Category Archives: Discussion questions

This space is for you to engage in conversation about course reading.

Discussion #5

  1. What is Krukowski’s main point about how we experience time in the “real” world versus are experiences with “digital” time? Why are these differences significant?

The author’s main point about how we experience time in the “real” world versus our experiences with “digital” time is that the “real” world time is live time we all experience in our analog world. And we can clearly feel every moment we spend. “Digital” time is a kind of machine time, not live time. It is locked in a clock. It exists in a series of time codes which makes everything more regular than live time. These differences are significant because sometimes our experience of a moment is being lost in the transition between real and digital time.

 

  1. What does Krukowski mean when he says that listening has a lot to do with how we navigate space?

When he says that listening has a lot to do with how we navigate space, he means that listening is a kind of perceptual tool which helps map ourselves from the source of those sound. Therefore if you pay attention to the sound of your surroundings, you can detect the location without your sights. And this idea inspires me to remove my attention from my headphones to the surroundings.

 

  1. In the interview at the beginning of the episode, Jeremiah Moss argues that developers in Astor Place are “privatizing public space in a very stealth way.” What does he mean by this? What does Moss say about the distinction between public and private space, and why is it important?

Jeremiah Moss argues that developers in Astor Place are “privatizing public space in a very stealth way.” What he means is that nowadays more and more people walk around with their screens, and they don’t want to be hear or do not hear. They are creating some private bubbles which are moving through our public space. And it is this private bubble that turn our public space into private space in a very stealth way. He says that public space is where people can do whatever they like to do, such as hold protest or somewhere people can express their opinions without having to follow rules set by private companies. He argues that it is important because people don’t realize the encroachment of their public spaces. They are not even aware of the public space they are around because they are always on their screen.

 

  1. What is the significance of Emily Thompson’s idea that the development of concert halls arose from desires to “control interior spaces”? How is this desire, according to Krukowski, related to earbuds and headphones?

Emily Thompson’s idea of the development of concert halls arose from desires to “control sound in interior spaces” because there were technological developments occurred in that time. And so many loud sounds produced by big working engineer machines make our life much noisier than ever before. But it is very hard for people to deal with those noisy sound. Therefore, the desire for residents to live in a quieter place is really in need. Thanks to earbuds and headphones, people can own a private interior space in that noisy world.

 

  1. In your own opinion, what are the key ideas from this episode about the relationship between sound and space? What strikes you as interesting about the ways that sound influences our experience of space.

In my opinion, the key ideas between sound and space is that sounds make us aware of our surroundings and make us realize the travel of time. The sound from surroundings can help me locate myself. Different sound will influence people in totally different ways. It might change your mind as well as your thoughts.

Discussion #5

Discussion #5

Episode 1

1.What is Krukowski’s main point about how we experience time in the “real” world versus are experiences with “digital” time? Why are these differences significant?

Krukowski’s main point about how we experience time in the “real” world versus our experiences with digital time is that the real-world time is the time we live and the actual experience we get out of the lived time. It is the one that we experience in the analog world where every moment is felt. Digital time is something that is pre – programed and we are directed towards it. We are told how our experience will be. These differences are significant because the genuine experience of a moment is being lost in the transition between real and digital time.

2.What does Krukowski mean when he says that listening has a lot to do with how we navigate space?

When Krukowski says that listening has a lot to do with how we navigate space, he means that sounds have the ability to tell us where we are. He tells us that we use our hearing to locate sounds around us to figure out our location. So, if we are not aware of the sounds of our surrounding, we are not in that place. You are at the place what your mind is listening to. If we are walking on the street of New York but if you are listening to something, your attention is on that audio and you are not aware of your surroundings or the space you are in. The piece of audio transports us to the world where it is coming from.

Episode 2

3.In the interview at the beginning of the episode, Jeremiah Moss argues that developers in Astor Place are “privatizing public space in a very stealth way.” What does he mean by this? What does Moss say about the distinction between public and private space, and why is it important?

