yuvraajsinghchauhan2000

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Zylinska, J. (2020) AI Art: Machine Visions and Warped Dreams, Available at : https://www.openhumanitiespress.org/books/titles/ai-art/

The author of this text is Joanna Zylinska. She is an artist, writer, and researcher from Britain. At King's College London, she teaches Media Philosophy + Critical Digital Practice. She was the co-head of the Department of Media, Communications, and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, from 2017 to 2020 before joining King's in September 2021. She was also a professor of New Media and Communications. She suggested a "feminist counter-apocalypse" in 2017 as a reply to the threats of populism, artificial intelligence, and the "Exit of Man."

In her book she critically analyzes works of art that employ artificial intelligence (AI), whether through computational experiments, critical commentary, or visual style transfer. It also interacts with their forerunners, such as net art and robotic art. "View from the Window," a project from Zylinska's personal creative practice, examines both human and nonhuman forms of vision, action, and intelligence. The book provides excellent responses, new questions, and methodological recommendations in relation to evolving world of Artificial Intelligence. However for the critical analysis i have chosen two pages from the section of "Undigital Photography" that is page 107 and 108. The text explores the evolving concept of photography in the context of contemporary technology, focusing on the interplay between human and machine perception. It critiques traditional understandings of photography and proposes new frameworks to address the complexities of today's image landscape. the text starts by talking about 'seeing machines', a concept used by Trevor Paglen which is defined as how humans and machines use technology to see the world, extending beyond traditional photography to include Image-capture devices (e.g., mobile phones, satellites) and data storage systems, algorithms, and networked practices. As per Paglen's definition, Photography is no longer about individual images but part of a larger network shaping visibility and perception. Images are both objects and tools of vision, often created and interpreted by machines for machines. The text also offers a Critique of Traditional Photography Theory as Paglen argues against viewing photography as singular, framed artifacts or historical records. Photography now exists within continuous flows of images and data, intertwined with networked technologies. Now the "looker" is often nonhuman (e.g., surveillance systems, AI). Joanna offers a concept of Nonhuman Photograph where she Builds on Paglen’s ideas to describe images that are not "of, by, or for the human. She argues that traditional theories (e.g., Susan Sontag, Roland Barthes) are inadequate for analyzing modern photographic practices, which involve machine-driven image production and perception, algorithmic and cultural standardization (e.g., similarity in Instagram feeds). The text explains how even human-taken photos involve nonhuman elements due to technical and cultural algorithms. The convergence of human and machine aesthetics reveals the intertwined nature of photographic production today.

In conclusion, photography has shifted from a human-centered practice to a technologically integrated network involving both human and nonhuman actors. Traditional theories fail to address this evolution, necessitating concepts like "seeing machines" and "nonhuman photography" to account for the algorithmic, systemic, and machine-mediated aspects of image creation and perception. Prior to the development of such technology, light-sensitive photographic film and paper were exposed, and the image was then developed and stabilized in liquid chemical solutions. Usually, computer-based photoelectric and mechanical methods alone—without wet bath chemical processing—are used to make digital photos. Whereas now The digital image is saved as a computer file that can be viewed, processed further, published electronically, or printed digitally. It is a type of digital imaging that uses visible light (or light from different electromagnetic spectrum areas for scientific instruments). I think that now a wider range of people can now access photography thanks to digital photography. Photographers now have access to new editing software and technology, which has altered how images are displayed to the general audience. It is possible to drastically alter or photoshop images to make them appear entirely different from the originals. Print or slide film was the medium of choice for amateur photographers prior to the invention of the digital camera. It was necessary to create slides and use a slide projector to display them to an audience. Film was no longer delayed or expensive thanks to digital photography. Instead of requiring specialized equipment, consumers could now view, transfer, edit, and distribute digital photos using standard home computers.

This text helps me to understand how the world of digital photography has changed and how its future might be. I have always been fascinated by clicking photographs and seeing the technological impact in recent years has opened a room to new opportunities as well as some doubts for its future.

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 1 & 2

Representation - Analyzing the stereotypes used in "How to train your dragon 3".

In this blog post I cover the stereotypes used in the third sequel of one of the most popular animated films "How to train your dragon" where Toothless pursues to seduce and impress the light fury. I also cover how the dragons are represented across the sequels.

Fig 1 : A still from the movie where toothless attempts to impress the light fury.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World also known as How to Train Your Dragon 3 is a 2019 American animated film based on the book series by Cressida Cowell. There is a part in this film where Toothless(the pet dragon), Hiccup(the protagonist) and Astrid (protagonist's wife) discover a new dragon from the same species as that of Toothless.

Vid 1 : Toothless meets the light fury.

Early on since the first film, it is believed that a dragon species known as the night fury is somewhat extinct. In order to impress his viking clan, Hiccup decides to go hunting and shoots down Toothless, a night fury and wishes to kill him but is not able to as he is consumed with guilt. He gradually forms a bond with Toothless and manages to keep him a secret from his community in order to protect him.

Fig 2 : Hiccup tries to form a bond with Toothless.

Up until the third film there are several mentions about Toothless being the last one of his kind but it is in the third film where we find out about the existence of another one, a light fury. The film revolves around the love story of the two dragons and how they form a bond slowly with Toothless making the majority of the efforts. Just like majority of the romantic films, this film also exhibits the male character being the one that is completely mesmerized by the female character and tries to do funny things in order to impress the "lady" while the female character is the one being impressed and hardly ever tries to make the first move. The female is always represented as the one being innocent, clever, well behaved, hygienic and the list can go on, whereas the male character is usually someone who is not so clever, often sacrifices self respect in order to impress and often seeks approval of the female he is trying to impress (Vid 2). This can be seen not only in Toothless and night fury's relationship but also in Hiccup and Astrid's as well. This can be a subject to a lot of ongoing debates in the cultural,social and political world particularly in regards to gender roles where a certain traits are only meant to be exhibited by a specific gender. There is a moment in the film where it gets prevalent and you can see that when Toothless tries to impress the light fury with a funny dance (Vid 2).

Vid 2 : Toothless making his move to impress the light fury. HTTYD The Hidden World Toothless' Mating Dance.

Another analysis that I saw in the film that can be taken into consideration is how the dragons are represented. Concept artists have shown a great understanding of what these characters are supposed to be and have done a wonderful job showcasing it. The behavioral traits of Toothless is much similar to that of dogs and you can easily tell that every time he interacts with Hiccup which is just like a pet dog. The wide smile with the tongue rolling in and out, the big puppy like eyes, licking paws, the stompy feet are all the traits exhibited by Toothless. The animators decide for Toothless to have behavioral traits of not just dogs but also other animals, as Karl Smallwood says "Toothless became more of a composite of the traits of both animals, with his movements being additionally informed by those of other fuzzy and wuzzy creatures known for their curiosity and adorableness such as horses, kangaroos and wombats", "The important to thing to note though is that Toothless is potentially the ultimate pet since he possesses the keen senses and agility of a cat, the loyalty of a dog and can also fire hadokens capable of shattering mountains out of his mouth whilst going Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan" (Smallwood, 2020). You can see the light fury hitting Toothless's face to push him away (Vid 2), a behavior exhibited by cats. Much of her behavior including her gentle walk, the pessimistic nature and the way in which she cleans her paws can be linked to that of cats (Vid 3).

Vid 3 : The Light Fury Forgets How to Dragon and Goes Full Cat

This builds an understanding within the audience and they are able to relate with the relationship that Toothless has with Hiccup. Stereotypes on one hand limit the story to a certain narrative but on the other hand, they turn out to do a better job in creating an understanding of the story, its characters and their relationships for the audience and also for them to relate to it. As an animator myself who specializes in 3D, I have worked on bringing characters to life and one way by which we do that is by using real life examples. The first time I saw HTTYD films I could immediately notice how these dragons were represented as beings having morals, empathy and loyalty. A lot of which is true for domestic animals like dogs and cats. It is interesting how we can ignite emotions of relatability and empathy among the audience by having animated characters represent behavior traits inspired from real life examples.

