Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is the science and/or philosophy of interpretation.  In the world of communication, an understanding of interpretation is vital, in any facet or medium, to convey and understand the messages that are sent to an audience.

Unlike with semiotics, of which I have a firmer grasp, hermeneutics is a brand new area for me to learn about.  Both of these sciences/philosophies share similar aspects as they both pertain to communication and interpretation.

Hermeneutics is broken done into five theories.  The First theory of Hermeneutics is the theory of Natural Hermeneutics. Natural Hermeneutics deals with “the spontaneous, everyday, usually unreflective interpreting we do when inter- subjective understanding breaks down”.  This is a very basic level of interpretation that requires less mental response from an audience.  It is how we understand and interpret the basis of our life and our everyday surroundings.

The second theory of Hermeneutics is the Normative theory. The Normative theory is “the art of text interpretation as a deliberate discipline by a specialist caste”. This is how we understand and define titles and roles, such as “Priests, judges or lawyers.”

The third theory is the Scientific theory of Hermeneutics. The Scientific theory is “the foundational discipline of the human or historical sciences”.  This is our interpretations of the scientific world and the past.  With each step in the levels of hermeneutics, the mental processing and thinking required to interpret increases.

Theory four is the theory of Philosophical Hermeneutics.  The Philosophical theory is “a general philosophy of existence. Interpreting is less what we do and more what we are-- interpreters” . The best way to explain this is the way we sometimes question our roles or our own existence.  This is how we understand the roles of our lives of ourselves.

The final theory is the Depth theory of hermeneutics. The Depth theory is the “hermeneutics of suspicion enlightenment project of emancipation and liberation from social dogma and oppression”.  This is where our minds work to there fullest extent.  It is our inherent nature to question the interpretation of things around us. This theory is called the Depth theory because it goes beyond our level of consciousness. This can tie into other areas of study such as Freud’s studies and investigations into the unconscious and subconscious mind.

Understanding these theories helps to increase out levels of interpretation throughout the world of communication.  Hermeneutics helps to increase our mental capacities to understand and interpret the things that others understand and interpret. Therefore, it improves our ability to better convey messages and make efficient deliveries.

What I Expect From Media Studies

Many of my reasons for taking this course would have to be from the suggestions I have received from my friends.  A lot of the subjects and topics that are shown in the syllabus to be discussed in this class (such as semiotics and feminism for example) are subjects that I have either never learned about anywhere else or have always wanted to learn about.  I feel that I have done a great deal of critical thinking and analysis on my own, and being an artist of sorts, it’s a necessity.

The chance to expand on these analyses is a crucial step for me. I intend to use that to my advantage especially in the realm of imagery.  Since I plan to get involved with Advertising, concepts explained throughout the syllabus such as Semiotics, Critical thinking, and Blogging, to name a few, all stand out as important steps for me to continue to expand my knowledge and understanding of imagery and the advertising world. Though I have already had experience with some of these concepts and forms of media, such as blogging, I am eager to gain more experience with media such as Pod casting, something I've never worked with before. Both will provide me with practice in crucial skills like writing and speech

The way this class was explained to me, we write a great deal of papers and analyze a lot as well. I love the chance to do both of these tasks either separately or together in order to expand my abilities in either area or simply to practice. Chapters 5 and of the syllabus help to convince me that I’ll have ample opportunity, in this class and throughout my Communications career, to grow more adept in my skill set with media literacy, technologies, critical thinking and creative assignments.

Dreamweaver Assessment

Until today, I thought I had a pretty firm grasp of the basic functions of Dreamweaver.  Since I hadn't learned much about Templates at all last semester, I'm sort of at a disadvantage. Dreamweaver is a program that I'm very eager to learn more about. There seem to be nearly limitless functions within the program that I have barely scratched the surface of with the single website I have under my belt.

A lot of the features within the program still seem a bit foreign to me. I'm used to inputting code into the basic HTML pages and I understand CSS. However, Templates were very confusing for me. Even when you open up a page to input code, Dreamweaver appears quite daunting and confusing for someone who isn't familiar with all of it's functions.

