This course will look at the digital technologies that make up the new world of “digital convergence.” This course will also help students to develop necessary digital media production skills and use them critically to solve media development problems. The course will examine the effects of digital media convergence on psychological life, on industry, and on communities local and global through a variety of theories and paradigms.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Blog #1: “The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema”
Post Responses to “The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema” by 1/31 @ 10 p.m.
1. Provide a quick over view or summary of the readings (3 - 5 sentences). (10 pts)
2. Clearly Identify what you feel are 3 key ideas in the readings. (8pts)
3. Support your summary and/or key points with three specific references to the readings. (8pts)
4. Identify the most difficult or challenging concept for you from this week’s readings. Saying “I don’t know” or “nothing was difficult” is not an adequate response. (8pts)
5. Provide 2 or 3 discussion questions for us to talk about in class (6pts)
6. Discuss how this week’s readings might relate to your upcoming presentation, paper or to the “real world.” Here too, saying "I don't know" or "it does not apply" is not an adequate response. (10 pts)
1.The stories compare three movies to their main characters to technology: Rocky IV and blade Runner who are what we could call Cyborg’s and then Terminator is just a machine with no human characteristic at all. They also address the idea of shadows as a repressed personality, however it’s also known as a moral problem that challenges the whole ego- personality. The authors illustrate for us the consequences of technology completely taking over and dominating our society, while also suggesting that feminine traits may be the only things that can save humanity. Technology as mentioned in class is often an extension of the human, creating more possibilities. As everything else in the world with positives, Rocky finding the land, usually negatives follow, for example the Terminator or Rocky taking advantage of the land.
2. 3 KEY POINTS •Utopian (Open System) Vs. Dystopian (Closed System) •Shadows •Organic ( Rocky IV & Blade Runner- uses technology as an extension of oneself) Vs. Inorganic(The Terminator-not a man just a machine)
3. Supporting the Summary “The authors illustrate for us the consequences of technology …humanity.” pg. 72 “The terminator’s name captures well both his purpose and the fact that technology and humanity have exchanged places as agent and agency.” “Since humans now serve no function for the machines, they might as well be liquidated.” “They also address the idea of shadows…ego- personality” pg.67 “The refusal of the dreaming individual, or culture, to look at its own shadow is generally represented in the Frankenstein myth by humans who will not see the consequences of what they have created.” “Technology, then, allows us to ignore our own works. It is a License to forget” “Technology as mentioned in class…possibilities.” Positive “Splitting amoeba in two, creating a replicate of one.” We all know how much easier something would be if we just had an extra set of hands. Negative or harmful possibilities for example pg. 73 “Ginger does not hear the Terminator enter her apartment because she is listening to her Walkman.” “Sarah gives her whereabouts away by leaving a message on the answer machine.”
4. I am confused as to whether or not the authors in the end think that dystopian system doesn’t exist or if they believe that it’s stated wrong by critics and actually utopian and dystopian should be defined as the other? Also I think I had a little difficulty understanding because in my mind I felt I was at a disadvantage for never seeing any of the movies being mentioned (I have heard of them just not seen them). Had we not had the discussion in class Wednesday night, I would have been starring at this article very confused and lost. I got the concept of what it was saying, at least I think I did, however the fact that it was all about three movies I knew nothing about, I found myself reading then re-reading paragraphs throughout the entire article.
5. Q 1. Pg. 72 it says “The terminator is fully autonomous.” “The Terminator represents most clearly the tragic consequences for humanity, should this shadow story ever be played out to its completion.” - Isn’t this already happening? In some industries aren’t people and their jobs being replaced by machines that can be more efficient and cost effective?
Q 2. Pg. 74 it says “Rocky looks to the unspoiled land as a symbol of feminine.” “He unwittingly follows a course that led humans to lose control of technology.” Pg. 75 “The threat of technology against humanity”. He escapes technology and looks to the outside and nature to star training to get back to our roots. Aren’t we as a society in some going back to the little bit of land we have left unspoiled and trying to protect and save our environment? Everywhere you go these days you see or hear the terms “Go Green”, we go so far away from our environment and treating it right that we let things get way out of hand. We are now all coming together to protect the environment and remember what got us to where we’re at now.