References

Fig 1 : DreamWorks Animation, Toothless - night fury, Available at : https://www.dreamworks.com/how-to-train-your-dragon/explore/light-fury

Fig 2 : Reddit.com, Available at : https://www.reddit.com/r/httyd/comments/zd4w63/this_one_shot_is_enough_for_making_the_1st_movie/

Vid 1 : Youtube.com, Toothless meets the light fury, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmVk_x40UGc

Vid 2 : Youtube.com, HTTYD The Hidden World Toothless' Mating Dance, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wTAVYr0i3U&t=262s

Vid 3 : Youtube.com, The Light Fury Forgets How to Dragon and Goes Full Cat, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TaQX3q0cZM

Smallwood, K. (2020) The animators for How to Train Your Dragon argued about whether dragons are more like cats or dogs, Available at : http://www.factfiend.com/animators-train-dragon-argued-whether-dragons-like-cats-dogs/

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 3

Semiotics - Analyzing the character of Kratos with the lens of denotation and connotation.

In this blog post I will talk about the character of Kratos from the God of War games and what his character signifies and the denotation and connotation related with him.

Fig 1 : Kratos.

Kratos is a character in Santa Monica Studio's video game series God of War, which is based on Greek mythology and in the later games based on Norse mythology. Kratos first appeared in the 2005 video game God of War as a Spartan warrior who becomes known as the "Ghost of Sparta" after Ares, his former mentor, tricks him into murdering his family. Kratos then embarks on a journey of revenge and later on goes on a kill spree hunting and killing all the Greek gods including Aries. A huge part of his personality stems from his past trauma of loosing his daughter and his wife. in the modules, Roland Barthes' semiotic theory describes a sign as the combination of a signifier and a signified, where the Signifier is the physical form of the sign, such as an image, sound, or object and the Signified is the meaning that is interpreted. Barthes believed that the signifier and signified are inseparable and work together to form a unified sign. In kratos's case, in his Greek era, he uses a signature weapon known as the "blades of chaos" that represents his lethal, unforgiving and vengeful side. These blades are personally offered to Kratos by Ares himself, the Blades became a symbol of the Spartan’s servitude emphasized by the chains bound to the very flesh of his arms. The Blades of Chaos embodied Kratos' transformation into the notorious Ghost of Sparta, a monster who murdered his own family out of bloodlust during the darkest time of his life. The blades that were a part of his vengeful side, in the Norse Era in God of War (2018) were symbols of a shameful and particularly painful past. The blades are the signifier and what is signified is his past that he wishes to forget.

The character of Kratos is portrayed having a pale white skin which can be seen with the concept of denotation and connotation. As stated by John fiske, "denotation is what is photographed, connotation is how it is photographed" (Fiske 1982: 91) The pale white skin are the ashes of his wife and daughter that are overall is skin which can be seen as denotation. This connotation is that the ashes on him is constant reminder of his past and the reason why he is on a path of vengeance. This can be seen in of the games trailers that Playstation released back in 2013 (Vid 1).

Vid 1 : God of War: Ascension "From Ashes" Super Bowl 2013 Commercial - Full Version.

These subtle signs sum up the personality of Kratos very well. Signs can form narratives based on what they represent and can further result into formation of ideologies as stated by Malcolm Barnard, “The domain of ideology coincides with the domain of signs, Whenever a sign is present, ideology is present too” (Volosinov 1973 in Barnard 1996: 90). For Kratos, the blades in the recent games represent his past and instills emotions of nostalgia among the players. These blades signify the entire past of Kratos's life.

Vid 2 : God of War 2018 Reaction Mashup | Blades of Chaos | Part - 8.

It was a huge deal for the long time god of war players when Kratos decided to reuse the blades in the later games as he had chosen not to. This can be seen in a reaction video of the gamers (Vid 2). Overall the use of signs in games and even films has a huge impact on the viewers and it helps in signifying a larger meaning to the viewer and help in an overall better engagement of the audience and as a big fan of the game, I realize how the concept of denotation and connotation can be used to help viewers connect to a story in a deeper way.

References

Fig 1 : Videogames on SI, Kratos, (online) Available at : https://www.si.com/videogames/guides/god-of-war-ragnarok-story-summary

Vid 1 : PlayStation, (2013) God of War: Ascension "From Ashes" Super Bowl 2013 Commercial - Full Version, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDhfTGkLTg

Vid 2 : Reaction Jukebox, (2023) God of War 2018 Reaction Mashup | Blades of Chaos | Part - 8, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9XTMZaqXUA

Fiske, J. (1982) Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Routledge.

Barnard, M. (1996) Fashion as Communication. London: Routledge.

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 4

Tools - The concept of Medium Specificity and Gesamtkunstwerk and its relation to my work.

I will be analyzing my work and whether it fits into the the broader concept of Medium Specificity or Gesamtkunstwerk. Firstly I will describe the details of my work and then my opinion on its relation to these concepts.

Fig 1 : The artwork.

This artwork (Fig 1) was what I created for one of the projects in my practice development. It was not the final piece but i choose this for the analysis because of its uniqueness. My idea behind this artwork was to show a part of me as one of the things I like and find joy in. I have been a huge motorcycle enthusiast as a child and one of my favorite motorcycle brands is the Harley Davidson and so I planned on showcasing the brand as a part of myself. The left side is a portrait of myself which I attempted on Adobe's Illustrator and the right side are words in shapes that resemble my face which i made entirely in Photoshop.

Fig 2 : The 2D vector portrait.

Starting with the left side of the art work (Fig 2), it is a completely 2 dimensional vector portrait that I made using the pen tool. Whereas on the right side the words are completely 3 dimensional (Fig 3), although I first made it in 2D in Illustrator and later gave it a more 3D outlook (Fig 5) and also applied a chrome texture (Fig 4) on it to give it a more metallic outlook as most of Harley's parts are made out of chrome.

Fig 3 : 2D words.

Fig 4 : The chrome texture I applied on the words.

Fig 5 : The 3D outlook of the words with the chrome texture.

Now for the analysis, as described in the module the concept of medium specificity advocates for the individualness of artworks and that art forms should not be mixed and art should remain media specific. As stated by Clement Greenberg, "A modernist work of art must try, in principle, to avoid dependence upon any order of experience not given in the most essentially construed nature of its medium. This means, among other things, renouncing illusion and explicitness. The arts are to achieve concreteness, "purity," by acting solely in terms of their separate and irreducible selves." (Greenberg, 1961). As described in the module, the term "Gesamtkunstwerk" was first used by a German philosopher Karl Friedrich Trahndorff in 1827 which was further popularised by German composer Richard Wagner in the mid 19th century. "Gesamt" stands for whole, entire, total whereas "Kunstwerk" stands for artwork which basically means a total work of art. In contrary to the concept of medium specificity, the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk is basically an artwork, design, or creative process that combines various artistic mediums to produce a single art piece. This concept is more focused on impact of the art piece on its viewer. I think the concept of medium specificity was more relevant in older times when there was a lack of technological advancements. There was not much a artist could do to 'mix' different art forms, however the idea of media being 'pure' is hugely outdated. There is so much more at the hands of artists where it becomes meaningless to limit art to one specific medium. Instead with the rise of technology it makes it easier to combine several mediums to produce one good piece of work, as stated by Lev Manovich in "The Language of New Media", “Regardless of how often we repeat in public that the modernist notion of medium specificity("every medium should develop its own unique language") is obsolete, we do expect computer narratives to showcase new aesthetic possibilities which did not exist before digital computers. In short, we want them to be new media specific” (Manovich, 2001). Combining different mediums opens space for new possibilities which can result in a better viewer engagement as well as can drastically change the viewer's opinion of the artwork as also stated by Peter Weibel, "The blending of the media leads to extraordinary innovations both within the relevant media and art. Painting is not revitalised through itself but through the reference to other media. Video lives through film, film lives through literature and sculpture lives through photography and video. They all live through the digital innovation." (Weibel, 2005). Considering my work, I would have made it somewhat less eye appealing had I stuck with one medium. The artwork would have not been as impressive and engaging if it was entirely a vector portrait, instead the combination with a 3D medium gives it a better meaning overall. Adding the chrome effect on 3D words allowed me to bring in the idea of chrome used in Harley bikes which ultimately boosted the overall appeal of the art piece and made it relatable. limiting it to 2D only, would have made it somewhat simpler and less expressive which would have reduced its overall appeal for the viewer and therefore I would say I relate more with concept of Gesamtkunstwerk as rather than the 'purity' of the art, an artist must focus more on the arts appeal and its meaning.

