Study Task 8 (Summary)

The main aim of my project was to look into the relationship between the initiation of youth movements in relation to culture and the advancement of digital technology. In order to try to understand this subject I’ve carried out research on culture, society and technology. My initial idea for my question was quite different, it was through reading the work of Nav Haq, Simon Reynolds and Mark Fisher, that I ended up arriving at my desired topic. I have learnt a great deal about the evolution and maintenance of cultures as well as the affect of the government and technology on them. It has been really eye-opening to look into this subject area and I now find myself more aware of the effect that the governers of western society have had on culture over the past few decades. I look forward to playing with this concept even further in future projects. A quote by Mark Fisher from his book, K-Punk, helps to summarise the intentions of my practical work well.

“[speaking of rapid changes in popular culture from the 60s onwards] …new technology was clearly audible and visible, so that it would be practically impossible, say, to confuse a film or a record from the early 1960s with one from even half a decade later.

The current decade, however, has been characterised by an abrupt sense of deceleration. A thought experiment makes the point. Imagine going back fifteen years in time to play records from the latest dance genres – dubstep, or funky, for example – to a fan of jungle. One can only conclude that they would have been stunned – not by how much things had changed, but by how little things have moved on.”

This text helps to clearly illustrate my intentions with the practical side of this brief. I wanted to test the validity of this statement through attempting to create imagery with this ‘visible’ integration of technology of the modern day. I am really happy with the images I have ended up with, however, I have to agree with Fishers, as I do think that technology has surpassed a point of being visual and audible in the endearing/anticipatory way it once was. And alongside the online mass media/social media that we now have, it’s possible to see almost anything you’d like to through a few clicks.

Images of practical outcomes: