Repo Men Rip-off

OK, so I've been neglecting this blog somewhat for the latter half of 2009. I had a family berevement and then a completely disasterous Semester 1 (partly as a result of grieving, partly due to illness and partly due to other reasons I'd rather not discuss, that's what lj's for), so I didn't feel much like writing about anything for a while. However, it's a new year and now I'm all riled up and ready to discuss some issues and shoot them in the face. :)

EDIT: After reading the following, see comments!

Anyway, a while back Universal Pictures announced that they were making a film called Repossession Mambo (I know, stupid name, right) and I, along with many other Repoles had hoped it would never get as far as production. Unfortunately it has, but with a less idiotic name and soon Repo Men will grace our cinemas with all it's big-budget Hollywood polish and none of the charm of the film which it ripped-off, Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Now, whilst I am a raging Repo! fan and wardrobe misstress/unofficially Luigi Largo for the Scalpel Scots Shadowcast *coughshamelessplugcough* I am, generally, a reasonable person and am willing to look at both sides of the issue in as unbiased a way as possible.

Here are the trailers so you can compare and contrast:

Repo Men



Repo! The Genetic Opera



So, what are the similarities? Well, they're both "Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit" and feature organ repossession or "murder [that] is sanctioned by law". The barcodes, an integral part of the Repo Men poster, trailer and website, whilst a generic enough image, seems a little too coincidental, since barcodes also feature fairly heavily within Repo!, on the repossessed organs themselves alongside the GeneCo logo. It is also one of the most common fan tattoos for Repoles to get (along with "chase the morning, yeild for nothing" and zydrate in some shape or form). And, from what I can gather from the Repo Men poster and trailer, there seems to be an ever so slightly zydrate blue filter over quite a few of the scenes; that may sound a bit paranoid on my part, but I'm one of those people who watches a film and notices the mechanism behind a chimney falling over (it drives my wee brother insane when I point them out, that's why I do it) or figures out how they could have made that dress or this prop or that piece of set, or notices when the actor's shirt has changed slightly from scene to scene (the end of Moonwalker drives me absolutely mental when MJ's shirt is clearly several different shirts ripped differently and I wonder how many takes it took to film). It actually takes a pretty damn good storyline for me to not be distracted by these things on the first viewing. Also, if they're not cajun or French-speaking, a character is not allowed to be called Remy, it's just not sexy otherwise.

And the differences? Well, the budget for one. Perhaps the genre? OK, so Repo! is a goth/rock opera and thus, has singing, which its big-budget relative does not. I'm also going to guess, from the trailer and just general knowledge, that Repo Men is not a horror flick, but is rather an action movie and, thus, will not be quite as gorey as Repo!; especially since its not dirrected by Darren Lynn Bousman. The Repo Men themselves, of course. Yes, Jude Law is a reasonably good actor and he's very nice to look at I'm sure (he's not a patch on Michael Caine for the part of Alfie though), but he ain't got nothing on Anthony Stewart Head. This may be a little bit of bias creeping in since I'll watch nearly anything with Anthony Head in it (except for the BBC's Merlin, coundn't stand that), including Imagine Me and You - "Fuck you and your fucking candles!" - which is a pretty good film in itself. But still, that's not really always a deciding factor, the first time I heard about Repo! even that couldn't entice me to watch something with Paris Hilton in it (she's actually not that bad since she is essentilly playing Paris Hilton with black hair, but more gutsy). I'm glad I soon dismissed my prejudice and gave it a go anyway; wish I had done when I first heard of it, beacuse then I wouldn't have missed the UK Roadshow. Another difference is the general look of the thing. The story of Repo! is played out in a much grungier, less polished, more post-apocalyptic setting, with costumes much more akin to Waterworld or Mad Max than it's Hollywood counterpart, which has gone for the easier option of suits and modern, everyday t-shirts and jeans. Much easier to source and make, but a little bit of a boring cop-out in comparison.

