Identify and give the significance of the following term. Your answer (about 250 words) should first show that you are familiar with the meaning of the term or phrase and the context in which it appeared in the course, its relationship/relevance to specific readings, as well as its significance in the larger context of the course.
Reproduction, reproducibility
Reproduction has been a recurring theme in this course, having been mentioned in material such as 1984, Brave New World, and the documentary RiP!: A Remix Manifesto by Brett Gaylor. Reproducibility is simply the ability for something to be reproduced by someone, and this is also discussed in the texts and film mentioned. The control over cultural and sexual reproduction in 1984, Brave New World, and RiP!: A Remix Manifesto is seen as highly problematic, and the creators of each piece use their story to not only address the issue, but also to allow readers to understand how it could negatively affect them.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, cultural reproduction, as discussed in Gaylor’s RiP!: A Remix Manifesto, occurs mainly because culture always builds on the past. This is due to the fact that the past always tries to control the future and as a result, our future is becoming less free. The documentary also states that in order to build free societies, we must limit the control of the past. Controlled societies, much like the ones in 1984 and Brave New World see the citizens of these dystopias have things such as their minds, occupations, and sexual lives controlled. The dystopian society in 1984, for example, sees an individual’s desire to continue his or herself through reproduction as a defiant act toward the government. The goal of sex is to simply create new members for the Party, not for pleasure or to reproduce an individual’s genes. This is a primary example of not only reproduction, but also of how the past always tries to control it and how the future becomes less free as a result.
Reproduction/Reproducibility - The term "reproduction" typically means to make a copy of something. Originally used in the sciences to describe the process of offspring creation, it is also used within artistic fields, especially after the rise of copying technology, such as the printing press and photography. Some examples of reproduction are: the mass reproduction of fine art, or a reproduction of a painting.
ReplyDeleteThe major course text that can be related to the concepts of reproduction and reproducibility is John Berger's "Ways of Seeing." In his television series, Berger says, "With the invention of the camera, everything changed. We could see things which were not there in front of us... It was no longer so easy to think of appearances always travelling regularly to a single centre" (Berger 1972). He goes on to explain how originally, art could only be seen in once place at one time. Now, with the evolution of reproductive technologies, artifacts that were once only visible at a certain location can now be viewed, in many different ways, in many different locations. This changes the contexts surrounding the artifact itself, the way we see it, and therefore how we interpret it.
The topics of reproduction and reproducibility are important within the course because of the various medias being studied. From written texts of various genres, to films, to art, the acknowledgement of personal contexts surrounding reproductions is essential to critical analyses when discussing these works and their meanings.
John Berger / Ways of Seeing , Episode 1 (1972): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk
Reproduction and reproducibility seem to be a regular occurrence in our course. Reproduction is generally described as something that can be replicated, whereas reproducibility is the ability in which someone can reproduce something. RIP!: A Remix Manifesto by Brett Gaylor is a good example of this. In the film Girl Talk, cuts and edits the music and recreates it into his “own” music. But many argue that it is illegal due to him cutting up music that is already created and copyrighted. The purpose of Gaylor’s documentary was to show that not everything is technically illegal, such as the way Girl Talk cut up and recreated the music. Yes the songs are copyrighted and the musicians should be warned that their music is being recreated, but the music itself is recreated in a way where you can barely hear much of the original unless the lyrics are said. Gaylor’s main argument is that music is something that is recreated, a song that was produced 100 years ago is now copyrighted and he argues that it should belong in the public domain, especially if the real creator of the song has long passed on. As much as this topic is debateable, reproduction and reproducibility seem to be two topics that are ongoing battles between the government and the public.
ReplyDeleteReproduction can be defined as a copy or duplicate of the original. This term is particularly important in writing because of legal issues like copyright and plagiarism. While studying many literary works throughout the semester we do see some commonalities among the works. One article earlier in the course, titled The Ecstasy of Influence by Jonathan Lethem, defended plagiarism by saying ideas in literature have been recycled for as long as literature has existed. In addition, Lethem says copyright is a gray area because it monopolizes a benefit for the living artist but the community suffers. He says artists influence and inspire other artists. One concrete example he provides is the creation of the Simpsons, which he claims was built upon previous works such as the Flintstones and Honeymooners. The Simpsons was a positive use of reproduction that benefited the community.
