/10/09
IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209958/plotsummary, Accessed on 19/10/09

Week 10 Lecture

Today Josh gave us a lecture about video games.

We talked about the demographic's of the games.
The social effects and certain statistics of males and females who play video games.

At the end of the lecture, Josh got two volunteers to demonstrate to us how females prefer games where they can nurture for animals, whereas males prefer games where they can "blow stuff up" as the student said.

Week 9 Tutorial Activity

Today we had to look into different software programs in order to create some form of art...
This could be quite challenging considering I am deficient when it comes to anything art related.

I decided to just take a photo of the beach, this was as far as my art abilities go...

Week 9 Lecture

Jason Nelson talked us through different software packages and the best ways to access and use them. He also showed us how to access different forums in order to gain help for using software. As usual Jason's lecture was interesting to say the least.

Week 8 tutorial activity

Today we had to again find things on the internet.

• Sign an e-petition.
http://www.rtbu.com.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=223

• Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.
http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/janetalbrechtsen/index.php/theaustralian/comments/feminists_screwing_it_up_for_sisters/
I responded to this blog under the screen name of Jessie-Ann Henson.

• What is Barak Obama up to today?
He is sleeping in his bed.

• Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.
Local: Jann Stuckey
State: Margret May
Federal: Kevin Rudd

• Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.
Jann Stuckey last spoke in Parliament on Thursday, 28th August 2008.

• Let your local member know what you think about their last speech.
http://www.jannstuckey.com.au/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=3
From this website i left Jann Stuckey a message.

Week 8 Lecutre

Today we had Stephen Stockwell again as our lecturer.
He talked us through Cyber Politics and eDemocracy.

Week 7 lecture and Tutorial

This week the Jason discussed "Free Software and the Creative Commons" during the lecture.
For the tutorial task we were to access portableapps.com and download a free application.

I downloaded the:

• Virtual Keyboard
• Portable Notepad
• Task Coach Portable
  

Although interesting I found most of the apps to be just 'time wasters'.
They weren't necessarily things that I would ever use again.

iReport video

This week we were to upload a fictitious video to iReport (a website where the public can instantaneously upload their news feeds from around the world). This website has the potential to turn anyone from the public into a journalist.

Sketch Cast

This website allows you to make a sketch (similar to paint) and it records you while you sketch.
http://www.sketchcast.com/create/

Here is mine:

Google Maps

I made a google map of my trip to Melbourne.

We fly out to Melbourne on 04th September then we drive to Echuca and stay for 5 nights. The we drive to Swan Hill to visit family, staying for 3 nights. Then we drive back to Melbourne city to catch our flight home.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=-35.56798,144.997559&spn=6.307655,14.27124&z=7&msid=106474154147910966161.000472a12f8c8948b698d

Enjoy :)

INTERESTING WEBSITES

This is a follow on from Jason's lecture in week 5 about different websites.

This website has an interesting section called the WayBackMachine. You type in any website such as, www.google.com and the website brings up a list of still shot images from that same website throughout history.
http://www.archive.org/index.php

This is a Wikipedia page listing dozens of different social networking sites. social networking groups from "CafeMum" to "Vampirefreaks"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

This is yet again another website listing social networking websites, yet this site categorizes the sites into groups.
http://mashable.com/2007/10/23/social-networking-god/

This is an interesting website which takes a top 25 of the current most popular social networking sites.
http://blog.compete.com/2009/02/09/facebook-myspace-twitter-social-network/

This website features a map which displays current disasters and emergencies around the world.
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php

Week 6 Lecture

Today Josh took us through consumerism and production forms of entertainment.

Consumerism

Big Screen:

• cinema (shared)
• television (shared/private)
• personal computer (private/shared)

Small Screen:

• personal media player (ipod)
• mobile phone (smart phones, 3G)

Production

• Fan Film (http://www.thetrailermash.com/)
  
• Mash Ups
• Fan Edits
• Phantom Edit
• mobile production (www.ireport.com)
  

For our tutorial task today we have to find 3 different short films and embed them into our blog.


This first film I found on YouTube and is an animation from Pixar.



