The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn’t think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential…
-Steve Ballmer
The rise of a new and rapidly forming digital technology has had an enormous impact on our culture. It’s easier to make music, movies, art, and all of a sudden, there is really no such thing as a specific expertise or a set of grounded guidelines to classify you as an artist. In fact, anyone can be an artist in this generation.
After watching PressPausePlay, I must say I feel as though we are definitely in a fast paced generation, in which somehow, somewhere along the way we are running to keep up with the technology, the culture, and the “next big thing”. My initial reaction to this film was: “whoa!” I honestly guess I do realize how fast society is moving along with technology, and it took me a few moments of reflection to comprehend how much things have changed just over five years. One minute its Lizzie Mguire, the next its Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus (and so forth). The amount of Iphones and Apple products released in half a decade can make your cell phone ancient, and amazingly, the productivity of these goods do actually make your stuff seem ancient. We are moving so fast.
This film really attacks an important concept of art, addressing whether everyone should really have the ability to be an artist. Should everyone have the chance to create music, videos (so forth) and distribute their work? There is definitely a lot more noise: to Google “good music” or anything vague might mean over 6 million results of people on a global scale trying to get others to acknowledge their work. And of course as mentioned in the film, not everyone is talented (believe it or not). In my opinion, after reflecting over this topic, I really can adhere that there is no right or wrong answer. Should everyone get a chance to be an artist? I think yes. Is everyone talented enough to do so? I’m not so sure. But I do wonder (as that one specific woman in the end also mentions): will there be a stable ground in this revolution? Or will it always be like this: a fast paced digital era in which what comes just comes and what goes, well, goes. I guess I personally enjoy the experience of living in an era where one day, the next big thing could even be you.
—Samia Nasir
Digital Media Evolution 