mattscape

TEACHING: "Practices of Looking" and Aberrant Reading

Random note related to my Visual Studies class.

On page 112 (Chapter 3, "Modernity: Spectatorship, Power and Knowledge") of Practices of Looking, Cartwright & Sturken discuss a GUESS ad from the 1990s [Figure 3.10]. This one:

  
 [download PDF file:Download Guess] 

They write:

"In this Guess fashion ad, the implied locale of a rice paddy and the use of an Asian model give ordinary women's clothing a peasant quality. Here the hats worn typically by workers in rice paddies in order to shield their faces from the sun are recorded as signifiers of exoticism. We are not intended to think that these women are actually performing the labor of working in the rice paddies; rather, the paddy offers an exotic location in which highly paid models and expensive clothing can be put on display" (112)

Although the interpretation seems to make sense, it actually misses the point by a mile. In fact, the authors did not realize that the advertisers were actually referencing a classic Italian film from the Neorealism era, Riso Amaro (Bitter Rice, 1949) directed by Giuseppe De Santis. The ad emulates and replicates the poses and attire of the actresses, Silvana Mangano in primis. The setting is the Po Valley, not China.

Here's a short, but poignant review of Riso Amaro: 

"This tale of city women who come to work in the rice fields of the Po Valley, is remembered mostly for the voluptuous Mangano in thigh-revealing shorts and torn nylons, her seductive head held high, standing in a rice paddy. The huge success of the steamy film and the 19-year-old actress, who married producer De Laurentiis the same year, paved the way for other Italian sexpots to join the international scene. Ostensibly a neo-realist exposé of the exploitation of women workers, the film, in reality, only exposes Mangano and exploits the subject." (Film 4)

 
 
 

Cartwright & Sturken's analysis is what Italian semitoician Umberto Eco would call "an aberrant interpretation" (or "aberrant decoding", "aberrant reading"). In the 1960s, Umberto Eco used the term 'aberrant decoding' to refer to a text which has been decoded by means of a different code from that used to encode it. You can find additionally information about the notion of 'aberrant reading" here. (I recommend this book as well)

Incidentally, in an endless game of floating signifiers and intertextuality on steroids, famed photographer Douglas Kirkland has recently paid homage to Riso Amaro and Italian classic cinema by replacing the original models with contemporary actresses and actors. 

You can see the result on his website. Here's an example: 

  

Actress Luisa Ranieri poses as Silvana Mangano in Kirkland's homage:

 
  

Disclaimer: This is not intended as a criticism of "Practices of Looking". It is one of the best resources available on the market to understand Visual Culture. My point is that there are so many layers of meaning in the images that we consume on a daily basis and, in a postmodern age, intertextuality has become the standard way of encoding. Thus, the process of decoding should not be taken lightly. 

PRINTED MATTER: District 9 & Inglorious Basterds [Duellanti]

Le mie ultime recensioni cinematografiche su Duellanti

"In Bastardi senza gloria ogni conversazione è un interrogatorio. L’interesse è sostituito dall’intimidazione, perché qui il bluff e l’affondo hanno implicazioni esistenziali e non puramente ludiche. La strategia della tensione conferisce pathos a ogni scena, senza tuttavia ingenerare alcuna forma di empatia nei confronti di personaggi a una dimensione e mezza - e infatti si degenera allegramente nel bathos. Siamo ai livelli sfrenati e sfrontati di Le iene, in cui la gravitas di ogni battuta contrasta con l’apparente banalità degli interscambi. Mitragliate ad altezza uomo di tocchi di classe (dal tema dei latticini, che il sublime Hans Landa sviluppa per tutto il film e che culmina con l’ordine della panna fresca nel ristorante parigino per Shosanna, fino al film nel film, lo sniper porn di L’orgoglio della nazione che ipostatizza Ejzenštejn, Call of Duty e Pure Ownage): possiamo tranquillamente affermare che ci troviamo di fronte allo zenith tarantiniano e il regista si autocelebra, complice Aldo Raine con un excipit fulminante («Penso che questo potrebbe essere il mio capolavoro»)." (leggi il testo completo)