Also, the storyline is a little different, although the basic premise is exactly the same. Repo Men foucuses on the action hero who's a bit miguided at the beginning cliche; he starts out working for 'the faceless corporation' who he thinks are doing the right thing up until some dramatic/tramatic turning point (in this case getting a new heart he can't pay for). When he is suddenly faced with this dilemma he goes into hiding/switches sides, falls in love with a girl from that side, gets her and goes on to save the people he's been fighting against for years and goes against/takes down 'the man'. Sounds familiar to you? Yeah, the simple, boring, easy option that's been used a million times before. The story that lets Hollywood get on with the bit where they make it look all shiny and cool with lots of explosions (see: Michael Bay's Transformers films, see James Cameron's Avatar). So that they can get on with churning out another ten like it, just with different characters and set in a different part of America. It's like those Orange ads you get in the cinema, so true. It's one of those films where you can watch the trailer and get the entire plot from that one minute mash-up of scenes; you don't even have to watch the film.

On the other hand, Repo! the Genetic Opera focuses on the intertwining lives of a whole host of different characters, all in some way connected to eachother and how they interact in this strange dance of life in a city run by GeneCo. At times, those interactions are often slightly creepy or wrong (as attested to by the sheer amount Grilo and Largocest fanart/fiction out there that you can pretty much justify just from watching it), but still somehow compelling to watch. It's a pshycological horror/gorefest with flawed and imperfect characters who's lives are interesting to learn about; there are no more heroes, just anti-heroes, villians and people who are somewhere in between. There are complex(ish) themes of revenge, drug/surgery addiction and you can even read political/environmental/beauty-mania warnings from it. I know, all this from a film featuring Paris Hilton... It also features the most well deserved slap in a film ever, which makes it A-OK in my book. There are also amazing vocal performances from Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag, Terrance Zdunich as Graverobber and Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo. Plus, some surprisingly good acting from Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace (daughter of Repoman Nathan, played Anthony Stewart Head). Also, it has Bill Mosley and Ogre from Skinny Puppy as Luigi and Pavi Largo who make a hilerious and insane trio with their sister Amber Sweet (told you, Paris Hilton = better than expected). I can't really go into too much detail without spoiling it, but its certainly more original and involved than Repo Men. And of course, 10 out of 9 Genterns will confirm, everyone loves the Pavi!

But why are the plots so so similar anyway? Actually, Terrance Zdunich (writer/Graves), Darren Smith (bandleader) and co originally went to Universal Pictures with their idea when they were going to convert Repo! The Genetic Opera from a stage show into a movie originally and were turned down. Lionsgate picked up the film and only after they released it and it proved to be an instant cult success did Universal announce they were making Repossession Mambo/Repo Men. Unfortunately, whilst it is morally bankrupt of Universal to steal this idea, there is not much the Repo! team can do about it since it counts as a remake or something. In a David versus Goliath situation, sadly, Hollywood nearly always wins. To quote Labyrinth: "Them's my rightful property. It's not fair." (Hoggle) "No, it isn't. But that's the way it is." (Sarah). No, it's not right, its not fair, but it's not going to change anytime soon, I hope that in the future it will though. Of course, if they did decide to purse some sort of action, every Repole out there would stand behind them and shout foul play (in fact many already are).

A lot of Repo! fans (including me, initially), are calling a boycott on Repo Men. However, film boycott doesn't necessarily work. Certainly, I won't be paying good money to go see Repo Men in the cinema when it comes out and I hope it flops at the box office, but I might watch it when it eventually comes on tv just to see what all the fuss is really about. I'll no doubt still prefer Repo! in the same way that I prefer A Bugs Life to Antz or couldn't care either way with Madagascar and The Wild. This sort of thing always happens, it's happened before, it'll happen again; its different horse for different courses. Repo! will appeal to one audience and Repo Men will appeal to another, but with any luck more people with discover Repo! when the media, etc eventually (late to the party as usual) get hold of the contraversey surrounding it and the copycat Repo Men. So far they have mainly been saying it's trading off the 1984 film Repo Man's name (but not content), yet have not quite worked out that it's an almost direct rip-off of Repo!, despite all the fuss Repoles have already been making.

