November 5th & 7th: Neuromancer and Inception

Announcements

• Experiential Learning Opportunities Presentation
  Career Center Representative

William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984)

I thought long and hard about this, and I think we need a different text to consider before getting into Gibson's Neuromancer. Let's watch Inception. Here's what you should be looking for while watching the movie:

• Reality
  • How do you know what's real?
  • What are the characters' assumptions of reality?
  • What are the your assumptions of reality?
• Stories told (to oneself and others)
• Images the mind displays

Japanification of American Culture (con't)

Remember when I talked about this last week? Well, Neuromancer has that as a theme. Think about the references to Japanese technologies, entertainment, places, etc. In fact, I want you to consider that for your post this week on Moodle2. We spend so much time thinking about American culture and its influence on us (and the World), so maybe we ought to spend time thinking about another culture. I'm not asking you to be a Japan scholar, so don't worry if you've never taken a Japanese Language or History class. Instead, reflect upon the influences and references to Japan and Japanese culture in the United States (or anywhere else).

Next Class (11/07)

Keep up with your reading. Finish Neuromancer if you haven't already. We'll finish Inception on Thursday (11/07) and discuss it and Neuromancer next Tuesday (11/12). We'll still read the stories assigned for next week, but we might push them back a day or two, so still read them. For Tuesday (11/12), you should have read William Gibson's "Burning Chrome" (1982) and Philip K. Dick's "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale" (1966).

Yes, Inception will be on the Final Exam.

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