COP3 Research Proposal

Research Proposal: Practical Work

Idea 1:
Do a study on some modern art styles relevant to a subject matter. Plan out an animation that will incorporate this style. The essence is to make movement coherent to the style and reflects the subject matter. A feasible way to do it will be for me to do a series of animated roughs with different styles to be entered into the Loopdeloop challenge, and submit the one that can best convey the subject matter to the competition.

Idea 2:
Experimental study on recyclable materials with unique shape, form and/or textures to be made a low-cost, sustainable experimental animation for the practical. Study could be an exploration on shot-framing, deforming, applying paints or dye. Treatment of material with appropriate soundscape to give the audience the mood you want them to have and for them to respond to it.

Idea 3:
Study in the form of observational drawings of people interactions and places. Incite personal response to real life situation. Volunteering back in Indonesia (probably from teaching English). Document my experience being in a situation that is different to the usual cultural context I lived in through making a one second animation a day with quick drawing media.

Idea 4:
Play a game of word association and visual imagery to make a narrative in a group. It will be animated with a certain visual style and movements depending on the narrative.  See 'Seasons' below.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2011/08/04/blexbolex-seasons-enchanted-lion/

Idea 5:
Informative zine about the visual investigation based on the written piece.

Research Proposal: Context and Themes

Books or Journal Articles

• Barthes, R. (1977) The Death of the Author In: Image-Music-Texts, St. Ives: Fontana Press
• McLuhan, M. (1967) The Medium is the Massage, California: Gingko Press
• Benjamin, W. (1969) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, New York: Schocken Books
• Deleuze, G. (2005) Cinema 2, New York: Continuum
• Frederic, J. (1991) Postmodernism or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism
• Collington, M. (2016) Animation in Context: A Practical Guide of Theory and Making, New York: Fairchild Books

Websites

• David Lynch Interview on 'Eraserhead': http://www.davidlynch.de/tiplynchtrans.html
• 'Diversion' by Hyunmin Lee from It's Nice That
• Making Process of 'Pearl'
• http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/4-new-rules-successfully-distribute-short-film-online-148855.html
• https://medium.com/@somethingsavage/making-look-see-f32c070a0d59
• https://www.creativereview.co.uk/animation-studio-moth-collective-on-film-making-sensitive-storytelling-and-choosing-clients/

Quotes

• '... the reader is a man without history, without biography, without psychology; he is only that someone who holds gathered into a single field all the paths of which the text is constituted.' (Barthes,1977)

• 'Our electrically-configured world has forced us to move from the habit of data classification to the mode of pattern recognition. We can no longer build serially, block-by-block, step-by-step, because instant communication insures that all factors of the environment and of experience coexist in a state of active interplay.' (McLuhan, 1967)

• 'the dissolution of an autonomous sphere of culture is rather to be imagined in terms of an explosion: a prodigious expansion of culture throughout the social realm, to the point at which everything in our social life – from economic value and state power to practices and to the very structure of the psyche itself – can be said to have become “cultural” in some original and yet untheorised sense.' (Jameson, 1991)

• 'The history of every art form shows critical epochs in which a certain art form aspires to effects which could be fully obtained only with a changed technical standard, that is to say, is a new art form' (Benjamin, 1969)

• 'By close-ups of the things around us, by focusing on hidden details of familiar objects, by exploring common place milieus under the ingenious guidance of the camera, the film, on the one hand, extends our comprehension of the necessities which rule our lives; on the other hand, it manages to assure us of an immense and unexpected fields of actions.' (Benjamin, 1969)

• 'I like intuition and emotions. They are most powerful to me, because people feel them.' (Lynch, 1985)

• 'To me, sound and image are equally important. I think it's got a great power and it's got a great impact on the subconsciousness.  .... If you've got an image and add a certain sound, then this thing comes to life, gets the mood you want it to have and people respond to it. That's why it's so important. All I do is to try to combine the right image with the right sound.' (Lynch, 1985)

Animation

Part 7/8: Poetry of Perception from HarvardX Neuroscience on Vimeo.


How long, Not long - trailer from Michelle & Uri Kranot on Vimeo.

Research Proposal: Distilling Ideas

Questions of Interest 

To what extent do the individual politics of professional practitioners impact on the role and function of Animation?

To what extent does Aesthetic ‘Style’ reflect the context, audience and/or function of contemporary Animation?

To what extent has Animation constructed our understanding or view of historical events and perceptions of truth?

