session 9.

Beyond Two Souls

This time I'm going to write about a videogame that just come out recently, the 8 of october in this year to be more specific. Developed by a  french videogame company named Quantic Dream.

This game has the particularity to use a lot of cinematics, so it`s more like a graphic adventure than a game with difficult gameplay, you can see how diferent genders begin to mix (in this case, cinema and videogames), even if it's not the first game to do it, it shows that this type of game it's still relevant to put on the table the discussion if videogames can be considerate like pieces of art.

The story it's about a girl-woman, named Jodie (in the game, you can see her at different periods of her life, when she was a kid, when she has to face adolescence, and then when she starts working being in a young adulthood), that has a mysterious power, this power seems to consist in a soul of someone named Aiden that it's trap in her body, linked to her, and has free will. This essence can see, move and hit things far from where Jodie is, so it looks like she has telekinesic powers or something like that. The interesting thing about Aiden is that the person who plays turns into Aiden, because you actually are the only one who can control him, and this creates the ilusion of actually being important part of the resolution and ending of the game (it has different endings depending on the decisions you take through the game), in this way it brakes the "fourth wall" 'cause when Jodie talks to Aiden, she talks to you.  

The game has recieved a lot of critics, because It's not actually a fun game to play, it's more to watch it than interacting with it (in the sense of using the joystick/controller, in most of the game you can't separate from it, in this game you use it between the cinematics), but the fact that it's not fun in the way of "laughing" doesn't make it bad, actually it's really interesting in the plot itself, you can see a lot of controversial topics, like bulling or if it's ethic from the part of the C.I.A. to use her has a tool, even though it's the only place were she could find friends...

I think that this game it's great, at least the things I've seen so far are really interesting. Besides, they really took care in details like the modeling of characters, they use real actors to make the faces and bodies. Jodie it's based in the actrees Ellen Page.

If you have time, you should check it.  

session 8.

Greens.

Right now, I think that everyone had been aware about the global warming, the bad handling of natural resources, and the accumulation of garbage; or at least has a vague idea about it. We can read about it on newspapers, or watch it on T.V., although the information that this media gives it seems not to be enough, but if you search in the internet for eco-friendly groups or watch documentaries, you can learn much more about it.

 In my case, I love to accumulate things and to work with them, so, what it’s commonly see has garbage; I use it like a fundamental material for handicrafts. Besides that, in my family always throw de organic elements to the garden, so they can “feed” the plants we have; and always tried to not abuse de electrical energy (for example, using the lights only in the night, or put the boiled water in a thermos bottle). Besides from that we’re still lacking a lot of habits, like separate the different kinds of garbage.

I often prefer to walk instead taking the bus, but sometimes it’s impossible not to do it because of the distance and the fact that it would take a lot of time if a walk a really long distance, anyway, I guess I been out of focus, because instead of thinking in how eco-friendly was walking, I was just thinking in saving money.

I haven’t joined any eco-organization, because I still don’t have the habits of a good recycle, so, it’s kind of annoying if I try to convince you to be more green if myself is not green enough, besides, I think if you joined an organization, you must be really committed to it, and I have not even organized my life.

In conclusion, I think the big problem it’s related to people laziness and selfishness, it seems like people doesn’t care about the future anymore, we won’t live the consequences of our acts, so   just few people care. This problem it’s so deep, that it will take a lot of time to educate the humanity to take response of their garbage. 

session 6.

Summary, the tower of power.

This time I’m talking about this new:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/04/new-museum-york-security-gold-display

In a few words, this new it’s about the controversial retrospective work of Chris Burden held by The New Museum, in New York.

Chris Burden is well known because of his polemic works of art. He started getting famous in the seventy’s with his performances, He did things like crucified himself on a Volkswagen, but the most emblematic work is “Shoot”, where he got shot by an assistant from a distance of five meters. When the press asks him the meaning of that action, he answered: “getting shot is as American as apple pie”.

The current work installed in The New museum it’s less aggressive, but still preserves the critic against the consumer society, although this critic is made by exposing and showing the problem with beauty and irony, in his works we can see how much the human being today admires money and technology, but at the same time spending a lot of money to make this different installations, therefore he makes fun of the spectator ‘cause he is admiring money just like the work of art is showing.

This is the case of “The Tower of Power” the most protected work of this series in the museum. It consist in a pyramid of 100 kilograms of gold, with little figures around it made of needles that worship this pyramid, because of the gold, visitors are only allowed to see it one at a time and must deposit their coats and bags in a locker beforehand.