This week was different becuase we were doing more things with audio. I was not used to doing audio I have never done anything with audio before so it was new but I was able to get the assignments done.
The Three Daily creates were pretty easy, drawing the trex was pretty fun and easy along with seeing all the posts for the brazy look
I appreciated the focus on photography this week, as I have been trying to take more pictures this semester. Perhaps it’s the senior regrets, but I feel like I hardly have any pictures of the last four years! I spent some more time with my course character, Bethany, as I worked on finding her a house that I know she would love! I also took the time to scan in some of her IDs, just to keep them on my laptop in case she looses her wallet. Neither of these assignments required any intense technical skills, as I just used browser based programs for both.
Along with my time with Bethany, I spent some time deciding which of my things I would save in a fire. I discussed this in the assignment post, but I opted to work on my iPad (and in bed) instead of on my laptop (at my desk), so I likely didn’t approach this in the most efficient way. However, I enjoyed reverse coloring much more than the lasso tool!
I could see myself continuing to check back in with the photoblitz tool, as I think the collection of prompts combined with the idea is so interesting! I think it could be fun to do in a bigger city or someplace that I’m unfamiliar with, as this assignement felt more like a seek-and-find than a true act of detection. I didn’t find myself using the whole time because of this, as I already had ideas in my head.
In terms of design, I feel like all I think about is design design design. Lighting design, graphic design, “does this look good on the wall here?”, crafting- the list goes on. I always enjoy reading about these things, if just to fill in trivia facts.
This week was pretty easy regarding the daily creates. Only thing that gave me some trouble was the photoblitz challenge, some of the photo prompts were not common and I had to put extra thought into it to fulfill what the prompt is asking.
The weekly assignments were pretty easy to create, and I enjoyed creating them.
January 23, 2025
Summary: This week was both exciting and scary. When I opened my assignment list for the week I was intimidated by all of the new things to work on and the fear knowing I would have to figure it all out by the following Friday. Although it is only the second week of classes I am no stranger to the DKC this semester. I went in on Tuesday and got my website sorted out which gave me the confidence to continue on with the rest of my work.
Once I got into the daily creates and picked my 3 assignments from the weekly assignments tab I started to get excited. I was understanding what to do and was excited for my work. The daily creates, as they are meant to do, really helped me think out if the box and come up with new perspectives. My favorite one from this week was the odd coincidences one. I was able to use two pictures of the moon taken exactly 12 hours apart, one being at night and the other being the next morning.
I would say my favorite task from this weeks list was the assignment bank. I had a lot of fun with the Pintrest board, creating what I dream my future will look like and my goals. I really enjoyed the fact that there were so many options in all the categories to choose from which made it really feel like I was doing something fun rather than getting school work done. I will say that I had a hard time connecting them to the theme of Tech Noir due to the fact that they were so closely related to things that were personal to me. I will admit I don’t have much in common with the aspects of our topic, even though I am enjoying learning about them, which created the disconnect with this aspect of the assignment. If I were to try and take it from an alternate approach, I would say that because these three things I did are so opposite Tech Noir I used them as a way to stay calm and focused while completing my other tasks which focus on the intense and technological side of things.
In regards to our very own course character, Natasha Slayer is the most femme fatale as they come. Creating a character like this was very interesting to me because of the selection of character types we were choosing from. I will almost always go with a strong and confident woman as a choice which it was nice to see her archetype be listed along with the theme of this class.
I am trying to participate more with my classmates through the different platforms we have been using. I started replying and liking daily create posts and following up with the discord. I plan to continue my growth of participation over the rest of the semester because I am still in my learning stage of how to fully be involved in this class and with others. I will say that once I started interacting with other students and discord I was able to learn from them and make adjustments to my own blog.
technopoly: After reading the Postmans ideas my main thoughts were that the tech noir style of Blade Runner and Neil Postman’s Technopoly both present opposing viewpoints on the place of technology in society while also sharing thematic similarities. Both examine how technology has become a dominant cultural force, with Blade Runner illustrating a bleak future in which technology blurs the lines between artificial life and humanity and Postman cautioning against its blind embrace and dehumanizing implications. Blade Runner’s depiction of a deteriorated, corporately controlled world where cutting-edge technologies, including replicants, raise existential problems about identity and morality is reminiscent of Postman’s criticism of technology undermining morals and critical thinking. Postman’s concerns about cultural capitulation to technology demands are reflected in the film’s tech noir aesthetic, which combines futuristic desolation with melancholy urban decay to create a striking visual representation of a technopoly. However, Blade Runner takes a more ambivalent and gloomy stance, implying that technology’s hold on society might be unbreakable, whereas Postman provides tactics for bucking this domination. However, the movie also raises the intriguing idea that technology might ironically mirror and even improve human traits through the replicants’ quest for meaning and agency, which adds a level of complexity not included in Postman’s argument. Collectively, these pieces draw attention to the ethical and cultural conflicts that arise from a world that is becoming more and more influenced by technology.
