Bob Peterson@ONU and the Process of Interpellation

Last night, I had the privilege of listening to Bob Peterson speak at ONU. For those of you not familiar with Bob, he is the writer and co-director of the movie Up, which just won numerous awards. He is also the voice of the dog Dug. Besides Up, Bob was involved in the movies Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Monster's Inc. Besides being an employee of Pixar, he is also an 1983 ONU grad in mechanical engineering.

For those of you who missed his presentation, you missed an opportunity of a lifetime. Not only is Bob one of the most engaging speakers I have ever heard, he is also quite personable, knowledgeable, and humble. It was simply an interesting presentation that took you through the process of creating a cg film. He also shared some of his voices, including Roz from Monster's Inc. and Dug the dog from Up.

Bob was also kind enough to stick around for autographs and pictures which he did for my wife and me (got an autographed copy of the movie!).

Part of what I want to touch on in this post was how Bob addressed the issue of making meaning through these cgi characters. One of the questions asked at the end of the presentation was about audience and whether Pixar tried to target certain segments of the market. Bob's answer was interesting in that he says that Pixar doesn't try to target audiences so much as tell a good story. In the end, the film ends up appealing to a number of people and each viewer takes away certain elements that touch them in some way. This is classic interpellation where the viewer feels a connection with the characters in a film (or images...) through a process of identification. For me, I particularly was affected by the opening sequence that traces Carl and Ellie's life from the moment of their first meeting to her death. I related to this sequence in quite an emotional way. Perhaps this is due to my realization of how fleeting life is and all the missed moments we have in our lives. I especially see this in my children, now teenagers, and wonder "Where did the time go?"

Images often speak to us in this way. One of my favorites is an image of an old man and a dog sitting on a bench (A larger version is displayed on my images page). We only see the back of the individual, which allows us to put our selves in his place. It gets me thinking about those quiet moments in life and this image captures one such moment amid the business of a day. I also like the way the photographer caught the layers of vertical lines - bench, fence, man, dog, trees, windows - that create a motif. In addition, I like the use of black and white, which simplifies the image and draws attention to these repeating elements. Take a look and see what you think. What images call to you?

Is Truth in the Eye of the Beholder?

For the first journal assignment, I asked students to look at a series of images to determine whether they were true or false. While reading one of the posts, I was intrigued by one of the responses. Here is what was stated:

"Truth" is in the eye of the beholder as far as perception of images go, so while I may see these pictures as "false," others may be firmly believe that they are "true."

I am still trying to decide whether or not I agree with what was said, and I probably won't know until we talk about it in class so I can find out a little more about what the student meant. Part of the issue may lie in the way I entitled the assignment - "True or False." In hindsight, I am not sure if it was the best choice of words. My aim was to have the students examine the images and based on the clues the image offered, decide if the image was real or if it had been faked. By using "True and False," perhaps I added a different layer of meaning in some unintended way. For instance, what may assumed to be truth may not be assumed to be real. I am quite impressed that this student picked up on the wording and thought of the assignment in a different way.

At this point, I am not going to further analyze the statement. After the class discussion, I'll continue this post.

Great Site - Gender Ads

In my search for images to use for the VisComm Issues class, I ran across a website (Gender Ads) maintained by Dr. Scott Lukas. There are literally hundreds of images that are primarily related to how gender (and sex) is used in advertising. The site is a little rough in design, but Scott provides some interesting commentary on the images including background and his thoughts on how such images perpetuate stereotypes about gender. While I do not always agree with his analyses, I respect his interpretations, and hold these differences up as examples of how individual interpretations differ - we all make meaning in slightly different ways.

I also found it interesting to read the page that contains copies of the emails he has received. One person was quite explicit that the site did not use proper research methods. This points to how some people have no conception of research outside of the scientific method. In essence, unless you use a positivistic, quantitative methodology and distance yourself (allegedly to remove bias, which I believe to be impossible), you cannot be doing research. Of course this is an old argument that completely ignores the value of conducting research from a humanistic standpoint. It reminds me of a statement by one of my fellow grad students who had interviewed James McCroskey from the University of Alabama-Birmingham for our class. McCroskey was quoted as saying, "You can do quantitative, or you can do crap." Wow! Let's just invalidate half the research being conducted by other academics with nine little words.

Here is my perspective. Distance isn't everything. Bias is normal and ubiquitous. Getting to know human beings on a more intimate level provides insights that cold statistics cannot provide. Is it the same? No. Is it valuable? In my opinion, yes. To me, the idea that you can fully know something or someone by being a distant observer fully flies in the face of common sense.

Another person was upset that Dr. Lukas even suggested that these images carried any negative connotations. It's just advertising. It doesn't mean anything. Right. These types of responses just go to show how these ideas are naturalized as ideology. If it's just advertising and there are no effects, then why do so many of our youth have body image issues (yes, both male and female) that tie directly to the idealized images used by the media. And for those who care, there are plenty of quantitative studies to back this up. Do your own research and check it out.

That's my rant for now. When you get a chance, check out the images and make your own judgments. Till then...