"District 9 è la storia di uno sfratto. A vent’anni di distanza dal primo contatto, i gamberoni stanno per essere dirottati in un’altra zona con filo spinato elettrizzato e baracche di latta situata a venti chilometri dai negozi del centro. Il trasferimento presuppone il consenso degli interessati, ma la prassi è pro forma e serve solo a tranquillizzare i fastidiosi osservatori internazionali e gli intellettuali sinistrorsi. In questo ambizioso mix di fantascienza, mockumentary e allegoria sociale, il regista mette in scena il nostro presente distopico, alternando efficacemente cornici e punti di vista (dagli accademici che contestualizzano la vicenda a uso e consumo degli spettatori al protagonista che la vive in prima persona)." (Leggi il testo completo)

PRINTED MATTER: Rolling Stone November 2009

 The November 2009 issue of Rolling Stone Italy features my story on Nikeplus. If you follow my other blog, mbftoday, you know by now that I am slightly obsessed by Nike's social network, which embodies the very idea, or rather, imperative, of personal tracking. Titled "Correre per (R)esistere" (Running to (R)exist/esist) the article is actually an excerpt from a longer essay that will appear in a soon-to-be-released book edited by Rolling Stone Editor-in-Chief, Carlo Antonelli (ISBN). Background info: the article/essay was inspired by this accident. Stay tuned for more info. 

Click on the thumbnail to read the article:

   
 
 

PRINTED MATTER: Girl Talk on WIRED 11.09

  Photo: courtesy of Josh Bis (Stereogum)

Not too long ago I had the chance to chat with one of my all-time heroes, Girl Talk. That conversation became an article for WIRED magazine. This one:

 
     
 
 
By the way, here are a couple of clips from his amazing performance at Treasure Island Festival last Saturday in San Francisco. 

PRINTED MATTER: Pacific Standard Time #2 [Duellanti October 2009]

 

 "Pacific Standard Time (PST) aka Pacific Time Zone runs down the Pacific Coast of Canada and the United States of America.  It is sometimes referred to as Pacific Coast Time or West Coast Time.  It includes the cities of Seattle WA, San Francisco CA, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA &  Las Vegas NV" (source)

The second installment of my new column for Duellanti magazine, Pacific Standard Time, has been published (October 2009, issue #56) and it is now available for public consumption/contempt. This month I talk about my love for American coffee houses. Inevitably, I build my pro-cafe' rant on Ray Oldernburg's The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community (1989) - not a simple book, a true manifesto.

The great paradox of Italy is that the country has  great caffeine, but lacks a modern coffee culture. I personally regard the lack of coffee houses troubling: drinking an espresso at the bar, in a gulp, standing up like an idiot while people behind you are pushing to reach the sugar container is simply barbaric. It's not just a matter of style: coffee houses are the cradle of democracy. I have argued elsewhere that phenomena such as the rise of Fascism and Neo-Fascism in Italy (Berlusconi included) can be directly linked with the absence of "third places" such as coffee houses.

As we all know, third places satisfy fundamental human needs. Like home (a first place) and the workplace (a second place), they provide a sense of community, relaxation, and soft performance. Oldenburg persuasively argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place - particularly important in an age of online, disembodied interactions. The lack of a strong sense of community and civic engagement in Italy can be related to the absence of third places like the coffee house. After all, third places are "anchors" of community life. They facilitate/foster broader, more creative interplay.

What are the hallmarks of a third place such as a coffee house? Free or inexpensive; food and drink, while not essential, are important; highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance); involve regulars – those who habitually congregate there; welcoming and comfortable; both new friends and old should be found there; allow activities that are both public and private, individual (eg, reading or writing) and collective (eg playing, talking etc). It comes as no surprise that companies such as Sony and Starbucks have claimed 'ownership' of "third places" in order to sell their brands and products. Their success rate, incidentally, is impressive.

Coffee houses embody the very notion of the third place, although for many, including myself, they often operate as first or second places: for instance, I'd rather meet my friends here than in my flat (unless the goal of the convivium is media-based - eg movie watching, game playing). Coffee houses are also my preferred place to work: they function as an alternative to my office. Ironically, the background noise/soundtrack and constant movement allow me to concentrate more/better than in my quiet office. It may be a special case of the Hawthorne's effect, "a form of reactivity whereby subjects improve an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they are being studied". My particular interpretation of the Hawthorne effect is related to one's performance in a public space: the assumption is that since I'm working (= reading, writing, correcting my students' papers etc.) under the (in)direct scrutiny of others, I feel more compelled to "be productive" and less willing to procrastinate. It's a basic psychological mechanism and it works for me even though I'm perfectly aware of the fact that nobody cares about what I am actually doing.

What I also like about coffee houses is the fact that they represent self-contained microworlds - I could spend hours just gazing at the people that enter and exit these spaces. The objects that define their sense of identity, from laptops to iPhones, from books to board games. These spaces encourage daydreaming and a peculiar form of sedentary flaneurism. They are stress-free: you're free to indulge in your own thoughts as much as you want to. Engage in conversations. Or be detached. Write a blog entry, such as this one, on your netbook. There are not stupid TV screens broadcasting Big Brothers' propaganda 24/7. There are no obnoxious deejays and commercials blasting through the speakers. You don't have to pay an extra fee just to sit at the table (another Italian custom that I find unacceptable, discriminatory, and archaic). The coffee house operates as a small library, art gallery, and memory palace.

Did I mention that there is basically no Wi-Fi in Italian bars? Tragic.

The lack of coffee houses in Italy led me to provocatively suggest that only a massive corporation like Starbucks could change the rules of the game (the social norms, habits, and expectations related to the consumption on caffeine in public). Only a 600-pound gorilla could redefine a nation's behavior. As much as I dislike Starbucks (I hear you, Naomi), I believe that Schultz' company could definitely teach the Belpaese one thing or two about coffee: designing place that encourage social interaction, places that provide a relaxed atmosphere and allow for activities that are both productive and entertaining. Sure, Venti Lattes are outrageously expensive, but so are 15 euro cocktail drinks in "trendy" bars for that matter...

Click on the thumbnails to read the story:

   

Link: Duellanti magazine

Link: Pacific Standard Time #1

INTERVIEW: Lorenzo Antonelli (NextGame.it)

Intervista semiseria (e "ritoccata") con Lorenzo Antonelli di NextGame.it.

La conversazione ha avuto luogo a Milano, presso IULM, il 9 ottobre 2009, nel corso della seconda edizione dell'Italian Videogame Developer Conference. Ho diversi testimoni, tra cui Andrea Babich e Andrea Maderna. Un passaggio pregnante: 

Next Level: Niente, non importa. Piuttosto dimmi, fa ancora tendenza bere il Fernet Branca a San Francisco, o le più moderne alchimie alcoliche hanno ridefinito un nuovo trend di lifestyle degustativo? 

Matteo Bittanti: Solitamente si pensa che il tempo scorra in maniera lineare per tutti. Viaggiando per il mondo, però, ho scoperto che esistono dei paradossi temporali per i quali ciò che era buono o modaiolo per le nonne degli anni sessanta torna ad imporsi oggi con forza più che mai travolgente. Il Fernet Branca è ancora uno dei punti fermi della "mixology" di San Francisco. Ordinare (e bere) oggi un Fernet Branca a San Francisco è trendy, il top trend. Se tu entri in un locale e ordini un Fernet Branca, pronunciando il nome correttamente (non come gli americani che non sanno dirlo e bofonchiano F-rnit Brecnhiei), ti portano rispetto. Ne deriva un semplice corollario: se bevi Fernet Branca, il tuo game score incrementa automaticamente di dieci punti. Detto questo, vorrei precisare che "la cultura e la struttura sociale non sono altro che diverse astrazioni dello stesso fenomeno"("Per una cultura dei videogames, Teorie e prassi del videogiocare", Edizioni Unicopli, 2002). 

L'intervista completa e' accessibile qui.

INTERVIEW: Andrea Peduzzi (IVGC & Wings of Magic)

 
Chiacchierata sullo stato dei videogame con Andrea Peduzzi e Filippo Zanoli. L'intervista ha avuto luogo a Milano, presso IULM, il 9 ottobre 2009, nel corso della seconda edizione dell'Italian Videogame Developer Conference. Un passaggio:

"Andrea Peduzzi: Nel corso delle tue conferenze (e attraverso i tuoi lavori) emerge spesso la figura del cosiddetto “umanista digitale”, ruolo ibrido, talvolta scomodo, che si è venuto a tracciare nel momento in cui i nuovi media (e nella fattispecie i videogiochi) sono passati dalla fase sperimentale/tecnologica alla generazione di un linguaggio vero e proprio, similmente a quando la radio (ad esempio) è passata dalle mani dei radioamatori ai primi disc jockey; da contenitore a contenuto, insomma. Cosa ne pensi?

