Lost in Narration: Transparent Storyteller and Mobile Spectator in Early Harun Farocki

In this article my aim is to suggest the move from the discussions regarding the immobile gaze in terms of film theory and editing towards the discussion on wandering or mobile spectator enabled by the mobility of filmic means such as narration and camera. I claim that mobility of the viewer is not necessarily a corporeal condition, but a political and emancipatory potential arising from a certain aspect of film attributes that allow for spectator’s engagement with what is being seen on the screen. I will look for at least four sets of what I consider prerequisites for the emancipatory engagement of the spectator. I focus onspecific case studies of Harun Farocki’s films: mobility of the gaze, visibility of narrative agency, visibility of film language and the visibility of the spectator himself. I claim that the procedures described in this analysis can nullify Baudryan view of film as a product of the ideological effects of cinematograph as manipulative apparatus. Hence, standard model of film theory described by Bordwell and Burch in form of IMR is not applicable to Farocki’s model. Instead of the image as a final product, Farocki is constantly presenting the viewer the whole procedure of the production (apparatus, narration, camera and the work needed to produce an image). In doing so, he does not render reality banal, but positions it as a starting point for viewers’ intellectual emancipation

Capital and Capillary Image of Harun Farocki. Film Spectator between Production and Reception

Članak razmatra dva filma Haruna Farockija – Ein Bild (1983.) i Nicht löschbares Feuer (1969.) – te ih dovodi u vezu s teorijskim postavkama Mirzoeffove kontrapovijesti vizualnosti i Rancièreovim argumentima koji se tiču emancipiranog gledatelja. Temeljna je teza da eksperimentalna, semantički nejasna ili nedovršena slika može u epistemološkom smislu biti od vrijednosti gledatelju za političko djelovanje. Rad predlaže nazivlje kapitalna slika i kapilarna slika u svrhe ocrtavanja sličnosti i razlika među različitim oblicima proizvodnje slike. Istraživanje se zaključuje uvidom u emancipacijsku snagu filmske slike u trenucima kada se može vidjeti struktura proizvodnje same slike na ekranu. Objelodanjeni rad koji je sadržan u slici postaje rad gledatelja u demistifikaciji homogenosti njezinih značenjskih kodova.This paper discusses two films by Harun Farocki – Ein Bild (1983) and Nicht löschbares Feuer (1969) – and relates them to the theoretical arguments of Mirzoeff’s counterhistory of visuality and Rancière’s emancipated spectator. The main thesis is that experimental, semantically unclear or incomplete image can be of purpose to the spectator in an epistemological sense. The paper suggests the use of notions capital image and capillary image for the purpose of understanding similarities and differences between historically divergent forms of image production. The research concludes by reiterating the possibility of spectatorial emancipation from the dominant image in strategies of showing the structure of production of the image on the screen. The work seen in the image becomes the work of the spectator in trying to demystify the homogeneity of its semantic codes

The Concept of Credibility (Validity) in Television and Internet News Discourse: Critical Analysis