Whatever happens, I for one, am getting a bit sick of seeing remake after remake and rip-off after rip-off being churned out in cinemas today; all style and no substance. Star Trek (and I've been a bit of trekker since I was about five) and Sherlock Holmes are exceptions, because they're actually good and not essentially the just the same old story, as mentioned earlier. What happened to those big, show-stopping, old musicals and what about movies that weren't the film equivalent (or just actually) porn without plot? OK, sometimes (yes, I do like Mamma Mia) a bit of cliched fluff can be a bit of fun and just what you wanted to watch, but not every single bloody film that comes out. Hollywood, I challenge you to do something original for a change! And, no Avatar doesn't count, the techniques may be amazing, original, visually stunning and breathtaking, but the story/plot was the same-old, same-old generic twaddle.

Why not take a leaf out of AD Lane/indywood films' book and do something like the plot/story equvalent of his inovate online funding initative? *coughOKmoreshamelessplugtimecough*

Invasion of the Not Quite Dead!

Picture this... The year is 1978, somewhere in the Swiss Alps a meteorite crashes, killing everyone for 20 miles around. A deadly virus from outer space is let loose on Earth. An official cover up... 30 years on and that virus finds its way to an isolated island community off the coast of England. A small group of survivors must work together to defend themselves agains The Invasion of the Not Quite Dead...

Intregued yet? I was. This black comedy horror (quite a mouthful of genres) is an interesting and exciting concept in itself, but when you consider writer/director AD Lane's innovative fundraising techniques it becomes doubly impressive.

Using the social networking site Twitter, a fundraising website, IMDB page, youtube and other sources AD Lane aims to keep his film fully independant by raising the money to make it via dvd/bluray preorders, zombie photo makeovers, partnerships and a variety of other means. With celebrity support from Ken Russel, Kevin Pollak, Tom Savini, David Hess, Leslie Simpson, Warwick Davies and Llyod Kaufman among others. This project has succeeded so far in raising just under £7,000 in just 48 days.

If you become a 'pre-order producer' and live in the UK you will even be invited to appear as an extra in the movie. For that opportunity, a dvd/bluray, postcard and zombie photo makeover seems a pretty good use of £20 (I'd only spend it on cake, shoes or cosplay otherwise). Packages vary in price from £10 for the zombie photo makeover through a variety of lower and higher priced pre-order producer packages (£20-150) varying in content; £500 for a small speaking role through to £5,000 + for investment/a share in potential profits. So whether you're a student like me or a business tycoon, there's a whole range of investment potenial to suit many a bank balance.

Filming for the trailer/intro is announced for August, whilst the rest of the filming is set to begin around Jan/Feb 2010 with a projected premier around Halloween 2010. The BBC will also be airing a documentary on this project and the unique auditioning process near the end of the year. This film already boasts an impressive crew of designers, technicians, composers and special FX artists with a backcatalogue of Hollywood films such as X-men, King Kong, Batman Begins, The Phantom of the Opera, etc, etc.

I for one love this project and intend to give it as much support and exposure as I can. If you like it, why not do the same? Now all I have to do is decide which picture to send for zombie makeover (perhaps dressed as a toaster...) and ask the question... do I get to bite anyone? ;P

Interested and want to know more? Visit the website http://www.theindywoodproject.com/ or contact adlane@indywood.co.uk

Why are all my favourite films about men wearing make-up?

I have recently realised that this is true of most of my favourites...

So, recently been exchanging movie recs with Angpang (http://www.push.uk.net/copywriting.html) on Twitter (yes I have a twitter, it's CakePirate, look me up), so here's a post recommending some films for anyone as wants. This will probably become a fairly regular occurrence since I like films. In order of UK rating, links to trailers in titles ...

U:

Labyrinth (1986), Jim Henson/Stephen Spielberg: I'm not sure this should actually be a U because it can be frightening for little kids... plus, David Bowie in those tights *cough*. This was one of my favourite films when I was between the ages of 3 and 8, then I wore the video out and forgot about it until I spotted it on dvd a few years ago. Now it's one of my faves again (but for entirely different reasons). The Jim Henson Company at its best. Glitter to the max.