The Internet has changed how we perceive things as information flows rapidly and is bombarded at us. At the pace that we are going, people are exhausted with keeping up on current issues, and as a result leads to indifference towards historical events. However, I feel that being engaged with what is happening in the world and take active actions based on personal belief is the responsibility of artists. This is why I am enthralled when I get a chance to go to an animation festival because I get to see different aesthetic 'style' coming from different animation artists comes to reflect their personal belief. I found myself intrigued a handful of contemporary stylised animations that are made by filmmakers on Vimeo which approach narrative storytelling in idiosyncratic way. Different from the Box Office animated movies and animated TV Series. 

For my Context of Practice 3, I would like to research more of the individual practice of these independent creators through looking at interviews online and probably a research on how this genre become popular. I want to look at the audience demographic of this creative culture and compare them with how people used to view avant-garde animation throughout its history. By doing this, I want to convey that there are more possibilities that can be explored in animation as an art form rather than just a form of commercial entertainment.

Herbert Marcuse 'One-Dimensional Man'

Abstract

'One-Dimensional Man' is another core text of my essay. Understanding that the mainstream media have always been promoting animation as children's entertainment has given a narrow minded view of the general public towards animation as a medium of art, platform for self-expression and discourse in the society. Also, there has been certain standard that society establish to the people who wants to pursue animation in further animation. The most common one is:' Oh, so you want to work for *insert the name of giant animation studio in America* '. Some others think of YouTube, TVs or advertising, which is seen as a risky job on the financial side.

Society recognised the importance of money to measure the worth of people under the capitalist system, and that money can buy happiness. Up to date, the consumerist lifestyle, trend and envy has become the main targeting of the corporations, and has trapped society in superficiality. Marcuse has critically analysed this condition of the advanced industrialised society as he wrote One-Dimensional Man (Published in 1964).

Quotes

‘Independence of thought, autonomy, and the right to political opposition are being deprived of their basic critical function in a society which seems increasingly capable of satisfying the needs of the individuals through the way in which it is organised. Such a society may justly demand acceptance of discussion and promotion of alternative policies within the status quo.’

‘Under the condition of a rising standard of living, non-conformity with the system itself appears to be socially useless, and the more so when it entails tangible economic and political disadvantages and threatens the smooth operation of the whole.’

‘If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economy subject, the disappearance of this kind of freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilisation.’

‘The technological processes of mechanization and standardization might release individual energy into a yet uncharted realm of freedom beyond necessity. The very structure of human existence would be altered; the individual would be liberated from the work world’s imposing upon him alien needs and alien possibilities.’

5.

‘The individual would be free to exert autonomy over a life that would be his own. If the productive apparatus could be organised and directed toward the satisfaction of the vital needs. Its control might well be centralised; such control would not prevent individual autonomy, but render it possible.’

7.

(False needs)

‘Those which are superimposed upon the individual by particular social interest in his repression: the needs which perpetuate toil, aggressiveness, misery, and injustice.’

False needs offer instant gratification to the individual. It is important not to be sustained because it halts the masses’ ability to recognise the essence of societal problem and to take chances to solve it.

‘The result then is euphoria in unhappiness. Most of the prevailing needs to relax, to have fun, to behave and consume in accordance with the advertisements, to love and hate what others love and hate, belong to this category of false needs.’

Masses are used as an instrument for the ‘external power’ to fulfil societal satisfaction and function that has been predetermined by them.

‘No matter how much such needs may have become the individual’s own, reproduced and fortified by the condition of his existence; no matter how much he identifies himself with them and finds himself in their satisfaction, they continue to be what they were from the beginning - products if a society whose domain interest demands repression.’

8.

‘The only needs that have not been totally claimed for satisfaction are the vital ones - nourishments, clothing, lodging at the attainable level of culture. The satisfaction of these needs is the prerequisite for the realisation of all needs, of the unsublimated as well as the sublimated ones.’

9.

What we have to achieve is to overthrow the dominance of false needs and replace it with the true ones, abandoning the satisfaction that strains our freedom.

The ‘advanced industrial society’ is notoriously known for impeding the societal development towards liberation of the masses from the repressive authority that maintains the status quo. The social control has extended the need for frivolity which are therapeutic to the exhausted proletariats and provides escape from their arduous lifestyle in order to get back to it again. Deceptive liberty helps maintain the status quo: ‘free competition at administered price, a free press which censors itself, free choice between brands and gadgets.’

‘The range of choice open to the individual is not the decisive factor in determining the degree of human freedom, but what can be chosen and what is not chosen by the individual.’

10.

‘The criterion for free choice can never be an absolute one, but neither is it entirely relative.’

Pre-conditioned class system

‘Sustaining social controls over a life of toil and fear - sustains alienation’

‘The spontaneous reproduction of superimposed needs by the individual does not establish autonomy; it only testifies efficacy of control.’