6. How does this relate to the real world? I do believe in the whole idea of feminine and that we do need to balance our lives between reality and technology, too easily and often we find ourselves trying to dodge and/or escape a problem digitally to try and avoid confrontation. The terminator is not far from a reality, we are currently creating more and more gadgets that give us the tools to have similar characteristics. However we do need to realize the more and more we create electronics that can do everything for us, the more we have to worry about as humans. We don’t want put ourselves out on the street; it’s all fun and exciting until our jobs are in jeopardy. Too often we just focus on all the benefits these new creations are providing us, forgetting about the downfalls. For example talking on the cell phone while driving, takes away from the individuals concentration, this could lead to serious injuries and even fatality.
In the study ‘The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema’ the authors attempt to explore the evolution of our fear towards technology as expressed in three movies. In Rocky there is the cultural fear of human reliance on technology, and a loss of human interaction, emotion and feelings. In Blade Runner there is the cultural fear of who is in control of this technology. Is it the organic humans or the human created replicants ‘super humans’ who may actually have developed in to being better version of real humans. Finally in Terminator there is the cultural fear that technology has become fully autonomous and that the ‘inorganic robots’ are actually in full control of the world. There is no longer any requirement for humans to exist as technology has completely replaced them.
Three Key Ideas / Specific Reference from Reading
* Dangers associated with technological development will exist in cultures until fears are consciously recognized and understood. When understood, fears can be addressed to change them in a productive way.
- p.63 “The shadow is a threat to consciousness as long as it remains unrecognized; if assimilated, productive change becomes possible”
* The dangers of the advancement in technology are a consequence of the masculine nature with which it is developed where values associated with the feminine have largely been ignored.
- p.65 “Prometheanism, or the advance of technological progress, is predominantly a masculine myth that tends to ignore values associated with the feminine and with nature”
* The only way that the human characters in the movie and culture can survive and be saved is by consciously recognizing those feminine aspects that have been repressed.
- p.74 “Rocky does awaken to the shadow cast by technological progress over his culture and his self, and it is partially his encounter with the symbolically feminine land that not only prepares him to see but to convert his enemies to seeing.”
Identify the most difficult or challenging concept from the readings.
In all honesty I found this a very hard article to read, absorb and understand and had to read and re-read and re-read again. Whether it was the language and wording used, or the fact that it was focused on fictional ‘Made for Hollywood’ movies I found it very hard to relate to the authors as they discussed the myth.
Discussion questions
This paper was written over 20 years ago. Is there an overall blending of masculine and feminine aspects / characteristics in today’s society in the USA and if so how might it affect this study if written today?
Is there a comparison between the implied fear of technology in these movies 25+ years ago with a conscious fear of catastrophic disasters or global viruses destroying mankind that is appearing in some of today’s movies such as ‘Day After Tomorrow’, ‘The Road’, ‘Children of Men’, ‘Armageddon’?
Discuss how readings might relate to the “real world.”
The authors describe that fears are a threat to ones consciousness as long as they remain unrecognized. While unrecognized they often appear as dreams. These fears in a culture often are made conscious through artists and seers.
So recent movies portraying catastrophic disasters may be highlighting an ever growing fear in western society of the mistreatment of the planet. With continued advancements in technology in industry, depleting the planet more and more of natural resources, these fears may be being depicted through contemporary cinema today. Maybe these movies are increasing awareness through fear, helping people make positive changes towards becoming a more socially responsible and green society.