PG:

Legend (1985), Ridley Scott: Tom Cruise with buck teeth cavorting about in a gold chainmail mini-skirt your bag? Then this is the film for you. Unicorns and fairies, oh my! Fabulous fantasy with Tim Curry dressed as the devil with his fantastic voice; ooh yeah. Glitter galore.
Music & Lyrics (2007), Marc Lawrence: Typical Hugh Grant rom com about a past-it popstar with a brilliant soundtrack and the lovely Drew Barrymore. Pure cheesy, chick-flick goodness.

12:

Kinky Boots (2005), Julian Jarrold: Based on a true story, again more fabulousness. A feel-good rom com. Also, Nick Frost appears in it. The soundtrack is ace.

15:

Still Crazy (1998), Brian Gibson: Fantasmagorical! Brilliant cast containing a lot of big names (Bill Nighy, Timothy Spall, Stephen Rea, Billy Connolly, Jimmy Nail). All about the attempt at a reunion by an ageing glam-rock band from the 1970's and their trials/tribulations on tour. Brilliant soundtrack. Love it.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Stephan Elliott: Hugo Weaving in Drag. You can never look at Lord of the Rings the same again. Fabulous film, fabulous script, fabulous cast, fabulous costumes, fabulous locations, fabulous props/sets, fabulous soundtrack, just generally fabulous! I love it so much. The dvd case (or the one I have at least) is even pink. Pure gold!
The Orphanage/El orfanto (2007), Guillermo del Torro: Fabulous, psychological/fantasy horror; I didn't think it was scary, just a bit gory at certain points.
Pan's Labyrinth/El laberinto del fauno (2006), Guillermo del Torro: He does it again, a dark/adult fairytale set during the Spanish Civil War. Creepy in a good way, a bit of graphic gore.
The City of Lost Children/La Cité des enfants perdus (1995), Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro: Rec'ed by Angpang. Very good film, very odd, but not as hard to follow as some films. Visually stunning; again, creepy in a good way.

18:

Repo: the Genetic Opera (2008), Darren Lynn Bousman: Fabulous, if you can't find it in the musicals section, look under horror, if you can't find it there, you're guess is as good as mine. Difficult to define, definitely fantastic. Set in the not-too-distant future, with a little bit of a political message about resources/consumption set to a great soundtrack. Brilliant performance from Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy's Giles), Sarah Brightman makes a fabulous Blind Mag and I love the Graverobber (also co-writer). Paris Hilton was surprisingly good, but I still don't like her much. Very gory.

That'll do for now methinks, I'll probably do a separate musicals post soon-ish. Ttfn.

Premier Vision

Earlier this year I went on a study trip to Paris. It was a lot of fun, but I was actually rather disappointed in Indigo. Here are a few of my thoughts:

Direction By Indigo: February 2009

Various companies were clearly thinking about sustainability, some – like Design Works International or Paper & Cloth – through the use of digital print, which is less chemically harmful to the environment. Others, like Beyond Retro and Ancienne Mode, were recycling vintage textiles, retro patterns and full garments. However, not all were. Many companies seemed to be designing with the sole thought of profit at any cost, particularly those whose generic patterns had been seen time and again on the high street and showed no innovation or thought put into use of materials. The use of traditional weaving, screen printing, natural dyes and other historical methods could be seen at several booths, including Helena Gavshon’s. They also used digital print, but seemed much more interested in preserving traditional methods and materials. There seemed to be a number of other companies still using traditional screen printing, but the trend seemed to be towards digital print, whether because of reasons pertaining to sustainability, decreased cost/increased profit, uniformity of design, increased use of new technologies and computer aided design or time saving techniques. Innovation seemed low overall, digital processes in themselves are still considered innovative, but their use was not, on the whole, interesting or unusual. It was mainly used for creating flat prints and patterns; laser-cutting and digital construction of surface textures, etc was minimal to non-existent. There was an awful lot of similar design from stall to stall and most of it was the same as or very similar to designs available for the past couple of years. A lot of florals in the same colours and very similar arrangements, a lot of it was not even particularly well composed. The majority of companies seemed to be playing it safe, which is, perhaps, understandable to a certain extent in this current economic climate. However, lack of profit or immediate saleability should not be an excuse for being ‘safe’, ‘boring’ and lacking in innovative thinking. Many of the companies appeared to be interested purely in design as aesthetics and surface pattern. I did not notice any scientific or technologically imbedded textiles at all, but this may have something to do with the aspect of Indigo as somewhere to sell patterns to industry, but it could easily be so much more than that. Admittedly, there were many empty booths due either to companies having sold out or not wanting to deal with students, so there could have been anything on them during the selling days. Attitudes towards us as students were mixed, many companies were willing to talk and answer questions; some even offered work experience or contacts. Others, were not so friendly, many would not even say hello and some wouldn’t let people look at their products. Surprisingly, the worst offenders of this terrible attitude were a couple of the University stalls. This is not a good way for companies to behave, just because we are students at the moment with little to no influence on industry does not mean we will always be. Many of us may go on to be their bosses; some of us may remember their attitudes and base decisions partly on that. Particularly the Universities, they may have just lost a highly talented future student or lecturer.


