Anyway, what I found about the porn industry seems to mirror that of most subcultures, sans the capitalism. There is a pool of veterans who see the industry as being similar to any socially acceptable film project, often wondering how the stuff they find degrading--mostly the things they do on Fear Factor--is not attacked as such because it doesn't involve sex. There's a great quote by a "horror porn" director that I wrote down that made me think back to my conversation I had with my teachers the other day.
"Being degraded is a sense of one's own mind. [...] If you perceive that what's going on is degrading to you, then that's that. But if you don't perceive that you're being degraded, then it's not degrading."While the second quote is more riddled with anger, it shows that there really is a social barrier between what is essentially the same kind of work industry. In both cases, actors and actresses have to be hired, sign model release forms, and consent to having their actions recorded on video record (especially if you are a reality show). The difference is public perception of the two.
"A girl is degraded in a Hollywood movie, what happens? That's acting. And they get a fucking Academy Award. A girl is degraded in porn and for some reason that's more extreme than a real movie."
Another book I skimmed through was about hacker culture. It was way too technical for a social study book, but what I got out of it is another example of this. Thanks to the media and press, hackers are pegged as teenagers that sit around on their computers trying to get credit card numbers. If they are not seen as that, then the contemporary online youth culture is seen as a bunch of lazy time wasters that are on the internet to play video games with their friends online. (That's my mom's point of view for a long time. I don't think she counts as a citable source.) On the other side of the fence, hackers are really just a bunch of kids playing cyber pranks or even adults whose job it is to specifically find and patch security holes. Generational gaps aside, the internet is also a way for the online youth culture to express themselves and their interests through, what else? MySpace! Blogs! YouTube! And avatar-based forum sites like Gaia!
Things are starting to piece together now quite nicely, don't you think? I still have yet to figure out how to communicate this visually, though. A few art works did pop into my head, but I don't have the skill to create a full-size and life-like sculpture of a suicide victim hung by the neck with X's silk-screened over where his eyes should be. And I doubt I have time to render a very pornographic anime drawing version of that one sculpture of Atlas that reeks of homo-eroticism. I guess that's why the department gave me the "Graduate in December" option. To figure out if I should even do those pieces and to how to do them is I actually want to see them through.
2 comments:
Hey John. I really am liking seeing this proactive perspective you are taking. The way you have been writing about your research seems passionate and intriguing. It seems much less painful as if you are actually enjoying the process. It sounds like I am mocking you but the truth is I am starting to see the potential of artistic growth in what you have just written. You have found what could be gems in what can still become a good thesis project.
Moreover the important issue is that you personally enjoy what you are creating. Sometimes you, or anyone can get caught up with "what people may think" and use that as an escape from actually having to perform and put a focused cohesive effort. This may be because of the fear of failure. Failure is a small price to pay compared to not trying at all. So what I am saying is that you create the work that fulfills you and challenges you on a level that encourages your own personal growth and maturity. If you manage to create work that challenges your own view of the world, it may even be powerful enough to challenge the world view of your peers. One can't just wish for these things, you have to work for them. It sounds to me as if you are researching things that are both fascinating, and challenging to you. I think that is a step in the right direction.
I have to warn you against being too fast to deliver a finished product. This is an important time to develop focused ideas and your methods of creating. It is also a great time for self discovery. Self discovery doesn't mean discovering who you think you already are, that's only part of the process, but rather discovering the potential of being greater than what you are at the moment. This time can be a great investment into both your career and your own character. Your main concern should not be to graduate as quickly as possible, rather to create a mass of work that you can look at and be proud of creating. Work that will inspire to make more challenging and exciting work. I know you've referred to many disapointments throughout your blog. I personally feel like you were afraid to risk putting too much into your work of yourself for fear of getting criticized negatively. Criticism positive and negative are what you want in the end, because it will only sharpen your skills and perspective. You should find something in the end that you believe is bold and engaging. And if you are so passionate about the body of work, maybe others will be.
Jon,
Now that you have "discovered" all these connections and started to talk to people about what you are doing, I don't see how you could possibly get together before December a body of work and a thesis that would truly represent the person you are becoming.
Degradation is a fascinating concept. There are a lot of possibilities:
* that it is what happens in the mind of the person being degraded,
* that it is what happens in the mind of the person who doing the degrading,
* that it is what happen in the action itself
* that it is what happens in the mind of bystanders who come to know about what happened,
* that it is some combination of part or all of the above.
Art most certainly can call forth two radically different responses in two different viewers (perceivers).
Robert
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