Equalisation of class distinction:

‘Assimilation’ does not eliminates the class distinction, rather it is the homogeneity of the needs and satisfaction that are shared by the society controlled by the establishment.

‘Transplantation of social into individual needs, obscured the contrast between the two functions in reality.’

11.

‘We are again confronted with one of the most vexing aspects of industrial civilisation: the rational character of its irrationality. Its productivity and efficiency, its capacity to increase and spread comforts, to turn to waste into need, and destruction into construction, the extent to which this civilisation transforms the object world into an extension of man’s mind and body makes the very notion of alienation questionable. The people recognises themselves in their commodities; they find their soul in their automobile, hi-fi set, split-level home, kitchen equipment. The very mechanism which ties the individual to his society has changed, and social control is anchored in the new needs which it has produced.’

Technological means of social control is prevalent in the advanced industrial society is divisive in nature. It imposes formula and efficacy that trap the masses to fear the uncertain; alien to the status quo. The integration of such superficial thoughts are also catalysed by alarming social condition, such as mortality and the pressing needs to instigate peace through the enforcement of law.

The technological means of social control in contemporary industrial civilisation has successfully manifested the masses so they accept things that are appropriate to sustain the status quo, and dismiss all contradiction by deeming them ‘irrational’ and all counteractions ‘impossible’.

12.

‘The social controls have been introjected to the point where even individual protest is affected at its roots. The intellectual and emotional refusal ‘to go along’ appears neurotic and impotent’

The reality imposed by technology has penetrated the boundary between the conscious and the unconscious, as a result, masses lost their capacity to make a judgement that is not just the ‘mechanical reactions’ that is expected by the system.

13.

(One-dimensional mind)

The capacity of critical reasoning that comes internally from an individual has been crippled by the technological control, such that the root of opposition against the status quo are exterminated before subversive thoughts could even happen. The masses have come to terms and accepts the laws of their society as ‘the facts of life’. Efficiency of the capitalist system has stifled the masses from questioning its repressive nature.

‘The concept of alienation seems to become questionable when the individuals identify themselves with the existence which is imposed upon them and have in it their own development and satisfaction.’

‘The identification is not illusion but reality. However, reality constitutes a more progressive stage of alienation. The latter has become entirely objective; the subject which is alienated is swallowed up by its alienated existence.’

Societal progress created one-dimensional society which rejects radical ideas and their propositions. The ‘false consciousness’ is the new true consciousness justified by social norm established by the system, and passively consumed by the masses.

14.

‘The means of mass transportation and communication, the commodities of lodging, food, and clothing, the irresistible output of the entertainment and information industry carry with them prescribed attitudes and habits, certain intellectual and emotional reactions which binds the consumers more or less pleasantly to the producers and, through the latter, to the whole.’

(Lack of objectivity)

Advertising becomes a lifestyle

Promotion of glamour to work against qualitative change in the society

The trend’s ‘common feature is a total empiricism in the treatment of concepts; their meaning is restricted to the representation of particular operations and behaviour.’

Sub-cultures: Materialism incorporates spiritual, metaphysical and bohemian lifestyle.

‘Such modes of protest and transcendence are no longer contradictory to the status quo and no longer negative. They are rather the ceremonial part of practical behaviourism, its harmless negation, and are quickly digested by the status quo as part of its healthy diet.’

16.

(Media publication: rationalising policies and narrow-mindedness/binary opposites)

‘One-dimensional thought is systematically promoted by the makers of politics and their purveyors of mass information. Their universe of discourse is populated by self-validating hypotheses which, incessantly and monopolistically repeated, become hypnotic definitions or dictations.’

East-West contrast

East (Communism)

Instituted by communist regime, all other transcending modes of freedom are either capitalistic, or revisionist, or leftist sectarianism.

West (Liberal)

“Free World” other transcending modes of freedom are by definition either anarchism, communism, or propaganda.

“Socialistic” ideals encroached corporations; universal and comprehensive health insurance, environmental conservation from commercial activities, public services hurt profits.

‘In both camps, non-operational ideas are non-behavioural and subversive. The movement of thought is stopped at barriers which appear as the limits of Reason itself.’

Mark Collington 'Animation in Context'

Abstract

Animation in Context is a book by Mark Collington that I shapes my main arguments in the essay. The book summarises complex theories of animation, and can be used as a guideline in critical writing within the topic of animation. Out of all the theories that is presented in the book, I am most keen towards Hannah Arendt's theory of 'Human Condition' which described that self-expression remains crucial for human beings. It leads to self-discovery and eventually discourse that could contribute to the qualitative change in society. 