Now, I wouldn't base my job decisions on that, but I may walk if those attitudes continued. I probably would for a University place though, atmosphere is everything. It really is not a good way for the industry to act though becuase students are not just students, we're future professionals who, may indeed have control of their paychecks one day.

It's All Gone Boat-shaped!

It seems as if the red, blue and white nautical stripes and anchors are very much here to stay for another season. Not that I'm complaining because I do rather like that aesthetic; it's just that the fashion industry (or the high street anyway) gets less and less creative as it also gets lower and lower quality.

Take New Look par example, used to be you could get a really good pair of jeans that would last. Now, I wear jeans until they fall apart at the seams, are full of holes, covered in paint, too big and the bottoms are wrecked; I'm short and hemming jeans often ruins the cut (especially if there's a design on them or they're flared) or you feel like there's no point since they won't last long enough to merit it anyway, or you're just really lazy like moi... Anyway, up until last year I had 2 pairs of New Look jeans I absolutely adored, they lasted 4 and 5 years respectively and, had they not been entirely the wrong size, I might have made a more concerted rescue attempt (as it stands, one pair have gone to patch my brother's jeans and the other is probably going to be reborn as a handbag or something, haven't yet decided). So, having need of new jeans I thought, "hey, why not try the same place again?" No such luck. Like the majority of shops they don't cater for short people like myself (usually "petite" is still a couple of inches too long or in some cases, a couple of inches too short), easily solved but turning up the cuffs. However, one pair, 6 months down the line, the seams went gone and the crotch wore out; the other pair, after 3-4 months they went all grey and baggy (especially at the knees). I still wear the latter as they have yet to fall apart. I know they were only £10 and £6 respectively in the sale, but outwith the sale they were £30 and £25 respectively, more than I paid for the decent jeans 5 years ago. Not impressed at all.

Not all is doom and gloom though. I was recommended Marks & Spencer's by several reliable sources. They do have some nice stuff, but it's generally waaaaaaaaaay too expensive for a student budget and the rest is very conservative, middle-aged and upwards woman, so I hadn't really considered it as the place to buy jeans. Oh, but it is. You do have to hunt for the gems amongst the unfashionable and uncomfortable (I think anyway, just don't like where they sit really) high-waisted, straight-legged, boring ones, but there are nice ones there to find. I now have 2 pairs which, quelle suprise, are the right length for me and 3 months on show no signs of being poor quality. The verdict is still out on whether they last more than a year, but so far I am impressed. The waist is still too large, but, hey, that's a post for another time.

And now for the musical portion of this blog (it has gone rather musical):



Ooh, I do like me a bit of Cole Porter.



Go Sailor! Go!

Expect more music related posts, something a bit more serious and then some unbridled silliness comin' at ya like a wet flannel soon.

Peace out.

It's Good to be Spontaneous

Today when wandering the charity shops to find last minute items for Terry Pratchett's Mort (the student theatre company I'm part of's latest production) I picked up a random CD for £2, which looked quite interesting. Since I'm open to new experiences I figured, hey, why not, especially since the money goes to charity and if it was pants then I'd just pop it back in , no harm done.