Jeremiah argues that the developers in Astor Place are “privatizing public space in a very stealth way.” Here he means that the private companies are being cautious in trying to own public spaces. They develop these public spaces with better amenities such as tables with umbrellas and chairs, but with certain restrictions posed and added private security guards walking around. So, it is still public place, everyone is allowed to use it, yet you have to follow the rules set by these private developers. Moss tries to distinguish between public and private space. He says that public space is where people can do whatever they like to do, such as hold protest or somewhere people can express their opinions without having to follow rules set by private companies. He argues that it is important because people don’t realize the encroachment of their public spaces. They are not even aware of the public space they are around because they are always on their screen. They notice that there is a glass tower on their path, and they lift their gaze off their screen to see their reflection and then resumes back on their screen. So, they are creating their own private bubble within a public space. He is worried that people are not paying attention to their changing surrounding.

4. What is the significance of Emily Thompson’s idea that the development of concert halls arose from desires to “control interior spaces”? How is this desire, according to Krukowski, related to earbuds and headphones?

Emily Thompson’s idea of the development of concert halls arose from desires to “control sound in interior spaces” because there were technological changes which gave rise to many machines that produced loud sound such as motor vehicle with loud engines, elevated trains everywhere and subways were simultaneously being built. So, that period was difficult for people to deal with. The desire to be in quieter environment inspired people to control noise in an interior space which eventually lead to the development of concert halls. According to Krukowski, this desire is related to earbuds and headphones because this device helps people create their own environment where they can avoid outside noise. He says, “They create an auditorium without the walls”. It is in a way creating the same refuge as concert hall can create. The stereo is catered to their own liking and own space.

5. In your own opinion, what are the key ideas from this episode about the relationship between sound and space? What strikes you as interesting about the ways that sound influences our experience of space.

In my own opinion, the main relationship between sound and space is that sounds make us aware of our surroundings and it lets us travel time. Certain sounds can be so striking that it makes us nostalgic and lets us reminisce the moment related to it. It is interesting how we can recognize our near and dear one’s voice and that sound takes us to the space where we can find that person. If we hear a voice that is close to a person we know, our mind takes us to the immediate memory we have of that person. So, if it is our school friend, it takes us back to our school. It is interesting that sounds can trigger our memory.

Discussion Questions #5

Question 1.  In Ways of Hearing episode 1, Krukowski indicates that time experienced in the real world is lived time, just as we experience it in the analog world.  It is experienced and not counted like a clock, and that experience is variable, always changing and flexible.  This is illustrated simply with how long something seems to take when it is not pleasant, as opposed  to how quickly it goes by when you are having fun.   Digital time on the other hand is not lived time, it’s machine time that is locked to a clock.  This time code makes everything more regular than lived time and as a result of this we give up our opportunity to experience time together because we are no longer experiencing each other’s unique timing as it happens in the moment.  Another result of digital time is something called latency, a delay between the actual moment and when we hear it.  This is caused by the time it takes to translate digital info to sound as well as the travel time through the various pieces of equipment.

Question 2. What Krukowski means when says listening has a lot to do with how we navigate space is that what we hear plays a big role in what we are aware of regarding our surroundings and how we travel through them.  He says specifically is that, we use our stereo hearing to locate sounds around us and to map where we are in relation to the source of these sounds.  If you limit your hearing with ear plugs or ear buds, you will be less aware of the space around you as well as the people.

Question 3. What Jeremiah Moss means by, privatizing public space in a very stealthy way, is that even though it is still technically a public space the city designated it as a pedestrian plaza, which allowed them to close off the street and create some rules.  It also resulted in the plaza having tables with umbrellas along with many big chain stores on the street level, completely different from when it was an actual completely public place.  Mr. Moss also indicates that people who are looking at their phone screens are basically attempting to be in a private place, a sort of bubble, while still being in a public place.  He indicates that this means they are opting out of street life and in a way the public has been triumphed over by the private.

Question 4.  According to Emily Thompson, as technology advanced in the 1920’s in what was known as a very loud decade, a desire to control sound in interior spaces resulted.  The goal of this control was to be able to hear exactly what someone wanted to hear and nothing else.  This was especially evident in the development of concert halls at the time, most notably Radio City Music Hall.  The hall was designed to be absorptive with the intention of limiting reverberation as much as possible.  In addition  the stage was completely mic’d with the sound being transmitted by speakers located throughout the hall.  The intended outcome of this design was that only what was being heard on stage was to be heard by the guests in the hall.  Basically exactly what people wanted  to hear, or paid to hear, and nothing else.  According to Krukowski, this desire to hear what and when we want, like in Radio City, is much like when we put on our earbuds.  We create our own internal refuge and drown out the outside world.

