Play: 1 (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within)

The key term for this weeks class: 'The uncanny' first introduced by Japanese Roboticist Mashiro Mori - It refers to a sense of unease of awkwardness or discomfort when we experience the virtual human, especially as they become more realistic and life-like.

When discussing the term 'uncanny valley' in class today, I couldn't help make a connection. We use the term to describe the effect that humans have when viewing another virtual human; we relate this to cinema and popular culture. I feel that in a way cinema has always thrived on the uncanny; for example, when cinema was first being screened (late 1880s), humans were shown, and even though at first they were flesh and blood, their reproduced image was not. There are many cases whereby people felt 'uneasy' or 'apprehensive' when experiencing this new medium; It is for this reason that I feel that films have always used this technique - historically and aesthetically. The final fantasy film is by no means an exception; it's creative use of animation creates another humanoid representation, even though fictional it strikes us as so similar to our own form.

Mori suggests that as a machine / robot develops we feel a sense of empathy - we gain a more emotional attachment as it learns more advanced skills, we start to almost think of it as one of us. Strangely however as the machine becomes more human-like we feel awkward and in a way threatened by it's potential to match us or even out-perform us, also it's appearance (in the case of a cyborg) starts to play tricks on the mind, as humans we are extremely sensitive to this kind of imagery as our brain tells they are real, but again we know they are not. In class we used the example of Michael Najjar's Nexus Project 1 to reinforce this idea - it features digitally modified eyes of certain people; a proposed post-human cyborg representation. However we only understand this context if we read the in formation plaques provided, before this knowledge our preceptions are different - our brain jumping to conclusions, and essentially 'freaking out'. Without clarification of what we are looking at (human, robot, cyborg etc) it is very hard for us to engage with the subject on an emotional or personable level.

One interesting point raised in the Jason Sperb (addressing Videodrome) reading is his mention of the character Max is in fact perhaps not dead, but is his physical body is indeed spent, he recognizes this as a common post-modern practice. This can be seen in Final Fantasy especially, the final spirit requires the sacrifice of the captain, he is body has been obliterated but interestingly (in accordance with the christian belief in the eternal soul) he lives on in what is described as Gaia.

McLuhan states that media is in fact the extension of the self, this combined with the post-human cyborg becoming an extension of our physical capabilities has alarming similarities. When Sperb deals with 'The New Flesh' he introduces a state of simulation and repetition, so is this to further McLuhan's argument? Final Fantasy is some ways reinforcing this by the fact that we surrounded by virtual characters performing and acting as humans; the film takes what we are, and presents it back to us in the construction of this perhaps possible epitaph of mankind.

When the captain dies he has said to have obtained 'the new flesh' as his transition is from physical to spiritual, as opposed to electronic. FF has copious intangible religious connotations, we are just as inquisitive to religion as we are to post-human technologies; there is also this continual conflict between the two as well. There is an interesting connection between the works of Sperb and McLuhan in regards to FF, if only scraping the surface. I found FF very clever in it's animation, it is flawed as a decent film; but I feel that is not important. What is key is the idea that these virtual characters are carrying out actions and emotions that are very human, and that we find hard to comprehend robots/animations being able to exercise or understand.

Perception

I found the readings this week very interesting, especially Lev Manovich's "The poetics of augmented Space".

AUGMENTED SPACE: The placing of layers of data over the physical space. This aids the tracking, monitoring and delivery of information to users.

I like the way that the texts overall theme is that of augmented space in society, that is to say that virtual reality itself is rather limited in terms of its usefulness to us; what becomes of use is the augmented space, and are that has been enhanced by technology to instruct and aid us in our day to day lives. "The virtual became domestic", this can be seen in sci-fi environments, one that particularly strikes me a s a good example is Bruce Willis' apartment in 'The Fifth Element', from his remaking bed, to the strange shower convertible (a series of tangible interfaces). It is a true representation of augmented space; all the technology features in the physical world, unlike VR. It also complies with the dichotomies of augmented space (physical and assistance), both are present in this example. In some ways it is not far from where humans currently are at. Our continual integration of technology into our recreational environments is changing the way think, we act, and the way we design our physical surroundings; examples that Manovich suggests are, video surveillance, tangible interfaces, intelligent buildings, smart objects (think iPhone Vs wall in Minority Report; are they really that different?), etc.