Collington also explains a concept that I always feel strongly about:

‘The visual techniques used in the most meaningful animations are not driven by technology or style, but are result of narrative form and function’

He compared understanding an animation to how we understand a narrative in very old paintings. We need to have a degree of contextual understanding of the general history at that period of time when the painting is made in order to fully appreciate the animation.

I personally think that animation should be seen as an entirety, and not as segments, therefore examining transitions that leads one scene to another should also be analysed. I will follow up talking about movements and transitions not in the visual investigation sketchbook, but in the blogs so that I can coherently get my points across as I can put on the reference videos, which could not be done on a piece of paper.

The Human Condition

‘Can be described as the artistic self-expression of the identity and everyday existence of an individual, society or entire civilisation, which is determined by the events of their past, present and future.’

‘A term that captures the innate survival instinct of mankind to master his own destiny over the constraints and fears imposed upon him by other civilizations, society, individuals or even himself. Ultimately, the human condition is a term that can be applied to the relationship between mankind and the natural environment, that is, the ability of mankind to take control over the natural world and even leave planet Earth altogether in search of an even greater voyage of self-discovery.’

‘Human condition and their historical context’:

• Fairy tales representation.
• Modernist and propagandist representations of the impact of technology and war on the everyman.
• Interpretations of deeply personal and abstract human experiences using techniques of animated documentaries.

Michael Foucault (French constructionist) ‘believed that knowledge is produced through discourse and that nothing exists meaningfully within itself without being defined as a topic for discussion. Further, it is the context within which something is discussed, in other words the era or culture in which the subject is discussed, that defines the nature of its very being. Above all, at any period in history, it is the views of those in particular positions of power that determine commonly held knowledge and beliefs.’

‘By reading about current affairs, as well as reading, thinking and writing how and why real events have informed the work of others, you will have a better idea of how and why you can express yourself through animation. As an artist, animation can be a way for you to explore the world, understand your place in in and share your own artistic interpretation of world events online with others.

The Culture Industry: Consumerism and the status quo

‘In modern society … have also established particularly powerful ways for government and large organizations to manipulate public behaviour by not only controlling the news media, but also advertising and entertainment.’

Walter Lippman (critic of American government’s propaganda) ‘defined that the use of news media by governments and large organisations to filter facts and influence public opinion as the ‘manufacture of consent’

‘Societies will often alienate those whose cultures, lifestyles and values deviate from those held as the established norm.’

‘But for Marx, subsequent neo-Marxist and modernist artists, a key function of great art was how it could be used as an aesthetic process (artistic experience) to educate people. Art could expose or challenge the reality behind many of the belief systems used by society, that condition people to accept the repressive and dehumanising effects of capitalism as the ‘normal’ way of life. Equally it could provide emotional escape from highly rationalised and industrialised society.’

The challenge for the individual and society is to be able to separate knowledge gained through active human experience, reading and debate rather than passively absorbing our identity and understanding of the world through exposure to corporately managed digital media, both in public urban spaces and the privacy of home.

‘Animation was born out of experimentation with a range of expressive art forms, such as shadow puppetry, and also the technology of optical toys. We have also witnessed how animation very quickly became an industrialised form of highly-stylised mainstream animation.’

Authorship

‘Animation is especially persuasive in depicting such states of consciousness - memory, fantasy, dream and so on - because it can easily resist the conventions of the material world and the ‘realist’ representation that characterises live-action cinema. Interestingly, this capability is highly enabling because it can illustrate both states of consciousness and the visual conceptualisations of psychological and emotional conditions.’ (Wells, P. (2002) Animation, Genre and Authorship, p.49)

‘The visual techniques used in the most meaningful animations are not driven by technology or style, but are result of narrative form and function’

‘We now live in an age where narrative genres evolve and hybridise as quickly as the human world and consume our imagination with concerns about our present and also our future.’

Considerations of semiotics: thorough research of subject matter, meaningful juxtaposition, aesthetic, sensitivity in representing different cultures, use of colours, anthropomorphism. Ultimately, produce harmonious composition that makes the artwork effectively communicate meanings to the viewers.

‘Our ability to understand a narrative, particularly in very old paintings, often requires us to understand the moral codes, customs, beliefs, values and visual metaphors of the given era and culture.’

‘How these more conventional ways of reading images and narrative sequences can be challenged through more abstract modernist art movements’

‘Discussion of genre has reinforced how at different periods throughout history, civilisations have reflected on mankind’s place in the world, using stories and images to understand and record what defines their society and the human (or hero) within it.’

‘Directors have focused on presenting the audience with nonfictional knowledge that often reveals more personal abstract truths and aspects about the human condition, in ways that avoid stereotyping, delve deeper into the human psyche and challenge our preconceptions about the function and purpose of all forms of documentary.’