This is a great film about a man who make an unsuspecting discovery at a job he hates.



This is part two-

Week 5 Lecture

Today we had the pleasure of Jason Nelson's presence.
Although slightly odd, he is a intriguing man.

His lecture was great, yet I'm not entirely sure what his point was. I'm almost certain that he was leaning towards the fact that many internet sites such as social networking experience dramatic rise and falls of popularity.

All in all, I really enjoyed this lecture and am looking forward to Jason's next lecture in a few weeks.

Week 4 Lecture

"Big Screen to the Small Screen"

This was the title of our lecture in week 4. Although I have mostly covered all of this content in another course I'm doing this semester, Screen History and Research, it was still interesting.

The lecture started in 1895 with the birth of the cinema, and ended with the present day.

Scavenger hunt!!!

Today's Tutorial task is to answer the following question's using the internet, without using Google!

1. What is the height of the world's biggest tree? How long did it take to grow?
The tallest tree in the world is a coast redwood. He is no less 115.55 m (379.1 feet) tall. This enormous tree was discovered only in August 2006 in a remote part of the Redwood National Park, California by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor.
http://users.telenet.be/sequoiadendron/en/sequoiasempervirens.html
Server used: Yahoo
Accessed on: 20/08/09
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Madonna?
Twitter!!
http://twitter.com/M_A_D_O_N_N_A
Sever used: Yahoo to direct to twitter.
Accessed on: 20/08/09
3. What is the age of the oldest ever captive elephant? Is this older than the average wild age?
Oldest Captive Elephant: was recorded to have reached 82 years old. His name was 'Raja' and he lived in captivity in Sri Lanka.
Wild Elephants: On average, an elephant lives between 50 and 70 years
Sever used: Bing
Accessed on: 20/08/09
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/wildlife/elephants/elephant_about.html
4. How would you define the word 'glycomics'? In your own words, what does it really mean ? What does the term 'seagull manager' refer to?
Glycomics: involves the study of the glycans and glycan-binding proteins in various biological systems, and the design of novel drugs and vaccines.
In other words: the study of sugars within any given thing (food, object or organism).
Server used: Bing
Date Accessed: 20/08/09
http://www.griffith.edu.au/science/institute-glycomics
Seagull Manager: A manager who only interacts with employees to criticize their work or when a problem arises.
Server used: Bing
Date Accessed: 20/08/09
http://www.wordspy.com/words/seagullmanager.asp
5. What was David Cronenberg's most recent feature film? Which of his films Had 'Blondie' in it?
Films with Blondie: Videodrome (1983)
Date Accessed: 20/08/09
Server used: Bing
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/
Most Recent Feature Film: Eastern Promises (2007)
Server used: Bing
Date Accessed: 20/08/09
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg
6. When was the original 'Hacker's' released?
Released in 1995
Server used: Bing
Accessed on: 20/08/09
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/
7. Why do phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
It seems it is purely an act of etiquette to avoid inadvertently giving out someone’s phone number. For example, in Bruce Almighty God gives out his number (an actual valid number int he US) in the film and many users got calls asking for God.In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are now specifically reserved for fictional use, with the other numbers having been released for actual assignment.
Date Accessed: 20/08/09
Server used: Bing
http://www.themovieblog.com/2008/06/movie-blog-history-lesson-555
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Cairns?
Hitchhiking.
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1970?
Simon and Garfunkel/ El Condor Pasa
Server used: Bing
Date Accessed: 20/08/09
http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1970/19700822.html
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
Black Assassins
Date Accessed: 20/08/09
Sever used: Bing
http://live-wirez.gu.edu.au/Staff/Stephen/default.html

Week 3 Lecture

As previously mentioned in the last blog during this weeks lecture we discussed screen shot processes. As well as this we looked at certain techniques when filming, such as:

Shot's as words:

• Who? The close up answers the question of 'who' by showing our character in detail.
• What? The mid shot answers the 'what' question by showing your subject performing an action.
• Where? The long shot is our answer to the 'where' question, at the beginning of a scene it is also known as the Establishing Shot.
• When? Both the wide shot and the close up can help us answer the 'when' question. Time can be a difficult thing to capture on the screen.
• Why? The Big Close Up can help us answer the 'why' question, usually by revealing more about a character and their actions.
• How? A single Medium Close Up or a series of Close Ups can explain an event and answer the 'how' question.