Question 5.  For me the key ideas in this episode about the relationship between space and time is how much sound influences our awareness of our surroundings, or space, and how much we as a society try to control that space through the manipulation of sound.  This episode also made me realize how much people today want to live in their own bubble, their own sound bubble, and why it is we want to do it.  I, for one, am very guilty of it and while Mr. Moss was describing how much it infuriates him, it had the opposite effect on me.  I found myself saying, yeah that’s right, let me and everyone else who finds serenity in that manner, continue to do so, because, for me, it’s the only way to stay sane in this extremely loud city.  But the most interesting thing to me about this episode was the degree to which sound impacts our awareness of space.  I always thought sight was the major factor and sound contributed very little, but apparently I was wrong.

1

People now accept publicity images as part of the environment. They perceive such images as dynamic, or constantly in motion. publicity expresses certain ideas about freedom, including Western notions of economic free enterprise and consumer choice.Publicity images are distinct from the real benefits of the products they sell.Instead, publicity celebrates the future buyer and the glamorous life the buyer might have a life that may cause others to envy them. Therefore, publicity isn’t about items but “social relations.” It promises people they will be happy because others will envy them. Advertisements often use images from oil paintings and sculptures of the past. What makes art so useful to advertisement. publicity like oil painting celebrates consumerism and the principle “you are what you have.” Berger views advertisements as the last form of post-Renaissance Europe’s visual art. Since advertisements must “sell the past to the future,” they have to use the language of the past. Secondly, publicity images often use historical or mythological references, relying on a viewer’s education.

 

2

The relationship between oil painting and publicity images, which has been obscured by cultural prestige. Publicity images often make direct reference to past art, either by copying it in some way, or by incorporating the art into the publicity image. This ‘quoting’ of art achieves two things. Art is associated with wealth and beauty, and the publicity image benefits from this. Art also has cultural authority, which makes it superior to mere materialism. This use of art allows the publicity image to promote two almost contradictory things, spiritual or cultural refinement and consumerism. Publicity understands the link in oil painting between the work of art and the spectator-owner and uses these to flatter the spectator-buyer. There is, however, a much deeper link to oil painting.

 

3

Berger compares the envied to bureaucrats to show that usually advertisements don’t try to relate to the consumer but attempt to show them what they want to be like. Otherwise, if people are able to connect with the advertisement on a personal level, they wouldn’t have envy and would realize they don’t need the product that is being sold to achieve happiness. Berger’s ideas are applicable to modern day society and I feel that the relationship between publicity and happiness demonstrates an ongoing cycle of selling and buying. I think that advertisements often cause people to feel inadequate and that there is something missing from their lives. A main goal for many people is to have glamour and be envied by others but they are never able to achieve this so they keep on buying things that give them the illusion of glamour. These products don’t give people satisfaction or make them truly happy so advertisements continue to convince them to buy more things that the consumer believes will get them what they want.

 

Discussion Questions #4

Question #1:
Customers are influenced by advertising because they are surrounded by them everywhere they go. All kind of these images are an integral part of our lives and that is why is practically impossible to completely avoid them. We are swallowed by the commercials, and all of those images are stimulating our imagination. Propagation of the product appeals and concentrates on the viewers’ ego. The purpose of the modern way of how we perceive the pictures is to make us believe, that if we get a specific product, not only we could become better people, but we will become the most precious pleasure of the company/society. The only thing we have to do is spend our money and possessed the goods, but that is very misleading and false.

Question #2:
In the old oil paintings, there wasn’t a pictured way, how the person achieved the success or assets. It was rather a celebration of already achieved success. According to Berger, advertising is promoting the product itself but in some desired context of life to attract a buyer. It is very important because many of us unconsciously believe, that by buying the advertised product we buy the acceptance of society as well as a certain lifestyle. I think that nowadays we think success is mainly about possessing some goods and that is not good.

Question #3
A good example of what Berger used was skin. By purchasing promoted products, we are not going to look more beautiful, as it is pictured in the commercials. But many people are imagining, that by buying and using that product their skin and also themselves, will become more desirable and in the center of the attention of others. They believe they will become more popular. But unfortunately, they just became manipulated by the nice pictures.

