Annotated Bibliography

Dockterman, Eliana. "Felicia Day Writes About #Gamergate, Gets Information Hacked." Time.Com (2014): 1. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article outlines the treatment of women by gamers and how those that step out of line are treated. It talks about how information is published in order to harm women and the lengths that people go to hurt those women who stand up against the mainstream. It also shows the steps that people will go to protect these women. Football players, other gamers, they all will stand up for those pointed out. It will serve to be a good article providing information on both sides. This will allow me to make a more educated narrative and guess about how a female gamer or designer could be treated by both sides. It also serves to prove that not all people are against this open market. 

Peckham, Matt. "Fixing What's Wrong With Gamergate Starts With You." Time.Com (2014): 1. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article outlines some similarities between religion and the situation surrounding this recent Gamergate problem. It will allow me to make comparisons in my narrative and, again, create a more informed situation for my character. It also highlights some of the sources of the hatred of women in this area of culture, granting me something to home in on in future research, if needed. It is also a negative response to Gamergate, showing how others outside this community view the issue and women, showing that there is a wider range to social media. The issue of women and their portrayal in video games is definitely toxic, and this article has some information that shows this fact. It can be brought up as a source or quote within the narrative, or simply some of the ideas can be shown in the final product. 

Poniewozik, James. "Misogynist Online Abuse Is Everyone's Problem-Men Included." Time.Com (2014): 1. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article takes the Gamergate issue and shows trends across the spectrum in other areas of social media and electronic life. It shows that women are scared, not only in video games, but everywhere, and that when ever they respond or complain, this is the reaction. It identifies that women experience this everywhere, not just in the video game world. This will allow me to include reactions from people about more than one issue and possibly show the causes of them. Essentially, the existence of this article provides me with some information about origins of female exclusion across the electronic planet. I can use it to make further inferences about how people may react in these forums as well as the reasons women may have for not getting involved. I can also use the excuses provided with in the article in the creation of the responses of other characters in the narratives.

Feeney, Nolan. "Sweden Considers Special Labels For Sexist Video Games." Time.Com (2014): N.PAG. Business Source Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This small article has within it some statistics about the number of women who work in the Video game industry in the US as well as some ideas for the roles of video games in culture. It mentions how they are a form of "cultural expression" and how they can be used to change the perceptions of certain groups.

Edmonds, Lisa. "A Joy Stick Of One's Own." Herizons 12.2 (1998): 20-23. Women's Studies International. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

This article reviews how women are portrayed within video games, commenting on clothing style and attitude, and what this means for women. It will provide me with some information on how women are portrayed so, if I enter that realm, I do have something to work off of and use. It also compares the type of games girls and boys usually like, giving a baseline to work off of. In terms of a baseline, it can allow me to create realistic responses to the main character of my story who may be "breaking" these norms. Over all, this will give me a very nice basis to work off when it comes down to the content of the games girls are told to play.

Article assignment

Post a significant article (not from the Guardian) with a full reference to your blog based on your Snowden research.

Hayden, Michael V. "Beyond Snowden." World Affairs 176.5 (2014): 13-23. Political Science Complete. Web. 23 Nov.                      2014. <http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.jcu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=poh&AN=93548310&site=eds-                live>.

Digital Story Proposal

Proposal

Within many forms of digital media, societal norms are expressed and impressed upon us. From an early age, children are constantly bombarded with messages about Gender Roles on television shows and advertisements. As they grow up, and begin to use digital media more often, these earlier teachings are reinforced in movies, video games, internet sites, advertisements, more mature TV shows, and other forms of digital media. These forms of "mass media" disseminate large amounts of information across a wide area and populace, socializing many different people at the same time, feeding them the same message. With this, the societal norms inside of these different forms become reinforced and more present in society.

My digital story will be a fictional story highlighting this phenomenon. It will highlight the experiences of a "queer" person who doesn't follow the normal binary and what they experience as they go through their life. It will take the form of a "video game" using a website as a way to jump from phase to phase. It will try to meld education and elements from a "Choose your own adventure" story, taking some inspiration from the works of Merritt Kopas.

