During today’s class, you will have some time to continue transforming your think piece essay into a speakable script for your podcast. Instructions are included below from the assignment sheet.

Structure: Create a new document and copy-and-paste your think piece into it. During class, we will work together to turn your essay into a podcast script. Key components to add: an introduction for yourself, your podcast series, and your podcast episode; pauses and bridges; and an outro to close your podcast episode. All references need to be incorporated into what you say. Background or bridge music is encouraged, but not required due to the limitations of time. If you choose to use music, it must be music that you own or have the rights to (such as OpenMusic, https://musopen.org, Free Music Archive, http://freemusicarchive.org, or Creative Commons Search, https://search.creativecommons.org but note license terms, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ and issues of fair use, http://fairuse.stanford.edu). (in-class on Feb. 25)

Using your script, you will record your podcast speech and save any sound effects or background music that you might want to use. Bring these things to class on Tuesday. Have all of this easily accessible from your flash drive/email/cloud-based storage so that we can work on these during class. If you want to work ahead, please do so. During class, you can fine tune your own work or help others in class.

During the first ten minutes of class on Thursday, write a summary of your reading of the “Hyperreading and Hyperwriting” chapter from Jones and Hafner. Incorporate your own experiences and observations in your summary. Copy-and-paste your summary memo into a comment made to this blog post.

Copy-and-paste your planning memo into a comment made to this blog post. We will continue with the podcast project during class today when we listen to samples of your think piece recordings.

Updated thinkpiece: Think Piece for Final Portfolio

In recent months, the African American community has been outraged by the many ways their culture and history have been shamed and mimicked in mainstream media. From Rachel Dolezal’s portrayal of “Blackness”, the creation of bantu knots being credited to Marc Jacobs as “twisted mini buns”, cornrows going from unprofessional to edgy, and the twist out being coined as a “rope trick”, many are taking to social media to express their absolute disgust at the colonization or appropriation of Black culture.

Appropriation, as defined by teen actress Amandla Stenberg “occurs when a style leads to racist generalizations or stereotypes where it originated but is deemed as high fashion, cool or funny when the privileged take it for themselves. Appropriation occurs when the appropriator is not aware of the deep significance of the culture they are partaking in.”

There is a fine line between appropriating and appreciating Black culture and that line is crossed and often ignored.

Why the Uproar?

To many this may seem like a trivial but to those that are on the receiving end of appropriation, this is disrespectful. A common claim is that appropriation pushes the unspoken feeling that as African Americans, the things that are a part of our culture are more acceptable when used by others.

When Allure magazine offered advice on how to achieve a “loose Afro”, it was not received well when two years before a 12-year-old Florida student faced expulsion for what was described as “distracting” hair. Why is it that what is natural to a group of people is penalized but acceptable when replicated?

We Need a Resolution

To say there is an issue to cultural appropriation is to say that there is an end to cultural fusion. The community is not asking to have ownership over the many things that make them who they are. All that is being requested is the ability to have the pieces of their lifestyle appreciated. I’ll end with the words of Stenberg because they summarize the situation perfectly,

“What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?”

Works Cited

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. “Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation.” Time. Time, 25 Aug. 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Sehgal, Parul. “Is Cultural Appropriation Always Wrong?” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Sept. 2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Stenberg, Amandla. “Don’t Cash Crop On My Cornrows Transcript.” LYBIOnet. LYBIOnet. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

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Reflection

For this piece, I was determined to shed light on an issue that I take personally. The problem of cultural appropriation is one that is so dominant because many do not see it as an issue worth acknowledging. It has become a hindrance in main stream media, as many talented artists and performers are being excluded because their individuality is being colonized as an “edgy” gimmick.Particularly with the #OscarsSoWhite controvesy and #CosmoHeadlines that have been rampant on Twitter and Facebook, it is hard to ignore something that frustrating.

There are some changes I would like to adjust, such as adding quotations and making the piece a little less personal.

As a novice blogger, I understand the importance of respecting culture and giving credit when due. My hope is that this piece is the continuation of a dialogue that affects many.

I have updated the project. This document contains the latest version.

Video Games Struggle on Violence Thinkpiece

 

Old Version

The creation of the Nintendo Entertainment System spawned the belief that video games were toys targeted towards children. However as the video game industry grew, so did its audience. Games were not only being marketed to young children, but young adults. As a result, extremely violent video games such as Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto were created. Both video games were infamous for the controversy they generated, particularly Mortal Kombat as it was one of the first video games to have sparked the debate of video games causing children to commit violent acts.