1. The Frankenstein Myth article exposes repressed fears society has regarding the relationship between culture and technology. A love-hate relationship with technology surfaces through the uncovering of viewpoints from Rocky IV, Blade Runner and The Terminator. Ultimately the article grapples with the idea of human obsolescence, or cultures understanding of it’s’ portrayal of these films. (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
4. The most difficult and/or challenging concept for me regarding this weeks reading was the simple fact that although I am familiar with the movies in the work, I have never seen them all from start to finish. I was able to piece together the authors’ ideas and the article sparked many ideas and various other concepts in my own mind. (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
5. Discussion questions: A) Why do you think historically humans have always had a love-hate relationship with technology? B) There is a great deal of emphasis on the pros and cons of technological advancements. From a socio-economic and political standpoint what do we need to do to find a middle ground? (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
6. Although very interesting I do not think that this article will prove useful in my paper or presentation. It does however relate to the “real world” in many ways. This work shows how susceptible humans are to concepts bestowed upon them in the media. People are so apt to look at how great and horrible technology is and/or can be while not acting rationally or analytically about each technological advancement individually. (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
2. 3 main concepts: love-hate relationship with technology (fear vs. desire), the role of feminism in cyborg demise and society’s understanding of utopia, lack there of and/or dystopia (Council Rock = Steve Reustle
"Currently we are enchanted with fully mediated "home entertainment centers" with user friendly personal computers, and with the optomistic conviction that solutions to such social problems as disease, the greenhouse effect and the nuclear threat will surely emerge through advances in technology" - Pg 61
"Chronic electronic bliss grows couch potatoes ...artificial intelligence may prove to be our obsolescence" -Pg 61
"Although most humans in these films are oblivious to their condition in relation to technology, a few people appear cognizant that the patriarchal path is leading towards extinction" -Pg 73
1. Provide a quick over view or summary of the readings (3 - 5 sentences).
Rushing & Frentz’s “The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema” is about humans versus technology as is related to the movies Rocky IV, Blade Runner, and the Terminator. The author proposes the idea of a shadow, which is a repressed part of one’s personality. This shadow is a “threat to consciousness” much like technology is a threat to society. Overall, the author described the ideas of a repressed self and society’s fear of technology domination with examples from the three movies.
2. Clearly Identify what you feel are 3 key ideas in the readings.
- The idea that “man intellectually and emotionally rejects electric technology at the same time that he increasingly comes to rely on it (p.61-62)”. Man has a love/hate relationship with technology; whether that is in regards to a robot or something more basic.
- The idea of a shadow or the repressed part of our personality, however, recognition of one’s shadow is “the essential condition for any kind of self knowledge (p.63).”
- Utopian versus Dystopian
3. Support your summary and/or key points with three specific references to the readings.
- “The shadow is a threat to consciousness as long as it remains unrecognized; if assimilated, productive change becomes possible (p.63).”
- “The Terminator seems to say, sexual politics will be irrelevant, nature will be obliterated, and humankind’s only chance will be to rid itself of all technology and start over again at a tribal level (p. 76).”
- “Utopian fiction employs positive images of robots (p.62)”
- “Dystopian fiction creates foreboding images of the robot (p.62)”
4. Identify the most difficult or challenging concept for you from this week’s readings.
I found this article to be very difficult to follow. I am not sure if this was because I have never seen any of these movies or just how it was written. I was also confused about the idea of the myth.
5. Provide 2 or 3 discussion questions for us to talk about in class
Throughout the article the concept of gender was brought up numerous times. Do you think the gender of character has a significant impact on whether or not they are utopian or dystopian?
With regards to movie content and technology, do you think the movie Rocky IV should have been compared to Blade Runner and the Terminator?
6. Discuss how this week’s readings might relate to your upcoming presentation, paper or to the “real world.”
Rushing & Frentz’s “The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema” can be related to the real world because we are so reliant on technology today. I don’t think this a fear of society, but it can have negative effects. For example, will text messaging effect the communication skills of today’s children or the idea that kids today do not even go to a library anymore. Another example is losing a mobile phone; today that is considered a crisis. Granted we don’t fear that cyborgs are going to take over the world, but in time our reliance on technology will be evident in many aspects of life.
The article entitled "The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema" links three pieces of cinema to humans interaction and fear of technological achievement. The author looks at man's relationship with technology and their fear of becoming obsolescent as a result of continuing advancements. The human "agent" discussed in the article must look upon feminine traits and tendencies in order to combat the chance of this realization. If humanity is to persevere we must retain those traits which make us human in the first place while still relying on technology.