Rad okreće tradicionalno postavljenu perspektivu medija (novina, televizije, radija) kao jednosmjernog agensa komunikacije od pošiljatelja prema primatelju prema novoj paradigmi unutar koje informacija nema hijerarhizirajući predznak. Novomedijska perspektiva i aproprijacija tehnologije (internet) promijenila je prirodu informacijske diseminacije, pa tako više ne možemo govoriti o vjerodostojnosti kao pojmu koji pretpostavlja govorenje “istine” ili “laži” korisniku nekog medijskog proizvoda. Naprotiv, današnji korisnik može sam provjeriti informaciju na nekoliko razina (komparacijom tradicionalnih medija ili istraživanjem na internetu, pritom osvješćujući prirodu informacije kao semiotički višestruke, dok s druge strane sam postaje medijem daljnje informacijske propagacije. Takvo “uzimanje iz sredine” naočigled je kaotično, ali zapravo “blokira” nekoliko zapreka koje tradicionalni mediji predstavljaju. Kulturalnostudijskom analizom autoritet “govorenja” postaje bitan. Dok se u dnevnim novinama ili na televiziji autor krije iz svoje medijske kuće, ili iza vela “opće” ili “istinite” informacije, novi mediji pružaju širu perspektivu gdje je korisnik ponekad istovremeno i autor, ali uvijek arbitar informacijske korisnosti. Kriza koja postaje očita u tradicionalnim medijima u smislu nedostatka nužne subjektivnosti izvjestitelja, na internetu postaje gotovo dominantan poredak. Autor koji sve zna (na televiziji ili u novinama) postaje autorom koji je istovremeno i korisnik, ali uvijek vješt skupljač i diseminator informacija na internetu. Ta mogućnost intersubjektivnosti koju mediji ne žele prihvatiti jer podrazumijeva dehijerarhizaciju, a time i poništavanje “istinosnog”, u njima postaje pokretačem novomedijske pismenosti gdje “zrcalna perspektiva” postaje dominantnim diskursom. To zrcaljenje zalog je za budućnost u kojoj vjerodostojnost medija neće biti pitanje globalnog kapitala koji falsificira govoreći “opće istine”, ili pak namjerno zavodi, već pitanje vjerodostojnosti nas samih koji, postajući medijem, postajemo intersubjektivni u svojoj biti – spremni na teret subjektivne analize i višeglasja.This article reverses the traditional notion of media (television, radio or news papers) as a unidirectional agent of communication from producer to receiver to a more appropriate paradigm in which information is not embedded with hierarchy. The new media perspective and the appropriation of technology (Internet) have changed the nature of information dissemination. One cannot discuss authenticity or credibility in terms of ”telling the truth or lying”. On the contrary, users today can verify information by contrasting traditional media, or by autonomous investigation on the Internet. In this manner, the obtained information is rendered semantically ambiguous. With an approach akin to cultural studies, the authority of the speakers becomes important (unlike today in mainstream television media where a speaker is hidden behind his or her program). New media provides a unique perspective in which the user is always the arbiter of informational usefulness. The crisis that is manifested in traditional media by the lack of subjectivity of the reporter becomes diametrically opposite on the Internet. The all-knowing subject vanishes and gives place to an inter-subjective exchange which deletes hierarchy and the ontology of the ”truth”. A mirror perspective becomes the dominant order, by which one becomes inter-subjective par excellence. Within the present and future of new media, credibility will not be reserved for the ideological mass producers of information, but rather the credibility of the users. By becoming media, users begin to bear the burden of subjective analysis and multivocality

The Gaze Behind the Screen: Perception of Images in Media Texts

se zasniva na pretpostavci da unutar filmskih i vizualnih studija više nije moguće proučavati odnos gledatelja i pripadajuće mu slike kao odnos onoga koji spremno interpretira i onoga što biva interpretirano (Shannon-Weaver model komunikcije). Istraživanja počiva na analizi „krize gledanja“ koja nije locirana u novomedijski imaginarij, kako to često biva u suvremenim raspravama, već posve suprotno, njezine pojavnosti nalaze se diljem povijesti proučavanja pokretnih slika. Pitanje koje se postavlja glasi: može li se, i na koji način, uspostaviti metodološki i teorijski okvir za proučavanje tradicionalnih „spektatorskih“ praksi kao emancipirajućih djelatnosti ako odbacimo klasičnu klasifikaciju gledanja kao čina tumačenja (u optimističnoj inačici), ili kao pasivnog potpadanja pod ideološke učinke onoga što je u tu sliku upisano (u tehnopesimističnoj)? Posljednjih tridesetak godina na djelu je snažna produkcija akademskih rasprava na temu sveprotežnosti digitalne slike, te njezine pretpostavljene totalitarizirajuće prirode. Nasuprot tome, ovo istraživanje analizira filmske i vizualne prakse kao one koje fragmentiraju ne samo sliku/kôd, već i recipijenta te informacije. Anakronim proučavanjem (Moxey) raznorodnih slikovnih instanci (Harun Farocki, film-esej, recentni dokumentarizam pametnim telefonom te snimke bespilotnih letjelica), rad predlaže fragmentarnost slike (automatska slika, slika s greškom, nečitka slika, slika bez objašnjenja, diskontinuitetna slika…) i spektatora (anonimni gledatelj, anonimni/heterogen autor, komentator digitalne sfere…) kao novi metodološki i teorijski okvir za uspostavu emancipiranijeg sudionika novomedijske sfere proizvodnje znakova. Drugim riječima, istraživanje predlaže izmjenu tehnofilske dijalektike centralizirane (tradicionalni mediji) i decentralizirane (novi mediji) proizvodnje slikâ u korist totalitarne (homogeni medij) i fragmentarne (heterogena proizvodnja) logike. Nastavno tomu, oblikuje se teza kako gledanje može imati svoj produktivni, emancipacijski, proizvodni potencijal upravo kad se suoči s fragmentarnim novomedijskim praksama vizualiziranja (nadzorne kamere, slike bez objašnjenja, nedovršene snimke…) koje su tradicionalne odbacivane kao epistemološki bezvrijedne.The research is based on an assumption that the fields of film and visual studies are not suited for the analysis of the relation between the spectator and the image described first by Shannon-Weaver model of communication, i.e.., the one who looks, and the object of (his/her) interpretation. The research looks at the “crisis of the look”, but it does not situate it in new media theories, as is often the case. On the contrary, this thesis locates the history of the crisis as early as 16th century. The research poses a question on whether it is possible to establish methodological and theoretical framework for researching traditional practices of the spectator as “emancipatory” if we dismiss the classification of a viewer as a passive spectator of ideological social process (techno-determinism). Last thirty years have seen proliferation of academic and scientific dialogues and papers on digital image and its supposed totalizing nature. As opposed to, this research conducts analysis of filmic and other visual practices as ones that fragment not only the image/code, but also its recipient. By using heterochronic research (Moxey) of various image-making structures (Harun Farocki, essay film, smartphone documentary, drone footage), the work proposes the fragmentary image (automatic image, error-image, image without context, discontinuous image) and the spectator (the anonymous author/viewer) as a framework by which we can establish the emancipatory practices of image-making today. In other words, it proposes to transcend the binary between centralized (traditional media) and decentralized (new) media towards totalitarian (homogenous) and fragmentary (heterogenous) image. Hence, the thesis asserts that the process of viewing can be productive and emancipatory precisely through fragmentary, new media practices of image-making (CCTV footage, drone images, “incomplete” images)

