Before introducing the key term in this entry, please check out the video below ENJOY~!!!
Everyday things that affect your mood, Youtube: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvJpy9EiwN4>
NOW think about these questions:
How everything around you affects your mood in number of ways?
Is emotion really the only thing that you express yourself?
What it really means to one's life when everything is linked?
Answers could be varied from person to person, but, AFFECT, does undeniably happen to be in every decision we make, every step we take, along with every consequence that happens at a given moment. I exceptionally like Massumi's(2002) definition 'where we might be able to go and what we might be able to do in every present situation'. And he goes on saying 'affect', is a concept that correlated to constant changes and creation of movement when we affect something, we are, in the meantime, also opening ourselves to be affected in turn. Even the slightest differences are still considered to be a transition of what is not the same as before. From this point of view, it is inclined to be a pragmatic definition in the change of capacity when our bodies are moved from one point to another, rather to stay at a static position. Apart from this, Massumi also suggests that such a movement, is a doubling, in other words, an experience is being intensified by a new experience, which in depth, it gives our bodies a kind of energy to 'accumulate in memory, in habit, in reflex, in desire, in tendency'. Hence, it's said to be relational the way we live that is entirely being embodied and that this embeddedness makes us connect and potentially innovates new ideas.
How this works? How do we make connection by the mean of affect? Given one simple example here, have you ever laughed at something more than half an hour with your friends at the cafe simply because each and every time any of you stops laughing, you see others are still continuously laughing out loud, it makes you laugh even more to the point that you choke yourself? I did, for several times, as crazy as it sounds. That has always been the happiest moment in my life. But my point here is, in a larger picture of affect, expressions such as laughter, as I have mentioned, is as powerful as to the point where it interrupts a situation, (once again), quoting from Massuri (sorry, I just love this article too much!), 'it forces this situation to attention', in this case, our laughter is filled with extreme happiness and obviously, we went teary from laughing way too much. Regardless, we somehow make 'instantaneous calculation or judgment', as he has pointed out, other expression like anger, it directly brings number of outcomes to the next moment such as breaking of relations, move towards violence.
Not to go too far from here, but if this is the case, 'affect', is regarding to a series of process that each step we are taking is differentiate from one another, wouldn't 'affect' itself also an activator of each next move? From the journal of media and cultural studies Disaffected written by Gibbs and Anna(2002), they focus on Tomkin's theory in which it believes that 'affects' are indeed a primary motivational system, to amplify the drives and lend them urgency, in other words, to push one to respond to a certain circumstance. Without this responsiveness, movement won't be a movement. Every emotion and thought is to be activated in the sake of create another. Therefore, to say that, perhaps, sometimes a facial expression such as a smile, is an awareness based on the other person passes this smile at you as an activator.
Now what does all this mean in terms of our communication through different manners? It can be applied to every aspect in our lives and experiences when it both directly and indirectly shape our future actions. It's true that 'affect' is contagious from all the examples I have given above, especially when we play games, our gaming experience will be externalised by our reactions and actions in response to that environment. This perspective is supported by attention, videogames and the retentional economies of affective amplification, written by Ash and James (2012), agree that affects particularly generate response but this is not all. Adding to what causes players' addition to their gaming experiences, they suggest affects are enhanced through the material and aesthetic design of products such as simple sound, the weapon from online game, the firing effect surrounds the gun makes it more tempted for the player to use that weapon. Though it may seem to be minor, but it's not unimportant at all.
Now take a break and watch the following video of a gameplay trailer, will this kind of game interest you? If so, why?
The weapons, the coolness and bravery of a typical heroic character, the laser, the music or the arena? Or all?
In my point of view, the overall media power is spectacularly a magic for me when it takes place in everywhere, every second in my life. But it's affect that makes it happen, just like the days when I've been wondering why Gangnam style goes viral globally, a simple kid's laugh is re-edited to be a mash up video by other geniuses, and campaign such as the act of anti-bully spreads out on Facebook by lots of shares and likes. Munster and Anna(2013) claims that this immediate effect is subject to a matter of 'style' in exchange with larger audience out there with 'a shared singularity that emanates from their everydayness'. Within this atmosphere, we relate to this temporariness, get affected and hence, the things we feel within us turn that to an action by letting more people know about it.
To conclude, our ongoing everyday bodily movements combined with our thought are comprised of great relations in transition in general. And this total of movements is expressively formed by affects and being affected.
To explore more, feel free to check out the following videos. The demonstration of 'affects' is indeed embedded in everyday basis!! *by the way, thanks Andrew for sharing that Thai ad video during the lecture, that was one of my favourites that I shared on my facebook a few weeks ago. I like how it touches my heart no matter how many times I've watched it :)*
Can you even stop smiling/laughing when a baby hysterically laughs at ripping paper like this?
How does this Gif sound mashup in terms of its repetitive pattern and great humour effect generate/affect your viewing experience?
'Beauty patch' turns out to be a lie? How psychology affects how women see themselves? This is a video that has been popularized most recently and I love how this 'lie' eventually makes them see their true beauty.
Searching for touching videos is one of my habits so I come across with another touching Thai ad here this time. This is a great video in expressing the idea of what giving/kindness changes one's life.Within the video, the kindness was given 30 years ago has largely affected someone's life. But most importantly is that, by watching this video, I, as an audience also have learned something, felt the gratitude and my emotion has affected overall. How do you feel after watching this video?
References:
Ash, James (2012) ‘Attention, Videogames and the Retentional Economies of Affective Amplification’, Theory, Culture & Society, 29(6): 3-26Gibbs, Anna (2002) ‘Disaffected’, Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 16:3, 335-341, <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1030431022000018690>
Massumi, B and Zournazi, M.(2002) Navigating moments: A conversation with Brian Massumi, Hope: New Philosophies for Change Sydney: Pluto Press: 210-243
Munster, Anna (2013) ‘Going Viral: Contagion as Networked Affect, Networked Refrain’ in An Aesthesia of Networks: Conjunctive Experience in Art and Technology Cambridge, MA: MIT Press: 99-123
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