Key Ideas: 1) Individually, humans have a repressed fear of technology but continue to become reliant on its existence. -"A strange split personality exists in both in reality and in fiction...Man intellectually abd emotionally rejects electric technology at the same time that he increasingly comes to rely on it."(61-62)
2) Humans must integrate feminine values in order to combat this replacement. -"If the repressed feminine aspects of the dystopian tragedy could be consciously recognized than the entelechial pattern that motivates the feminine principle might be able to redirect the movement of the shadow myth and in doing so alter its evolution toward a more productive societal end." (65)
3) The cultural shadow society operates under manifests itself in our fear of of being systematically replaces by technology. -"A cultural shadow, born in response to the limitations of the conscious perspective of an era and often appearing in the guise of archetypal symbols. If the shadow of a cultural epoch is always the repressed negation of what the collectivity consciously affirms then the unconscious compensation for progress is the fear og being systematically replaced by technology." (63)
The theme I struggled to understand in the article was the tie between humans fear of technology and the conscious realization of the outcomes it may produce. Does the author suggest that the only way to avoid disastrous results in the future is for us to have thought of them beforehand. Also I am perplexed by the correlations drawn from the Rocky movie. As someone who has seen Rocky IV, it is hard to imagine making some of the parallels the author makes. For me he is looking way to hard to draw out these comparisons. Rocky training outside is a metaphor for man's return to nature in a defiant act against technology is grasping, akin to using Jackass the movie as a scathing commentary on the educational system.
Discussion questions:
Has society changes its stance on technology since the release of this article. Would the arguments in the article still be made today.
Do you agree that humanity must take a feminine approach to self analysis in order to escape potentially dangerous outcomes of technological achievement.
One can certainly make correlations between the article and the way society is progressing with technology. Today more than ever we are entrenched in technology and one could say we are more than ever hopelessly dependent on our technological integration. I would say that as we progress and technology advances we will become more and more dependent and by looking at the underlying subtexts in the article hopefully society will at collective self in the mirror and analyze what truly needs to change with humans. This will allow us to maintain a symbiotic relationship with the technology we so desperately need in our lives.
Janice Hocker Rushing and Thomas S. Frentz discuss the dystopian shadow myth regarding technology. They explain the implications of developed views through the use of well-known cinematic productions like Rocky IV, Blade Runner, and The Terminator. The shadow myth explains the cultural impact on societal views of technology and the key presence of feminine traits in characters related to them. The authors explain the similarities and differences of how technology is perceived, from pleasant humanoid to destructive machine, and how this explains each shadow.
2.
A. The dystopian explanation of the Frankenstein Myth and how the fear of machines and technology can be transformed into something other than promenthianism.
B. Feminism is a reoccuring theme throughout the explanation of each film and it's explanation of technology.
C. Shadows, or cultural shadows, are shown throughout as humans production of autonous technological creations from human innovation.
3.
A. The authors explain dystopianism by stating that, "Dystopian fiction creates foreboding images of the robot, regards the machine as threatening,, and extrapolates from and exaggerates present conditions in imagining the future..." pg 62
B. Feminism is shown in Iban Hasan's argument of promenthianism where there is "technological advance, and a predominantly masculine myth that ignores values associated with the feminine and nature." pg 65.
C. The cultural shadow is explained as , " a repressed and evolving myth, with a method to assess internal changes in the structure of that myth as it moves towards it's completion," pg. 64
4. I found the argument about Rocky on page 74 and the awakening of a shadow cast by tech progress and his climb to the peak of a mountain rather then the phila art museum to be confusing. What was the authors point here?
5.
A. Do you believe that these movies meant to have the kind of societal implications the authors presented or were they just looking to entertain?
B. Which film do you believe most realistic represents the past, present, and future of our realtionship with technology as humans?
c. What was your most challenging area of the article that really had you stumped or then what you might have posted on the blog?
6. I have yet to consider my paper topic, but believe that this article has made me a bit more aware of how technology and humanoid technologies might be perceived at work and home. Devices that we readily use like cell phones and computers have not been demonized like the machines in the movies discuss with humanoid characteristics. However, aren't they simply a basic form, or extended part, of these humanoid technologies. Should we really fear the development of robots because they could overpower humans/kill us off. Might these machines live amongst us and be a great addition to our world. It seems we demonize technology when we see fit and validate it when we feel is right. I think my topic might look to understand more about these pitfalls our society falls into when dealing with new technology.