The efforts, up to this point, have mainly been around trying to find programs that would be able to do such an endeavor. It was originally thought that a PowerPoint would suffice, as it carries with it the ability to link slides and create a video game-esque idea. However, it was pointed out early on that it would be impossible to embed it into my blog or publish it for others to use. After this, the idea of transforming a website was brought up, and it is one I am currently considering and thinking about. Another idea is taking Google Slides and seeing if it could work.

The pros to using a website are that it is less work on the person to use the website and easier to find. You will always be taken to the home page and it would be easier to just go through it. It however, might prove awkward and hard to use. Google slides, on the other hand, is pretty much a Microsoft Powerpoint like program that would allow me to create something accessible by a wide audience, have the look of a video game, but however not have the capability to embed sound or a video link, if desired.  There are pros and cons in both programs and ways, and these will have to be considered as the date of reckoning approaches (the due date). The website may prove more moldable and flexible, but the Google slides idea is easier and less of a headache to use.

Annotated Bibliography

Kopas, Merritt. "What are Games Good For? Videogame Creation as Social, Artistic, and Investigative Practice." Online posting. MerrittKopas.net. n.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://mkopas.net/files/talks/UVic2013Talk-WhatAreGamesGoodFor.pdf>.

Merrit Kopas, here, gives a synopsis on a talk she did a good while about Video Games and what they can do and be used for. At one point, she mentions that "making a game to model a system can be one way of learning something about that system – and the things we learn from doing so may be different from the things we’d learn in more traditional investigative modes." Essentially, it means that I will learn more about creating a video game placing myself in the shoes of the person I am discussing than I ever would if I just simply tried to research it.

Bailey, Jane, et al. "Negotiating With Gender Stereotypes on Social Networking Sites: From “Bicycle Face” to Facebook." Journal of Communication Inquiry37.2 (2013): 91-112. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://digitalmediafys.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/69691259/Bailey_Jane2013GenderStereotypes.pdf>.

In this rundown on a experiment about Digital media and how it affects our interpretations, many different ideas and conclusions are brought up in the introduction. Connections to past events are made and these can be used to make inferences about the future. We can see how we are affected by these experiences and make an educated guess from this information. It simply will allow me to speculate the effects and reactions of others to what they see as well, as the experiment had a lot to do with how women see other women.

Dockterman, Eliana. "What Is #Gamergate And Why Are Women Being Threatened About Video Games?." Time.Com (2014): N.PAG. Business Source Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

In this article discussing the recent "Gamergate" movement, the author speaks about just the history of the movement, which is tied very closely to how video games represent Women. This article will be helpful because it will provide me with insight into how gamers view and treat women who are different from themselves and hold different opinions. One example of this sort of hatred is actually making threats against these women who speak out or even enter this area of the workforce.

Afterthought: It would appear the story I am considering may lean towards a woman gamer and game developer.

Codes of Gender Digital Story

Link to Prezi.

Social Media and Gender

Effects of Societal pressures and Video Games

I do my thing, and you do yours thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations

And you are not in this world to live up to mine. 

You are you and I am I,

And if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.

if not, it can't be helped.

-Frederick Perls, Gestalt Therapy Verbatim

In the introduction to his book, Dr. Perls includes this little gem commonly called the Gestalt Prayer. It calls the patient to drop the outside influences of the world and to be simply themselves. This though is hard to do as Perls even remarks that "To suffer one's death and to be reborn is not easy." 

We are continually invited by society to enter into stereotypes, what Perls is calling for his patients to forget. We are socialized and trained how to act and see the world. As was seen in the movie "the Codes of Gender," this is especially true in advertisement, which positions and poses men and women in ways that fit into stereotypes. These ads, commonly viewed in ads, are an example of one way we are socialized. Video games offer a similar outlook though, usually picturing men as tough and independent, people who make things happen and cause change. Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo, popular titles that always show men as this strong force, as the changers and betters of the world.