References

Greenberg, C. (1961) Art and Culture : critical essays, Beacon, Available at : https://monoskop.org/images/1/12/Greenberg_Clement_Art_and_Culture_Critical_Essays_1965.pdf

Manovich, L. (2001) The Language of New Media, , Available at : https://dss-edit.com/plu/Manovich-Lev_The_Language_of_the_New_Media.pdf

Weibel, P. (2005) The Post-Medial Condition, Arte ConTexto, no. 6, pp. 11–15, Available at : https://www.ocopy.net/2017/01/18/peter-weibel-the-post-medial-condition-2005/1

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 5

Emotions & Affect - The role of emotions in character development and its relation to perception.

This blog post is about how emotions play a big role in character development and how it shapes perception among viewers and also how it relates to the concept of "Affect". To do that I will be analyzing the character of Godzilla and his development from the older films to the most recent ones. I will also talk about how Godzilla's perception has changed in recent times.

Fig 1 : Godzilla.

Godzilla is a giant daikaiju created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsuburaya and Ishirō Honda in 1954. The name "Godzilla" is used in American films of the character while in Japan he was popularly known as "Gojira" which was derived by combination of the Japanese words "gorira", meaning gorilla, and "kujira", meaning whale. Godzilla films have been classified into three eras where he was portrayed differently with pretty much similar story lines. These three eras are the Showa era, Heisei era and the Modern era.

Since Godzilla first appeared in movies from the Showa era, He was portrayed as a arrogant monster who was a product of the radiation's from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. He is mostly seen as monster and someone who humans are supposed to be terrified off. He can be seen terrorizing people in the first film from 1954 (Vid 1).

Vid 1 : Godzilla ('54): Attack on Tokyo clip - Classic Japanese Monster Movies

Based in the modules, Affect is a very abstract concept and is the capacity that something or someone has to affect or to be affected. Godzilla was originally created as a metaphor for these atomic bombs that America dropped on Japan. It may come as disbelieve but Godzilla's character is based on a real-life event as it represents the sentiments of Japanese people. The idea of Godzilla fits the concept of affect very well as it can be seen in the impact it has on the Japanese people as stated by "Affect is found in those intensities that pass body to body (human, nonhuman, part-body, and otherwise), in those resonances that circulate about, between, and sometimes stick to bodies and worlds, and in the very passages or variations between these intensities and resonances themselves" (Gregg and Seigworth, 2009). Since the success of Godzilla movies until the 1970s, his character was now transformed into a anti-hero rather than a defender it had been portrayed as in the Showa Era. This was now the beginning of the Heisei era. In 1991 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was released that included time-traveling aliens who were actually members of the human race called "Futurians" from the year 2204. In this film, Japan has fallen to Godzilla and to stop his destruction, the Futurians plan to remove Godzilla from an island in which they succeed but that leads to a whole new story. The Futurians leave three creatures on that Island who then combine and mutate into King Gidorah. This results in a major problem for the humans and now to tackle the mutated king they devise a plan to bomb Godzilla in hopes to make him more powerful as he feeds on radiation, which explains the "Anti-hero" role. Godzilla is born from humankind's selfishness to manipulate nature for its own desires. This takes us to the millennium era where the franchise is taken over by Legendary Pictures giving Godzilla a new origin story. In 2014's Godzilla, he is shown as a mythical creature who has lived on Earth for thousands of years and is hailed as a formidable force of nature and the real inheritor of the planet. He's considered to be the "lesser evil" and more of a guardian than the other fierce monsters that are trying to devour humans. The more Americanized version of Godzilla's origin tale shows Godzilla's character development from its innate predatory tendencies to a being with a purpose and an independent thought process. Now he is more of a protector and the hero unlike his previous perception in the Heisei era, as stated by Lloyd Farley in one his articles about Godzilla, "He represents an interesting dichotomy: Godzilla is the face of our fears, yes, but he also faces our fears, a hero for humanity, and one who puts the 'God' in 'Godzilla'" (Farley, 2024). In the 1991 Godzilla film, he is used by humans to fulfill their desire and humans are seen trying to control nature, However in this film the message shown is contrary to the previous films. A scene from the film shows the American military seeking advice from a scientist where he tells the army chief to not to interfere with nature and how its the arrogance of man to think that nature is in his control (Vid 2). This shows a drastic change in regards to Godzilla's perception in humans and also the character development for some human characters as well.

Vid 2 : Godzilla (2014) - Let them Fight Scene (7/10) | Movieclips

Unlike the previous films, Legendary's Godzilla doesn't doesn't go around attacking places or plow through ships at sea but in fact, with larger ships like aircraft carriers, he simply dives down under them (Vid 2). Throughout the film he does not seem to intentionally cause destruction and even when he destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge (Vid 2), it did not seem to be intentional, but rather just him reacting from being hit in the gills by missile fired by the military. He shows very little interest in humans and instead after defeating both MUTOs, he leaves the humans alone without any more conflict which show a huge character development.

Vid 3 : Godzilla | Attack Of The Golden Gate | ClipZone: High Octane Hits

Watching Godzilla in the early films had a completely different impact on the audience when compared to today. Even for the Japanese people "Godzilla" was an idea that helped them to relate to their sufferings and explain them to the world in the form of a story of a creature. The emotions involved with the character of Godzilla could be categorized as terror and fear. Compared to now, Godzilla is more of a justice figure and now the emotions involved in regards to him are that of savior and hero which is literally the opposite of how he was depicted as previously. This shows me just how important emotions are as they can influence the narrative about someone or something, just like Sara Ahmed says, “emotions do things, and they align individuals with communities or bodily space with social space through the very intensity of their attachments. Rather than seeing emotions as psychological dispositions, we need to consider how they work, in concrete and particular ways, to mediate the relationship between the psychic and the social, and between the individual and the collective” (Ahmed 2004: 119). Even though people may argue and convict Godzilla of still being a monster just like in the previous films, the bases of perception is completely in control of the viewer. Regardless of how a character is portrayed, the notion on how that character is perceived lies entirely in control of the viewer, as stated by Sophie Mobbs, “while we may try our best to understand gesture in order to express it, we might still be at the mercy of the interpretation of the viewer, based on their own context and background” (Mobbs 2015: 82). Overall analyzing Godzilla's character development as someone who has seen so many of the franchise's films has been an eye opening experience. I understand just how important it is to write characters as beings with meaning and for them to exhibit certain emotions as it can influence narratives in the social space.

