In theorizing remediation, Bolter and Grusin argue that "No medium, it seems, can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning" (55). What do you take this quote to mean? And what does it add to your view of writing? Or of media?
With Bolter and Grusin’s quote stated in the blog prompt, I take their argument to mean that every medium is taking and borrowing things from other mediums when creating a text. They are explaining how the lines have sort of blurred when concerned with the distinguishing marks that separate one medium from another. In the text they gave the examples of how, “Television can and does refashion itself to resemble the World Wide Web, and film can and does incorporate and attempt to contain computer graphics within its own linear form.” Which I guess I can agree on to some degree with how some mediums may change their look and layout to resemble another, but I still believe their interface is still unique to what it is—whether that be an app, website, or TV. Like when we discussed in class, some bank websites look the exact same on their app, so the mediums have essentially switched but they look the same. However, the point of the medium switch is being able to have the convenience of accessing the app more quickly and then using it with your thumb and quickly swiping and tapping buttons instead of a full out keyboard and mouse. This doesn’t really add to or change my view of writing because with an alphabetical text if it is switched in mediums the text itself shouldn’t change drastically but maybe just the layout of how it looks or maybe some parts of it would be shortened or paraphrased—but still leaving the original idea intact. I think Bolter and Grusin’s quote has more to do with media switching in mediums rather than alphabetical text and writing. Mainly because their examples in the text talk about television refashioning into the World Wide Web and film going into computer graphics.
ReplyDeleteIn looking at remediation, Bolter and Grunsin argue that “No medium it seems can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning.” I take this quote to mean that Bolter and Grusin don’t believe its possible for a text or any piece of information to be able to get its message across or be understood or reach many people without being shared via multiple mediums. I think this quote is definitely relatable to today’s society in the sense of how quickly information is readily available due to multiple mediums whether it be social media or books or the television or apps. I also think it correlates to people’s expectation that since information is so easily attainable, people have high expectations to getting the information quicker. I don’t their argument necessarily change my view of writing or the media. I think for especially in today’s society, their argument is valid because people want information when they want it and multiple mediums allow for that quickness and accessibility.
ReplyDeleteWhat immediately comes to mind when looking at this quote is an idea that is echoed within the readings: “Although transparent technologies try to improve on media by erasing them, they are still compelled to define themselves by the standards of the media they are trying to erase (54)”. The way that we define new media is entrenched in our understanding of old media. For instance, with first- or third- person video games, your interaction with the in-game world is defined by the use of a “camera” – an emulation of cinema. Video games don’t actually have cameras; however, we borrow existing terminology to create an understanding of how this new form functions. Furthermore, many video games make use of what is known as a “cutscene”, an in-game cinematic. This is a refashioning of one medium to meet the purpose of the new; it creates a narrative shortcut. As Bolter and Grusin explain, “our culture concieves of each medium or constellation of media as it responds to, redeploys, competes with, and reforms other media” (55). There is a complex interconnectivity between existing and newly created mediums that prohibits one medium from standing independently in meaning from the other; there is a blurring of media.
ReplyDeleteI think this idea adds an understanding of the overlap and relationship between mediums, as new media remediates the old, and the old remediates the new.
In their text Bolter and Grusin argue, “No medium, it seems, can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning” (55). This is a strong statement, but I find it to be accurate in today’s society. The quote means that one medium is not longer used to effectively communicate a message. It is the combination of media that allow a message to succeed its purpose for the rhetorical situation. For instance, many students in class created print texts such as flyers, articles and advertisements. The medium for these texts was print, but this was not the only medium used to create the text. Many of use used digital media to create and design the print texts, so the print medium was not separated from other media to establish its cultural meaning. Likewise, many of us included descriptions of digital spaces on our print texts for the reader obtain more knowledge about the situation. I created a flyer for Dance Marathon, and the flyer included the dance marathon website and Dance Marathon’s Twitter handle for a reader to find out more information about the event. Examples like these back up Bolter and Grusin’s argument. Media now functions dependently for information to spread and messages to communicate. Even in my fundraising letter, I included an email address and the event’s website to direct the reader towards a digital medium to find out more about more about Dance Marathon.
