Posts

Future Tense (2 Points)

The year is 2220. Humanity has, in essence, created immortality. When the body dies, an AI copy of the consciousness can be created and can live on through virtual reality. Some people use this to continue to interact with dead loved ones, and others meet AI versions of their idols. There has been a lot of debate over how legitimate these AI copies are considering they are created by humans. No matter how hard they try, the people who create these do have biases. This is especially true when the family is involved in crafting the AI version of their dead relative; is this a truly authentic version of the person, or an idealized version? How does this affect their legacy? In the end, does it really matter as long as the family is happy? The morality of turning this into an industry would be questioned, but capitalism was abolished after The Millennium War in 2100, so it’s no issue. VR has blown up in popularity after scientists figured out how to simulate the sens
Post a Comment
Read more

Final Blog

Readings: 76 Movies: 18 Attendance: 13 Future Tense Activity: 2 Total points: 109
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Fits 1 & 2 (1 Point)

 Oh man this is so refreshing. It’s so nice to listen to something so fun and lighthearted in 2020 considering, well, everything. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy combines the imagination and adventure of classic science fiction with the goofy comedy and biting satire of 80s/90s era British sketch comedy like A Bit of Fry and Laurie . I love how Adams mines comedy from exposition, which can be dry and boring. As a matter of fact, Adams weaponizes the dryness of exposition; the way characters say such ridiculous things so matter-of-factly makes up a good amount of the humor. It never gets old because Adams seemingly has a bottomless hat to pull creative and hilarious ideas from. There’s a fun irony to Adams establishing that Earth isn’t special (mostly harmless) while also applying Earthly concepts to his expansive universe. For example, the reason Earth is destroyed is to make way for a byline, just like how Arthur’s house was to be demolished to make way for a byline. Does that m
Post a Comment
Read more

Bloodchild (2 Points)

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?  That was…a lot. There’s a lot to unpack with the relationship between the Tlic and the Terrans. It’s disgusting in a literal sense, but it also mirrors a lot of things going on in the real world. Their parasitic relationship, which the Tlic make out to seem mutually beneficial, reminds me of how some white people view Black people. In America, the whites are the ruling race, like the Tlic in the Preserve. They make it seems like Black people are just part of the “mutually beneficial” system of capitalism, but really, they are an oppressed class, being used to further the wealth of those in charge. This parallels how the Tlic use the Terrans as host bodies for their young, but make it seem like they’re doing the Terrans a favor by “protecting” them, when in reality they are putting them in harm’s way.  2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect?  I was able t
1 comment
Read more

Metropolis (2 Points)

A lot of Metropolis barely feels like fiction at this point, at least when it comes to its commentary on society. As a matter of fact, it weirdly feels like a predecessor to Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite. Both visually portray class in similar ways; the working class literally live under the upper-class, who don’t really care about those beneath them. Sure, you can argue it’s a bit of an obvious visual metaphor, but I don’t think it takes away from how effective it is. I’d argue that some of the most powerful imagery seems obvious. It speaks to the core of what it’s representing, in this case how the working class is seen as below the upper class. It’s kind of hard to analyze it beyond that, because the film sums it up better than I could with its final card: “The Mediator Between the Head and the Hands Must Be the Heart.”
Post a Comment
Read more

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (1 Point)

Image
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is the evil A.I. story to end all evil A.I. stories. AM is a being of pure hatred who takes glee in psychological and physical torture. I have to give it to AM, he is creative in his torture; if you’re gonna be evil, might as well go all out. He’s the personification of cynicism and nihilism towards humanity. A being who saw both the best and worst of humanity and decided our best wasn’t even close to good enough.  We tend to think of advanced A.I. as overly rational, but I find that AM is closer to what a truly sentient A.I. can be. If it’s supposed to be so human, why would it be rational? Because it’s smart? Even the smartest of us give in to emotion. Our emotions and irrationality are what really make us human in the abstract sense. I wonder, is AM aware of how evil he is? Is he aware of the hypocrisy and just doesn’t care, or does he see it as a necessary evil? Or is he like Ted, the narrator, who sees himself as the best of them despite being
Post a Comment
Read more

Babel-17 (5 Points)

I really love how counterculture is portrayed in Babel-17. The book almost presents transhumanist elements as something that’s inevitable. Like, of course people who don’t fit in will give themselves giant fangs or fleshy wings; we already pierce our skin and give ourselves horns, so it’s not like we’re far off. It really taps into that idea that some members of marginalized groups say “fuck it, if society’s going to put us down for being ourselves, we might as well give in to our wildest ideas.” It’s kind of a fun part of not being a part of the mainstream, right? Just being able to go nuts and have fun with your appearance and having that be accepted. I think that’s what the book really conveyed to me through its descriptions; a sense of fun and playfulness with self-image. I feel like that’s elevated when these people with out-there body mods are juxtaposed with the customs officer who’s put off by them. Basically, it’s like putting some weird people next to a narc and saying “do y
Post a Comment
Read more