‘Documenting and visualising synesthesia … a neurological phenomenon in which some people’s senses, such as sight, taste, smell and hearing crossover with one another. The result for some is that sounds, words and letters may be perceived as being of certain colour or even having a particular smell or taste. … for representing knowledge about subjective abstract experiences, feelings and memories.’

Independent animators ‘Directly and indirectly challenged preconceptions about the narrative content, function and form of animation.’

Cross-disciplinary practice (in the case of animation): work with a range of experimental and expressive techniques inspired by other film, art and design disciplines to enhance storytelling skills

‘Pschological insight to, or evoke a feeling of the state of mind of the subject’

‘Evocation … focuses more on more abstract stimuli such as colours, textures, rhythms, sounds and so forth.’

Study Task 5: Writing an Introduction

How does animation invites the audience to view the world as a world of possibilities?

Mankind possess innate survival instinct to take control of his own destiny over the boundaries and fear imposed upon him by the world he lives in through the act of creating art that shares his own artistic interpretation of civilisations, society, individuals or even himself. Animation is an exceptional artistic medium that utilises space and time to give the illusion of life. As an artist, I believe in its potential to invite the audience think for themselves away from being influenced by the ‘repressive and dehumanising’ effect of capitalism. In this essay, I want to briefly explain the relationship between of the human condition and historical context within the narrative storytelling in animation which contribute to the evolution of genres in Animation. Then discuss in-depth about the role of commercial animation within the capitalist system; as a tool to reinforce the ‘manufacture of consent’; analysing the conventional use of semiotics within the mise-en-scene of …(An animated film from Disney)... and explaining why this convention has to be broken by independent animation directors who use experimental approach in order to share their own artistic interpretation regarding more abstract subject matters. Finally, investigate some of the animating techniques that contribute to the process of evolving and hybridising existing genres to leave the audience with psychological insight, or evoke a feeling of the state of mind and fulfil its function to invite the audience to contribute in the ongoing discourse in their everyday lives.

Study Task 3: Choosing a Research Question

Research Question:

How does visual storytelling in Animation invites the audience to view the world as a world of possibilities?

Ontology (What is there to study?):

• Difference between the psychological impact of still and changing imagery on people's mind
• Immersive experience: use of technology
• narrative genres and relevant use of semiotics
• The shift from the use of stereotype in anthropomorphic characters
• Defining character traits based on its shapes
• Seeing a good application of 12 principles of animation and stunning graphics over thought-stimulating content? (commercial entertainment vs avant garde) perhaps a possibility of assimilation from both?
• Is it still effective to use cliches to evoke feeling of sympathy and stimulate humanist thought on the audience?

Epistemology (How can we know about it?):

• Analysis of existing animation from various genres
• Past experience watching animation (audience PoV)
• reading and cross referencing articles and journals

Methodology (How do we study it?):

• Analysing secondary sources and coming up with a thesis
• Interviews to test out the thesis
• Social experiment: let people watch sime animated clips and tell them to fill a survey relevant to the investigation

Resources:

• Chomsky, N. (1989) Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies, London, Pluto Press.
• Staiger, J. (1992) Interpreting Films: Studies in the Historical Reception of American Cinema, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press.
• Collington, M. (2016) Animation in Context: A Practical Guide to Theory and Making
• Barthes, R (1977) Image Music Text, London, Fontana
• [Internet] Source: https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-barthes-2/
• Crow, D (2003) Visible Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics, Lausanne, Switzerland, AVA Publishing
• Goldmark, D and Keil, C (2011) Funny Pictures: Animation and comedy in studio-era Hollywood, Los Angeles, University of California Press

Animations or animation related artefacts:

• Pixar's colour script (Mis-en-scene)
• Zootopia

Study Task 2: Parody & Pastiche

Sources

• Hutcheon, L. (1987) The Politics of Postmodernism: Parody and History in Cultural Critique, No. 5, Modernity and Modernism, Postmodernity and Postmodernism, University of Minnesota Press.
• Jameson, F. (1984) Postmodernism: Or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, pp.17-25.