ReplyDeleteIn “Remediation”, Bolter and Grusin state that “No medium, it seems, can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning” (55). This means that all media is some kind of remediation. Media are constantly replacing each other. Current media acts as remediators which allows us to interpret earlier media. Older media can also remediate newer media. An example of this in the book is television refashioning itself to look like the Internet. Films also often incorporate computer graphics. Even though immediacy tries to improve media by erasing its predecessors, it still must define itself as the standards of media it is trying to erase (54). This quote just justifies my view of writing and media. Media is constantly trying to resemble other media. However, I still believe the media is different and is its own separate entity. Although television might be trying to look like the internet, they are still two separate things. It also makes me question why certain media tries to erase early media if it was inspired by it.
ReplyDeleteI think this quote perfectly describes the way that new media functions. If I were to post a photo on Instagram I can easily choose to share it, through the Instagram app, with Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. On all three of those platforms it will appear with signifiers that it an Instagram photo and is being mirrored on a different social media platform. People take screenshots of tweets and post them on Tumblr all of the time. Things no longer exist in newspapers OR television OR radio, they exist on instagram on Facebook on twitter. The separation between media is blurred so much so that we're not even sure where things come from anymore. I've run into situations so many times where I've seen a gif of something that could be from a film or from a youtube video or from a tv show but I don't know because I've found in on a blog. Our culture has created this overwhelming collection of information that exists in multiple forms and there is no way to separate any of it, and that's what I think this quote points to. When looking at things this way, I think it makes me question the need to write for your genre. We compose a tweet based on genre conventions, but we also need to take into account that it's going to be shared and changed into different media. I've seen images of tv screens and heard audio clips from live performances and so I think it really just speaks to the fact that media is overlapping and that needs to be accounted for.
ReplyDeleteThis quote is very relatable in today’s world. Information can no longer just stay in one place. Something that we find out from one medium can quickly be found in another one. At the same time I also think this quote can be related to other aspects of society beyond just writing. Different mediums can be used for multiple purposes. I think my view of writing and media has changed because now I am more aware of how all these mediums are being collected and reused. I notice how I see old things being adapted into new things. I also am aware of how writing and media overlap and are now necessary to be used together in certain occasion. We see an old book turn into a new movie or an old picture be the idea for a new song. It interesting to see things change and develop and allow new generations to experience things that once held large importance.
ReplyDeleteThis quote seems to capture the essence the present multimedia frenzy that we live in. All media seems to be created using a variety of mediums. Once the product is complete it can be shared, and even expected to be shared through a variety of mediums. For example, music is now primarily recorded on computers. The software as well as analog effects like guitar pedals that are applied are mediums. The finished song can be shared on a CD, cassette, Spotify, in a music video, as background music on a TV show, in the iTunes store. While specific users tend to hone in on particular mediums, mediums are always the lifeblood of other mediums. I think this is probably not a new phenomenon. Illuminated manuscripts for example were crafted using many different mediums like alphabetic text and paint for the elaborate images. Music consumption has always been a multimedia experience with album art, liner notes, the music itself. No medium is an island. This concept can be a bit daunting for a writer to think about at first because it makes the composing process seem much more daunting, but it is ultimately helpful to my view of writing. It allows the composing of a text to be compartmentalized into different media which can lead to a precision-crafted final product. Through fragmenting the media used to compose a text, we can give each medium the individual attention that it deserves instead of viewing the process as a daunting singular glob of text.
ReplyDeleteIn the article Bolter and Grusin argue that the medium can no longer function independently. This is them saying that when you have one medium another will either be associated with it in content, accentuate it in features, and or complement it with the concept. For example, if there is a website for a company that performs a service there will more than likely be an app that one can get that will be able to function with it. To be specific, take Wells Fargo bank. They have a fully capable website, but they also have an app that goes above and beyond, that allows a person to deposit a check from anywhere as long as the phone can take pictures. This adds little to my view of writing. It does however effect my view of media. It shows that we live in a world that has so many ways to transmit information that we need to be able to use all these different forms in order to gain full access to amenities, even knowledge. It is not enough for one to be proficient in one technology, but use many.
ReplyDeleteBolter and Grusin argue that "No medium, it seems, can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning" (55), by which I think they mean that no single medium was created as a new entity uninfluenced by the mediums which came before it. For instance, Google+ was created as a social networking site and combined many features of other similar sites, such as Facebook and Tumblr. In an even baser example from class, many of the basic functions and shortcuts which we use day to day with digital mediums are based off of systems or actions which are non-digital, such as ‘files’, ‘bookmarks’, and ‘desktop’.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn’t much add to my view of writing or of media, as the concept seems basic enough to understand without explanation, but I don’t think that Bolter and Grusin’s ideas are without merit—they’re just nothing new.