References

Fig 1 : Alpha Coders. (Online) Godzilla. Available at : https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=1139093

Vid 1 : Turner Classic Movies. (2019) Godzilla ('54): Attack on Tokyo clip - Classic Japanese Monster Movies, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjNYWCH-fJw

Vid 2 : MovieClips (2020) Godzilla (2014) - Let them Fight Scene (7/10) | Movieclips, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NocoxyMuXg8

Vid 3 : ClipZone : High Octane Hits (2024) Godzilla | Attack Of The Golden Gate | ClipZone: High Octane Hits, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGwOh43u20c

Gregg, M. and Seigworth, G. J. ( 2009) The Affect Theory Reader. Durham: Duke University Press.

Farley, L (2024) After 70 Years, Why Does Godzilla Still Endure With Audiences? Available at : https://collider.com/godzilla-legacy-70/

Ahmed, S. (2004). Affective Economies. Social Text 22(2), 117-139. Available at : https://muse.jhu.edu/article/55780

Mobbs, S. (2015) ‘The evocation and expression of emotion through documentary animation’ Animation Practice, Process & Production. 5(1): 79 - 99. Available at : https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/ap3.5.1.79_1

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 6

Politics - Analyzing brown (South Asian) characters in films and media in the west.

I will be talking about the portrayal of South Asian or brown characters in western films and how it promotes misinformation and stereotyping of South Asians.

Fig 1 : Examining the inaccurate portrayal of Indians in Western media.

Being from a South Asian heritage myself, the representation of my culture and its people in western films has somewhat been a tragic experience for me. Every culture on earth is different and of course the people who belong to these cultures understand both the complexities and the nature of their cultures. It gets political when these cultures are represented by outsiders ( people not belonging to the same culture) and can result in marginalization and stereotyping of the people, especially when it is portrayed on a grand stage. English being the language that unites the world for communication, its media is consumed by the audience much larger when compared to media in other languages, which ultimately means that the media such as films, Web series, music etc that are in English hold the power to shape opinions and beliefs of the majority of the earth's population. The English speaking media industry or the western film industry therefore has a huge responsibility when portraying different cultures as it can have both positive or negative impact on how these cultures are perceived. Therefore in this blog I choose to look at the role of western film industry in shaping beliefs about brown cultures. Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. He has served as a Sub-Editor at DailyO, an online publication under the India Today Group. In one of his articles he states that, "Hollywood productions (and English language films in general) have to go a long way in terms of representation of identities like the so-called 'brown identity'. While brown-skinned characters from India and its neighbors have been featured in English films for a long time, they often fall prey to stereotypes or appropriation. Even though portraying an Indian character and their struggles might seem like 'Oscar bait', some of the elements in these stories hardly feel relatable to local Indians as well as the Indian-American diaspora" (Thapa, 2022). One of the biggest examples being the 2008 Oscar winning film Slumdog, Millionaire

Fig 2 : A still from Slumdog Millionaire.

The film is based on Dharavi a place in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Dharavi is home to a lot of slums but that is not the only thing about it. It is home to over a million people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds and is a center for business ventures. It is home to thousands of extremely successful small enterprises in industries like food processing, soap production, leather tanning, woodworking, jewelry making, needlework, and pottery. The recycling of waste is a particularly successful sector. The annual worth of the goods produced in Dharavi is estimated to be $500 million but that is not what is represented in the film, instead anyone watching the film would build a certain perception of not just Dharavi or Mumbai but India in general being a poor place. Mitu Sengupta from the department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University, Canada states that, "While it is true that Dharavi's perennially under-resourced community groups have touched only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, it is important to acknowledge their efforts and agency, along with the simple fact that the slum's residents, despite their grinding poverty, have valuable lives, generous spirits, and a resourcefulness that stretches far beyond the random, Darwinian sort depicted in the film" (Sengupta, 2010).

A popular television show guilty of a similar deed is an American television sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" that aired from September 24 2007, to May 16 2019, running for 12 seasons.

Fig 3 : The characters from the early seasons of The Big Bang Theory.

Played by Kunal Nayyar, Raj Koothrappali is one of the characters who is patient and nice but his friends make fun of him for being effeminate in his fashion sense and enjoyment of cooking, he is extremely sheltered and thus has very little experience in the real world. This show is special to me as it is one of the first foreign shows I saw that had a brown character as one of the main characters and that made me so excited to watch the show but it turned out to be disappointing for me. He consistently ruins relationships with women by becoming strangely engrossed in them and having romantic fantasies about getting married and starting a family. He appeares to be less independent and is almost always the fifth wheel in the group. A youtube channel by the name of Nerdstalgic describes it the best in one of their videos, "Is the comedy of The Big Bang Theory laughing with the characters, or is the humour meant to be at their expense" (Nerdtsalgic, 2023).

Vid 1 : The Unfortunate Problem With Big Bang Theory's Raj Koothrappali

Raj's character enforces several stereotypes about Indian men which creates a general perception among others which may directly impact the lives of some Indian men in regards to their self perception. As Pritheva Zakaria, Journalism and English Student at New York University, USA states that, "Of course, the stereotypes of South Asian and Asian people in general can apply to some individuals, but it simply does not represent the race as a whole. Just like how you can’t assign a group to one personality trait, you can’t generalize the characteristics of South Asian people. We are all very different in our livelihoods and experiences, and we undergo different life experiences and paths. But nevertheless, we deserve to see that on screen as much as everyone else" (Zakaria, 2024).

This has been an underlying theme over the years in not just these two shows but in many other as well where South Asian characters and cultures fall into a certain stereotype which relates to broader issues of online hate of people belonging to these groups. Stop Asian hate, South Asian Movement for Accessing Justice (SAMAJ) South Asian Women's Organizations (SAWOs) and stop brown hate are some of the movements that address issues related to the stereotypes faced by Asian communities. I think that to promote a healthy environment for people from different communities to help express themselves can only be done when people are not subjected to stereotypes and it is brought to people's knowledge that there are differences within different groups of people and being open minded and accepting is a must.

References

Fig 1 : Bahl, D. (2020) Examining the inaccurate portrayal of Indians in Western media, Available at : https://elestoque.org/2020/09/12/uncategorized/indian-misrepresentation-in-media/

Fig 2 : IMDb.com, Slumdog Millionaire, Available at : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/?ref_=tt_mv_close

Fig 3 : IMDb.com, The Big Bang Theory, Available at : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898266/

Vid 1 : Nerdstalgic, (2023) The Unfortunate Problem With Big Bang Theory's Raj Koothrappali, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0VL-2VYsks&t=40s

Thapa, S. (2022) 15 Stereotypes Indians Are Tired Of Seeing In Western Movies & TV, Available at : https://screenrant.com/indian-stereotypes-western-film-tv/

Zakaria, P. (2024) Brown girls don’t always have to be the smartest in the room, in fact, the opposite might be more empowering than you think, Available at : https://generasian.blog/2024/03/31/brown-girls-dont-always-have-to-be-the-smartest-in-the-room-in-fact-the-opposite-might-be-more-empowering-than-you-think/

Sengupta, M. (2010) ‘A Million Dollar Exit from the Anarchic Slum-world: Slumdog Millionaire’s hollow idioms of social justice’, Third World Quarterly, 31(4), pp. 599–616. doi: 10.1080/01436591003701117.

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 7

Depiction - Analyzing the realism in Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy.

This blog post is about how Ray influenced the film world with realism in his films Aparajito, Pather Panchali and Apur Sansar also popularly known as the Apu trilogy. The trilogy is about a free spirited boy from rural Bengal who grows up to become an adolescent metropolitan student and ultimately, a man. These films are based on two books written by Bibhutibhusan Banerjee.

