Message Board Topic: Webcomics

For over a century comics have been created for various reasons: 1) entertainment, 2) commentary, 3) satire, and 4) information. The media has influenced cartoons, movies, video games and other forms of media. And has traditionally been a “paper and pencil” media – being closely related to illustration and layout.

However, as newspapers and other print media are on the down turn in contemporary society, comics have also begun to suffer. Newspaper “funnies,” comic books and manga have made a transition from print to web (as is the trend with many medias today). The webcomic is replacing the traditional print. This has allowed for an exponential growth of comics available (moving away from the big news companies and big comic companies). What are the implications of this move?

Does moving comics to the web add or detract from the media? Look up a webcomic or two. Do you find them as successful as say traditional comics such as Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, Spiderman, Batman and Superman?

Branding

A brand is defined as: A trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer and a product line so identified. Examples of brands include a variety of product-lines ranging from foodstuffs, fashion, electronics, and household products. Popular brands include: Nike, Eddie Bauer, Tide, Clorox, Apple, Microsoft etc.

What are the benefits of a brand? Why do brands sell better than just individual products? How would you describe a product-line? How is a product-line presented to the public?

Message Board Topic: The Narrative

Many analysts, sociologists and news writers argue that the modern day audience seeks a narrative. This means that news, information, education, politics and other areas of contemporary life require a story – the audience needs to be entertained in order to understand and learn. The audience needs characters that fulfill stereotypes like the underdog, the patriot, the good guy, the bad guy etc. The audience needs a plot – like a political race, where two people struggle to rise to the top. And the audience will only pay attention for as long as they are entertained. Some say that modern life, modern education and modern information systems have become a soap opera.

What does this mean for information or education? What does this mean for art? What does this mean for society?

How has the movie industry affected contemporary life? Are we moving into a soap opera orientated world?