Blog 5: Embodiment

Embodiment is defined as the tangible, visible form of an idea, quality, or feeling. Pornagraphy embodies the idea of exploiting women and children in the global industry of prostitution. People use the internet as a way of open communication to anyone around the world. Any information that is loaded onto the internet may be used or misused by anyone, as talked about in lecture. The internet has shaped global domination and is showed by the use and control of it by the military. Although there is little regulation of what is being put on the internet. The standards of the internet are being set by the sex industry and the consumers supporting it. Due to such high profits for pornagraphy there are few barriers on the net. In the internet’s own way slavery is accepted and exploited by men who feel ownership over the women and children that they are buying for their own personal desires. Women are dehumanized and seen as items in the ‘sex market’ . “Porn is the business of crafting, packaging and selling fantasy” according to the article E-Rogenous Zones by Blaise Cronin and Elisabeth Davenport. They go on to say that porn has become this code word for corrupt male lust. There is this ability for men to interact with porn online, anywhere. “Digital distribution directly to the consumers domestic environment or workplace brings a reassuring sense of privacy to the transaction that heretofore has been uncomfortably public for many individuals.” (E-Rogenous Zones, Positionging pornagraphy in the digital economy, Blaise Cronin and Elisabeth Davenport) This enhances the allowance for men to use these sites whenever they want to connect to them.

The media spectacle plays a major role into the expectations that facilitates men’s desires over the internet. The influence of society and especially the media generalizes the belief of what is to be a ‘male’. The pop-up advertisements, the constant advertisements, strip clubs, and so forth that justify men’s interest for buying sex or to see woman as a body nonetheless. The use of discussion boards for sex tourism enables an exchange of information and can give immediate feedback about their experiences, which gives sex tourism and prostitution more power.  From the article, Race, Gender, and Sex on the Net by Chow-White, he said, “Cyberspace enables sex tourists to build deeper connections between the rationalization, sexualization, and commodification of sex workers' bodies and Western masculinity.” Also, mens expectations of what women “should” look like or should act is unrealistic and reflects a negative expectation of the ‘real’ woman with the use of prostitution and pornography. The culture of pornography is marketing efficiently to not just men but aids the tactics of advertisements marketing towards women to look like the those in the sex industry. Creating this whole idea of how a woman should look and act, and again justifying the power practices of men consuming acts of sexual fantasies.

Blog 4: The 'World' in www.

It was interesting to watch Office Tigers and how globalization has come so far and is still advancing. Technology plays a major role in this, if not the biggest. Technology opened the door for many opportunities and ways to communicate and do business over seas. Office Tigers is set in India yet the work that they do is based off of an American culture. The business provides high end outsourcing services to major American and European companies. To get a job at Office Tiger is very desirable among many of the people that live there. When asked most of the employees said it was "All about the money".

Office Tiger CEO Joseph Sigelman

The Americans who started the company and those that work there, want to guide the Indians to become professional hard working employees like such in the American business world. In many cases in the documentary the CEO asked some employees why they weren't wearing there ties and to make sure that they are wearing them. In this business working hard is must or, as they said they will "weed out the under performers". I was surprised to see how much they emphasized on working hard. Working Saturdays and longer hours, working at home, and to live by the Office Tigers slogan, "We never sleep". Call center such as these like Office Tigers in India, are products of globalization. The employees are trained to work professionally like and with Western advanced countries. Like Drori explains, "We rely on technology to expedite human communication, thus exchanging more information, more intently and faster. Through e-technology we also extend our human networks into new spaces, thus establishing more contacts with more people and institutions" (Global E-Litisim, Drori). Office Tigers is a great example in which the company's value is based around using technology to outsource information across the globe, as quickly and efficiently as possible. In doing so, they have extensive training for each of the employees such as "having good English" and hope to turn English into the first language. They want the employees to develop the Indian professions into a Western business. As more advanced countries gain more power the developing countries are trying to copy those ideas so they to can gain power and develop. As Nakamura said, "The internet can be seen as part of the context of multimedia globalization, a fostering of a Western (as yet) cultural practice upon 'third world', minorities, and marginalized populations"(Cybertyping and the Work of Race in the Age of Digital Reproduction, Nakamura). The fact that we have technology and are able to globally communicate at anytime is useful, but also creates a digital divide. It separates those that are of higher class and with more money to those that have less money and do not have the resources to use technology to their advantage. Cultural imperialism is seen by the many developing countries who are influenced to be like the Western and most powerful countries. In the end the developing countries are always trying to catch up, as technology increasingly improves and changes. At first when we began Office Tigers I kept asking myself if this was suppose to be a good thing or a bad thing. The fact that these Indians are able to learn the Western culture and advance their lives is great, but I can't help but dislike the overall outcome of the exploitation of cheap labor in other countries. Advanced countries are able to take business globally (outsourcing) with the use of technology, around the world and get cheap labor to increase their global power and capital.

Defining Digital Culture Visually

http://www.pinterest.com/brookelarsenpbp/digital-culture/

I created a Pinterest Board to visually define Digital Culture. I picked a Pinterest board over doing it on a sheet of paper because I think a website in itself defines digital culture more than a sheet of paper could. The images and captions provide an understanding and clear visual to a person who might be unfamiliar with the idea of and meaning behind Digital Culture. In our world today we go about living through the digital culture without actually taking a step back and truly identifying and analyzing what society is like today.