Fig 1 : The Apu Trilogy Folder Icons.

Pather Panchali is the debut film for Ray released in 1955 which is a depiction of rural life in the Indian state of West Bengal. A story about a little bengali boy Apu, his independent older sister, Durga and Sarbajaya, who is his mother and has to keep the family together while her husband is away. This film won a award for the Best Human Document at the Cannes Film Festival, as it brings an immersive cinematic experience.

Vid 1 : Pather Panchali Official trailer(1955)HD.

After the Pather Panchali international success, Ray decided to continue Apu’s story in his 1956 release Aparajito. The film continues with Apu and his family having moving away to live in the holy city of Varanasi. It is here where we witness Apu progresses from a child to a intellectually curious teenager. We see his moral and intellectual development, as well as the increasing nuance in his relationship with his mother. The story of Apu is not only expanded upon but also spiritually enhanced by this lovingly expressive, frequently heartbreaking picture. Aparajito took home three major awards at the Venice picture Festival, including the Golden Lion.

Vid 2 : The Visuals of Satyajit Ray's Aparajito.

The third sequel of the trilogy, Apur Sansar released in 1959 where now in his early twenties, Apu has dropped out of college and aspires to become a writer. The movie follows his romantic awakening, which happens as a result of unlikely circumstances. Apur Sansar is a moving conclusion to Satyajit's monumental trilogy.

Vid 3 : Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) - Trailer.

The Apu trilogy by Satyajit Ray is considered to be an inspiration for many film makers where even big names like Christopher Nolan stating Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali an “extraordinary piece of work” and “one of the best films ever made". Martin Scorsese also expressed Ray's work being his inspiration (Vid 4).

Vid 4 : What Film Did Film Legend Martin Scorsese Watch That Inspired His Career?

During the 1990s, realism was a huge part of the independent cinema scene. One reason for the films success is that Ray broke away from a tradition of sentimentality in Indian cinema and give a authentic picture of the lives of the poor. Perhaps the realism in Ray's direction is the fact that he chooses to portray the reality as it is. Majority of the movies follow the same trend where the story is not in line with the realities of the world. Film makers more than often choose to portray stories that are just plain fantasies as it bring in audience engagement. Everybody have fantasies and desires about their lives. They imagine their lives to be a certain way which in most likeliness might never become true. Films give the audience a stimulation for their fantasies where audience relate to the film characters with how they desire to be themselves. But is that really realsitic, Ray's work breaks this stereotype and shows his deep understanding of realism, as explained by Gary D. Rawnsley, "His style – simple linear narratives, a devotion to realism and everyday truths, and his depiction of the fragility of familial relationships – is both literary and innovative" (Rawnsley, 2018). Realism in film making or storytelling for me is wether or not the film satisfies the objective truths of life. The characters, events and narratives in any story act as mediums for the audience to relate. The more realism the story contains the better it becomes for the audience to relate as at the end of the days we live in the real world and not a fantasy. This is also well explained by Chris Heckmann, "Realism in film is a cinema subcategory that many refer to as “slice of life.” Cinematic realism is rooted in the tenets of the realism arts movement, as well as philosophical realism. We can infer whether or not a film is “realistic” based on objective truths, like if it has unsensational happenings, or contained narratives. Realism is used in film to create intimate stories that connect the audience in some sort of introspective way" (Heckmann, 2021).

References

Fig 1 : Nawffy10, (2021) The Apu Trilogy Folder Icons, Available at : https://www.deviantart.com/nawffy10/art/The-Apu-Trilogy-Folder-Icons-900086304

Vid 1 : World of Trailers, (2020) Pather Panchali Official trailer(1955)HD, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNvVucYbSHE

Vid 2 : TheCineArt, (2023) The Visuals of Satyajit Ray's Aparajito, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huNa8IBKuX4

Vid 3 : Samirit Banik, (2023) Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) - Trailer, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzYLy8kdh28

Vid 4 : Unite4:Good, (2016) What Film Did Film Legend Martin Scorsese Watch That Inspired His Career? Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4IhAsen8Y0

Heckmann, C. (2021) What is Realism in Film? Cinematic Realism Explained, Available at : https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-realism-in-film-definition/

Rawnsley, G. D. (2018). The Apu Trilogy. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 38(2), 441–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/01439685.2018.1423732

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 8

Narrative - Analyzing the narrative structure of the MCU film Captain America Civil War.

In this blog post I will analyze the narrative structure of the film Captain America Civil War and how it unfolds in the later films of the franchise.

Fig 1 : Captain America Civil War.

The 2016 release, Captain America Civil War is a sequel of the Captain America films by Marvel studios. Directed by the Russo brothers (Joe Russo and Anthony Russo), it is the thirteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is based on the aftermath of the war from the the Avengers Age of Ultron, where there are civilian causalities after the war takes place, this results in political pressure to enforce a system of accountability for the avengers that are called the Sokovia accords, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo creates a divide between the Avengers, resulting in two camps, one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other one led by Tony Stark who is in support of government authority over the avengers, thus the name civil war. During the war the family of the antagonist Helmut Zemo is killed and he in his mind holds the avengers accountable for it and seeks revenge and what better time to do that when the avengers are already in a rift. This can be seen during the end stages of the film when Zemo reveals his frustration and reasons for seeking revenge (Vid 1).

Vid 1 : "The Living Are Not Done With You Yet" T'Challa and Helmut Zemo - Captain America: Civil War (2016).

Further in the film, some avengers go through arrests because of the slick traps played by Zemo in order to set them up which upsets Steve and he decides to go after him. Tony and other avengers who are for the Sokovia accords try to stop Rogers and his allies who are against the accords in going after zemo. That is when the famous airport fight takes place in the film where avengers fight each other (Vid 2).

Vid 2 : Team Iron Man vs Team Cap - Airport Battle Scene - Captain America: Civil War - Movie CLIP HD.

The important part of the film is the narrative behind the civil war, Tony Stark supported the government oversight as he had felt guilty for his role in creating Ultron and the devastation that Ultron had caused. He also felt that the Avengers needed to take more responsibility for the consequences that their actions had caused, as he did when he discovered Stark Industries was secretly shipping weapons to the Ten Rings. However, Rogers was worried that the Avengers might be compromised if they came under the control of a third party. Anyone watching the film might empathize with Tony a bit but many would side with Rogers as the governments are usually corrupted and might lead to further problems. This film amazes me as it not just showcases a single narrative but it opens room to several other ones that the audience can relate to. Ofcourse the main narrative of the film is about who is right, Stark or Rogers but it also adds to other narratives, such as choosing accountability over freedom or in Zemo's case the need for revenge that might seem valid from his perspective, or in Tchalla's case his decision in not letting vengeance consume him (Vid 1). One interesting thing about the movie is that it leads us to believe that Tony is wrong and it is only in the Avengers Endgame where we get to see that Tony might have been right all along.

After the Battle of New York, Tony (Iron Man), who had nearly died in The Avengers, began to worry that there might be a superior threat to earth somewhere in the universe. In Iron Man 3 and Avengers Age of Ultron, he made this point multiple times, although it was ultimately largely disregarded. Nevertheless, he kept working to ensure that Earth was as prepared as possible for the eventual arrival of that unidentified threat and it is in Avengers Infinity War that his worries come out to be true on Thanos's arrival. This was one of the main reasons why Iron Man was actually for the Sokovia Accords in Captain America Civil War, he wanted to keep the Avengers together for what was to come. Tony was never fully on board with giving all control to the government and the only reason why he signed the Sokovia Accords was to keep the Avengers together, as the Avengers would have been a functioning unit. This revelation in the later film completely shifts the narrative of Tony being the wrong one to him being the voice of reason. The Civil War and the later films in general have been great stories that show us just how critical narratives can be as at one point of time the guy who is considered wrong turns out be the one who was right all along as stated by Ana Dumaraog, "In the Infinity Saga, Iron Man functioned as the liaison for the Avengers, handling official matters. Had they agreed on his plan to be open to the Sokovia Accords, he would have been an integral part of the negotiation process where he would have pushed for their rights. Between his personal traits and experience in Iron Man 2, it would be safe to say that he would have successfully lobbied for what's best for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Now that he is gone, and it's uncertain who exactly is spearheading the Avengers in the Multiverse Saga, it would be easier for any governing body to bully them into doing what they want and keep the Avengers scattered" (Dumaraog, 2024).

As humans we are a product of our decisions and our decisions are inspired by the narratives we form in our own minds just like in Tony's case, we might disagree with his decision but he is motivated with guilt and holds himself to be accountable. People who have experienced guilt of some kind in their own lives might choose to side with Tony whereas people who have experienced betrayal or frauds might side with Steve. This is a testimony as to how powerful narrative shaping can be when it comes to storytelling. Narratives hold the power to shape peoples opinion and also give meaning to the story and enable people to relate to the characters more. This movie inspired me to understand just how important it is to have a narrative in your story as it can help the viewer to relate and how we can lead the viewer to form their opinions.

References

Fig 1 : VintageMoviePosters.co.uk,(online) Captain America Civil War Available at : https://www.vintagemovieposters.co.uk/shop/captain-america-civil-war-movie-poster-2/

Vid 1 : TopMovieClips, (2020) "The Living Are Not Done With You Yet" T'Challa and Helmut Zemo - Captain America: Civil War (2016) Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWaZzeAUND4

Vid 2 : TopMovieClips, (2019) Team Iron Man vs Team Cap - Airport Battle Scene - Captain America: Civil War - Movie CLIP HD, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfVY9wLKltA

Dumaraog, A. (2024) All The Ways MCU Proved That Iron Man Was Right In Civil War, Available at : https://screenrant.com/iron-man-captain-america-civil-war-mcu-right/

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 9

Transmedia and Intertextuality - How to train your dragon short animated recap by Cas van de Pol.

Dutch YouTuber, animator, and filmmaker Cas van de Pol, also known as just Cas, is most renowned for his "The Ultimate Recap Cartoon" series. His animations are inspired by television shows, Disney movies and occasionally video games as well. He has well over 6.7 million members and more than 1.8 billion views on his YouTube account as of April 2024.

Fig 1 : Cas van de Pol

This blog post is about how Cas van de Pol created a engaging and popular short animated recap of the first film from the How to train your dragon series and also how he made a animated meme out of a scene from the HTTYD 3 that became very popular and its relation to the broader world of Transmedia and Intertextuality. On the 9th of December 2023, Cas uploaded a short up to 12 minutes animation of the 2010 film "How to train your dragon".

Vid 1 : The Ultimate “How To Train Your Dragon” Recap Cartoon

This short yet amazing animation is basically a quick recap of the film but in a unique funny way. He replaces the important highlights of the film with his own creative ways. For example in the film, Hiccup uses a trap thrower to catch Toothless but in the animation (Fig 2), Cas recreates the same scene with Hiccup using a sniper to make Toothless fall (Vid 1). The sniper Cas uses is A.W.M (Arctic Warfare Magnum), a extremely popular sniper in the combat gaming world (Fig 2). This creates an engaging visual for the viewer as anyone who has played games like PubG will instantly relate to the scene.

Fig 2 : A still from the movie of hiccup with the trap thrower.

Fig 3 : A screenshot of Hiccup holding the A.W.M.

Fig 4 : Hiccup aiming at Toothless.

As I learned in the seminars, Transmedia refers to multiplatform storytelling, the How to train your dragon franchise is based across multiple media platforms. DreamWorks Dragons is a large animated franchise from DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the How to Train Your Dragon book series by Cressida Cowell. Before the release of the first movie, DreamWorks released a series of mini shorts as a way to advertise the film during the 2010 Winter Olympics, titled Racing for the Gold, but as of now the franchise consists of three feature films, four television series, six short films, three specials, eight comics, three graphic novels, and several tie-in games as well and is a great example of transmedia storytelling. Animators like Cas provide a unique version to this storytelling as now, aside of books, games or films, the story of HTTYD exists in a short funny cartoon animation on youtube in which the same story is shown in different creative ways. Throughout the animation, Cas adds several creative ideas that give a fresh, funny and even modern outlook to the story, this also leads to the concept of Intertextuality which is a term first given by Julia Kristeva in the 1960s. It basically means that every creative work in someway is inspired or influenced by previous works. In the module, Intertextuality was explained in two types, conscious and self conscious, however I relate more with the version of Intertextuality given by Chris Heckmann who is a Professor of Media & Communication at Roger Williams University. He defines Intertextuality in three types, Explicit, Implicit and Allusory. Chris defines implicit intertextuality as, "when one text is implicitly replicated through parody or satire" (Heckmann, 2023). The work of Cas van de Pol comes under the Implicit form of Intertextuality as the animation by Cas is somewhat of a prody. There is another work of Cas where he basically made a meme (Vid 3) out of a dance done by Toothless in the third sequel of the film (Vid 2).

Vid 2 : Youtube.com, HTTYD The Hidden World Toothless' Mating Dance

Vid 3 : Toothless Dancing Meme [NEW VARIATIONS]

This Toothless dancing meme was uploaded by Cas on 3rd January 2024 and has over 19 million views on youtube, which is a testimony as to how a story or a scene from a movie can be made into a fun engaging clip and how new ideas can be created out of the old ones. Intertextuality is not necessarily a new version of the same older context but it can be an entirely new thing and can bring in new audience interaction giving them a whole new experience and it does not matter whether the idea is entirely original or not. As stated by Anusha M Shashidhar, "The thing with intertextuality is that whether or not you’re aware of it, in all probability your writing already includes it. But if you can make it a deliberate tool in your craft, it can bring a whole new level of creativity to your writing and a complete other experience to your reader’s understanding" (Shashidhar, no date).

References

Fig 1 : Cas van de Pol, Wikitubia, (online) Available at : https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/Cas_van_de_Pol

Fig 2 : Drogon-Vibe.com, (online) A still from the movie of hiccup with the trap thrower, Available at : https://dragon-vibe.com/blogs/dragon-blog/toothless-the-black-dragon

Fig 3 : Pol, C. (2023) A screenshot of Hiccup holding the A.W.M, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dDUWRWqcIo

Fig 4 : Pol, C. (2023) Hiccup aiming at Toothless, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dDUWRWqcIo

Vid 1 : Pol, C. (2023) The Ultimate “How To Train Your Dragon” Recap Cartoon, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dDUWRWqcIo

Vid 2 : Youtube.com, HTTYD The Hidden World Toothless' Mating Dance, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wTAVYr0i3U&t=262s

Vid 3 : Pol, C. (2024) Toothless Dancing Meme [NEW VARIATIONS], Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MCiixIkzUk&list=PLaDjIaCz34z3VJEE0gG12H5rTRusB5NnU&index=2

Heckmann, C. (2023) What is Intertextuality — Definition and Examples, Available at : https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-intertextuality-definition/

Shashidhar, M. (no date) What Is Intertextuality? A How-To Guide With Examples, Available at : https://jerichowriters.com/what-is-intertextuality-a-how-to-guide-with-examples/

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

Blog 10

Pushing Limits - AR, VR and MR technologies : Analyzing the AR themed Time Cops City Hunt game by Escape Hunt and the potential of Extended Reality (XR).