Blog Guidelines:
ReplyDelete1. Provide a quick over view or summary of the readings (3 - 5 sentences). (10 pts)
2. Clearly Identify what you feel are 3 key ideas in the readings. (8pts)
3. Support your summary and/or key points with three specific references to the readings. (8pts)
4. Identify the most difficult or challenging concept for you from this week’s readings. Saying “I don’t know” or “nothing was difficult” is not an adequate response. (8pts)
5. Provide 2 or 3 discussion questions for us to talk about in class (6pts)
6. Discuss how this week’s readings might relate to your upcoming presentation, paper or to the “real world.” Here too, saying "I don't know" or "it does not apply" is not an adequate response. (10 pts)
ALL BLOG POSTS ARE DUE BY SUNDAY NIGHT AT 10p.m.
1.The stories compare three movies to their main characters to technology: Rocky IV and blade Runner who are what we could call Cyborg’s and then Terminator is just a machine with no human characteristic at all. They also address the idea of shadows as a repressed personality, however it’s also known as a moral problem that challenges the whole ego- personality. The authors illustrate for us the consequences of technology completely taking over and dominating our society, while also suggesting that feminine traits may be the only things that can save humanity. Technology as mentioned in class is often an extension of the human, creating more possibilities. As everything else in the world with positives, Rocky finding the land, usually negatives follow, for example the Terminator or Rocky taking advantage of the land.
ReplyDelete2. 3 KEY POINTS
•Utopian (Open System) Vs. Dystopian (Closed System)
•Shadows
•Organic ( Rocky IV & Blade Runner- uses technology as an extension of oneself) Vs. Inorganic(The Terminator-not a man just a machine)
3. Supporting the Summary
“The authors illustrate for us the consequences of technology …humanity.” pg. 72 “The terminator’s name captures well both his purpose and the fact that technology and humanity have exchanged places as agent and agency.” “Since humans now serve no function for the machines, they might as well be liquidated.”
“They also address the idea of shadows…ego- personality” pg.67 “The refusal of the dreaming individual, or culture, to look at its own shadow is generally represented in the Frankenstein myth by humans who will not see the consequences of what they have created.” “Technology, then, allows us to ignore our own works. It is a License to forget”
“Technology as mentioned in class…possibilities.” Positive “Splitting amoeba in two, creating a replicate of one.” We all know how much easier something would be if we just had an extra set of hands. Negative or harmful possibilities for example pg. 73 “Ginger does not hear the Terminator enter her apartment because she is listening to her Walkman.” “Sarah gives her whereabouts away by leaving a message on the answer machine.”
4. I am confused as to whether or not the authors in the end think that dystopian system doesn’t exist or if they believe that it’s stated wrong by critics and actually utopian and dystopian should be defined as the other? Also I think I had a little difficulty understanding because in my mind I felt I was at a disadvantage for never seeing any of the movies being mentioned (I have heard of them just not seen them). Had we not had the discussion in class Wednesday night, I would have been starring at this article very confused and lost. I got the concept of what it was saying, at least I think I did, however the fact that it was all about three movies I knew nothing about, I found myself reading then re-reading paragraphs throughout the entire article.
ReplyDelete5. Q 1. Pg. 72 it says “The terminator is fully autonomous.” “The Terminator represents most clearly the tragic consequences for humanity, should this shadow story ever be played out to its completion.”
- Isn’t this already happening? In some industries aren’t people and their jobs being replaced by machines that can be more efficient and cost effective?
Q 2. Pg. 74 it says “Rocky looks to the unspoiled land as a symbol of feminine.” “He unwittingly follows a course that led humans to lose control of technology.” Pg. 75 “The threat of technology against humanity”. He escapes technology and looks to the outside and nature to star training to get back to our roots. Aren’t we as a society in some going back to the little bit of land we have left unspoiled and trying to protect and save our environment? Everywhere you go these days you see or hear the terms “Go Green”, we go so far away from our environment and treating it right that we let things get way out of hand. We are now all coming together to protect the environment and remember what got us to where we’re at now.