ReplyDeleteReproduction is the way everything can be copied; both in a good or bad context, it takes from the original, leaving it altered or impacted. Everything around us has the opportunity or gives a chance to reproduce an image, into something of another nature. Among many course readings, this aspect has been of many concerns involving copyright and policies,specifically in RIP: A Remix Manifesto by Brett Gaylor. In this documentary, reproduction is seen as DJ Girl Talk mashes original legal audio songs, into a recreated form that is barely noticeable from the original. Gaylor's convincing argument concludes that music is made to be played with and to create from others' creations. In other works from 'Ways of Seeing', as well as in Kenneth Goldsmith's poem, 'Silent Springs', both stem from the idea of reproduction being full of possibilities to transform and alter from history. In the novel, Brave New World, human reproduction was replaced by science, and all the control was left in the hands of the state. Similar to RIP: A Remix Manifesto, reproduction and reproducibility, shares a connection between altering music from the past, present, and future. However, Gaylor tries to concern copyright specifically with the past. The documentary, uses reproduction to focus on the new ways copyright can and should be used. Where as in Brave New World, it controls and creates how the novel will impact the audience on what to think. Reproduction and Reproducibility is shared among society and the government, and it seems undoubtedly difficult to have one common control on how it should be used. Therefore it has shown to have outweighed any negative feedback from this action, and more so benefitted society and the public.
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ReplyDeleteReproduction or reproducibility means to duplicate or to copy. This has been a recurring theme in the readings and films we’re covered this year. Ranging from Brett Gaylor’s RiP! A Remix Manifesto, to John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. There are always concerns of copyright infringement or plagiarism when it comes to copying or duplicating something whether it be a paper or a patent of a product. In RiP! A Remix Manifesto, the main focus was around Gregg Gillis better known as Girl Talk, he was famous for hip-hop mash-ups where he would take parts of songs without permission and making his own. Another way of reproduction is through film or photography. As John Berger mentions in his Way of Seeing he emphasizes the invention of photography with relation to icons, whether it be a statue or a painting. When you take a picture of a one of a kind painting and reproduce it a hundred times over to distribute, that painting loses its peculiarity in a way that its much easier to attain on a postcard then to wait in line and see the real thing.
Reproduction is mentioned in 1984, Brave New World and the Remix to Manifesto. The term reproducibility is the ability for something to be reproduced by someone. It is taken something and making it a different entity while also making it your own new creation. The Remix to Manifesto speaks about this extensively. The artist named Girl Talk is a mash up artist who uses previously created songs and engineers them making them a completely new song. The film spoke about how in some circles this is seen as illegal activity because the foundations to his songs are that of another artist. But the argument being made in the movie is that our culture has been built off of individuals reproducing what was already in place and making it something newer and in many cases better and more advanced. Everything in our culture reproduces itself because we need the old in order to create the new a more progressive version. Many have a problem with this idea of reproducing but I believe that this is essential because it encourages proper growth.
ReplyDeleteReproduction is mentioned in 1984, Brave New World and the Remix to Manifesto. The term reproducibility is the ability for something to be reproduced by someone. It is taken something and making it a different entity while also making it your own new creation. The Remix to Manifesto speaks about this extensively. The artist named Girl Talk is a mash up artist who uses previously created songs and engineers them making them a completely new song. The film spoke about how in some circles this is seen as illegal activity because the foundations to his songs are that of another artist. But the argument being made in the movie is that our culture has been built off of individuals reproducing what was already in place and making it something newer and in many cases better and more advanced. Everything in our culture reproduces itself because we need the old in order to create the new a more progressive version. Many have a problem with this idea of reproducing but I believe that this is essential because it encourages proper growth.
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