Escape Hunt is a famous immersive gaming experience company that first started in Bangkok, Thailand in 2013 and were inspired by online computer games such as Myst and Crimson Room. Escape Hunt Studios have created an immersive gaming experience where Escape Hunters are transported to a different era to solve mind-twisting mysteries. They are global leaders in the world of escape rooms. Today they have branches everywhere from Brisbane to Birmingham and Marseille to Miami, having escape rooms in almost every continent. Accoding to them, Escape Hunt is,

"The name given to an adventure packed with excitement where you and your teammates leap into new worlds, taking on pulse-racing missions and challenges in an incredible entertainment experience against the clock".

Fig 1 : Escape Hunt.

In this blog post I will be analyzing a AR outdoor game produced by Escape Hunt that is titled Time Cops City Hunt that is played in the city of Watford, London where the players have a total of 90 minutes to prevent Artificial Intelligence from being released and save humanity. The game is packed with missions that the players need to complete under the time frame in order to complete the game.

Fig 2 : Time cops

The City Hunt adventure game Time Cops is suitable for players of all ages. After the safety briefing the players are assigned their task and the clock begins. The players are set up with an iPad and action pack and then the game takes them on a approximately 2 km walk in the city. After 90 minutes players are to head back to HQ to drop off the action pack and thereby successfully completing the game. With a briefcase full of gadgets and a device that communicates with the future, the players or the Time Cops are humanity’s last line of defence. In the gameplay, the Time Cops receive a message from the future that warns them of an evil computer system named H.E.L.A., an artificial intelligence on mission to destroy humanity. H.E.L.A. is gathering power through a nest of servers, hidden beneath the streets of Watford. With time running out, the Time Cops are supposed to shut down the H.E.L.A servers to protect humanity.

Vid 1 : Time Cops City Hunt - Escape Hunt.

Much like treasure hunt this game demands the engagement of the players but it adds several interesting features by the help of technology. A game of treasure hunt is played completely in the framework of reality where you have to find the treasure using clues and hints and that is where this game separates itself from Real life and emerges into Augmented Reality (AR) as it overlays digital information onto the real world giving more engagement features and options for the players. AR themed games are likely to produce a positive and more enthusiastic user engagement when compared to Real games due to the simple fact that the use of technology in AR games enables a room for vast creative features for the game that can enhance the user experience. As stated in an article by Samuli Laato, Sampsa Rauti, A.K.M. Najmul Islam and Erkki Sutinen, "The human ability to imagine is boosted by nostalgic experiences and a predisposition towards the AR content. Nostalgia and imagination while playing increased affection towards the in-game fictional content. This affection and the measured social factors all significantly predicted the meaningfulness of playing" (Laato, Rauti, Najmul Islam, Sutinen, 2021).

The team of Escape Hunt has done a great job in providing a gaming experience where one can enjoy the thrill of an adventure game, the mystery experience of a crime based game and so much more. Solving a game while playing in your own city and not inside the game elevates the experience for the players. One great fact about such games is that through technology, these games are not limited to a defined set of levels but there is room for more addition. There is so much more you can add digitally rather than to build it in real space for the players to experience. While Virtual Reality (VR) is much more of an immersive experience and offers total control over the users reality, it somehow lacks the joy that AR offers and that is solely because AR includes the experience of real world. Even though virtual reality can be based on real world, it still holds its functionality in a digital space which can be limited to a small room or a small place while AR and mixed reality (MR) offers the combination of the digital and the real space. I think that extended reality (XR) which is a combination of VR, AR and MR is going to shape the future in almost all fields that require human experience, from window shopping to trying new clothes, looking for new properties, playing games, watching sports etc. Bernard Marr, a world-renowned futurist, board advisor and author of Generative AI in Practice: 100+ Amazing Ways Generative Artificial Intelligence is Changing Business and Society states that, "Imagine what it might be like to live and work in our world in 2030 and beyond. Perhaps, thanks to advancements in extended reality (XR), you might be able to shop for a new home anywhere in the world as if you were actually on-site or head to lunch in some faraway land. By 2022, the XR market is expected to reach $209 billion, which is eight times what it is today. This tremendous growth could mean the realities of our 2030 lives are beyond our imagination’s ability to grasp" (Marr, 2019). Although I still think there are challenges as of now for XR to takeover with the limited technology but in the possible future, things might change in the favour of extended reality.

References

Fig 1 : Escape Hunt, (online) Available at : https://www.festivalplace.co.uk/directories/escape-hunt?location=location-182640

Fig 2 : Time cops, EscapeHunt, (online) Available at :https://escapehunt.com/uk/watford/games/time-cops-city-hunt/?_gl=115yrmgn_upMQ.._gaMTEyMDQ1MTcxOS4xNzM1NDk0NDk3_ga_G2QGPC4XS9*MTczNTQ5NDQ5Ny4xLjEuMTczNTQ5NTE3NS4wLjAuMTU1MzcyOTIyOA..

Vid 1 : Time Cops City Hunt, Escape Hunt, Youtube.com, Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMM0KTdv7Uc

Laato,S. Rauti,A. Najmul Islam,A. Sutinen,E. (2021) Why playing augmented reality games feels meaningful to players? The roles of imagination and social experience, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 121, Available at : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563221001394#cebib0010

Marr, B. (2019) What Is Extended Reality Technology? A Simple Explanation For Anyone, Available at : https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/08/12/what-is-extended-reality-technology-a-simple-explanation-for-anyone/

[yuvraajsinghchauhan2000]

1.

Sadowski, H. (2016). Digital Intimacies : Doing Digital Media Differently, pp.35-37. Linkopings Universitet, Linköping. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/herts/reader.action?docID=4746707&query=digital+media&ppg=36

The author explores digital cultures and their engagement with changing understandings of intimacy, particularly focusing on feminist perspectives. She talks about three digital spheres that address issues such as online harassment, the gender gap in computing, and representation in visual cultures and explains ways to counter negative representation and promote feminist online politics whether through experimental, theoretical, or practical interventions. The author introduces "digital inimicalities" as a framework to understand the various "oppressions" in hostile online environments. Drawing from feminist theory and examining cases of resistance, the author advocates for a re-imagined digital culture that values intimacy, equity, and diverse participation over exclusion and oppression. Being raised in a conservative South Asian society, the subject of intimacy has always been considered taboo especially in digital space and thus there are limitations to what you can and cannot create as digital media arts, this text resonates with me as someone who wishes to promote acceptance of individuality within society.

2.

Li, Z. et al. (2024) ‘RealtimeGen: An Intervenable AI Image Generation System for Commercial Digital Art Asset Creators’, International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, pp. 1–24. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10447318.2024.2382508#abstract

This article explores advancements in AI-powered image generation tools capable of producing artwork comparable to that produced by humans. These tools based on user descriptions, known as text-to-image generation, are transforming digital art by improving efficiency and expanding creative possibilities in commercial painting. The authors highlight the need for human-AI collaboration as it accommodates diverse skill levels. They introduce a study which explores the needs and expectations of commercial digital art asset creators regarding AI-assisted image generation tools highlighting their workflows, with and without AI concluding that AI tools must evolve to align with traditional workflows, offering creators greater control, visibility, and real-time interaction. This article provides insight into the changing world of digital arts and the ways in which AI can be a positive addition for my work as a digital artist. The evolution of AI directly impacts my future practice and adapting to the flow is essential.

3.

He, Y. and van Leeuwen, T. (2019) ‘Animation and the remediation of school physics – a social semiotic approach’, Social Semiotics, 30(5), pp. 665–684. doi: 10.1080/10350330.2019.1568957.

