Contextual Studies: Representation

Today we started the lesson by watching an episode of Game of Thrones, Battle of the Bastards - believed to be one of the best episodes.

Define 'Virtualism'
  • In media context virtualise is the simulation of 'the real'. This effect is created through digital construct.
  • The aesthetic tension between physical and digital; material vs immaterial; 'the uncanny valley'.
Virtualism in visual media
  • Game of thrones- fantasy drama
  • Fantasy elements rely on digital effects 
  • Dramatic elements relies on realism through characters and narrative


Virtualism in visual media
  • Sanctuary, fantasy/sci-fi drama
  • Dramatic elements (narrative & character) relies on realism
  • Visual context (environment) entirely digital
  • Virtual' news sets are purely representational.
  • Simulated reality; we decode by genre symbols. 

Aesthetic tension
  •  What's 'real'?
  •  What's 'created'?
  •  Analogue (practical) or digital?

'The uncanny'

  •  Heimlich- the familiar and comfortable
  • Unheimlich- the unfamiliar and strange
"An uncanny effect often arises when the boundary between fantasy and reality is blurred" - Freud, 'The Uncanny' (19190)

'The uncanny valley'
  •  Following Freud's theory, the perceptual gap between that which is perceived as 'real' and that which is 'almost real' (or a close simulacrum)
  • Provokes aesthetic sense of discomfort

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