Head Room: Give your subject enough head room within any given shot. Keep them within the frame. Keep the headroom consistent from shot to shot.

http://www.klru.org/docubloggers/images/HeadRoomRight.jpg
(Accessed on 13/08/09)

Talking Room: Keep the subject close to the right side of the middle of the shot. You don't want your subject to look like he's talking to a wall.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/files/images/2009/02/27/slumdog.jpg
(Accessed on 13/08/09)

Rule of thirds: Position your subject on one of the intersecting cross points.

http://strongphotography.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/200605022117.jpg
(Accessed on 13/08/09)

The 180 Rule: Keep your subjects within the line of sight (eye line).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/180_degree_rule.svg/678px-180_degree_rule.svg.png
(Accessed on 13/08/09)

The Inverted Pyramid: Defines the importance of using WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY AND HOW.http://www.iraqtimeline.com/screenshots/invertedp.gif
(Accessed on 13/08/09)

Week 3 Lecture.

'Learning the Language of the Screen' This week we discovered all the techniques involved with the film production process. Today Josh explained to us how to use certain screen shots in order to achieve different effects.
These are the following 'screen shot' terms:

• VLS/WS: Very Long Shot/Wide Shot - A panoramic view (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)

http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/sawtooth/snra/photos/Boulder%20Basin%20wide%20shot.JPG (Accessed on 13/08/09)

• LS: Long Shot - Related to the presence of a human object. LS would show the full body with some room above the head and below the feet. (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)

http://chestofbooks.com/sports/golf/Practical-Golf/images/Fig-13-Playing-A-Hanging-Lie-The-Long-Game.jpg
(Accessed on 13/08/09)

• MLS: Medium Long Shot - shows a person from just below the knees. (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)

http://www.releasing.net/filmmaker/images/forrest_gump.jpg (Accessed on 13/08/09)

• MS: Mid Shot - Generally related to the presence of a human object. MS from the waist up. (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)

http://robinjames.com/db3/00239/robinjames.com/_uimages/RobinMidShotCanyon.JPG (Accessed on 13/08/09)

• MCU: Medium Close Up - shows a person from the mid chest line up. It is most frequently used for newsreaders. (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)
  

http://cineprism.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/frankenstein-3d.jpeg (Accessed on 13/08/09)

• CU: Close Up - Generally related to the presence of a human object. CU would show from the neck up. (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/174143413_f73ff396fc.jpg (Accessed on 13/08/09)

• BCU: Big Close Up - A Big Close Up (BCU) or Extreme Close Up would show fine detail of part of a body (an eye, a hand holding a gun) or an object (the face of a watch). (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)

http://unit.bjork.com/specials/pics/bw/B&W%20big%20closeup.jpg (Accessed on 13/08/09)

• ECU: Extreme Close Up - Generally Relating to the presence of a human object. Shows something extremely close in view. (http://apcen.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/reidd/EDTECH/video/camera_language.htm)

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1569/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1569R-75014.jpg (Accessed on: 13/08/09)


ME AND SAM!

Week 2 Lecture.

This weeks lecture was all about the history of computing. Steven Stockwell conducted the lecture and took us through the basics of computing history. He talked u through the early inventors of computer technology, the founders of Apple and Microsoft, and discussed the differences between the Internet and the Web.