As with any new program, I'm sure I'll learn a lot more about the Adobe Dreamweaver software. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit disappointed in myself to be fumbling through the program this morning after only being away from in for about a month.  But as with most programs, I'm sure all catch on quickly.

A Farewell to Arms Article review

"We will have a cyber equivalent of Pearl Harbor at some point, and we do not want to wait for that wake-up call." 

This article is sort of totally scary as shit.  The fact that our nation and our nation's defense/security are COMPLETELY reliant on technology leaves us vulnerable and ironically, makes me feel very UNsafe.

The idea that situations like this could happen aren't out of the ordinary at all.  Considering the eventual downfall of our nations defense, backup plan after backup plan would have to be in place. What this all needs to boil down to, eventually, is that everyone should just grow the hell up and be friends. :] ....And only worry about threats from an Alien race or a zombie apocalypse.


http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.05/netizen.html

My Views on the Future

It's kind of hard to tell what will happen with technology in the future. My fantastical mind always likes to think it will turn out to be technology from show like Futurama or something, but the reality of that is probably far off.

I know when I was growing up that even things like Palm Pilots were amazing to me.  To have even been able to conceive feats of technology such as Apple products like the iPhone, the iPad and even the Macintosh home computer systems, would have been totally mind boggling.

I know that I'm happy with where technology is today, even if it has reduced some of the face to face interaction that I grew up on.  I feel that within a 10 year period, it isn't unlikely that the next big technological feat will come along

Online Comics

Online comics provide a newer and interesting take on the traditional paperback comics that we have all grown so fond of over the years.  But are they really comics? Should the be recognized as the kin of traditional graphic novels? Or should they be considered an entirely different medium?

I believe that they are still most definitely comics.  For me, what makes a comic are the transitions between panels and closure, as defined in Scott McCloud's book, "Understanding Comics".  Online comics, while providing more closure between frames with the help of motion pictures, are still a good bit of animation away from movies and cartoons.

In Scott McCloud's online comic "The Right Number", readers move through a comic by clicking an arrow.  In the center of each frame is a smaller version of the next frame.  In some instances, this inward motion actually aides in closure and transitions. An great example can be seen below:

Another aspect that really makes a comic a COMIC is frame usage.  In "The Right Number" there is minimal "traditional" frame usage (as in arrangement within the comic page), although it does still exist. In an online comic version of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, motion is used a bit more frequently (making it closer to a cartoon) but a heavy dose of frame usage and arrangement is added.

The addition of frames helps to remind readers that although there is some motion and moving pictures, the story they are reading is most DEFINITELY still a comic.

These factors give online comics the right to be considered, in my opinion, actual comics. They may be different from the traditional book version, but the same storytelling techniques and time transitions still exist in this newer, updated medium of comic book reading.

The Presence of Educational Outlets on the Internet

The presence of shows like “Reading Rainbow” and other educational materials on the Internet can be good as well as bad.

For the most part, this is a good thing. Access to educational materials through the internet are extraordinary as a resource for learning and education. My schooling and access to educational materials as a child came less from the Internet and more from physical materials like books or different mediums such as films or television. With the fast paced future that we live in, it is almost a given that educational materials make a necessary appearance over the internet.  They are moving in the correct direction. The future relies heavily on the usage of the Internet, therefore it is a necessity. We use it every day and there is an almost endless limit to what can be offered through this outlet.

There are foreseeable problems with this though. Along with the great opportunity that online learning provides, parents and educators must be cautious of the dangers of the internet.  Children are probably more prone and susceptible to falling into internet scams and traps. They are also EXTREMELY curious.  As soon as they learn how to use a search engine, I think it could be game over. Your computer could crash from a shit load of porn or other “free” downloads. This means that parents and educators must be aware of these problems and learn to supervise their young web surfers.

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Reading-Rainbow-Heads-Online-With-LeVar-Burton-Website-Kids-39406.html