Even advertisements for video games have this effect. Women shown in these ads tend to be shown or drawn exactly as is shown in "the Codes of Gender." In game, they are also made to be "the perfect woman." The ideal woman all men want. They reflect how women should act or behave, and how they should show themselves off. 

One can see what has been presented in everything else from movies to music videos, TV shows to sports games, women are shown as passive, submissive, open figures, and this portrayal invites people into the culture, to play with it, to join it. When everyone in the world believes one thing, it is easy to see why it is hard "to suffer one's death" and be reborn anew. The culture doesn't let you be an individual, as they tend to be crushed and destroyed through oppressive forces in the media and real world. 

It is no wonder that Perls says this causes psychological problems. Being suppressed by society and shoved into a box you may not agree with should and does have many negative and adverse effects on a person's psyche. 

SAP Problem Statement

Part A

On June 17, 2013, Edward Snowden alerted the world to what the United States organization known as the NSA was perpetrating; the simultaneous surveillance of multiple entities across the world in search for a terrorist threat. The reading of emails, texts, posts, Facebook updates, phone calls, everything, all done for the purpose of national security. The defilement of the Fourth Amendment, created for the defense of one's privacy and the inability for the government to gain evidence illegally, while the Supreme Court proceeded to call the act constitutional because of a ruling in 1979.

To some, this is acceptable. National security should be a nation's prime focus, and the Supreme Court did declare this acceptable. This is a price we must pay for our safety and our protection.

To others, it is a breach of freedom and must be destroyed. To forsake the Constitution and ignore those laws put in place by our founding fathers is an action considered dishonorable and wrong. Groups such as the ACLU and millions of independent Americans protest these actions, pushing for Congressional laws and restrictions, urging presidential action. They attempt to keep the fight precipitated by Snowden's betrayal going, reminding people of this problem.

As with any political issues, the main problem is the short term memory of the public. People forget great problems rather quickly and, unless continually reminded by the media, cease to pursue the completion of the original goal. With the case of this serious breach of our human rights, we need to keep the knowledge and movement alive because if this heinous crime falls into anonymity, or rights as a whole will remain in a state of peril.

Part B

In our social action project my group is discussing the issue of government surveillance and the abuse of their power provided. Our ethical goal would be to raise the public’s awareness so they can monitor what information they provide of themselves. The significance of doing this will limit the availability of the governments access to the person lives of the individuals and keep their private life private. Making people aware of the government surveillance will cause them to get involved and possibly starting a change reaction letting the awareness to rise quicker. We would like to reach the political goal of restricting the access of the government to their citizen’s personal life. If possible we could limit the access of personal information of the government by passing a potential law making it illegal for the government to access certain information. The significance of this would be that of allowing citizens to live a private lifestyle keeping personal things personal. 

Part C

The practical questions about our project are who, what, where, when, and how. The first one who, is all five of us. We will be the ones responsible for the project and making it happen. Connor, James, Ethan, Mason, and myself will be accomplishing the what, which is creating a cross between guerilla art and culture jamming. We will be crafting and putting up posters with fake personal information on them, such as usernames and passwords to social media sites and other private material. Since our issue is NSA surveillance, our aim is to show the general public private information and emphasize to them that privacy is important by forcing them to ask themselves the question “What if this were my information? Would I permit it to be accessible?” We chose the Lombardo Student Center atrium as the location of the posters. We chose that site because a great deal of students pass through it multiple times a day, whether they are going to lunch, or going anywhere in the LSC. Also, the Atrium always has posters and such covering the walls, and thus it is the ideal place for our project to take place in. Ideally, the project will be on the Monday November 24, which is the Monday before Thanksgiving Break. This is a suitable time to do it, because our project is due soon after that. And as for how, we will be asking permission for the use of the Lombardo Student Center from the Office of Student Activities.