Prostate Cancer

Karcinom prostate najčešće je dijagnosticirani karcinom muške populacije u razvijenim zemljama. Zamjećuje se stalni porast incidencije. Ipak, trenutačno nema dokaza koji bi poduprli opravdanost globalnog probira za rani rak prostate. Nasuprot tomu preporučuje se oportunistički probir putem antigena specifičnog za prostatu (PSA) i digitorektalnog pregleda. Dijagnoza se potvrđuje biopsijom prostate vođenom transrektalnim ultrazvukom. Među terapijskim opcijama aktivni je nadzor mogućnost u pristupu pacijentu s niskorizičnim karcinomom prostate i dužim očekivanim životnim vijekom, a oprezno čekanje alternativa je terapiji deprivacijom (uskraćivanjem) androgena u lokalno uznapredovalih karcinoma koji ne zahtijevaju lokalni tretman. Aktivno se liječenje preporučuje kod pacijenata s lokaliziranom bolesti, a uključuje radikalnu prostatektomiju kao jedinu kiruršku opciju, koja se pokazala nadmoćnijom u odnosu prema opreznom čekanju. Radijacijska terapija može se provoditi ekstrakorporalno ili putem brahiterapije u sklopu primarne, adjuvantne ili palijativne terapije. Hormonska terapija je terapija izbora kod lokalno uznapredovale bolesti i/ili metastatske bolesti. U pacijenata s dokazanom metastatskom bolesti i kastracijski rezistentnim karcinomom prostate moguća je i primjena kemoterapije. Zaključno, karcinom prostate kompleksna je bolest s više aspekata koji se moraju uzeti u obzir prije donošenja odluke o terapijskom planu, kao i praćenju pacijenta.Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer of the male population in developed countries. There is a steady increase in the incidence of prostate cancer. Currently there is no evidence to support the use of global prostate cancer screening. Opportunistic screening is carried out by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and digital rectal exam. The diagnosis is confirmed by ultrasound guided biopsy of the prostate. Among the treatment options, active surveillance is an option in patients with low-risk prostate cancer and a longer life expectancy. Watchful waiting is an alternative to androgen-deprivation therapy in locally-advanced carcinoma that does not require local treatment. Active treatment is recommended for patients with localized disease, and includes radical prostatectomy as the only surgical option, which proved superior to watchful waiting. Radiation therapy can be extracorporeal or implemented via brachytherapy as part of primary, adjuvant or palliative therapy. Androgen deprivation is the treatment of choice for locally-advanced disease. In patients with evidence of metastatic disease who have castration resistant prostate cancer, the application of chemotherapy is possible. In conclusion, prostate cancer is a complex disease with many aspects that must be taken into consideration before any decision on therapy or patient follow-up is made