When Bolter and Grusin said, "No medium, it seems, can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning" I took it to mean that in this current digital age, we are wired to share information across a variety of mediums. Now in order to reach broader audience, books are converted into television shows and plays and are constantly being remediated to increase our understanding and add to our knowledge about certain subjects. New medium is all about convenience and what best suits the audience. For instance, when watching shows like the Walking Dead, the audience has the ability to go on the app, live tweet, or even see the after show "Talking Dead" which further explains the episode. Each medium has it's own purpose as things are adapted and improved to better the interest of each generation. Also, when looking at the different medium movies are presented on, you can see the remediation and how technology has progressed to best suit the audience. At first, people would rent DVD's form Blockbuster however that has gone out of business and essentially been "erased" as remediation coveys, because of the developing technologies. Now movies are presented through on demand, Netflix, Red Box and a variety of other methods that is most convenient to the viewers seeking the entertainment. When it comes to writing, people can take these new found mediums and read their material online, on a tablet, in print through a book, newspaper, and even more devices. Overall, these new mediums don’t need to function independently as the combination of each medium adds to it’s significance and overall impact on the viewer. Everything seems to be remediated, giving our society the ability to choose what is best suited for their interests and add their own meaning to each medium.
ReplyDeleteI think Bolter and Grusin need to lay off the drugs and get some loving. I get it, nothing is original, everything has been done before. I have a headache from this, and I’m really tired and I cant find my favorite pair of black pants. If you see anyone wearing black pants, and you think “Wow, those look like they would fit Chelsea more…”, that’s probably them, so let me know! Anyways “Remediation as the mediation of mediation”, I mean come on, are we just trying to make riddles now? I think that the fact that last class teach wasn’t even sure what remediation’s definition exactly was should say something. I read this article, and maybe two days from now I’ll wake up and be like “woah! I get it!”, but right now I just feel like the article could be shortened to, everything has been done before, therefore everything you see is remediated/remixed/assemblaged, except for with remediation it has to be with a new medium. But is anything really even an actual new medium, because every medium needs every medium to exist now! Ah! I’m sorry that this post exists, but I figured I would write the answer to “What do you take this quote to mean?” As for if it changes my view of writing….maybe, because now my heart beats faster when I think of the word writing, and not in a first date kind of way. My roommate just told me not to post this, but I can’t handle writing something that sounds more informed because I currently don’t know how to form thoughts about remediation.
ReplyDeleteYou have my sympathies, student.
DeleteThe argument that, “No medium, it seems, can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning" to me means that every medium is based upon a prior medium. As we’ve read about in numerous articles that discuss the different ways in which texts have been recreated to relate to modern ideals, I have come to terms with this as a fact. While there are new inventions in writing and new genres, they are always going to be based on a previous genre. I think the argument also touches on the fact no medium can create it’s own spot in our culture. As stated previously, all things are based off of the ideas that inspire them therefore there is no way for something to create it’s own niche in society if there is no separation from the previous idea.
ReplyDeleteIn their theory on remediation Bolter and Grusin claim that "No medium, it seems, can now function independently and establish its own separate and purified space of cultural meaning" (55). I take this as the argument that all mediums in some elementary form are built on one another. I think that trying to differentiate so much between platforms (mediums) in essence pushing against remediation. While they may perform distinctive tasks in each form, it is important to realize the interconnectedness amongst all mediums even print and digital which seem like polar ends but when looked at closely are more similar than they appear. The whole e-book verse print book is a good example of this. Although the orint book is projected by material reality, while the e-book is projected behind a screen, they do mirror one another. I would not go to claim that reading books over the digital medium is completely independent of its predecessor. They borrow likeliness and I think enhance each other. Another example is when websites often make their material available through apps on a phone, I think even though both are digital their forms vary slightly in layout, touch, and reader-viewer relationships. However, the space isn’t what Bolton and Grusin address as sort of separate establishment.
ReplyDeleteI think adapting to an audience is key for my understanding of remediation. I think our culture thrives on change, immediateness, and accessibility. I think the affordance of being able to switch from one medium to another in attempt to accommodate audience demands is key for any writing or piece of material.