Presentation on the Matrix

Homework #12

The article of the Matrix is a great depiction of the movie. The special effects used in the Matrix are mind-blowing as many of the effects were just created for the movie. After these effects were created many other movies and tv shows used them. Some of the special effects used throughout the movie are dodging bullets, bending backwards, doing flips in the air, and jumping at an impossible height. One of the main special effects used in the film is “bullet time”. Bullet time is where the camera circles 360 degrees around the character, so it gets the full visual of the character in action. This is an awesome concept as we are able to get the full effect in action movies. Technology has come a long way with their visual effects. They have made movies look more realistic where you feel like you are in the movie. However, the cartoonish violence draws a line between fantasy and reality. Some people feel like they want to be like the main character in the film, Neo. Separating reality and fantasy is crucial as the film is made to feel like it is acceptable for people to do what the movie does. In the movie, the machines are made to be human-like. The machines feed off of the humans and possess human-like characteristics. Today, technology keeps getting smarter than humans. People are able to depend on technology for answers and ways to communicate with others. 

Homework #11

There are many purposes of why people play video games. Video games allow people to live in a virtual world, interact with other people, and create the person they want to be. Gamers play video games to escape from the real world, and transform into a character who makes them feel powerful. It allows gamers to have the freedom to explore a new world where they have not been before. The article describes how the video games are fiction, which means that they are not real. This allows the gamer to be able to feel like they are escaping from the real world. In this fake world, gamers can create fantasies of being their character. Another idea that the article discusses is how video games are a form of art. The producers of the video game show their art through the characters and the special effects of the game. They use certain graphics to make the game more appealing to the gamer. The characters are designed a certain way so that the gamer will want to choose that particular character. Through the fiction and art of the game, the gamers are able to be in a completely different world while playing these games. These special effects allow the gamer to escape and want to go into these virtual worlds. 

Homework 10 -- “Subject & Scope of Inquiry”

According to the article, “The virtual is opposed not to the real but to the actual. The virtual is fully real in so far as it is virtual…the virtual must be defined as strictly a part of the real object” (Boellstorff, 21). In today’s society, individuals participate in virtual worlds as if it is the real world. These virtual worlds are a way someone can interact with people everyday, and escape from everyday life. People who participate in the virtual worlds loose real life social skills, as you cannot interact in the same way with physical people. This is a result of someone being antisocial, and a lonely person. While virtual worlds can be used for people to escape from real life, people get confused with real life and virtual life. Some virtual games have animosity and this could carry out into someone’s real world. Like the real world, gamers are able to have a huge network of friends. This allows the users to feel like they are social and have a lot of friends. However, users are not interacting physically with different people, so they are losing the face-to-face social skills. While participating in the virtual worlds, people are able to be who they want to be, and recreate the person who they want to be. For example, a user can act a certain way in order to feel cool, or they could be the gender that they want to be. Being behind the screen allows the users to feel like they are accepted in society. The virtual worlds can have a positive or negative impact on people. Some people get sucked in and base their lives around these games, and others play for fun an hour a day. People who separate themselves from the virtual world to the real world do not loose touch with themselves and reality.

Homework #9 -- Is Google Making Us Stupid...I Think Yes!

According to the article Is Google Making us Stupid, “People have come so machinelike that the most human character turns out to be a machine. That’s the essence of Kubrick’s dark prophecy: as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence” (Carr). People have become way to dependent on technology in general and the Internet for information. People have the ability to find out information about anything in seconds. Because we are so dependent on the Internet, we do not depend on our own ability to know information; instead, we look information up instantly. This has made our society very impatient as we do not have to take time to find out information. Carr states, “It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of ‘reading’ are emerging as users ‘power browse’ horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense” (Carr). As a society, we do not like to take the time to read long articles; instead, we skim the main points to get the idea. As technology is growing, we do not have a huge attention span, and depend on the Internet for everything. Google has made the Internet very accessible as their mission is, ““to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”” (Carr). This has made Google popular, as people go to it for everything. Essentially, human beings have become “stupid” because of Google. The quick information that we search is hardly retained, and we do not remember the information easily. If Google did not exist, our society would fail, as people do not have the attention span to look through books.  