6. How does this relate to the real world?
I do believe in the whole idea of feminine and that we do need to balance our lives between reality and technology, too easily and often we find ourselves trying to dodge and/or escape a problem digitally to try and avoid confrontation. The terminator is not far from a reality, we are currently creating more and more gadgets that give us the tools to have similar characteristics. However we do need to realize the more and more we create electronics that can do everything for us, the more we have to worry about as humans. We don’t want put ourselves out on the street; it’s all fun and exciting until our jobs are in jeopardy. Too often we just focus on all the benefits these new creations are providing us, forgetting about the downfalls. For example talking on the cell phone while driving, takes away from the individuals concentration, this could lead to serious injuries and even fatality.
Overview
ReplyDeleteIn the study ‘The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema’ the authors attempt to explore the evolution of our fear towards technology as expressed in three movies. In Rocky there is the cultural fear of human reliance on technology, and a loss of human interaction, emotion and feelings. In Blade Runner there is the cultural fear of who is in control of this technology. Is it the organic humans or the human created replicants ‘super humans’ who may actually have developed in to being better version of real humans. Finally in Terminator there is the cultural fear that technology has become fully autonomous and that the ‘inorganic robots’ are actually in full control of the world. There is no longer any requirement for humans to exist as technology has completely replaced them.
Three Key Ideas / Specific Reference from Reading
* Dangers associated with technological development will exist in cultures until fears are consciously recognized and understood. When understood, fears can be addressed to change them in a productive way.
- p.63 “The shadow is a threat to consciousness as long as it remains unrecognized; if assimilated, productive change becomes possible”
* The dangers of the advancement in technology are a consequence of the masculine nature with which it is developed where values associated with the feminine have largely been ignored.
- p.65 “Prometheanism, or the advance of technological progress, is predominantly a masculine myth that tends to ignore values associated with the feminine and with nature”
* The only way that the human characters in the movie and culture can survive and be saved is by consciously recognizing those feminine aspects that have been repressed.
- p.74 “Rocky does awaken to the shadow cast by technological progress over his culture and his self, and it is partially his encounter with the symbolically feminine land that not only prepares him to see but to convert his enemies to seeing.”
Identify the most difficult or challenging concept from the readings.
In all honesty I found this a very hard article to read, absorb and understand and had to read and re-read and re-read again. Whether it was the language and wording used, or the fact that it was focused on fictional ‘Made for Hollywood’ movies I found it very hard to relate to the authors as they discussed the myth.
Discussion questions
This paper was written over 20 years ago. Is there an overall blending of masculine and feminine aspects / characteristics in today’s society in the USA and if so how might it affect this study if written today?
Is there a comparison between the implied fear of technology in these movies 25+ years ago with a conscious fear of catastrophic disasters or global viruses destroying mankind that is appearing in some of today’s movies such as ‘Day After Tomorrow’, ‘The Road’, ‘Children of Men’, ‘Armageddon’?
Discuss how readings might relate to the “real world.”
The authors describe that fears are a threat to ones consciousness as long as they remain unrecognized. While unrecognized they often appear as dreams. These fears in a culture often are made conscious through artists and seers.
So recent movies portraying catastrophic disasters may be highlighting an ever growing fear in western society of the mistreatment of the planet. With continued advancements in technology in industry, depleting the planet more and more of natural resources, these fears may be being depicted through contemporary cinema today. Maybe these movies are increasing awareness through fear, helping people make positive changes towards becoming a more socially responsible and green society.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1. The Frankenstein Myth article exposes repressed fears society has regarding the relationship between culture and technology. A love-hate relationship with technology surfaces through the uncovering of viewpoints from Rocky IV, Blade Runner and The Terminator. Ultimately the article grapples with the idea of human obsolescence, or cultures understanding of it’s’ portrayal of these films. (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
ReplyDelete4. The most difficult and/or challenging concept for me regarding this weeks reading was the simple fact that although I am familiar with the movies in the work, I have never seen them all from start to finish. I was able to piece together the authors’ ideas and the article sparked many ideas and various other concepts in my own mind. (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
ReplyDelete5. Discussion questions: A) Why do you think historically humans have always had a love-hate relationship with technology? B) There is a great deal of emphasis on the pros and cons of technological advancements. From a socio-economic and political standpoint what do we need to do to find a middle ground? (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
ReplyDelete6. Although very interesting I do not think that this article will prove useful in my paper or presentation. It does however relate to the “real world” in many ways. This work shows how susceptible humans are to concepts bestowed upon them in the media. People are so apt to look at how great and horrible technology is and/or can be while not acting rationally or analytically about each technological advancement individually. (Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
ReplyDelete2. 3 main concepts: love-hate relationship with technology (fear vs. desire), the role of feminism in cyborg demise and society’s understanding of utopia, lack there of and/or dystopia (Council Rock = Steve Reustle
ReplyDelete3:
ReplyDelete"Currently we are enchanted with fully mediated "home entertainment centers" with user friendly personal computers, and with the optomistic conviction that solutions to such social problems as disease, the greenhouse effect and the nuclear threat will surely emerge through advances in technology" - Pg 61
"Chronic electronic bliss grows couch potatoes ...artificial intelligence may prove to be our obsolescence" -Pg 61
"Although most humans in these films are oblivious to their condition in relation to technology, a few people appear cognizant that the patriarchal path is leading towards extinction" -Pg 73
(Council Rock = Steve Reustle)