Mortal Kombat, a fighting game inspired by the rated R action film Bloodsport, was placed in arcades in 1992. However what attracted audiences was not it’s gameplay, but its blood and gore. Mortal Kombat featured secret finishing moves called fatalities that gave players the ability to decapitate and burn opponents alive among others. Because most arcades contain no age restrictions, parents, politicians, and the media reacted negatively to this as they believed children would emulate Mortal Kombat’s violence after playing.

According to BBC News, This backlash led to a court case in 1993 where Former Chief of staff Joe Lieberman vowed to have a rating system for video games to be created. Lieberman was successful as The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was introduced within five months; its first act was to give Mortal Kombat an M rating, making it illegal for those who are underage to purchase the game.

The ESRB would take action once again against Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (GTASA) for its controversial “hot coffee” mod in 2005. Originally programmed to be locked away, “hot coffee” was a scene that featured two characters having intercourse. Despite being made inaccessible, it was discovered and programmed back into all versions of the game by modders. The ESRB recalled all versions of GTASA after it was found and changed its rating from M for mature to A for adults.

Despite this, GTASA, or rather all GTA video games, were more notorious for having the ability to murder innocent civilians and police officers while being depicted as a criminal. According to Doug Gross of CNN, GTA “inherited the mantle of violent game poster child from ‘Mortal Kombat’” due to it being more realistic in its violence and setting. Multiple court cases soon followed the games releases, however the first recorded case was in 2003 where Rockstar was sued by the family of two victims who were shot. They believed GTA was the main reason as to why their loved ones were murdered in the first place.

GTA and Mortal Kombat would cause researchers to study the effects violent video games have on children who play it. A report from the American Psychological Association (APA) examined 150 different studies in 2015 and concluded that video games may lead to increased aggression, but not to the point of committing crimes. As reported by Michael Casey of CBS News, ‘[s]cientists have investigated the use of violent video games for more than two decades but to date, there is very limited research addressing whether violent video games cause people to commit acts of criminal violence.’

However a more recent study that was first conducted in 1991, found that video games may lead to depression and conduct disorder. More than 4,000 adolescents over the course of their lives participated, among those, approximately 1,800 were effected. However the study states that this was mainly found in children who played shoot-em-ups, namely Doom.

Although the risk of acquiring depression and conduct disorder is low, there are many other factors that may increase or decrease the chance of it occurring. Despite the fact that violent video games still receive negative criticisms for their violence, the industry continues to be successful in spite of the accusations.

Works Cited

Casey, Michael. “Do Violent Video Games Lead to Criminal Behavior?” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

Crossley, Rob. “Mortal Kombat: Violent Game That Changed Video Games Industry.” BBC News. 2 June 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

“ESRB Concludes Investigation into Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas; Revokes M (Mature) Rating.” ESRB. 20 July 2005. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

Etchells, Peter J. “Prospective Investigation of Video Game Use in Children and                                 Subsequent Conduct Disorder and Depression Using Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.” PLOS ONE:. 28 Jan. 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

Gross, Doug. “10 Most Controversial Violent Video Games – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

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Reflection

This blog post was written for those who have played video games (mainly the more violent ones), and are interested in learning about its past. I assumed the audience would know key terms such as ESRB and modders as they were not clearly defined. However, video games that were discussed throughout the post, such as Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto, were described in detail.

Because this was placed as a blog post on the internet, I attempted to make paragraphs shorter for the audiences viewing pleasure. Not only is it easier to see on computer screens and seem less intimating, but the purpose of each paragraph was made clearer so that the point gets across. Also the introduction was created in a way that summarizes what the entire post is about. I believe it may be enough of a taste to warrant them reading the entire post.

This blog post also brings to light two different studies that researched the possible effects video games have on children. Although it does not go into an in-depth analysis on the reports, I believe it peaks the readers’ interest enough to motivate them to investigate more on the debate of video game violence during their own leisure.

Overall, this blog post should help gamers kick start their exploration on video game controversies, and history. It may also cause them to play older titles such as Doom and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas while spreading the word about them around to their friends.

 

During the first ten minutes of class, create a new document in your word processor of choice, and format it as a memo with the subject taken from the title of this blog post. In the memo’s body, write a summary of your reading from chapter two from Understanding Digital Literacies. Save your work and copy-and-paste it into a comment to this blog post. Afterwards, we will discuss the reading in greater depth.

Updated Think Piece:

YouTube vs. Content Creators

YouTube does not help its content creators, the people who made the site what it is today.

Content ID is an automated system that only searches for material that has been submitted by rights holders and issues copyright strikes against channels. However, YouTube does not verify any copyright claims, they simply give channels strikes with any information or notification.

Content ID has been causing issues for content creators on YouTube since its implementation. In an article for Electronic Frontier Foundation, Amul Kalia said: “The problems with Content ID have always been in the news over the years, but lately have become more common, even comically so.”