AR s(augmented reality) systems have become more popular for a variety of reasons, but primarily it the fact that what was being done in the intangible world of VR can now be conducted in our own physical space, uninteresting and incorporating our work and recreational activities. I find Bluetooth an interesting phenomenon, how many times have you seen someone on a an ear piece in looking as if they're talking to an item of clothing in a store?! In someways it's very strange, but yet it's a great example of augmented space, we can communicate with each while still conducting our day to day activities. Before AR we would have had to assign a period of the day to communicate with others, now that is not necessary due to the advancement of technology.

Lev Manovich mentions smart buildings, in particular he goes on to point out augmented architecture. We are continually demanding the need for visual contextual information in our lives; for example, the increasing reliance of school children on power-points and visual aids. This layering of smart information is continually challenging architects in their projects as they attempt to construct more advanced and appealing infrastructure (the Millennium Dome London featured some of the world's largest walk-through interactive spaces - it was mind-blowing and was for many their first experience of a 'smart building'). This new modern focus on architecture helps designers to develop narrative and meaning from the buildings themselves; for example the Prada building, the Jewish Museum of Berlin etc. However contrary to the belief that this is a new phenomenon is rather limited due tot he fact that we have used buildings to portray narrative for hundreds of years - churches and places of worship. The only difference is these do not include the technology we posses today.

The main theme I gained from this week is the advancement of the 3D, before augmented space became possible artists, designers, and even the civilian thought 2D; we presented our works and constructed our homes in such a way, however since technology has arrived we have become increasingly more dimensional - for example, the TV being so integral to the layout of a modern living room. We are already seeing a new approach as well with the way artists will now deal with the entire space of a gallery, as opposed to one or a few main focus features; for example the BANKSY exhibition in the UK, where he managed to incorporate an entire city's museum into one exhibition - interestingly the main theme of this exhibition was surveillance. A product of technology invading the boundaries between public and private lives.

New Worlds: Cyber Punk

The first reading (Mischa Peters)I found particularly interesting especially at the beginning when concerning the post-human/cyborg approach. That we somehow have become beyond human; utilizing technology to connect the neurons within our brains to virtual reality, or to some enhancement technology. The first page has a quote from Hockenberry's text from Wired magazine; "Your body. Get over it. (Think mind over matter)". In a way this sums up the digital body, the releasing of our physical matter from our minds; this becomes particularly interesting when applying this notion to the accompanying screened film, "Screamers (1995)". We learn that the character Jessica Hanson is in fact an advanced screamer, yet her physical form and mind is so true to ours; blood, emotion, intelligence etc. The fact that we can be tricked by our own minds when presented with something physical, one has to question whether this would be the case if we were 'plugged' into VR, having our minds separated from the terrestrial plane from which we base our judgements on. Yet the key thing to remeber is that screamers does not however feature a VR environment, or a 'jacking in' of characters.

Cyber punk as a genre I find a paradox of popular science-fiction theory, for example many sci-fi stories are set in utopian societies and settings (admitedly they later present a problem with this), however cyber-punk is often represented as dystopian representing a future dark underworld as a reaction against the norm. Peter's reading suggests that in traditional sci-fi the boundaries between humans and the other are reformed and somehow glorified, she adds that cyberpunk is the breakdown of this feature (think of the replicants in Blade Runner). She separates the natural body from the modified body, when thinking of Johnny Mnemonic he largely has a natural body, and is of course biological like us bar the fact that he can load information from an electronic source directly into his brain. Peter's later identifies the enhanced body, this is where boundaries are extensively stretched (e.g. Wolverine, Robocop etc). The general overall idea of cyber punk regarding the human form is the fact that the mind can continue to exist even if the body has died or broken.

Techno Working Dependancies

Ex-Machina was thoroughly enjoyable and like many graphic novels has many deeper themes running through it. What particularly interested me is directly an analysis based on David Bell's Essentialist Belief and Post-Modernist viewpoints. In a way Ex-Machina is very similar to Robocop (The feature for this week), it has many similar themes regarding the relationships between technology and work/occupation.

ESSENTIALIST BELIEF: This rather limited viewpoint suggests that identity is always there, that we have "real me", so despite any environmental/exterior changes we are still the same, our identities are fixed from the day we enter the world. When looking at Ex-Machina this is marginally true when considering the character of Mitchell. From a young age he seems interested in comics, but realizes that he must of course follow the path of an architect to essentially amount to anything. This is true of his character as he grows froma boy to a man, and realises that he must run for Mayor to do good, rather than fly around like a vigilante. It so seems that this would be true of Robocop; once a cop, always a cop. However there are flaws to this argument, which is where the development of the post-modernist viewpoint arrives from.