Discussion Questions #4

1. According to Berger, how do “publicity”–what we would call advertising–images influence consumers and why is this significant?

According to John Berger, a publicity picture makes viewers think if they buy what it offers, that possession will change their lives, including their relationships. By showing images of happy people who use their products, they convey a message of if we buy that product too, we can have a life like those people.

2. As he compares oil painting to publicity (advertising) photography, Berger argues that oil painting “showed what the owner was already enjoying among his possessions and way of life;” “it enhanced his view of himself as he already was.” Whereas publicity pictures, “appeal to a way of life that we aspire to or think we aspire to.” Why are these differences important? What do they reveal to us about the production of images for publicity?

According to John Berger, oil paintings began with facts of its owner’s life. It shows the current wealth or achievements of its owner without including how they get that wealth. It doesn’t offer something, it just shows what they already have. But, publicity shows us a perfect life that we want to have. And, it offers that life to us by purchasing their service or products.

3. Choose one of the “dreams” he offers or think of your own. How does this dream offered by advertising use imagery to manipulate consumers?

I chose the dream of a faraway place. This is a dream that both he offers and of mine. Since I was a kid, traveling around the world is one of my biggest dreams. Especially after the increase of my interactions with technology, I realized that this dream get bigger and bigger place in my heart. Travel agencies advertisements have a big role in this. Images of other countries have always very distinct colors and usually, everyone in those images looks so peaceful and happy. Noone shows a signal of a bad mood or difficulty which makes me feel like if I go to that place the only thing I feel will be happiness and peace.

Discussion Post #4

  1. Publicity influences consumers to buy products because producers know what type of status people want. Individuals who seek to have up to date trends, styles, and nice expensive materialistic things buy everything and anything they want to feel good. They are seen and represented as “glamorous”. While others envy them for what they have and who they are. As Berger describes people believe that if they use these products they have better lives. 
  2. These differences are important because it states a clear reality and fantasy. Oil paintings illustrated a person’s wealth and status in the moment of the painting regardless of how they consumed it. Whereas publicity illustrates a fantasy that everyone wishes to have. It’s not obtained by the consumer just yet but waiting to convey the consumers to purchase it. The only way of obtaining anything is with one important thing, money. This reveals that money is the only way one can obtain these products and once they do they can have the wealth. Money basically buys your happiness, your economic status, your wants and desires. People fear having nothing because then you are seen as nothing as well, faceless as Berger expresses. Anxiety spikes because of this fear. 
  3. Berger talks about 3 dreams, one of them being “The dream of later night”. He discusses how something so small can be the life of the party. Alcohol, cigarettes and other substances are what people look forward to when escaping from their daily lives. Berger expresses these substances as “it is you who will bring the greatest pleasure of all” People intentionally surround themselves around this to have a “good life” Advertising uses imagery to manipulate consumers into buying cigarettes and alcohol so they can see how wonderful it is to use these products when trying to relax and party with other individuals. These are escapes nothing else can give you. 

Discussion question #4

  1. According to Berger publicity persuade consumers to spend their money showing them people who have a way of life, a possession or something the consumer would like to have, the purpose of publicity is to convince the consumer that buying certain objects, or acquiring certain service will change their lives. The purpose of publicity is to make people spend money in things that would make them seem richer or feel happier than they really are, even though they are poorer because they spend money in that. Publicity makes people think they could be someone they are not just by buying things.

2. Berger argues that glamour is a new concept that didn’t exist for the aristocratic society because when you born into a predetermined social class, being impossible to overcome poverty the concept of personal envy is a less familiar emotion, so without social envy glamour can’t exist. Berger compare oil paintings and publicity saying that they “share many of the same ideals, all of them related to the principle that you are what you have. Their purpose and their effects, however, are very different”, oil paintings used to show the real life of the owner, showing his wealth and power, publicity is about a way of life that the viewer aspire to have, publicity shows how these possessions could even improve your relationship with people, from your sexual life to your relationship with your family.

3. Publicity plays with the viewer’s mind, making people believe that they are not enough to be enviable, but they can still achieve the dream. One of the dreams Berger talks about is “the dream of a faraway place” in these kind of publicity they show people being and acting so natural with people of other cultures, and in beautiful places so the people can question themselves and think that maybe a trip to somewhere else could change their lives or give meaning to it.