Jameson defines postmodernism as an era of mess and confusion which is lacking of a Grand-narrative when being compared to the modern era. Cultures from the past were recycled and simplified so that it is acceptable for the mass audience. Jameson is a proponent of the idea that postmodernism is not idiosyncratic, hence lacking of substance. According to him, it reflects the effortlessness and its effect on creativity which leads to a cul-de-sac for originality. The superficial understanding of avant-garde culture creates a dystopian society with historical deafness, and hence the problem of 'random cannibalisation of styles' (Jameson, 1984) prevalent in creative works. Postmodernism is arts of pastiche. Pastiche itself is a 'blank parody'; 'without any of parody's ulterior motives, amputated of satiric impulse, devoid of laughter and of any conviction that alongside the abnormal tongue you abnormally borrowed, some linguistic normality still exists.' (Jameson, 1984)



Hutcheon (1987) has a different insight on postmodernism which criticises Jameson's theory of postmodernism. She thinks that they are 'art marked primarily by an internalised investigation of the nature, the limits, and the possibilities of language of the language or discourse of art.' In other words, postmodern art is an application of art forms and its theory from the past, carefully crafted in order to 'abuse, install and then subvert convention in parodic ways'. This relates closely to Hutcheon's (1987) definition of parody: 'the formal analogue to the dialogue of past and present that silently but unavoidably goes on at a social level.' Despite all the criticism, Hutcheon acknowledged Jameson's take that postmodernism lacks 'genuine historicity'. The double-coded nature of postmodernism has resulted on the popular perception that postmodernism marks the fall of the avant-garde movements from the modern era. Hutcheon dismissed the negative connotation by arguing that avant-garde have undergone a paradigm shift to parodic postmodernism in which artists place more value on revealing 'the close connections between the social production and reception of art and our ideologically and historically conditioned ways of perceiving and acting.' (Hutcheon, 1987) This is pertinent to the present day situation where animated comedies, such as South Park, Family Guy and American Dad!, make use of narrative and symbolism as a powerful propaganda tool to influence the public's perception on socio-political issues.

Research and Epistimology part 2

This lecture guides us on how to make connections and coming up with a question based on facts that will drive the whole essay-writing process. Reflects what our ambitions as practitioners. Finding facts, knowledge, research on questions which would help us come up with the revised research question that funnels the gap between what we know and what you don't know. This way, the essay serves as a synthesis combining both in a way that makes sense to us.

Paradigm position

You as an individual and your outlook on the world. But you're in a degree course, so put into context of what you're specialising in. (i.e: Animation you should consider how the question relates to the 12 principles and/or industry-related facts and issues)

Ontology: What is there to study?

Ontology is what is or can be known, such as production process and 12 principles of animation, these are the some facts, properties and processes that form knowledge. Conceptualising and categorising animations in genres is also a process that uses existing knowledge to critically analyse and kick start the research process.

Epistimology: How can we know about it?

Making connections and forms philosophical analysis of scope and nature of knowledge in order to find a backings of our personal take on the question. Finding out something new could also lead us to a paradigm shift, in which we have to make decisions of whether we are going to change the discourse or to stick with what we have started with. 

Methodology: How do we study it?

Consider who and how can we get the information that we want, analyse the information that we have gotten from the source and turn these source material to evidence our take on the research question.

Study Task 1: Triangulation

Summary

In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey (2009 [1975]) discussed about the difference between the roles of men and women in films, in a way that the male protagonist keeps the narrative going, while women disrupts the flow of the diegesis. Active-male and passive-female roles both contributes to the development of scopophilia for the audience. The female figure integrate sexual pleasure in male audiences and the male protagonist projects an ideal ego 'giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence' (Mulvey, 2009 [1975]), which leads to 'misrecognition' of themselves on the screen (Storey, 2008). However, McDonald (1998 [1979]) dismissed the idea of intentional sexual objectification of women in narrative cinema as he pointed out the inclusion of 'looks directed at the male body and also looks between male characters' in films. Nevertheless, he clarified that contradiction between star's image and the concept of eroticism could overturn the effect of constructing a look that eroticises his body. The women figure connotes the to-be-looked-at-ness, which is why when 'a woman performs within the narrative; the gaze of the spectator and that of the male characters in the film are neatly combined without breaking the narrative versimilitude' (Mulvey, 2009 [1975]). McDonald's argument reiterates Mulvey's male gaze theory in relation to the content offered by popular cinema as a male-dominated industry. Hence, the patriachal influence apparent in the narrative flows as means of escape from an 'unpleasurable re-enactment of the original castration complex' and to 'salvage pleasure' as proposed by Storey (2008).

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Class Discussion: Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Harvard reference

Mulvey, L. (2009[1975]) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema in Visual and Other Pleasures, Basingstoke, Palgrave.

Contextual Facts about Laura Mulvey

• Article first published in 1975 coincides with the Women's liberation movement that started on the late 60s and persisted until the late 70s.
• Mulvey is a feminist film theorist, also an academic.
• Director of films in the field of avant-garde art cinema. An idiosyncratic persona.
• This essay is the most famous work produced by Mulvey because it is highly controversial gender-based critic, and it has been critically analysed and/or referenced by many other theorists, including those who wrote the other two articles.
• Uses psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Lacan as a 'political weapon' to critic Hollywood Films.
• She does not fully agree with the psychoanalytic theories. What she does is selectively choosing parts from the theory and tweak it to form new concepts which supports her tone of voice.