POST-MODERNIST VIEWPOINT:

To understand this viewpoint one must consider that our identities are NOT fixed, in fact they are so flexible that we also choose to reveal specific areas of our identity at a given moment; quite simply, a choice. In Ex-Machina Mitchell is left scarred and able to telepathically affect technology, with this power he must CHOOSE when and where to use it. One cannot simply display all of our unique aspects of our identities all the time, for two reasons. 1. We would feel a lack of personal security, and 2. We 'perform' different sections of our personalities depending on the social situation we are within (eg. you wouldn't samba dance in the office!).

Cyberspace often displays the idea that humans will willingly fall without grace if given the opportunity. In machina, like many gritty graphic novels, has sinister scenes take place in largely old, broken environments. A sort of reminder of the evil we are capable of.

One interesting factor of the internet (in particular the phenomenon of Facebook) is that social barriers from existing face-to-face social practice quite simply disappear. This may be the reason for 3rd world cultures being a lot more sociable and open than the western world. Poorer countries do not have access to any near the level or abundance of technology available in the west; as a result we behave differently. In our online cyber-space world, we are free to express and show so many aspects of our personality than before, and the sheer amount of photographic capabilities are of course letting other people view so much more of you; in essence, the destruction of personal well-being.

I found the Tulip theory reading particularly interesting, Sconce puts forward this idea that when something exotic and interesting doesn't actually produce anything it effectually dies out and loses its values. He uses the medieval tulip craze as an analogy. The tulip was "rare, exotic and in demand (though essentially useless accept as orientation), tulips became the foundation for a whole new speculative economy. The people "woke" to realize that there wasn't anything of substance that was worth anything, just a flower. The same could be said for our online network sites, they don't produce anything, they just allow communication. He suggests that eventually the world will "wake" up and move on to a new tulip craze. I partly agree with his theory, technology changes ever-faster every year, when we realize something isn't worth the salt, we improve/change/ or scrap it. The thing is we still have tulips now (they actually have mass), yet our online facilities/cyberspace have no mass really, so what happens to them?? do they disappear forever?

Cyber Culture 2

After watching the Lawnmower Man, the first thing jumped to my attention was in some ways how far ahead of its time the film was. Sure the graphics are a little primeval, and some ways very outdated, but the key thing is to understand that the film was only released in 1992. Virtual Reality in the form shown in the film was only really in existence by the mid 1980s, so it wasn't long before the film started to dramatize a ideas already in motion about the pro's and con's of VR.

One interesting point that is made in by N Hayles is "No man steps twice into the same river not because the river changes, but because he does". This is a very interesting statement to make when we now know the technology we posses. Assuming that the technology that drives VR and cyber-space environments hasn't changed much (which ti hasn't really), then it is strange how these technologies have been utilized for security and yet pleasure. The statement is to suggest we as humans have changed, our perception on how to appropriately use a technology has changed. Perhaps Lawnmower man is displaying a fear in the early 1990s that these technologies will bring impending doom to the human existence. In some ways it is right, we can learn so much from technology now - think of all the eJournals we have access to, the educational brainteasers on Nintendo DS', electronic IQ tests. It is already happening we are enhancing our knowledge of the world almost artificially through technology. I find that interesting, for me its what I primarily took from the lawnmower man.

Both texts to some degree bring up the idea that to participate in a cyberspace environment is to have "... everything amputated". Which in some sense is true. When engaged in a cyber environment we are not limited by our bodies, our strength, or our physical weaknesses. We are purely using our minds. We become unattached from the tangible world in essence 'floating' from escapism. Lawnmower man confirms this phenomenon with Brosnan's character being obsessed by the 'capabilities' of this new technology!

We have also seemingly moved on from this 'unattached' phenomena as now we are able to create our own avatars and choose how we would wish to talk, or simply to experience another point of view. For example, MMORPG's allow avatar's to be created, like World of Warcraft, whereby we can choose to be who we want, and to a certain degree do what we want. Is it all just a backlash to authority? or is it that we truly feel limited by the 'real' world? Our human minds are capable of so much, we know this. So is it almost inevitable humans developed VR? a platform for our minds and brains to expand ever further.