Week 4 Questions

Christopher Diaz-Mihell

DAI 227, Cox

February 24, 2011

DAI 227: Week 4 Questions

1) According to the text "Remediation" the author uses the phrase (in relation to Hollywood's use of computer graphics)

"remediation operates in both directions" - what is meant by this?

         - “Our culture wants both to multiply its media and to erase all traces of mediation: ideally, it wants to erase its media in the very act of multiplying it.”

2) What does Michael Benedikt, author of "Cyberspace the First Steps" introduction argue had happened to modern city by the late 60s, having become more than 'a collection of buildings and streets'?

         - Essentially the media took over. Michael Benedikt describes the modern city by the late 60’s became an “immense node of communications, a messy nexus of messages, storage and transportation facilities, a massive education machine.”

3) In his short story "Skinner's Room" William Gibson describes how Skinner watches a tiny portable 'pop-up' TV set. What can skinner no longer remember? (remediation in relation to television as an idea is neatly summed up in this sentance!)

         - “He can’t remember when he ceased to be able to distinguish commercials from programming.”

4) Author of the famous pamphlet "Culture Jamming" Mark Dery paraphrases Umberto Eco and his phrase "semiological guerrilla warfare". What does this mean?

         - Umberto Eco describes “semiological guerilla warfare” as having multiple possibilities of interpretation, also describing how “one medium can be employed to communicate a series of opinions on another medium...”

5) From Mark Dery's pamphlet, briefly describe "Subtervising"

         - Subvertising is the production and dissemination of anti ads. It’s an ubiquitous form of jamming which often takes the form of sniping- “illegal, late night sneak attacks on public space by operatives armed with posters, brushes, and buckets of wheatpaste.