Un-fair Use

Many creators are having their videos taken down and losing their monetization, which many of these creators rely on, because of copyright strikes. The Content ID system is there to defend YouTube against lawsuits, but at the expense of content creators, as it affects them on a large scale. A few examples of these are the Nostalgia Critic’s and I Hate Everything’s channels who were given false strikes for using footage of movies they were reviewing.

According to Stanford University, “Most fair use analysis falls into two categories: (1) commentary and criticism, or (2) parody.”

Then, by definition, the videos by these channels fall under fair use. However, YouTube allows these videos to be taken down regardless and those who make the claims will suffer no penalty for false claims. The channel, however, will still lose its privileges.

YouTube Support? Ha!

Now, this wouldn’t be an issue if YouTube offered better support that what it currently does. Various channels, such as Your Movie Sucks, and A Dose of Buckley, have made videos on this situation regarding fair use and explaining in detail about the process they go through.

YouTube has a three strikes clause, if a channel has three videos taken down the channel is deleted, regardless of the legitimacy of any claim. If a channel does have a strike, the only help they receive are automated emails and no other means of contacting YouTube; there is no human interaction of any kind.

Creators can, however, issue a counter claim, but must do it in 200 characters or less and attach their contact information in case the rights holder decides to sue them. On top of this, channels can only counter three claims at a time, even if they have over three videos with claims and if they decide to counter three at once and they all come back with takedowns, the channel will be deleted.

In 2013, YouTube issued a statement, which people assumed would be notification of them doing something to rectify the Content ID issue, but YouTube simply defended the program.

As a response to YouTube’s statement made that year, in an article for Kotaku.com, Stephen Totillo said “You won’t see an apology here. You won’t see a change in policy. You’ll see support for the Content ID system that’s been more broadly unleashed on the reviews, features, Let’s Plays and other video pieces created by YouTubers and watched by millions of gamers.”

If anything, YouTube has only allowed for this system to be abused by rights holders.

Community to the Rescue!

Until something is established to defend creators, the YouTube community is doing their best to be active and vocal about the issue in order to help their favorite channels. However, these are channels with thousands or millions of subscribers, smaller channels will have virtually no defense.

Just recently, the Nostalgia Critic uploaded a video regarding the fair use issue on YouTube, where he created, #WTFU. Many other channels have been using that hashtag to be vocal about the struggles they are going through. As for some reason, the system has been issuing strikes much more frequently as of late.

Sooner or later, another website will come along, one that actively defends its user base and YouTube will simply be forgotten.

Works Cited

Kalia, Amul. “Congrats on the 10-Year Anniversary YouTube, Now Please Fix Content ID.” Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Perez, Sarah. “YouTube Says It Will Offer Legal Protection Of Up To $1 Million For Select Video Creators Facing DMCA Takedowns.” TechCrunch. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Stim, Rich. “What Is Fair Use?” Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center What Is Fair Use Comments. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Totillo, Stephen. “Here’s YouTube’s Reply To Angry YouTubers About This Content ID Mess.” Kotaku. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

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Original Think Piece:

YouTube vs. Content Creators

YouTube does not help its content creators, the people who made the site what it is today.

Content ID is an automated system that searches for copyrighted material that has been submitted by rights holders and issues copyright strikes against channels. However, YouTube does not verify any copyright strikes.

YouTube simply gives channels strikes with no information or any notification. The system is there to defend YouTube against lawsuits, but at the expense of content creators.

In an article for Electronic Frontier Foundation, Amul Kalia said “The problems with Content ID have always been in the news over the years, but lately have become more common, even comically so.” Content ID has been causing issues for content creators on YouTube since its implementation, mostly in regards to fair use violations.

Un-fair Use

Many videos are being taken down, losing their monetization, which many of these creators rely on, because of copyright strikes. A few examples of these are the Nostalgia Critic’s and I Hate Everything’s channels who were given strikes for using footage of movies they were reviewing. This is affecting various content creators on YouTube on a large scale.

According to Stanford University, “Most fair use analysis falls into two categories: (1) commentary and criticism, or (2) parody.”

By definition, the videos by these channels fall under fair use. However, YouTube allows for these videos to be taken down and those who make the claims will suffer no penalty for false claims; the channel will still lose its privileges however.

YouTube Support? Ha!

Now, this wouldn’t be an issue if YouTube offered better support that what it currently does. Various channels, such as Your Movie Sucks and A Dose of Buckley, have made videos on this situation regarding fair use and explaining in detail about the process they go through.

The only help they receive are automated emails and no other means of contacting YouTube; there is no human interaction of any kind.  They can however, issue a counter claiming but, must do it in 250 characters or less and the rights holder can now legally sue them. Channels can only counter three claims at a time and if all three are not resolved, the channel will be deleted, meanwhile their videos cannot be monetized.

In 2013, YouTube issued a statement, which people assumed would be notification of them doing something to rectify the Content ID issue, instead YouTube defended the program and that was all.

In an article for Kotaku.com, Stephen Totillo said “You won’t see an apology here. You won’t see a change in policy. You’ll see support for the Content ID system that’s been more broadly unleashed on the reviews, features, Let’s Plays and other video pieces created by YouTubers and watched by millions of gamers,” as a response to YouTube’s statement made that year.

If anything, YouTube has only allowed for this system to be abused by rights holders.

Community to the Rescue!

Creators can resolve the claims themselves but cannot do anything about the larger issue. Thankfully, their fan bases and the YouTube community are very active and vocal about this Content ID system and can push to help the channels.

However, these are channels with a huge following who are willing to help. Smaller channels or those who just starting up will have virtually no defense. Especially against the powerful corporations who file these copyright claims.

YouTube issued another response in 2015, stating they will help certain channels with false claims, however, this would only apply to big name channels and only those situated in the U.S. Again, leaving the little channels to fend for themselves.

Right now, content creators and the community are doing as much as they can to fight against the Content ID system and the website that has turned its back against them. As for some reason, the system has been issuing these strikes much more frequently as of late.

Sooner or later, another website will come along, one that actively defends its user base and YouTube will simply be forgotten.

Works Cited

Kalia, Amul. “Congrats on the 10-Year Anniversary YouTube, Now Please Fix Content ID.”                         Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Perez, Sarah. “YouTube Says It Will Offer Legal Protection Of Up To $1 Million For Select Video               Creators Facing DMCA Takedowns.” TechCrunch. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Stim, Rich. “What Is Fair Use?” Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center What Is Fair Use                             Comments. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Totillo, Stephen. “Here’s YouTube’s Reply To Angry YouTubers About This Content ID Mess.”                   Kotaku. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

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Reflection

For this think piece, my goal was to reach those who have no idea of the situation on YouTube right now. The issue here is of a much larger scale than simply on YouTube, however, I decided to focus solely on YouTube as I have seen many YouTubers I watch go through this problem with Content ID and fair use law. The only way to combat what is going on YouTube and the issue of creators having their content removed from the web is by being vocal about it and fighting against it. Maybe this can spark someone to get involved and help out these creators.

I can definitely see how blogging can be a useful way of bringing certain issues to the attention of others. Blogging can let us have a chance to get our word across, something that would be much more difficult if you spread it through word of mouth or letters. This is a much more accessible medium. Of course, you would need to build a credible foundation in order to gain a legitimate following.

I went about creating this think piece by focusing mostly on the limitations, as this would shape how much I would be able to write. I did the works cited page first and framed the piece around that. One thing I noticed was how the piece shifted as I wrote it, the initial concept wasn’t what it is now, it went from having no idea, to developing and executing one.

After you have had a chance to read over and revise your think piece draft (submitted as a comment to the Project 1, Execute blog post), you are ready to complete the assignment and create a blog post, which can be incorporated later into your portfolio. Follow the directions below from the assignment sheet to create your blog post on our OpenLab site before class on Thursday, Feb 18.

Archiving: Create a blog post on our OpenLab site with a catchy and engaging title with your byline. For example: Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum by Julius Caesar. In the body of your blog post, copy and paste your completed think piece essay from the previous module. Confirm that it is formatted correctly and it has a Works Cited list at the bottom with MLA formatted bibliographic entries for your quoted sources. Following your essay and works cited list, enter a horizontal line (from the tool palette). Then, write a 250-word reflection on how you wrote your think piece, the audiences that you are attempting to reach, and how the medium of online writing (blogging) shaped the way you wrote your think piece. Publish your blog post to complete the assignment. (due on Feb. 18)

During today’s class, you will execute the writing of your think piece. Of course, you have done much of the heavy lifting needed to write your think piece quickly through the previous modules. Follow the directions below, save your work on your own media, and copy-and-paste your writing into a comment of this blog post. The version of your think piece that you write today can be considered a draft, which you revise before archiving in the final step.

Execution: Copy and paste your outline into a new document. Working through your outline, elaborate on each point so that each paragraph develops your think piece’s narrative of exploring, working out, or understanding the issue better. As you do this, you can delete your outline’s headings so that the further you progress, your think piece will look more like an essay emerging from your notes. When you encounter a quote, explain it and engage it into your discussion. Make sure that you cite it and move the bibliographic info to a new “Works Cited” list that you create at the end of this document. As you progress, always think about how to transition from one paragraph to the next so that your narrative flows from point to point, paragraph to paragraph. Share this document with someone in class to read and provide you with written feedback. Aim as close as possible to 750 words inclusive of your works cited. (in-class on Feb. 16)