1. Provide a quick over view or summary of the readings (3 - 5 sentences).
ReplyDeleteRushing & Frentz’s “The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema” is about humans versus technology as is related to the movies Rocky IV, Blade Runner, and the Terminator. The author proposes the idea of a shadow, which is a repressed part of one’s personality. This shadow is a “threat to consciousness” much like technology is a threat to society. Overall, the author described the ideas of a repressed self and society’s fear of technology domination with examples from the three movies.
2. Clearly Identify what you feel are 3 key ideas in the readings.
- The idea that “man intellectually and emotionally rejects electric technology at the same time that he increasingly comes to rely on it (p.61-62)”. Man has a love/hate relationship with technology; whether that is in regards to a robot or something more basic.
- The idea of a shadow or the repressed part of our personality, however, recognition of one’s shadow is “the essential condition for any kind of self knowledge (p.63).”
- Utopian versus Dystopian
3. Support your summary and/or key points with three specific references to the readings.
- “The shadow is a threat to consciousness as long as it remains unrecognized; if assimilated, productive change becomes possible (p.63).”
- “The Terminator seems to say, sexual politics will be irrelevant, nature will be obliterated, and humankind’s only chance will be to rid itself of all technology and start over again at a tribal level (p. 76).”
- “Utopian fiction employs positive images of robots (p.62)”
- “Dystopian fiction creates foreboding images of the robot (p.62)”
4. Identify the most difficult or challenging concept for you from this week’s readings.
I found this article to be very difficult to follow. I am not sure if this was because I have never seen any of these movies or just how it was written. I was also confused about the idea of the myth.
5. Provide 2 or 3 discussion questions for us to talk about in class
Throughout the article the concept of gender was brought up numerous times. Do you think the gender of character has a significant impact on whether or not they are utopian or dystopian?
With regards to movie content and technology, do you think the movie Rocky IV should have been compared to Blade Runner and the Terminator?
6. Discuss how this week’s readings might relate to your upcoming presentation, paper or to the “real world.”
Rushing & Frentz’s “The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema” can be related to the real world because we are so reliant on technology today. I don’t think this a fear of society, but it can have negative effects. For example, will text messaging effect the communication skills of today’s children or the idea that kids today do not even go to a library anymore. Another example is losing a mobile phone; today that is considered a crisis. Granted we don’t fear that cyborgs are going to take over the world, but in time our reliance on technology will be evident in many aspects of life.
The article entitled "The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema" links three pieces of cinema to humans interaction and fear of technological achievement. The author looks at man's relationship with technology and their fear of becoming obsolescent as a result of continuing advancements. The human "agent" discussed in the article must look upon feminine traits and tendencies in order to combat the chance of this realization. If humanity is to persevere we must retain those traits which make us human in the first place while still relying on technology.
ReplyDeleteKey Ideas:
1) Individually, humans have a repressed fear of technology but continue to become reliant on its existence.
-"A strange split personality exists in both in reality and in fiction...Man intellectually abd emotionally rejects electric technology at the same time that he increasingly comes to rely on it."(61-62)
2) Humans must integrate feminine values in order to combat this replacement.
