After viewing the syllabus and looking closer at my blog posts/notes, it seems that the second half of this semester has definitely been more integrated to the workings and functions of what digital rhetoric “is made of” - and what I mean by that is what digital constructs do in the realm of rhetoric.
After Serafini’s Reading the Visual, the aspect of interfaces, digital manipulation, and technology crafted in a medium to be altered really began to fascinate me (I’ll speak to this more for my final project). What does boggle my mind is rhetorical moves and notions in networks and software. While I understand the concepts, the idea of rhetoric in code and the shifting of dynamic online content (Remixing digital cultures) is somewhat vast for me to fully grapple with. For example, the readings for weeks 8 and 9 are large and abstract in nature (Chun, Haas, Wood & Smith), which reminds me why I did not go into engineering.
But what I am curious about is the aspect of altering digital content that has systematically been created for purposes of manipulation. I am intrigued by Ridolfo and Devoss concept of rhetorical velocity and how it dispatches new media content from constructs that already exist. With this in mind, I have to reference the impact of analogue technologies on digital components and how those have shaped our understanding of online interfaces. My ability to interact with the physical interfaces that exist in society has positioned me to comprehend the digital spheres that I experience online - and each construct/interface builds upon the one that came before it.
With this in mind, for my final project I want to look at rhetorical velocity in online culture, either in images or music - and discuss the aspect of future 3rd parties that participate in reconstruction/re-comprehension (remix culture) through digital means. As a fan of music on vinyl records, a part of me wants to unearth and dig deep into influential jazz musicians who unknowingly birthed soundscapes - that today have become the foundation for rap and hip hop. These soundtracks that were originally recorded on acetate have become digital mp3 files that now influence the club scene, are remixed into dj culture, and are “chopped” up for new uses and interpretation for the next generation of musicians. While this is just the brainstorm of my initial ideas for my project, I looked into some alterations that have digital roots for inspiration. Below I have two links. One is of the original dial up sound from the AOL system. The next link is that same sound, but placed at a reduced speed, giving it a chilling effect for a haunted house. It is with this concept of manipulation that I want to place my project around.
DIAL UP INTERNET: Audio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSRG0TqxLWc
DIAL UP INTERNET Reduced Speed Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF2v32xCD0Y
Your final paragraph and the links you include have me thinking about other ways YouTubers have "reframed" cultural objects like movie trailers by playing different, familiar theme music from elsewhere in our culture to make new meaning out of the trailer. These kinds of projects make horror movies into buddy comedies, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhile some of these are basically the equivalent of one-liner jokes, it could be worth looking into and thinking about other remixing/reframing projects that have done more meaningful rhetorical work.