Rewrite of film review: The breakthrough picture Blade Runner combines the aesthetics of Cyberpunk and Tech Noir to provide a timeless and significant cinematic experience. The movie is essentially a noir detective narrative, with Rick Deckard, the morally torn anti-hero archetype, navigating a dystopian Los Angeles that is flooded with rain and illuminated by neon. With its femme fatales, trench coats, and shadows, the visual aesthetic is strongly influenced by classic noir, and the constant rain adds to the feeling of oppression and decay. By imagining a future where people and technology are closely entwined and ruled by tall skyscrapers, pervasive corporations, and sophisticated artificial intelligence, the movie simultaneously pioneers cyberpunk. The audience is forced to think on what it really means to be human as the Tyrell Corporation’s artificial creatures, known as replicants, struggle with difficult issues of identity, mortality, and freedom. Syd Mead’s breathtaking production design and Vangelis’s eerie, synth-driven score bring to life this blending of Cyberpunk’s high-tech, dystopian vision with noir’s gritty, morally dubious storyline. When taken as a whole, these components produce a film that is not just a cultural landmark but also a profound examination of identity, technology, and humanity that is still as visually stunning and relevant today as it was in 1982.
Dr. Oblivion is an interesting element to this class and I can say I have never used anything like it before. I have used other AI tools before but I really like the idea of an AI teaching assistant that I have access to in order to ask questions and feed back. When asked about tech noir in the film the Blade Runner Dr. Oblivion said “The concept of tech noir in a film, like Blade Runner raises critical questions about the intersection of technology and humanity. It exemplifies the delicate balance between artificial intelligence and the essence of what it means to be human this raises concerns about the potential consequences of unchecked, technological advancement.” These points and comments helped mw rewrite my film review with deeper context and more understanding since I had specific things to look for and research.
January 17, 2025
Starting Off: So far I have signed up for 3 new accounts that I had never used before and created my own domain. I was intimidated at first trying to navigate all of these new things but once I figured out what I was doing I started getting excited for the remained of the course. I am sure I still have plenty to learn but the theme of this course and tasks that we will be assigned are sure to keep me interested and engaged.
Tech Noir and Cyber Punk: Both of these concepts are something new to me. I am not really one to typically watch films or other works in these genres. After watching some videos and going over the readings a whole new perspective of these came out that I probably would have never realized before. The idea of AI and technology being so present in these settings shows the negative possibilities of technology. I chose to watch the 1982 Blade Runner. This was a movie that I had heard about but never watched before. The main character, Rick Deckard, represents the classic noir antihero a morally conflicted detective tasked with hunting rogue replicants, designed to make it difficult to tell the difference between human and machine. Themes of identity, humanity, and the ethical dilemmas of advanced technology are the main focus points of this film, reinforcing the dark side of progress.
M. Marshall 1.24
I am usually a little bad about procrastination in my schoolwork. I always think it won’t be so bad, I can deal with it the evening of and make it out just fine. I would be lying to say that I didn’t feel a little pressed for evening this time around. Every time I looked at the Week 2 to do list it seemed to get longer somehow? I’ve definitely learned my lesson as I rapidly type out the assignments I’ve simmered on this week and the ones I discovered more recently.
Using Dr. Oblivion was definitely my main savior this week. As an honor council member and someone that is generally concerned about the environment, I have weird and more negative feelings about using AI, but it was very helpful to receive feedback so quickly that I could immediately implement into my work.
Creating two assignments was really fun. In retrospect, I did not really connect the second one to tech noir or cyberpunk. But you live and you learn and you fix those mistakes next time. I feel like I’ve really gotten a better idea of what this class will look like and how I can benefit from it. I think in college most people go through a constant circle of learning curves, I can only hope that I will grow from them.
For time’s sake (a mistake I will fix in the future), I regrettably cannot go into good detail about every assignment I worked on, but I will list the ones I did and share about one or two sentences.
Day 1: Show us your secret spy weapon. I didn’t think taking a picture of my prescription of Zoloft would be something to post on the internet, so you can use your imagination here.
Day 2: Make some kind of art about unexpected coincidences. I drew two people connected by a red line with a bow in the middle.
Day 3: Make bad art. This was difficult. I drew a photo of a house on a hill. As the prompt assigns, it wasn’t very good.
