IMD 450 History of Communication Media Week 3 Discussion Questions

1. Why does Levinson propose that printing in Europe had more impact than China? 

Lets put it this way the Chinese letter system contains 20,000 characters where as the english system on has 26 characters that can be interchangeable to spell out any word or sentence in the english alphabet.When the 26 letter European language was used it was much better suited for the interchangeable type presses. The printing press could now be used for the mass production of text.

1. Martin Luther thought that people should read the bible themselves rather than rely upon the clergy. Would Luther’s “Ninety-five Theses” have had the same impact in 1517 if Gutenberg had not started printing bibles 50 years earlier? Explain. 

  Luther’s “Ninety-five Theses”  would not have had the same influence it did back then if Gutenberg had not started printing Bibles because people would not of had access to them.Luther wanted people to figure out on their own what he already did.

1. Describe how books were reproduced before the printing press and by whom. Describe how this changed after development of the printing press. 

Books when they first started where hand written by monks of the church or clergy people.This made books very rare to have and very expensive where only the rich could afford to have which only put a bigger gap between the rich and the poor since most poor people were illiterate in those days.When the printing press was invented people’s own interpretations of text lead to separatist movements and counter-revolutions of current beliefs. It also opened up the level of education among society’s members and increased the general intellect of our country.

1. Why does Levinson propose that the Norse exploration of the New World did not create more impact? Contrast this with how Columbus' reports of the New World fueled the “Age of Discovery”. 

Columbus "New World Discovery" succeeded because of the printing press and its  ability to be printed and read in many different languages.  The Norse, according to Levinson, conquest was just heresy and stayed amongst those that knew of it.  According to Levinson, "the oral sagas had no power to move anyone other than those who had personal reason to trust the speakers."

1. The distribution of books is not enough to spread knowledge. For the power of the book to be yielded there needs to be a literate public to access that knowledge. Discuss the role of literacy in building our modern world. 

The power of literacy is huge in our world and had made us what we are today. Our world moves fast with all of its technologies and science but in-order to pass this knowledge on to  the next generation so that they one day might improve on it their needs to be a universal language that everyone can read or documentation on how to learn this language and use it. 

1. A “meme” is an idea, behavior, style or usage that spreads from one person to another within a culture. For example, the fashion of platform shoes, the idea that the earth is the center of the galaxy, or “rickrolling”. How were cultural memes exchanged before printing? In what ways are they exchanged now? Unfortunately i think it is sad how these “memes” change a culture or a community where people start believing in the media or other people with out thinking g about it on their own.I believe there is a mass of people who don't know how to think on their own and it is slowing the development of our species as well as hindering us. Now the media runs everything from the clothes we wear to the gel or products we put in our hair. The media is a very powerful tool today and could very well be harmful behind some willing to do bad with it like a cult or like hitler did with the notzies. 

Chapter 4: The Age of Photography and the Ageless Image

1. French film critic André Bazin stated that “Photography is free from the sin of subjectivity”. Explain what he meant by that statement. To what extent is this true? 

I believe he meant that anyone who views a picture takes it in a little bit different than the next that we are free from the subjectivity of others opinions and emotion, but that the subject itself never changes if the picture is not altered in anyway.

1. Levinson reminds us that each form of media is subject to inaccuracies; error can creep into our understanding because of the detachment from direct experience. Describe the ways in which photography can be perceived as an exact depiction of reality. Describe ways in which photography lies. 

Photography takes in only the light that is being reflect back off the object being photographed. where we as humans take all that and more by adding our other senses to it like hearing, snestation of touch, taste, and smell. A photograph can lie for example using optical illusions it can trick the mind into thinking there is more to the picture than there really is but we all know it is just the brain trying to put pieces together in nay way it so chooses.

1. In 1839, French painter Paul Delaroche exclaimed, “From today on, painting is dead!” Consider painting at the time. To what extent was he right? Explain. What are some of the ways photography changed painting and art? 

Where a photograph can be taken in an instant a painting takes time finish.Photography has made painting a thing of the past for a while cause it was cheaper for a photograph than it was for an a painting of a portrait and left painting to the side for a while. Now i believe a painting is more more appreciable cause they are more rare making the object more valuable.   However it is still argued today is photography an art...