Group Literature Review

Our choice for the social action project is a combination of elements from guerilla art and culture jamming with the goal of making the community at John Carroll University more conscious about surveillance, privacy, and government boundaries. Both guerilla art and culture jamming are alternative forms of art used to provoke thought, discussion, and, usually, controversy. Almost always coming with political undertones, they provide a voice and a mode of social commentary for those who want to spread a message in a unique, effective way. Though they are mostly underground movements where the identities of those involved are left secret, the messages left by those involved can be far reaching and influential.

On the University of Washington’s website, they provide information about culture jamming, stating that it is “an intriguing form of political communication that has emerged in response to the commercial isolation of public life.” It goes on to give several links to articles containing different perspectives and useful information on culture jamming. Some of the articles, such as those written by Sven Woodside and David Cox look at culture jamming from a more humorous standpoint, talking about how the humor of culture jamming is often what provokes thought and attention from the public. Others look at it from a more serious standpoint, discussing the social implications of the messages left by culture jammers. Both viewpoints provide a better understanding of culture jamming and the different ways it can be utilized. The page on the University of Washington also provides links to organizations, such as Adbusters Magazine, who are dedicated to street art and culture jamming.

In his article about subvertisements, Scott Tsuchitani gives a specific example of a culture jamming/guerilla art piece where an advertisement for an “hyper-sexualized Orientalist fantasy” being shown at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco was subverted and put on a billboard in protest. The author then gives a detailed list of objectives to have when making guerilla art/participating in culture jamming.

Another article that caught our attention is contained information about using culture jamming to inspire student activism. In the article by Marilyn Frankenstein, the author writes about different forms of culture jamming (visual and written text, visual and oral text, sound), The Yes Men (a famous, movie making culture jamming duo) and how to inspire students to seriously consider social issues. The author states that, in her experience, if you can connect students to social issues in unconventional ways, they will retain and ponder the issues more.

Similar to this, an article by Steven Ciampaglia describes a class that he and a colleague created to get students to create art that would reach the attention of people outside of their classroom and provoke thought on a social issue, much like our session of FYS. Both of these articles reaffirm our belief that these alternative methods of art can be used effectively in the JCU community.

A Summary of the issue of Surveillance

“I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and I saw that the Constitution was being violated on a massive scale” - Edward Snowden

These words come from a newspaper article about a teleconference with the man who started the whole issue, Edward Snowden. In 2013, the "whistle blower" told the world about the actions of the US Government and specifically, the NSA. He told us that they are taking away our freedoms through the surveillance of innocent people's digital lives and supplied us with many files and papers to read, proving his claim. 

The issue is surveillance and the monitoring of our digital and internet based lives, and it is something that most Americans disapprove of. Some claim that this surveillance is needed because it could catch potential terrorists. They also claim that if companies have our private information, there is no reason the government shouldn't, as was supported by the Supreme Court in the case Smith v Maryland in 1979. With few options about how to control and regulate the internet, there is not much the government can do but break into our private lives (Cole).

On the other side, the protesters, mainly groups such as the ACLU and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, claim that the government can't violate our privacy and rights guaranteed in the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. They say it is a breach of power and it needs to be rectified. People are also pushing Congress to rein in the NSA through the enactment of laws and the White House to help tie down the programs. Everyone ultimately wants the government to help out and everyone wants the government to put a stop to this. The only way this can be done though, is if everyone stays together and keeps pushing. If we give up the fight for an instant, we will lose the "right to right to have a status update free from surveillance" (Renderos).

Hattem, Julian. "Snowden: NSA is 'setting fire' to Internet's future." Hill 11 Mar. 2014:                                     4. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

COLE, DAVID. "Real NSA Reform Still Needed." Nation 298.6 (2014): 3-4. Legal Collection. Web.               2 Nov. 2014

Renderos, Steven. "They'll Be Watching You." Extra! 27.5 (2014): 11. Supplemental Index. Web. 2                 Nov. 2014.