Biopsy quantitative patohistology and seral values of prostate specific antigen-alpha (1) antichymotrypsine complex in prediction of adverse pathology findings after radical prostatectomy

In this prospective study we examined the utility of parameters obtained on prostate needle biopsy and prostate specific antigen-alpha(1)-antichymotripsine complex (PSA-ACT) to predict adverse pathologic findings after radical prostatectomy. 45 consecutive patients assigned for radical prostatectomy due to clinically localized prostate cancer were included in the study. Prostate biopsy parameters such as number of positive cores, the greatest percentage of tumor in the positive cores, Gleason score, perineural invasion, unilaterality or bilaterality of the tumor were recorded. PSA-ACT was determined using sandwich immunoassay chemiluminiscent method (Bayer, Tarrytown, New York). We analyzed relationship of preoperative PSA, PSA-ACT and quantitative biopsy parameters with final pathology after prostatectomy. Adverse findings were considered when extracapsular extension of cancer (pT3) was noted. Postoperatively, 29 (64.4 %) patients were diagnosed with pT2 disease and 16 (35.6 %) with pT3 disease. There was a significant difference in localized vs. locally advanced disease in number of positive biopsy cores (p<0.001), greatest percentage of tumor in the core (p=0.008), localization of the tumor (p=0.003) and perineural invasion (p=0.004). Logistic regression was used to develop a model on the multivariate level. It included number of positive cores and PSA-ACT and was significant on our cohort with the reliability of 82.22%. The combination of PSA-ACT and a large scale of biopsy parameters could be used in prediction of adverse pathologic findings after radical prostatectomy. Clinical decisions and patients counselling could be influenced by these predictors but further confirmation on a larger population is necessary

Impact of positive surgical margins after radical prostatectomy on disease progression and adjuvant treatment in pathologically localized prostate cancer

The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of margin positivity in clinically and pathologically localized prostate cancer (pT2) after radical prostatectomy on biochemical recurrence and time to adjuvant treatment. We analyzed data from 371 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy. At the mean follow up of 36 (25-54) months, impact of margin positivity in pT2 patients on prostate specific antigen (PSA) recurrence and time to introduction of adjuvant treatment was noted. Out of 371 radical prostatectomies there were 277 (74.6%) pT2 and 94 (25.4%) pT3 (locally advanced) prostate cancers. Mean age was 67.6 years, mean Gleason score 6.78, mean preoperative PSA 11.45 ng/mL. Out of 277 pT2 pts., 233 (84%) had negative (SM-) and 44 (16%) positive surgical margins (SM+). Only 3% of SM- pts. had biochemical relapse (BCR). Among pT2 patients with SM+, 18 (41%) had BCR while 26 were free of recurrence at 3 years follow up. Positive surgical margins had an adverse impact on biochemical progression free survival (3% SM- vs. 41% SM+; p<0,001). No difference was found in age, preoperative PSA, Gleason score or follow up between BCR-SM+ and BCR+SM+ patients. Mean time to PSA recurrence in surgical margin positive pT2 patients was 15.7 months. Surgical margin status pT2 disease has an impact on biochemical progression but only 41% of margine positive patients show biochemical recurrence at 3 yr follow up. Not all SM+ patients need to receive treatment after radical prostatectomy. Longer follow up should be awaited to see the impact on overall survival in this group of patients

Dijagnostika raka prostate u 2019. - promjene u europskim smjernicama i utjecaj na svakodnevnu praksu

Changes in the diagnostic pathway for prostate cancer advised in the most recent Guidelines of the European Association of Urology bring many endeavors for everyday practice. Availability, costs and radiological expertise are still representing a challenge for the adoption of these guidelines in everyday clinical practice. In this article we discuss the current situation regarding these issues and future options.Promjene u dijagnostici karcinoma prostate preporučene u najnovijim Smjernicama Europskog udruženja za urologiju donose mnoge izazove u svakodnevnoj praksi. Dostupnost, troškovi i pouzdanost slikovnog nalaza i dalje su izazov za usvajanje ovih smjernica u svakodnevnoj kliničkoj praksi. U ovom članku raspravljamo o trenutnoj situaciji u Hrvatskoj i svijetu i o budućim opcijama