Ice Cream by Salad (Island Records, 1997) is rather good though. I'm glad I randomly decided to get it. Unfortunately, none of their work is on Youtube, so you shall just have to track it down by yourselves. The wiki article should give you some background info though.

Also, lead singer Marijne van der Vlugt is in the band Cowboy Racer (also fabulous) whose song Yellow Horse featured in Grey's Anatomy.

Oh and I found Sarah McLaughlin's Icecream whilst looking on Youtube and it's great:



And just becuase nothing is complete without this (may be NSFW, contains sweary words):



Peace out...

Mars Ain't the Kinda of Place to Raise Your Kids...

Crossposted from http://cakepirates.livejournal.com/:

I've been meaning to post this up for quite a while now. This is an essay I wrote for my course at uni last semester and I was incredibly surprised that it got an A3 seeing as I was hoping for a C1 and expecting a C3. Anyway, it's all about interactive teaching/learning and suchlike you should check out some of the videos on Snozelan, etc, they are very intersting and I might pick up further research into this topic when I've got some time. Apologies for the spelling and grammar errors, I do try to catch these things, but spell-check only goes so far...

Also, if you get the chance to read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and/or Senses & Sensibilities by Jillyn Smith, do so because they rock so hard! Their writting styles are interseting, lively and reasonably easy to understand.

Mars Ain’t the Kind of Place to Raise Your Kids...[1]

So what is this design thing all about anyway?

Design is often perceived as pandering to a mass consumerist market and churning out pretty things; useless, disposable and ultimately destined to pollute a landfill site near you. Or, even worse perhaps, be shipped to a developing country to contaminate and, possibly, destroy their society and scenery as well. And, yes, in many instances, this is the case, but not all, not by a long shot. Attitudes towards design need to change as much as our attitudes towards how we use our natural resources. According to the Design Council (?:2): “Good design begins with the needs of the user. No design, no matter how beautiful and ingenious, is any good if it doesn't fulfil a user need...” A great example of a group practicing user-centred design is DEMAND, a registered charity working to “design and manufacture bespoke equipment for disabled people, where no off the shelf solutions exist...” (http://www.demand.org.uk/ (10/12/2008)). Design is and should be about finding solutions to problems. The same solution is not necessarily going to suit everyone, so how do you get around that obstacle?

Design is not just stuff...

“If you work with the child’s preferred learning style, as opposed to the more common method of working from what the child is not good at, you are then teaching them from a position of strength rather than weakness...” (Hirstwood ?:2). Sound familiar? Education and learning are just as much designed systems as the school buildings they occur in or the uniform which you may have worn there. Many things can fall under the general umbrella heading of interactive learning. And, yes, there is a lot of stuff associated with it; exploration of new technologies is always going to have strong links with education, who better to test some new innovation than someone who has no expectations or preconceptions of how it should work? One such example is SynergyNet, the “interactive multi-touch desks” (Lipsett 2008:1) created by Durham University’s Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) department and currently being tested in schools. They described their creation as: “...very similar to the type of interface shown as a vision of the future in the TV series Star Trek.” (Lipsett 2008:1). The idea, it seems, is for the class activities to become more student, rather than teacher-led, allowing the student to work at his or her own pace with separate tasks suitable for their level set to each desk; with added networking to allow for group activities. Its creators also claim that it has applications in relation to social inclusion and equality. However, this technology is still a long way off being ready for mainstream use and is far from affordable (£8,000 per desk) at this stage in development.

