While watching the new series of Shameless I picked up on something that we discussed in the lecture earlier today (24.01.11). The video we watched was about finding an authenticity of the true self through narratives. I understood this discussion in a variety of ways, firstly to find ones true self a person must tell stories about their life. In doing the allow themselves to piece together and make sense of the chaos contained within their lives. In doing this they gain feedback which conditions them. This feedback helps us to regulate our behaviour through the relevant social and cultural context in which we live. However in doing this many people automatically find themselves telling what they believe people want to hear.
I know on the surface this doesn't seem very relevant to multimedia but on the contrary I believe it outlines just how important multimedia is in both a motivational and philosophical sense. Multimedia is often used to depict all manner of narratives, in doing this it allows people to find their true self, in other words, authenticity.
This is a journey depicted in the new series of shameless. Frank Gallagher finds himself in a psychiatric unit due to his erratic behaviour resulting from a lifetime of physical and chemical neglect. Throughout the time he is missing he meets various aspects of his true self, all using their own narratives to depict his life. In doing this he manages to piece together the chaos that is his life, and thus his sanity.
In week 2's seminar we were taught to create a cart to travel a long our track. When doing this we created a seat for the passenger, including back rest and an area for their feet; and also a barrier to protect their feet, just like at a real amusement park!
Our task for this term is to create an animated Haunted House on Autodesk 3Ds MAX.
During week 1's seminar we created the theatre with which to contain the track and haunted scenes. We used the plane tool to create a floor and with the use of lines, refining and smoothing we made it suitable for the cart to travel along.
When considering David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ in terms of its narrative, I believe a key issue to be the player’s willingness to give up their free will in order to join the multiplayer gaming experience. The director clearly recognises the imitations contained within the balance of free will and the necessity for a narrative structure in order to create an accurate realism; however this realism must come at a price to the realism. In short the forced dialogue is used as a tool with which to progress the game, powering the narrative of the film.
Interactivity
Cronenberg creates interactivity with the audience is through the two main characters Allegra and Ted repeated references to recognising people within the plot on the games manifestation. This firstly provides the audience with a challenge, to workout for themselves why the characters would recognise what turns out to be other players within the game; secondly it urges the audience to carry on watching to either see if their guess is right or alternatively find out why the recognition occurs. The whole idea of this interactivity is noted by Cronenberg through Allegra Geller, when Pikul asks what the purpose of the game is and Gellar responds, "You have to play the game to find out why you are playing the game." This statement is also true with regard to the audience of the film in that they must keep on watching to grasp the plot entirely; an urge which is continually forced by Cronenberg through the obscurity and pace of the plot.
Convergence
The collision of the two themes contained within the film, fantasy and reality was something I found particularly poignant. In a sense, both the audience and characters playing eXistenZ in the film have to allow themselves to obtain a willing suspension of disbelief. This is essential for the audience as it allows us to open our minds to the concept of eXistenZ rather than questioning its viability of the game in reality, in order to enjoy the film. As I mentioned earlier a similar willing suspension or free will allows the character to progress through the game successfully.
A further matter contained within this issue of fantasy vs. reality is the two layer of fantasy contained within the reality or all the characters playing the actual game at the seminar in real life. This second fantasy world had to be created by the director in order to give and thus justify the characters belief in the environment that the game play forces them into. Give this the seriousness with which they play the game, as if a question of life and death, is feasible to the audience.