This is a brief time line of the History of computers:

1981 - "The IBM PC - Home Computer" from an 'Acorn' grows a personal computer revolution.
1981 - "MS DOS Computer Operating System" from 'quick & dirty' comes the operating system of the century.
1983 - "Apple Lisa Computer" the first home computer with a GUI (Graphical User Interface).
1984 - "Apple Machintosh Computer" the more affordable home computer with a GUI.
1985 - "Microsoft Windows" Microsoft and Apple start competing with each other.Basically after this the computer's functions improved, adding more feature, revamping it's aesthetics and of course, continually becoming more user-friendly.
1966 - "ARPANet" was launched - a project the government requested which when successful would have two computers talking to each other. This was the first steps towards the internet.
1989 - "ARPANet" 10,000 hosts on the internet.
1990 - "World Wide Web (Web)" ARPANet ended and Tim Berners-Lee created Web.
1993 - "World Wide Web" Web grows by 341,000 percent in a year.2000 - "Wireless Internet" fixed wireless, high-speed internet is now seen as a viable alternative to copper and fibre optic lines placed in the ground.
2003 - "File Transfer Protocol" had become alot more known with 261 individuals being sued for illegally distributing copyrighted music. This is also known as peer-to-peer.
2005 - "Youtube" is launched.
2009 - "PRESENT" where most of society is smart enough to use social networking websites like myspace, facebook, and twitter without caring about the history of computers of the internet.

Date Accessed: 06/08/09
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/timeline.asp

This is a brief timeline of the History of the Internet:

1957:The United States Department of Defense formed a small agency called ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) to develop military science and technology.
1961-1965:The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started to research sharing information in small, phone-linked networks. ARPA is one of their main sponsors.
1966: The first ARPANET plan is unveiled by Larry Roberts of MIT. Packet switching technology is getting off the ground, and small university networks are beginning to be developed.
1969:The Department of Defense commissions the fledgling ARPAnet for network research. The first official network nodes were UCLA, Standford Research Institute,UCSB, and the University of Utah. The first node to node message was sent from UCLA to SRI.
1971: more nodes join the network, bringing the total to 15. These new nodes include Harvard and NASA.
1973: ARPAnet goes global when the the University College of London and Norway's Royal Radar Establishment join up.
1974: Network intercommunication is becoming more sophisticated; data is now transmitted more quickly and efficiently with the design of TCP (Transmission Control Program).
1976: Unix is developed at AT and T; Queen Elizabeth sends out her first email message.
1979: USENET, the mother of all networked discussion groups, is developed.
1982: Internet technology protocols are developed, commonly known as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol). This leads to one of the first definitions of an "internet" being a connected set of networks.
1984: Number of hosts is now up to 1000, with more being added every day.
1985: The first registered domain is Symbolics.com.
1987: Number of hosts breaks the 10,000 mark.
1988: First large-scale Internet worm affects thousands of Internet hosts.
1991: Tim Berners-Lee develops the World Wide Web.
1993: The World Wide Web's annual growth is now at a staggering 341,634%.
1994: ARPAnet celebrates 25th anniversary.
1995-1997: RealAudio introduces Internet streaming technology, dial-up systems emerge (America Online, Compuserve), the Internet backbone continues to be strengthened with the addition of MCI, Microsoft and Netscape fight for WWW browser supremacy, and there are now more than 70,000 mailing lists.
1998-present:The Internet continues to experience staggering growth. More people use the Internet to get connected to others, find information, conduct business, and share information than ever before in history.

Date Accessed: 21/08/09
http://websearch.about.com/od/whatistheinternet/a/historyinternet.htm

Here's a great video of an example of converge technologies that I found from youtube!

Convergence within technology

Convergence technologies are different means of technology capable of performing similar tasks. Four examples of convergence technologies:

• Mobile Phones or 'Smart phones' - which have the ability to access all forms of technology from emails, internet, photo's, video's, install programs, and play games.
• Data - meaning productivity applications such as Google and Wikipedia.
• Video - Which makes it possible for people to share resources and interacting with each other, such as YouTube.
• Game Consoles - Which now have the capabilities of accessing the internet.

First blog

Well, this is my first blog ever! I'm taking a course called New Communication Technologies... For the course I have to make 2 weekly blogs as part of the assessment... hence why I am blogging now.

Fortunately the lecture wasn't too painful, 50 minutes discussing new technologies and generally explaining the course. The course sounds really exciting. Lets face it 2hours a week sitting on a computer, blogging about the lecture is a pretty good way to spend a Thursday morning.

Anyway, this will be my first blog of many. So expect to hear more from me soon.