New Media

As self explanatory a name as it gets. New media is new media!
New media is more elaborately defined as the total fusion of all forms of media (such as film, music, bla bla bla) to create the ultimate media experience.
Over the ages, media techniques as regards narratives and cuts have evolved into one that attempts to absorb the recipient in a more dynamic, more addictive way.
It is permissible to focus our attention on Gaming for one, as this is one of the most publicized as well as the most effective forms of new media. From plain 8bit images with corny background tunes and gameplay with insanely positive replay value, gaming has evolved to one of the most interactive forms of media thanks to cut scenes, orchestrated soundtracks and memorable controller combinations. Games with awesome narratives almost always seem to be lacking in proper gameplay, hence reducing their overall replay value. On the other hand, games with intensely exciting gameplay keeps the gamers coming back, narrative or no narrative. Mainly for the thrill. It is hard to predict the future of new media, but in the nearest future even more attempts will be made at bridging the gap between narratives and gameplay and the creation of the ultimate media experience! *insert evil laugh here!*

Structuralism

". . .we most easily understand what something is; by understanding what it's not"

With that line in place, a whole lot more need not be said. Structuralism is basically the analysis of human culture from a semiotic perspective. It's a definition and classification of human characteristics and behavioral patterns with cultural acceptability in mind. Contexts and syntaxes are also key to properly understanding structuralism.
A list of human virtues and attributes was drawn up, after which a table was made and structure was defined. By word of mouth; it was deducible that despite the fact that people clearly understood the characteristic extremes of human behavior they would rather be grouped at an absolute middle between either of them. An uncanny love for the gray areas. A desire for balance.

". . .there is no such thing as absolute good, neither is there any such thing as absolute evil. Gray areas are man's best friends!"

Intertextuality

As subtle as my personal theory of relativity; i'm of the belief that intertextuality is the one thing that either defines your creativity as an artist; or defies every single piece you put out. In truth; nothing is new anymore. Everything is either a recycle; a remake, or a redone version of a bunch of originals. The movie instances also cited in class further prove that point. Despite the fact that Intertextuality is an unavoidable element of art, I believe salvation lies for the present day artist in the realm of delivery. Your ability to captivate your audience WILL sell your art. But then again; that's my one-sided opinion. :)

Taking instances from modern day representations and things we can all comfortably identify with; we see a vast display of intertextual techniques in movies and series like family guy, the simpsons, and southpark. These cartoons go to (often times) offensive extents to demonstrate their intertextual perspective as regards events and happenings in the real world.



Here is one of their intertextual examples as relates to the well known "Star Wars" movie

Realism and Illusionism

With an illustration from ancient greek mythology traceable to two famous and renowned artists in a quest for supremacy; the lecture began. The first artist created a painting of fruits that fooled birds into believing that the painted fruits were actually edible, while he went over to the other artist's work to uncover his rival's masterpiece. He met his downfall as he attempted lifting the veil to reveal his counterpart's work, which was in actual fact the work itself. His rival had succeeded in fooling the man who fooled nature in its most minute form of intellectual tolerance and as such; fooled the most complex creature on the face of the earth. Deception befell the deceptor, and the con-man became the conned.
This illustration set a steady pace for the lecture which delved deeper into the concept of realism. It set a pace for the study of the relationship between art forms and the represented world in its bare form. This Illustration also birthed the basis for the study of Illusionism. Illusionism is an attempt at the representation of reality via a medium of art, and this concept is clearly visible in the present day society as man is a creature revered for his affinity to representation. From there, we went on to study the natural instinct of disbelief which contradicts the zealous drive of man to believe in the supernatural or more powerful beings in existence.

PentiumNine

The past few weeks have been nothing short of eventful....the next few weeks however are yet untold. We'll stand; and stare; and watch the days unfold...and map out our days as we'll want them retold...with a processor to the power of nine; rendering bliss is not so hard to find. Seamless productivity; unadultrated creativity; undiluted positivity. . .Lets Go! :)

Denotation and Connotation

"The denoted is the portrayed and the connoted is the portrayal technique"

The above stated quote is the most effortless and legitimate definition of the given terms. The concept of denotation is pretty straight forward and as such is not worthy of sleepless nights. The concept of connotation however deserves a secondary level of attention.

Look at it this way. Supposing denotation is a typeface, say...times new roman; Connotation is the style in which the typeface is written. So connotation in this instance could be bold, italics, strikethrough, or underlined.
When applied properly, connotation becomes a very powerful tool and pointer both in advertising and semiotic analysis. For instance, Strong typefaces written in red connote a sense of danger, while curly typefaces in italics connote academic scholarship of some sort.