Homework #8 - "Models of Authorship in New Media"

Authorship is a very unique term which can be confused with ownership. When hearing the word authorship, I think of who create a certain piece or art or work. The author is the mastermind behind the product who basically is responsible for all aspects of that piece. The concept easy to overlook is the additional help or insight an artist or author receives during the artistic process. One example discussed is how artists had apprentices who played a significant role in the production. Michelangelo deserves a lot of the credit for the Sistine Chapel but obviously many other painters contributed to the masterpiece. Musicians who sample beats or rhythms become very successful do not always acknowledge the original artists who created that specific beat. Remixing is very common in other forms such as software, photography, and artwork. Similar techniques are across all different industries and fields, but this is not technically stealing. I believe there is a grey area where individuals need to give credit where it is due, but it is acceptable to obtain ideas from previous artists. Collaboration leads to some of the greatest creations such as the iPhone and the internet. Revolutionary products and concepts are not possible without teamwork and creative minds working together.

Homework #7 Digital Divide..Not a Problem

A very unexamined concept of society is the rise of internet and the inequalities associated with accessibility or usage. Many individuals ignore how the internet benefits them but just utilizes the internet for its many benefits. When internet arrived, economic inequality created a similar technology inequality where whole sections of society did not have any access or exposure to the internet. Specifically, blacks and hispanics and older populations hardly used the internet especially in comparison to wealthier, white people. The author makes certain implications which I do not completely understand and disagree with in a variety of ways. All of these associations regarding economic inequality and internet inequality are results of larger institutional problems which are not causal or deadly as the author tries to claim. Typically, individuals with wealth are more inclined to adapt to changes due to economic and innovative abilities. I would like to introduce an example of two Joes who are both working men. However, Joe Smith works in a Detroit auto factory and supports a family of three. Joe Anderson is an executive at an auto company and supports two children. Joe Smith is concerned about putting food on the table, while Joe Anderson is trying to live a life full of new things and experiences. Both Joes are curious about the internet, but computers are 500 dollars. Who is more likely to buy a computer? This is a very simple economic problem where some consumers were willing and able to acquire technologies while others were either willing but not able, able bot not willing or neither. A lot of older people just refused to accept change and did not want to learn how to use computers. However, all of these issues are starting to change in contrast to what the author states. Internet is accessible through public libraries, public schools, and is incredibly cheaper than before. Internet inequality does not cause economic inequality in general as the author proposes, but is just correlated and changing.

Homework #6 - The Uncanny Valley

Throughout the article, "Uncanny Valley", Masahiro describes the importance of the resemblance of robot looking like human beings. At the beginning of the article, Masahiro describes a graph which exemplifies different degrees of moving or still humanlikeness linked to familiarity. Healthy people are at a high point or positive end of the graph; whereas dead corpse and zombies are in "uncanny valley" or the negative end of the graph. He claims that we are more likely to connect with the robbot rather than thinking that it is computerized. Masahiro states, "Human beings lie at the final goal of robotics, which is why we make an effort to build humanlike robots" (Masahiro). Even though the robots' built with metal material, the makers paint over the robot to give them human features. This allows us to feel more comfortable with the robot because it does not look too computerized. Masahiro talks about the importance of the features, "If programmed properly to generate humanlife movements, we can enjoy some sense of familiarity" (Masahiro). If the robot moves and resembles a computer than we look at it like it is just a machine and we are less comfortable with it. The author also relates the robots to handicapped peoples prosthetic arms or legs. We have come a long way with prosthetic arms and legs making them look completely real. This allows people without an arm or leg feel like they fit in with the rest of society. However, Masahiro believes that the prosthetic arms and legs fall into the uncanny category as they do not qualify as being healthy. Masahiro says, "So in this case, the appearance is quite human like, but the familiarity is negative" (Masahiro).This means that prosthetics may look real; however, it is still strange to society. 
 

#5 Identities in Cyberculture

People have the ability to share their identities and portray who they want to be as a result of cyberculture. Individuals use cyberculture as a source of communication with friends or family, work, or entertainment. The Internet has created a place where people care about their identities online. For example, someone who is quiet and does not have a bunch of friends can make themselves look like they are outgoing, and have the best lives. Many people want to feel like they have value and want others to perceive them like they have a good life. Mostly women and some men want to look good in pictures, have a lot of friends, or have a fun looking life on social media websites.  Cyberspace has allowed people to put up their resumes online through LinkedIn, so employers can view them. This is another way people care about their identities because it is important to have a lot of good connections, and have a great looking resume with internships and jobs. On the other hand, cyberculture has created a place where mostly males can play virtual games online. Gamers can socialize from their chair or on their couch. Again, if you are not very outgoing you can make other gamers believe that you are. You do not have to have face-to-face interactions; it is purely over the Internet. People have also used cyberspace to have virtual sex. David Bell states, “People of all sexual orientations have used the Internet for ‘cybersex’ which involves people telling each other what they are doing to each other…” (Bell, 127). People who are having cybersex are portraying their identity through these websites. You are not only looked at in face-to-face actions, but your identity is constantly being valued over cyberculture.