Key points

• Active/passive heterosexual division of labour in cinema.
• Active-male and passive-female according to male audience's perspective.
• Patriachy has its effects on culture. For instance, old pervasive potrayal of gender stereotypes based on the director's preference. It also affects how the layers of meaning in films are formed.
• Male gaze (the way in which the visual arts and literature depict the world from a masculine point of view, presenting women as objects of male pleasure)
• To-be-looked-at-ness of female physique extends beyond the narrative 
• Ego ideal projection of self into the protagonist male characters on screen.

Cine-psychoanalysis

Harvard reference

Storey, J. (2008) Cine-psychoanalysis in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, 5th ed., NJ: Prentice Hall.

Contextual facts about John Storey

• Emeritus Professor in University of Sunderland's Center for Research in Media and Cultural Studies.
• Relevant research interests: cultural studies, especially cultural theory and cultural history and theoretical and historical approaches to popular culture
• In Cine-psychoanalysis, he analysed Mulvey's essay and explained the connections between the essay and the real world context.
• His book 'Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction' is continually updated so that it is up to date to the current social context.

Key points

• Scopophilia involving sexual objectification and narcissism are manipulations apparent in popular cinema.
• Scopophilic elements in popular cinema is driven by male's defense mechanism against castration complex.
• Calling for film-maker to be objective, and make films that contains intellectual stimulation.

Stars and Spectators

Harvard reference 

McDonald, P. Reconceptualising Stardom in Dyer, R. (1998 [1979]) Stars and Spectators in Stars, pp.187-188, London: BFI.

Contextual facts about Professor Paul McDonald

• An academic, currently the Head of Department for Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King's College London.
• One of his research interests is commercial and legal dynamics of conglomerate Hollywood.
• Wrote a handful of books that accounted critical analysis of culture, media and film industry.

Keypoints

• Evidence shows scenes in movies contains recurring shots directed at the male body and also looks between male characters.
• Disavowal of the look diverts the potential of sexual objectification of the male characters in films
• Contradiction between star's profile and the concept of eroticism could overturn the effect of constructing a look that eroticises his body.

Research and Epistimology part 1

Most of the time when I am starting a new brief, I tend to think too much on the outcome. I want it to make a perfect piece that stands out, but I often neglect the importance of research. This is why I have been dreading the idea generating process. Moreover, ideas for animations have to be thought through before making the end product as there is no turning back since animating is a long process. This lecture serves as a reminder for me that the good animation out there are thoroughly researched because they manage to communicate whatever information they want to convey. There is no system of doing a research, but one thing to keep in mind is to venture beyond problem solving into process experiment, and discovery. I often feel that the brief that we get in the Animation course is quite repetitive, but I realised that I have been stuck in my comfort zone when thinking of the solution for the briefs mainly because I think I am doing alright in terms of the grades during my first year. I am starting to reconsider the importance of research and of doing things against my own convention and finding out new possibilities in order to stand out as a professional practitioner in the field of animation.

NOMA BAR is one of the artists that makes me rethink the importance of communicating meaning through visuals.


NOMA BAR - 10sec mixtape1 from Dutch Uncle on Vimeo.

The Flipped Classroom

Today's lecture is a pedagogical method called 'The Flipped Classroom'. Jacques Rancière introduced this method that brought up social revolution in the fight for equality in the education system, which had a huge impact in the Western world. The promotion of this method alongside with the increasingly popular ideologies, such as freedom, equality and sexuality, has indeed helped the repressed young people at that time to come to a realisation that they can break free from the fear of failure and contempt, so that, in the present, students here have equal opportunity to take charge of their own learning, and ultimately life. I feel privileged to experience the significant improvement in the current education system from the use of propaganda against the existing system back in the Modern Era, although I still think that the old-fashioned hierarchical education system can be more useful in primary and secondary education as a guidance for students to measure their ability and decide the subject each of them want to pursue in the future.



No education system could achieve absolute fairness for social barrier and division is unavoidable in real life since discrimination is a part of human nature. In a tertiary art educational institution, the majority of students had come to terms with this 'division' and more or less acknowledge that they are good at different things and have different interests at this stage. They have chosen the subject they want to focus on learning, so there is a higher chance that The Flipped Classroom method to be highly effective. As an animation student, it is essential to be able to think outside the box and communicate my thoughts clearly to other people because animators usually work in teams. So, The Flipped Classroom model has benefited me in terms of having freedom to get creative and receiving guidance from the tutors who pinpoint new things that I can look out for that could be food for thought for both internal and external intellectual dialogue.

