Thread: technology...a friend or foe of art and literature?

i'm going to call foe. i mean...i know we have more MARKETING capabilities now....but the published art, music, and literature of
today is basically all crap. there are exceptions, i realize. but you look at the artistic works created before the distractions of mass
technology. and then you picture yourself, if you can, without these distractions. just you and a clunky typewriter or you in a
more primitive art studio....being unable to click to another window and get caught up in this thread or any other internet distraction
while you're trying to create. i understand it's a matter of self-control...but it seems i have little of that. i can't keep from being
distracted from my writing with this nonsense, and me actually wasting my time creating this thread is a perfect example of that.

The cream of electronially produced music is brilliant, in my opnion. Artists such as Skrillex are keeping it alive as an original and exciting art form.

And I believe that the world of literature benefits greatly from technology being involved in the process. Distractions exist, but they are mainly down to the person being distracted. Without technology, we could still get a cup and ball and waste hours going 'NO! WHY WON'T YOU GO IN?'.

I also believe this is more of a debate topic...

I know absolutely nothing about art. What I can testify to is that technology has been a great blessing for the craft of writing. I loved my old Underwood Model Five I used as a kid, and later the IBM Model B that for years churned out reams of newspaper columns and magazine articles. But when the computer came along I was an immediate and lifelong convert.

There is distraction only if you allow yourself to be distracted. Technology is a tool to be used. It's my fault if I misuse that tool and not the fault of the tool itself or the people who created it.

Depends how you use it - The first thing to remember is that computers can't think, they are only electronic screwdrivers.

Don't blame technology. If you lived close to the beach, you'd claim that your distractions were bikini-clad girls walking by your window, am I right? LOL.

Many people decry the low quality of current music but they don't bother to look beyond "American Idol." I use today's technology to discover (and rediscover) lots of great music from around the world! Your world should be getting bigger, not smaller.

Originally Posted by patskywriter

Don't blame technology. If you lived close to the beach, you'd claim that your distractions were bikini-clad girls walking by your window, am I right? LOL.

Many people decry the low quality of current music but they don't bother to look beyond "American Idol." I use today's technology to discover (and rediscover) lots of great music from around the world! Your world should be getting bigger, not smaller.

i don't have cable, so luckily i can't watch crap like american idol. i'm sure there are some good indie bands out there. sometimes i flip it on the
indie internet radio station. maybe my problem shouldn't so much be with technology itself, but the mass commercialization of everything. it's
created a standard of mediocrity within the arts, at least at most of the mass produced level.

I watched the Indy 500 on Sunday - I couldn't tolerate that level of interruption on a daily basis. It is noticable that, when watching North American "1 hour" shows that there is only about 40 minutes of actual programme.

Originally Posted by Bloggsworth

I watched the Indy 500 on Sunday - I couldn't tolerate that level of interruption on a daily basis. It is noticable that, when watching North American "1 hour" shows that there is only about 40 minutes of actual programme.

it's funny, because i live here and have never actually watched the race. i do sometimes go hang out in the coke parking lot during
brickyard 400 week, though. it's a non-stop party.

Originally Posted by dale

i don't have cable, so luckily i can't watch crap like american idol. i'm sure there are some good indie bands out there. sometimes i flip it on the
indie internet radio station. maybe my problem shouldn't so much be with technology itself, but the mass commercialization of everything. it's
created a standard of mediocrity within the arts, at least at most of the mass produced level.

I definitely understand. However, consider this: I do have cable (OK, well, satellite TV) but yet I've never watched "American Idol" or any other reality show for that matter. Ever since I was a little kid I ignored the overcommercialized junk and zeroed in on the good stuff. And there's a lot of good stuff out there in art, literature, and music. Go find it! (Actually, thanks to technology, you don't have to "go" anymore. You can bring it to you, LOL!)

Originally Posted by dale

i don't have cable, so luckily i can't watch crap like american idol.

American Idol is on FOX.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

American Idol is on FOX.

Um, thanks … (?)

Still not gonna watch it, though … LOL.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

American Idol is on FOX.

don't have a converter box, either.

Originally Posted by patskywriter

I definitely understand. However, consider this: I do have cable (OK, well, satellite TV) but yet I've never watched "American Idol" or any other reality show for that matter. Ever since I was a little kid I ignored the overcommercialized junk and zeroed in on the good stuff. And there's a lot of good stuff out there in art, literature, and music. Go find it! (Actually, thanks to technology, you don't have to "go" anymore. You can bring it to you, LOL!)

Pat has a point, we should not use technology as a substitute for healthy physical activity and engagement.

...and here I sit! LOL

Technology is definitely a boon to writers, it's the distraction that kills productivity. Imagine writing your manuscript by hand. Imagine no cut and paste, no spell check. Imagine if you had to change the name of your character when using a typewriter. You'd spend hours, literally hours, going through the manuscript and finding and replacing all the names. With MS Word you can do it in fifteen seconds. I'd say that on the whole technology has been a great benefit if it is used well.

look at the artistic works created before the distractions of mass
technology. and then you picture yourself, if you can, without these distractions. just you and a clunky typewriter or you in a
more primitive art studio

Wait a minute, a clunky typewriter is mass technology, like the Gutenberg printing press, before that each copy of a book could take years to produce and reading was only for the rich and religious. You are looking at the newest technology, when it first comes out that gets grabbed by politics and business, the first stuff off the printing presses were bibles and revolutionary tracts and pamphlets, art gets a look in later. People will get to use all that stuff when the wheelers and dealers and shakers and money makers have moved on to the next thing.