Tuesday 24 September 2013

POSITIVE SIDES OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

This document is a TV advertisement, released in 2013 by Apple.
 Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is an American multinational corporation situated in California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. The company was founded on April 1st, 1976, and incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3rd, 1977. The word "Computer" was removed from its name on January 9th, 2007, the same day Steve Jobs was introducing the iPhone. Apple is the world's second-largest information technology company by revenue after Samsung Electronics.

This ad introduces the new Iphone 5 and more particularly the Iphone application "FaceTime". It tackles the issue of keeping in touch with the ones you miss when they are away.

This video is made up of a succession of different (2 seconds) shots like the long shot of the father and his two sons on the beach at the beginning of the video or the medium long shot of the man and his dog with the sunset in the background. This kind of editing is very interesting because it gives us the impression that each person is linked to another in the video. It looks as if that they are speaking together even if they don't speak the same language - we can hear a Chinese woman saying "Ni hao." ("Hello.") and another German woman in her house garden whereas most of people in the video speak English - and even if they don't come from the same country (we can make out different types of places : we can notice Tokyo Bay in the background [00:36] or an airport [00:45] ). Besides with this application the two "speakers" can see each other which can be useful for mute people communicating through sign language [00:20]. You can also share your activities with friends and make them take part in what you are doing, at 00:23 a woman is visiting a house and asks the other "FaceTime" user :"Do you think you like it?". Moreover, Apple aims to make this "App" accessible to each and every one because even the little boy [00:43] is able to use it, he is cute because he is giving a kiss through the Iphone. At 00:49 we can see the layout of the application : in the top right-hand corner there is a little rectangle where you can have an outline of what you're shooting while in the middle of the screen you can watch what your friend is filming, then in the bottom left-hand corner there is a micro, it means that you can turn off your micro during the conversation, next to this icon there is another to end the phone call whenever you want, you can easily change the front camera for the one at the back of the Iphone thanks to the icon in the bottom right-hand corner. On the whole Apple wants to make people feel concerned about the progress of new technologies and thus getting more and more consumers : "Every day more people connect face to face on the Iphone, then any other phone" asserts the voice-over.

This video is carefully thought-out and well-edited. We never get bored during the video because it is short and there is a background music from the beginning to the end while the shots fade into the others fluently, the message is clear and summed up : the world "Iphone" and the Apple logo appear in the middle of the image at the end of the video. I find this ad really efficient and convincing! However it only shows the good side of this application (which is normal in advertising, they want to sell their products), indeed, they don't mention how it is difficult to be away from the ones you love, they prefer showing people laughing like the little girl sitting on a sofa [00:09]...

Nowadays, New Technologies enable us to access almost whatever we want. "FaceTime" is an example among many. In fact there are many social networks, free softwares (Skype), applications (Whatsapp) which give you the opportunity to communicate with the whole world. In my opinion, these different means have become essential to keep in touch with your friends or family and moreover to improve the international friendship.

Saturday 14 September 2013

WHEN TECHNOLOGY IS TOO MUCH OR... MISSING

 

WHEN TECHNOLOGY IS TOO MUCH

Description:

 This video is structured around two main narrative voices and a character illustrating what the voice-over says while a singer often merely (= simply) repeats what's just been said.
The setting is a christian home and church, so this particular context is particulary meaningful.
We can notice on various occasions that the main character is addicted to high-tech products, mostly smartphones.
He is shown as a family man unable to interact (= communicate) with his wife except through texting.
He is also shown as a church-goer incapable of attending worship without all his phones vibrating all the time, making him look like he's full of the holy spirit.
Finally, he is depicted as a computer geek/guru whose life has become extremely complicated instead of having been simplified.

Interpretation:

Basically, this video means that high technology has become a religion for many people, even christians who are not supposed to be materialistic.
Then, in a christian lifestyle, quite a few church-goers and believers tend to focus more on materialistic issues than on spiritual ones.
We can add that the technology reigns supreme for many people who venerate (= revere) is as a God enlightening his followers.
The question is : is this real progress for humankind?

 

WHEN TECHNOLOGY IS... MISSING

Description:

Two people are stuck on an escalator in a place that seems literally empty (= deserted).
The man looks upset (= annoyed). He might be an office worker walking to his job.
The woman claims that she's already late, so for her this is the last straw (that breaks the camel's back).
At one point, she's about to cry and asks (= begs) for a phone. She yells (= screams) for help.
In short, the two of them look helpless/ clueless/ powerless/ even hopeless.

Interpretation:

We can relate this situation to a fairly common one in real life : getting stuck in/on an elevator.
The difference is that in this situation, people have the right to feel panicky (= panic/ freak out) whereas on an escalator, there is no reason (whatsover at all) to panic (= be scared).
The video points out the increasing reliance (= dependance) of human beings on technology. If it goes missing, it is as if a crutch had been taken away, so these two people cannot even climb (= walk up) the escalator, which would be the normal thing to do. We could also think that technological progress makes humans lazy or at least less prone to (= inclined to) take initiatives/think by themselves.


Thursday 5 September 2013

"THE FANATIC GEEK" BY CHAPATTE

                                                                                       This cartoon is taken from International Herald Tribune

We don't know exactly when this cartoon was published but at first sight, it's obvious it was during the Festival de Cannes event. This document raises the controversial issue of illegal downloading.

What catches my eye first is the Festival de Cannes logo in the top left-hand corner but also the woman, dressed in a golden outfits, next to the actor or director... Actually the main character is signing an autograph to a fan. Behind them, in the background, we can make out a crowd of people and photographers shooting the stars on the red carpet.
This document is made up of a drawing and we can read what the "geek" teenager is saying to his idol.

In fact the cartoonist aims to criticize illegal downloading.
On the whole, I think that the cartoonist wants to denounce the increasing prices in the Cinema Industry but at the same time he blames the ones who pirate films because these are also reponsible for the increasing prices of DVDs.

In my opinion, I find this document well-designed and effective and I think it's thanks to the cartoonist's humour. This cartoon is clever enough to influence the readers but at the same time there is nothing to approve at all because each and every one can give their own opinion. Needless to say that document is linked to The Idea Of Progress

There is so much to do with laws against illegal downloading but is it worse than stealing a DVD in a supermarket? What's your point of view?