November 21st: Augmented Realities

Announcements

• No class meeting on Tuesday (11/26)
  Have Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics read for 12/3
• Online Course Evaluations--New procedure
  Available Nov. 19th-Dec. 5th

Montage from Hackers (1995)

Let's take a look at a mid-1990s representation of hacking in cyberspace: the film Hackers (1 hr 09min). Then, let's go to the "cool" club (1 hr 18min 20 sec).

Augmented Realities via Science Fiction

Both stories we'll discuss today deal with augmented reality: technologically amplified or mediated projections of reality. In the late-1980s and early 1990s, this was called virtual reality. Either phrase has its limitations for nailing down exactly what people mean, so let's just agree that the characters in the stories we read have computer enhanced perspectives. A surface read would claim that augmented reality is just a cool vision of the future. A critical reading would claim that augmented reality is in a story to comment on how human perception is influenced by hi-tech mediated messages. Although we might not "plug in" as they do in Neuromancer, we're plugged into the system--society.

As you reflect on these stories, consider how you access information online. The tools you use (computers, smart phones, etc.) enhance your ability to communicate and receive information. We don't often slow down and think about how we're conditioned to expect information. We have unparalleled access to information, but do we know how to evaluate that information?

Think about the following Web sites:

• CNN.com, Salon.com, World's Greatest Webpage, etc.
• The Onion
  
• The Peter Pan guy (please be as objective as possible when viewing this site)
• The pregnant guy website, etc.

What can we say about their credibility? Can you trust the information? Why or why not?

Hyperreality

Last class I mentioned this term hyperreality. It means that the fake seems more real than the actual thing, event, person, etc. When discussing hyperreality, we usually bring up the fact that people prefer the fake (the augmented) to the real thing. Caesar dressing is a good analogy. Much Caesar dressing in chain restaurants has moved closer to a bland Ranch. Many palates can't handle the delicious anchovy taste, so the lower-end chains give customers what they want--a blander dressing.

Umberto Eco's "Travels in Hyperreality" (1986)

Eco didn't coin this phrase (he just echoed it--ha!), but he discussed American entertainment and the obsession with the fake. We talked a little about this last class, but it is important to bring it up again. Eco talks about Disneyland and holograms and replicas of history. His biggest finding (argument) is that we prefer the fake to the real because the fake is easily commodified--turned into an object to be bought and sold. Below are some questions to ponder:

• What is the point about telling us we like fake stuff?

• Why does knowing people prefer the fake or assume the fake is "real" important?

• hyperreality: More real than real!?! Or, as White Zombie would say, "More Human than Human." The idea of "hyperreality" is often associated with a viewer (an audience in general) believing the media-generated simulation is real or more real than an actual event, personality, condition, or, ultimately, an experience.

  • Brent on his experience as a helicopter gunner while playing Battlefield Vietnam (Electronic Arts). (Toscano, p. 17, 2011)

• Consider these places/ideas in terms of the fake (or the illusion...):
  • Museum Gift Stores
  • Olive Garden
  • Hooters
  • Democracy
  • Education

We could go into lots of discussion about Las Vegas, but let's hold off for now. Don't worry, we'll return to it. For those of you interested in further study on this topic, you should review an Introduction to Postmodernism I have up for another class.

Acting

In February, Bradley Cooper was interviewd on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He discussed his role in the indie movie Silver Linings Playbook. Interestingly, and this isn't odd to hear from an actor, he talks about how he and David O. Russell (the director) wanted him to "play as real and authentic as [h]e could" (para. 1).

What does it mean for an actor to be real, authentic, raw, etc.? What's behind the idea of believability in acting?

• Check out the transcript and scroll down to the line "Jacki Weaver, yeah."

• How is he maintaining "authenticity" of his character when the film is edited?