Context of Practice 1 Evaluation

The Context of Practice (COP) module made me more aware of ethical practice by introducing philosophical concepts related to culture and design. I have learnt that the design process is not just about making impressive things for self-promotion as the process must effectively communicate my response for a given brief to the audience. Although I found reading academic articles challenging at first, the study tasks given during seminar sessions helped me to familiarise with the language used in academic writing, and ultimately, apply it to my written assignments. I really enjoyed reading for COP because it gets me to evaluate deep concepts like Adorno's theory of the Culture Industry and Freudian theory. Moreover, it makes me appreciate what I have, and cut down unnecessary consumption despite all the temptations that come from publicity.

We were told to choose a question and write an essay at the beginning of the academic year, in which I choose a question about the relationship between Animation and the Culture Industry. I wrote several drafts to get to the final writing to ensure that the tone of voice in my essay is appropriate to the concept being discussed in the essay. It is a painstaking process of researching to develop a deep understanding of the concept of Culture Industry, yet it is worthwhile since it allows me to consider different perspectives about the concept and use it to critically analyse the animation industry. The idea for my animated response through reading other essay by Adorno titled 'How to Look at Television' in which he explained how the theory of Culture Industry is structured to control the unconsciousness of the people, to depoliticise them so that it maintains the status quo in the capitalist society. I decided that motion graphic is the best way to present my visual response because it has the capacity to clearly present the process of animation, as a product of the Culture Industry, influence the mind of the audiences who watched it. I am pleased with how my animation turns out as it is my first time animating with After Effects, and I relied heavily on online tutorials while doing it. As I am new to the software, the effects that I could make is limited, hence I made some changes from the initial storyboarded idea as I could not figure out how to make some of the effects. For instance, instead of having a camera panning away from the audience and zooming into Walt Disney, I made a ripple effect while Walt pops into the scene.

Procrastination would always be the most prominent issue that I face when I was writing the essay. Although I like the module, it is still hard for me to have the motivation to start work early, and it took me a while before I get myself to start writing even though I know what I want to discuss about in my essay. I need to be more disciplined and stick to my schedule.

Semiotics

This lecture covers how meaning is shaped from signs and introduces us to the keywords often used to describe signs, such as signifiers, signified, denotation and connotation. Ferdinand de Saussure, who is a Swiss linguist, described making signs as looking for hidden pattern that affect the unconsciousness of the audience. In semiotics, there is no logical relationship between the signifier (sound image) and the signified (mental concept) since it is decided by culture. In film and animation, this communication system comes in the form of formulaic plot of narratives with respect to the genre codes and framing conventions. As we acknowledge this system, we will be constantly judging these cultural artefacts according to a fixed standard derived from shared knowledge, and deem anything else that deviates from this standard as idiosyncratic. As compared to the modernists, we live in a society that can better appreciate idiosyncrasies, such that it encourages animators to explore the possibilities of animation as a medium of art. For example, a group of animators from a collective, and made an animated film from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, a compilation of Gibran's prose poetry essays. The animation itself is a narration with compilation of segments uniquely made by each artists based on their own interpretation of the literary work.

The second half of the lecture covers myths and how the meanings of sign shifts according to arbitrary connotation.'The myths which suffuse our lives are insidious, precisely because they appear so natural' (Barthes, 1984). There were instances in which myths have disguised the history and validating cultural attitude. This enables the artists to trigger the conscious and the unconscious mind of their audience, and that's why works of art are powerful tool to introduce ideas to the masses.

Post-Modernism

In the Modernism lecture, we learnt that people have positive mental attitude towards progress that it is mostly the case that they blindly obey rules established by social authority. Modern Art movements evidence originality and minimalism. The post-modern society is the total opposite of all these. It is characterised by disintegration, pessimism and impurity. Modernism is the expression of modern life, while Post-modernism is the reaction to it. The reaction against modernism sparks off when the reality of modernism starts to prevail as metropolitan building crumbled and people start to snap out of the disillusionment that the advancement of technology will improve their lives.

Some of the rebellious acts by post-modern artists include celebrating kitsch and ridiculing bogus religiosity. Animation could be classified as kitsch (or trivial culture) especially Western cartoons such as The Simpsons. It is made to be unoriginal, as the episodes were made based on popular culture, so that the audience can relate to the jokes. The series is highly satirical as producers unintelligently mock social authorities and propose conspiracies. The fact that this type of cartoon is really popular reflects the post-modern audience's attitude of not taking things seriously.