Oct 26
I find the text’s title alone to be interesting – “A Hacker Manifesto [ version 4.0 ],” because of the number of the version, which suggests that Wark’s manifesto is not final and it constantly upgrades, just like the fast and ever-changing world of the Internet.
Mark attempts to portray hackers as people who create and bring in something new to the world. He argues that hackers are “hacking the new out of the old” and it is not always a good or a great thing, but it is usually new. It may enhance and bring something new to culture, art, science, and philosophy or “any production of knowledge where data can be extracted from it.” He tries to justify the actions of hackers which are often harmful for millions of Internet users. In the third statement Mark acknowledges that hackers have identity problems, by writing that they can be described as a class that “has yet to hack itself into manifest existence as itself.” Although these statements seem to be valid, I feel like they give an excuse to sometimes silly, irresponsible and often random behavior of the hackers. Calling hackers creators in my opinion is a bit of a stretch – the hacker community is not unified or cohesive and I do not think that it ever will be. Yes, the advanced knowledge of code is indeed powerful and it may result in creating something new. However, that powerful knowledge can also cause a lot of trouble if it is not in good, responsible hands.
Wark McKenzie provides interesting and unique perspectives on topics such as property, class, production or information from a hacker’s standpoint. I find the statement: that “information wants to be free but is everywhere in chains. Information is the potential of potential” to be very true. With easier access to information, we would have more potential to grow as a society.
Oct 20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezVcVo9tw7Y&list=UUZnsZhdaekVyELP97uHgyFg&index=2
Oct 05
„I draw a lot of little lines on the sound-track area of the 35mm film. Maybe fifty to sixty lines for every musical note. The number of strokes to the inch controls the pitch of the note: the more, the higher the pitch; the fewer, the lower is the pitch. The size of the stroke controls the loudness: a big stroke will go ‚boom,’ a smaller stroke will give a quieter sand, and the faintest stroke will be jest a little ‚m-m-m.’ (…) By drawing or exposing two or more patterns on the same bit of film, I can create harmony and textural effects.”
Animation takes a lot of hard, tedious work and with this quote, the author illustrates how the person in charge of animation has to put a lot of effort in order to make all the effects necessary to create an effective piece of animation. Throughout the years, animation has evolved from simple, experimental pieces to big-budgeted movie blockbusters that earn millions of dollars at the box office. When talking about the animation, one cannot forget to mention one of the most successful movie studios, so different from the rest, so bold and innovative – Pixar. The movie studio successfully links all the necessary elements that are required to create an effective animation feature film. After all, this company is a pioneer when it comes to computer animation – by releasing “Toy Story” it practically started a new era of entertainment, stimulating the competition to step up their game. The success can not only be measured by the amount of money earned, but also through numerous awards and recognition from the industry experts. The animation world is getting more and more complex, competitive and costly for the film studios, but also more diverse and interesting for us consumers. As for me, I am excited for the future of animation and cannot wait what happens next.