Day 4: Your Longest / Tallest Shadow Selfie. My longest shadow was on Thursday, around 5pm, pretty soon before the sun set, taken as I walked to the UC for dinner.
Day 5: Emoji Poem
Here is the poem:
I really feel that needs no explanation.
In retrospect, I ought to have posted my replies on the Mastodon page, but I got nervous and distracted and did not.
Talk about a week where my brain felt fully juiced! Getting started with The Daily Creates was certainly difficult at first, especially having to be okay with creating art that wasn’t polished due to the time constraints. However, I found myself beginning to look forward to seeing what kinds of new things I would be asked to make each day. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t still have trouble with TDC, though!
Along the same lines, I had a ton of fun creating my course character. I’m interested to see how our work with our characters will continue throughout the rest of the semester, as well as how they’ll interact with the class. The writing process was tough at first, but I got a lot of inspiration from a character name generator. It spit out “Bethany Smith (Smithy),” and I just had to make my character a good girl by day/mob boss by night with that kind of name! Being able to create a collage to further create a 3D person was quite fun as well! I haven’t done “creative writing” in years, so this was a welcome break from typical writing expectations.
I enjoyed my interactions with Dr. Oblivion, too. I find him a little unnerving, but I could say that about all AI! I think his voice adds another level to his persona, and I like being able to feed him prompts.
Looking back on this week, I know better how to manage my time in this class going forward. I think the first week of the semester spoiled me, and the workload this week surprised me. I also need to get in the habit of commenting on others’ posts, as I don’t feel like I did enough of that this week.
In addition to the two Wikipedia articles, I decided to read Joseph Hurtgen’s article Sci-fi Noir: The Terminator and Tech Noir | 10 Updates to Film Noir. I’ve seen The Terminator before, but I can’t say that I remember much of the movie besides the major beats and iconic moments.
I think the part in section 2 where Hurtgen discusses the lack of trust in the police force was interesting, especially as many people currently are unable to trust or rely on the police. I think it is somewhat ironic that a crucial aspect of a genre that portrays an “unwanted” or “dystopian” future shares such direct similarities to our present society.
“Consider also that the police are not who you can turn to in The Terminator and you have pretty well laid out this aspect of the noir. If you can’t turn to those who are supposed to serve and protect you, who can you turn to? Who can you trust?” – Joseph Hurtgen
I watched an episode of Black Mirror to satisfy the watching of technoir media, and I enjoyed it! I think the episode I watched felt less blatantly “sci-fi” than what I’ve heard of other parts of the series, which I appreciated as I’m not always the biggest fan of that genre. Maybe that won’t bode well for me in this class, but I might not like the genre just because I’m unfamiliar with it.
I also had my intro meeting this week, and I’m looking forward to the class! I’m excited to dig in to assignments and see what different applications are involved in this class. Overall I didn’t have much frustration this week, especially since I’m familiar with DoOO/Wordpress.
M. Marshall 1.17.2025
Hello, and welcome to my blog. In all honesty, this is the most technologically advanced thing I’ve ever done. When I was younger, I wanted to have a blog, but my mom wouldn’t let me. Similar to Ryan and Creed, from The Office, my mom allowed me to share my thoughts on a Word document. I guess the world was not prepared for whatever I had to say.
(Me, 2007) What would she have had to say?
Beginning this class was definitely anxiety inducing for me, as I have little-to-no experience in terms of anything related to tech. Maybe in my younger years, I’ve changed the color of a Tumblr blog or figured out how to use Minecraft, but those days are not representative of my current skill set.
I was able to guide myself through creating this website; however, pretty much immediately I hit a wall: I realized I had no idea how to edit the website or even access WordPress. I ended up booking an appointment with the Digital Knowledge Center. I met with one of the students working there named Feli. They were very helpful and I was able to give my blog a little theme which was very exciting! This was very helpful for getting started and learning the ropes. I do not have a crystal ball, but I see many DKC appointments for this class in my future.
(The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
I feel much less nervous and much more prepared for the class after that visit. I am now excited and intrigued for what the rest of the class will look like. I’m still waiting for the aha! moment for the name of my blog title, only time will tell, I guess.
I decided to watch Black Mirror (S3E4, San Junipero) for my Tech Noir media choice. I really enjoyed this episode and connected with some of the considerations about eternal life and whether or not to upload one’s consciousness into a cloud (side note: I probably wouldn’t). It was very beautiful and I really appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation.
I’m kind of running out of things to talk about, so this is where I will end it. I feel really good about this so far and hopefully I will continue using my resources and find a sense of confidence within this sphere.