Matteo Bittanti: In realtà è tutta una mera questione di prospettiva: si tratta come spesso capita di scegliere se voler vedere il bicchiere mezzo pieno o mezzo vuoto. La capacità di essere umanisti e saper dialogare con i nuovi media, magari senza conoscerne nel dettaglio la parte tecnica, non è certo una debolezza, ma semmai un imprescindibile punto di forza. Bisogna sforzarsi sempre di comprendere tutti i contesti per poter mettere a fuoco le cose, è l’unico modo che abbiamo per vivere nel paradigma digitale e crossmediale contemporaneo. Il fenomeno dei Blog, ad esempio, nasce con le moderne tecnologie e se ne nutre costantemente, eppure i suoi contenuti si generano con la vecchia scrittura (seppur mutata). Il nostro mondo ormai è completamente ibridato, e l’unico modo per adattarvisi è quello di trascendere i comparti stagni. Tra una decina d’anni il punto di vista dell’intellettuale digitale sarà l’unico possibile per percepire una realtà sempre più proteiforme. Non più solo scienziati, dunque, e non più solo umanisti: è l’unica chiave di lettura possibile."

L'intervista completa e' accessibile qui.

EVENT: Italian Videogame Developers Conference 2009, my presentation

Organized by AIOMI and IULM University, the second edition of the Italian Game Developer Conference (IVDC) took place on October 8th and 9th in Milan, Italy. 

 
Image: courtesy of AIOMI 

The event was a blast: kudos to all the people that made it possible - especially my mentor, action figure, and role model Gianni Canova. 

 
 Image: courtesy of AIOMI 

After a decade of missed opportunities, false starts, and repeated failures, the Italian game development sector today stands a chance to reach the next level. The game scene is finally taking off, for a variety of reasons that include, in random order, the rise of professional game design programs at college level; the emergence of new platforms (e.g. the iPhone); new delivery channels (e.g. DSWare, XBLA, PSN) that require lower investments; the return of bedroom coding (almost a corollary), new development suites (XNA, Kodu etc.); coordinated efforts between all the various players (AIOMI, AESVI, IVDC etc.) and, above all, a generation of young bright kids that are growing up in the most creative time in human history. These kids are going to create compelling, original, and innovative content. In spite of the recession. In spite of the brain drain. In spite of everything. No, really. 

In short, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of Italian game design.

Here's my brief presentation: just click "play":

Link: My presentation on Multiplayer.it

Link: Full coverage on Multiplayer.it

TEACHING: CCA Fall 2009: Eye Openers Mid-Term Project: Create a Self-Portrait

Here's a short presentation I made for my students at CCA: a few ideas for creating a visual culture self-portrait. The brief:

"This self-portrait should include aspects of visual culture (artworks, images, advertisements, objects, places, spaces) that you find compelling, exciting, frustrating or provocative – aspects of visual culture that you feel helps inform and constitute your sense of identity. This self-portrait can take the form of a collage, book, song, poem, webpage, video, infographics, or whatever else you can create and present in class."

I'm sharing it because I think that it may be useful for all the students out there working on similar projects. Just press play - you can also watch it in full screen by clicking the "x" button located at the bottom right of the frame. 

   

EVENT: Italian Game Developer Conference (Milan, October 8-9, 2009)

 
 

I'm happy to announce that I will be in Milan shortly to give a talk at the Second Italian Game Developer Conference, which takes place at my alma mater, IULM University on October 8th and 9th. The title of my speech is: Don’t ask what game design can do for your university. Ask instead what your university can (and must) do for game design, followed by a round table on the complex relationship between academia and game design. Additional details about the event can be found here.

Check out the full schedule.

Last but not least: Video Game History, an exhibition on the culture of gaming, which took place on October 3rd and 4th in Monza, Italy.