Relevant examples of technologies used in current interactive teaching are interactive whiteboards, which have been around for several years now. They allow for group activities, but are still teacher focused; they act as a computer screen which you can also draw on digitally with different coloured “pens”. Equally there is an educational video-gaming element to them. Special controllers (similar to those used by the Playstation game Buzz!) can be used to compete in teams or individually in user-created quizzes. It can turn learning into a more engaging experience and some of the information can be more likely to stick in your head than under a more traditional format of revision. More recently there is Nintendo’s Wii, which has a lot of potential to become an interactive teaching device. “Technology behind computer gaming... is developing exponentially. Equipment that five years ago was restricted to university virtual reality labs costing hundreds of thousands of pounds is now mainstream... Wii has suddenly made gaming both kinaesthetic and social...” (Hirstwood 2007:1). It could allow people with mobility issues to participate in sports which they may not otherwise have been able to, admittedly using the Wiimote to flick a digital bowling ball across the screen is an entirely different experience from actually throwing the real thing down the alley, but for people with restricted movement it allows them to experience some of the excitement, physical exercise and skills without too much exertion. The Wii’s smaller, more portable cousin, the DS also has in-built interactive technology and also has educational games currently available. Video gaming in education is not a new concept – it was certainly around in the 1990’s (Zoombeenies, Dread Dragon Droom, etc) – technology has simply moved on enough that they have become more physically interactive and possibly more acceptable in the classroom.

Sometimes a simpler approach is better...

However, high-tech solutions aren’t always the best ones. Interactive learning still existed before the days of personal computers; it just hadn’t been given a fancy title yet. According to Jillyn Smith (1989:198): “The senses need to be stimulated to develop, and many studies indicate that humans... need certain kinds of tactile experiences to develop into healthy individuals...” Something that computers, however good they may be, cannot give is human contact and their ability to provide tactile experiences/environments is currently limited. Snozelan or Multi-sensory/White Rooms, such as the ones at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Ryehill and Twinkle House in West Lancashire are used to help children and adults with physical or learning difficulties. “Although sophisticated equipment can be used, excellent work can also be done using items such as hand-held torches and cooking foil to break the light beams...” (The CALL Centre ?:1) Something as simple as a bubble tube, aromatherapy oils or fibre-optic sprays can teach important focusing or numeracy skills, etc. Weighted blankets or belts (like the miracle belt) can help to ground a child with Down’s syndrome or ADHD, etc. It is said that “Physical contact is the ultimate signal to infants and... small children that they are safe...” (Smith 1989:199). For many children with Autism or other disabilities, the opposite can be true, but the use of these (designed) objects seems to help many of them in a similar way to how human contact helps others. Many of these tactile techniques can also be used effectively with children without these problems.

And all this without even venturing into the fields of robotics or interactive web-design...

Design is a much more complex, far-reaching subject than it first appears and there are many ways in which it can and should be used to better people’s lives. There is no simple answer to what it really is: “And so I leave you with this thought, dear reader. Use the technology which the engineer has developed, but use it with a humble and questioning spirit...” (Lewycka 2006:303).

---

[1] Title taken from the song Rocket Man By Elton John.

Bibliography

Adams-Spink, G. (2006) Innovative designs tackle disabilities. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4690784.stm [9/12/2008]

Ambron, S. & Hooper, K. (ed.) (1990) Learning with Interactive Multimedia... Redmont, Washington: Microsoft Press.

Anderson, L. & Huang, H-C. (1995) Puppet Motel. New York: Voyager.

Bower, G. H. & Hilgard, E.R. (1981) Theories of Learning. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

CBS News (2007) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lOnoLESsWW0 [9/12/2008]

Cogill, J. (2002) How is the interactive whiteboard being used in primary school and how does this affect teachers and teaching? http://www.virtuallearning.org.uk/whiteboards/IFS_Interactive_whiteboards_in_the_primary_school.pdf [16/11/2008]

Design Council (?) What is Design. http://www.hku.hk/bse/interdisciplinary/what_is_design.pdf [9/12/2008]

DEMAND, Design & Manufacture for Disability (?) http://www.demand.org.uk/ [10/12/2008]

Druin, A. & Hendler, J. (ed.) (2000) Robots for Kids: Exploring New Technologies for Learning. San Diego: Morgan Kaufmann/Academic Press.

Elizabeth Fitzroy Support (2005) http://www.sensoryworld.org/ [9/12/2008]

Gladwell, M. (2008) The Tipping Point. London: Little, Brown Book Company.

HealthcareNewsNetwork (2008) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=U2j7yriau34 [10/12/2008]

Hirstwood, R. (2007) Do You Need a Wii? http://www.multi-sensory-room.co.uk/page49/page50/page50.html [9/12/2008]

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