Earth Gospel

On a seperate note, tomorrow I am starting a new devotional series entitles Earth Gospel, by Sam Hamilton-Poore. It is a four-week series of devotions that examine how the envrionment is addressed through the Bible. I am anxious to see the insights provided in this series. Updates to come!

Growth and Change

Alright-So the dissertation has progressed and changed. My proposal defense went well with solid feedback from my committee. While I am still very much interested in the environmental impact of the video game industry (and consumer electronics in general), the diss now has a slightly narrower AND broader focus at the same time. In essence, my job is to trace the business models used in the industry looking at the externalities that are not accounted for. These include effects on the environment, but also other effects on society.

At this point, I am submitting an application to BGSU's HSRB (our version of an IRB), but can move on the research existing sources that do not include the interviews I have planned. Once HSRB has approved, I can start making contacts. I am hoping for potentially rich sources of information to come out of these interviews, but you never know what you will get.

Til later...

New Dawn

I actually wrote this entry on a bus ride from Findlay, Ohio to New York City last week. I finally have the blog set up and this is my first official entry. Stay tuned for more...

Over the years, I have occasionally contributed to the blogosphere, primarily in an effort to finish some classroom assignment as I completed my graduate work. However, I never seemed to have any other purpose to blog. That has now changed. As I ride across the state of Ohio on a bus full of students and parents heading toward New York City, I find a new sense of purpose awakening within me. It is now 6:45 in the morning. We left Findlay, Ohio at 5:15 this morning driving toward the dawn of a new day. I find this an appropriate metaphor for my own awakening – an awakening to new ideas about the world’s social order and my place in it. I also have a revised focus for my dissertation and eventual body of work.

Lately, I have been reading about the effects of capitalism on the environment, and I have come to realize that as a Christian and world citizen, I have a responsibility to this world including the people living in it and the ecosystem that surrounds us. For quite some time now, I have felt that I have some greater purpose to serve and now I know what it is. If I can, as an academic, contribute to the betterment of this world, then it is my privilege, and yes duty, to do what I can to make a difference. For academics, that work is often accomplished through words and the exchange of ideas, although my hope is to effect praxis as well. For what good are words if real change does not result? At this point in my life and career, I do not have an answer to how change can be affected, but I am sure that change is certainly possible. I also know that this will not be easy change as the current social order is certainly well-embedded in the psyche of this nation and change is never easy. However, that only means that we must work that much harder in order to see the world benefit from our work.

In the end, it is my hope to leave my children with a better world than that within which they were born. That vision includes a world where equality of all humans is more of a reality than just a dream. It is a vision that includes an eradication of hunger, a chance for all humans to participate in meaningful work, and the elevation of humankind to a higher level. This is neither a trifling matter nor an easy task. It will take the efforts of many to accomplish this goal, but I know that I am not alone. There are many others of my ilk and God is at work through all of us. It is through His grace that I am in this position and I must undertake this responsibility with the utmost care. For the first time in my life, I know that I am truly blessed and as the dawn of a new day arrives, I find myself thankful for the experience of simply being and the knowledge that my purpose in life is now established.

Final Entry - Feminist Research Class

Well this is it folks - the last time I write in this blog for Dr. G. Tonight was the last night of class - literally. It was the last class meeting for the course as well as the last class I have to officially take. Now (in the words of Andy Famigletti), I am facing down the barrel of my dissertation (and prelims and dissertation proposal, all of which come first).

So what did I think about tonight's class? We met in SL again, but this time with a group discussing ethical research. Some of the ERG members were there as were quite a few new names and digital faces. The question up for discussion was from a person in New Zealand whose IRB is requesting that he gets RL signatures from the individuals he is researching in SL. Seems like an odd request to me and shows that this IRB has little understanding of life in SL. Since so many people use SL on the basis of anonymity, how are he expected to get those RL signatures? Why won't a digital consent form work?

This led to a discussion of what is meant by ethical research in the context of SL. One of the participants mentioned that even though avatar names are not necessarily reflective of RL name, there could be RL consequences if that avatar's name is used in the research. In other words, the research gets published and a SL user reads it then decides to look up this avatar. This could result in a variety of outcomes including the avatar being harassed, etc. In addition, even though SL has acceptable use guidelines, there is still that possibility of an adverse outcome.

My question then is "What happens in a RL ethnography? Do the people need to give consent. I am assuming so, but can they ask to not be identified in the research or require that a pseudonym be used? If so, why couldn't the same procedure occur here? It seems that if the subjects click on an 'Accept" button, they know that they are being observed anyway, so why not ask for a hard copy signature? I realize that the context may vary, and the type of question being asked may cause some people to decline any type of identification. It's a matter of trust. But if it is possible to get RL signatures, why not try? The worst thing that can happen is that the researcher is denied, but proof can be offered to the IRB that getting these signatures is too difficult, possibly swaying them to try another avenue. In addition, it is important to talk with other researchers to find out their IRB policies regarding SL and use that as ammunition to request a change in policy.

Those are pretty much my thoughts at this point. I may use this blog in the future as a gathering place for my thoughts on prelims and my dissertation. Until then - TTFN.