-"If the repressed feminine aspects of the dystopian tragedy could be consciously recognized than the entelechial pattern that motivates the feminine principle might be able to redirect the movement of the shadow myth and in doing so alter its evolution toward a more productive societal end." (65)
3) The cultural shadow society operates under manifests itself in our fear of of being systematically replaces by technology.
-"A cultural shadow, born in response to the limitations of the conscious perspective of an era and often appearing in the guise of archetypal symbols. If the shadow of a cultural epoch is always the repressed negation of what the collectivity consciously affirms then the unconscious compensation for progress is the fear og being systematically replaced by technology." (63)
The theme I struggled to understand in the article was the tie between humans fear of technology and the conscious realization of the outcomes it may produce. Does the author suggest that the only way to avoid disastrous results in the future is for us to have thought of them beforehand. Also I am perplexed by the correlations drawn from the Rocky movie. As someone who has seen Rocky IV, it is hard to imagine making some of the parallels the author makes. For me he is looking way to hard to draw out these comparisons. Rocky training outside is a metaphor for man's return to nature in a defiant act against technology is grasping, akin to using Jackass the movie as a scathing commentary on the educational system.
Discussion questions:
Has society changes its stance on technology since the release of this article. Would the arguments in the article still be made today.
Do you agree that humanity must take a feminine approach to self analysis in order to escape potentially dangerous outcomes of technological achievement.
One can certainly make correlations between the article and the way society is progressing with technology. Today more than ever we are entrenched in technology and one could say we are more than ever hopelessly dependent on our technological integration. I would say that as we progress and technology advances we will become more and more dependent and by looking at the underlying subtexts in the article hopefully society will at collective self in the mirror and analyze what truly needs to change with humans. This will allow us to maintain a symbiotic relationship with the technology we so desperately need in our lives.
1.
ReplyDeleteJanice Hocker Rushing and Thomas S. Frentz discuss the dystopian shadow myth regarding technology. They explain the implications of developed views through the use of well-known cinematic productions like Rocky IV, Blade Runner, and The Terminator. The shadow myth explains the cultural impact on societal views of technology and the key presence of feminine traits in characters related to them. The authors explain the similarities and differences of how technology is perceived, from pleasant humanoid to destructive machine, and how this explains each shadow.
2.
A. The dystopian explanation of the Frankenstein Myth and how the fear of machines and technology can be transformed into something other than promenthianism.
B. Feminism is a reoccuring theme throughout the explanation of each film and it's explanation of technology.
C. Shadows, or cultural shadows, are shown throughout as humans production of autonous technological creations from human innovation.
3.
A. The authors explain dystopianism by stating that, "Dystopian fiction creates foreboding images of the robot, regards the machine as threatening,, and extrapolates from and exaggerates present conditions in imagining the future..." pg 62
B. Feminism is shown in Iban Hasan's argument of promenthianism where there is "technological advance, and a predominantly masculine myth that ignores values associated with the feminine and nature." pg 65.
C. The cultural shadow is explained as , " a repressed and evolving myth, with a method to assess internal changes in the structure of that myth as it moves towards it's completion," pg. 64
4. I found the argument about Rocky on page 74 and the awakening of a shadow cast by tech progress and his climb to the peak of a mountain rather then the phila art museum to be confusing. What was the authors point here?
5.
A. Do you believe that these movies meant to have the kind of societal implications the authors presented or were they just looking to entertain?
B. Which film do you believe most realistic represents the past, present, and future of our realtionship with technology as humans?
c. What was your most challenging area of the article that really had you stumped or then what you might have posted on the blog?
6. I have yet to consider my paper topic, but believe that this article has made me a bit more aware of how technology and humanoid technologies might be perceived at work and home. Devices that we readily use like cell phones and computers have not been demonized like the machines in the movies discuss with humanoid characteristics. However, aren't they simply a basic form, or extended part, of these humanoid technologies. Should we really fear the development of robots because they could overpower humans/kill us off. Might these machines live amongst us and be a great addition to our world. It seems we demonize technology when we see fit and validate it when we feel is right. I think my topic might look to understand more about these pitfalls our society falls into when dealing with new technology.