The text explores the role of digital technology in education, focusing on educational software like Explain Everything Interactive Whiteboard supports multimodal teaching and learning, examining the role of animation in education and the potential of visualization of information. Although various researches indicate visual animated material as a better medium for education, the results are a bit inconsistent. The authors argue that much of the literature neglects a detailed analysis of animation as a semiotic system and that there must be an integrated approach to better understand animation’s limitations and potential in educational context. They introduce a social semiotic framework to analyze animation as a system of "meaning-making", addressing gaps in prior research that often overlook the "affordances of animation" in semiotic perspective. Overall, this research helps me in understanding how creative visual animations can enhance interactive learning and benefit society, not just in education but also in understanding new concepts in general.

4.

Guan, M. Y. et al. (2024) ‘From Digital Art to Crypto Art: The Evolution of Art Brought by NFT’, International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, pp. 1–20. doi: 10.1080/10447318.2024.2395088.

The text explores how Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) impact the world of digital art. The study conducted in the text includes interviews with 19 artists focusing on how they create art, interact with marketplaces on platforms like OpenSea and SuperRare. The study exposes the impact of blockchain and how it has transformed digital art by providing new tools and how NFTs allow artists to monetize and trade their works directly. The authors talk about the evaluation of artwork with NFTs and how evolution of crypto art is incomplete due to some challenges in blockchain platforms. They advice artists to examine copyright terms and licensing agreements to stay legally protected. I have tried to learn about NFTs on my own in the past but was unable to succeed due to lack of proper guidance. This text helps me in understanding how this system works and the difficulties one may face stepping in this world.

5.

Zuo, Z. et al. (2024) ‘Strategies towards large-scale 3D printing without size constraints’, Virtual and Physical Prototyping, 19(1). doi: 10.1080/17452759.2024.2346821.

This article explores the developments, difficulties and tactics related to large scale 3D printing (LS3DP), emphasizing how technology has the potential to revolutionize a variety of industries and how important it is to get over technical obstacles in order to produce larger functional structures. The article highlights the 3D printing process, the material and equipment required and the ability to control the printing operations efficiently and precisely. It also talks about the challenges and the strategies to counter them as LS3DP holds potential to overcome previously unattainable functionalities. It enables unmanned, intelligent and sustainable manufacturing that can liberate people from labour intensive and hazardous environments. Having modeled several objects for 3D printng, the limitations to size was a huge factor that would limit my options, this article shares great insight in the rapidly advancing world of 3D printing and how in future we might be able to build beyond present limitations.

6.

Yezhova, O. et al. (2024) ‘Exploring design and technological aspects of digital fashion: a systematic review of recent innovations’, International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, pp. 1–15. doi: 10.1080/17543266.2024.2378032.

This article reviews emerging trends and technologies in digital fashion design, highlighting their impact on the fashion industry. Various technologies like artificial intelligence, 3D printing, wearable electronics and virtual augmented reality are shaping the field with innovations such as virtual try-ons, additive manufacturing, color management and immersive virtual experiences. The authors propose a definition for digital fashion as the "virtual creation, production, and depiction of an individual's identity, particularly in clothing and footwear, through computer-aided design." Overall this article reviews the technological innovations, sustainability, ethical design, the use of MOOCs, PLM software, virtual reality and fashion's role in digital culture, influencer marketing and consumer behavior. I am into fashion and have tried to create designs in illustrator to print on t-shirts, I might also try my luck in future as a fashion designer and this study provides an overview of the present scenario of the technical evolution of fashion design which helps me in analyzing the future potential of this marketplace.

7.

Seo, Y. et al. (2018) ‘Attention to eSports advertisement: effects of ad animation and in-game dynamics on viewers’ visual attention’, Behaviour & Information Technology, 37(12), pp. 1194–1202. doi: 10.1080/0144929X.2018.1488993.

The study investigates how ad animation and in-game dynamics influence viewers' attention to virtual advertisements in eSports using eye-tracking metrics. It explores the practical and theoretical implications for eSports advertising and the challenges in understanding the effectiveness of virtual ads within this context. It also focuses on the advantages, existing gaps in strategic placement and the need for deeper research into their impact on viewer attention. eSports has evolved into a massive industry and therefore it provides a huge platform where games like the League of Legends World Championship drew 43 million unique viewers in 2016. The study concludes that advertisers should strategically design and time ads to align with less intense moments so that they grab the best of the viewer's attention. I have attempted to create games and if possible, I will create some more in future, this article offers great understanding on how I can generate more views on ads and thereby generate more income from it.

8.

Gallese, V. (2024). Digital visions: the experience of self and others in the age of the digital revolution. International Review of Psychiatry, 36(6), 656–666. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2024.2355281

The text highlights the dual nature of digital technologies as it offers both challenges and opportunities in shaping contemporary social life and that there must be research-driven approach to understand the effects of these technologies on the mental health and social life of an individual. The concept of reality is increasingly blurred in the digital age as physical presence is replaced by "mediated and rep-resented reality" which affects emotional and social experiences and "shapes our relationship with the world, reshaping the very concept of ‘reality’". The author argues that to mitigate misinformation, we must understand the interplay of content, emotional context, and shareability in digital media and that strategies are needed to address the negative impacts of digital media. This text offers a great insight for me as being artists, we must consider how digital media impacts society and what can be done to make that impact as positive as possible.

9.

Toh, W. (2022) ‘The Player Experience and Design Implications of Narrative Games’, International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 39(13), pp. 2742–2769. doi: 10.1080/10447318.2022.2085404.

The text examines the role of interactive narrative games in personal transformation and storytelling. It introduces the concept of multiform story where multiple variations of a single scenario exist. The text talks about a study which uses grounded theory to analyse player experiences in narrative games, drawing information from participant interviews, think-aloud verbalizations and reflections. According to the study, player interactions in narrative games are characterized by four distinct interaction patterns, that guide user experience studies to analyse player behavior and emotional responses which can improve player immersion, build emotional connections with characters, deepen player understanding and appreciation of the narrative. I have attempted to design two games during my course one of which was a narrative based game, although the technicalities were manageable, it took me multiple attempts just to get the narrative right, this article provides a great insight into narrative building deriving from practical study which helps me to re-evaluate my steps and create better results.

10.

Rangarajan, V. et al. (2022) ‘The role of perception of affective quality in graphic design inspiration’, The Design Journal, 25(5), pp. 867–886. doi: 10.1080/14606925.2022.2082126.

The text explores the role of inspiration and emotion in the design process, particularly in the conceptual phase of graphic design focusing on how perception of "affective qualities" influences designers' engagement with inspirational materials. The text talks about the Core Affect Model to explore how design students engage with visual materials which shapes their ideas. The experiences of seven design students engaging with visual inspirational materials is studied using the descriptive phenomenological method concluding that immersive new media like VR, induced richer and deeper perceptions compared to traditional 2D media like photographs. Being a digital artist I would emphasis on the impact of my design on the viewer and the ways in which I can make it more engaging for the viewer and inspire them to form creative ideas of their own, this study highlights the potential for deeper emotional connections in design inspiration and inspires me to design pieces to be more impactful

11.

Zylinska, J. (2020) AI Art: Machine Visions and Warped Dreams, Available at : https://www.openhumanitiespress.org/books/titles/ai-art/

The author of the book critically examines artworks that use AI, be it in the form of visual style transfer, algorithmic experiment or critical commentary. It also engages with their predecessors, including robotic art and net art. AI Art includes a project from Zylinska’s own art practice titled ‘View from the Window’, which explores human and nonhuman forms of intelligence, perception and action. The author challenges us to consider human creativity as well as Ai's creativity. and overall this text excites me as the more we interact with machines, something new eventually happens. As a stuudent of digital media we need creative perspectives on developments from within the humanities that may inspire us as artists to envision AI systems in line with the existential need to reorient ourselves in terrains of shared technological advancements.