Pat Cadigan's "Pretty Boy Crossover" (1986)

As usual, this isn't just a story about a cool nightclub. This club appears to be quite different from, say, the Gentleman Loser in "Burning Chrome." However, readers get the sense that both are for a youth subculture. The Gentleman Loser is for young computer "hackers" (an outdated term), and Noise is for those into "the scene"--the places where the cool kids hang out. The in crowd and those wanting to be in that "in crowd" go to Noise. How do you picture the place? I picture the place looking something like the Marquee or LAX--both in Las Vegas.

Hyperreality

There's some celebrity worship in this story. As we just learned, actors don't give "real" portrayals; instead, we think they're authentic, but they're just made up. Viewers want exaggeration or essence--they don't want to be bogged down by too much of the person's life. Remember, the montage helps move the story along.

Bobby seems to be larger than life and a better dancer when on the screen (p. 591).

Youth Subculture

Many texts (sci fi and other genres) use youth as the cutting edge group; they're the ones who adopt the new technologies and readily incorporate them into their activities. Of course, this is a generalization about contemporary youth (e.g., the millennials).

One "benefit" to being a Pretty Boy crossover--becoming pure information and being uploaded into the system--is that the party never stops (p. 591). This is a common theme in stories about youth partying. Oftentimes, the moral is that you have to grow up sometime, and there are usually youth who get in trouble or hurt if they don't heed that advice (Bright Lights, Big City [1988], Less Than Zero [1987], Over the Edge [1979]). A notable exception to having to end the party is Go (1999)...everything isn't rosy and great at the end, but the viewers are left with a sense that the party will continue. There's a difference in moral between the 1980s films and some 1990s films.

There's an allure to living forever, and Bobby wanted it so bad he'd have killed himself if they didn't accept him (p. 590).

Brand Loyalty

Because there appears to be a corporation running the show, we can't ignore the fact that there's a comment about corporations wanting consumers for life. Advertising is aimed at children in order to have customers for life. Loading into the system is a metaphor for "buying into" the identity consumer products give. Think about all the celebrity (and pseudo-celebrity) endorsements out there. Bobby is a celebrity once he crosses over. The protagonist, in a sense, refuses to "sell out," so he resists the consumerist impulse. Eventually, the protagonist won't be allowed into the club if he gets too old. After all, "We need to get you before you're twenty-five, before the brain stops growing" (p. 595). Currently, when the protagonist walks into the club, "[The patrons] all notice him and adjust themselves for his perusal" (p. 590).

The protagonist rebels because "as long as they don't have him, he makes a difference" (pp. 596-597).

Eileen Gunn's "Computer Friendly" (1989)

This is another technological dystopia. It starts out like a story about a child's first day of kindergarten or 1st grade, but there's a twist...the school is testing the children to determine if they're worthy to be part of the labor force. The biggest theme in the story is the push for predictability and standardization. Uniformity makes processing more efficient. Instead of technologies being created to fit human conditions (a humanistic approach), humans are "optimiz[ed] for predictability" (p. 652) to work efficiently and fit the technologies (system-centered approach). This is a projection ("if this continues...") of Fordist/Taylorist goals of efficiency during the early 20th Century.

Standardization

Because Elizabeth (Lizardbreath) is in a school context, the practice of standardized testing jumps out at me. Think about all the standardized testing you had do in school. Why do you think schools use standardized tests?

(In)Efficiency

One of the pursuits of systems is efficiency--meeting goals with the fewest resources. Conventional wisdom claims that you make more profit if you reduce your costs, and one way to reduce costs is being more efficient. Computers (and other technologies) are supposed to make our lives more efficient. Elizabeth's mother and brother have become efficient tools of "the system" by becoming machines. They don't jack in like Case in Neuromancer; they never leave cyberspace.

Because we have a social science fiction approach to our readings, consider what this means. What comment is being made about our Labor practices?

Next Class (11/21)

Remember, we don't have class on Tuesday, Nov. 26th. Keep up with your reading. We'll discuss our last reading, Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics, on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd--our last class. Cosmicomics is a series of related short stories, and, although it has science fiction themes, it isn't like the others we've read. It's probably more accurate to call it fantastic literature because it has themes closer to fantasy. Calvino's language is very important to reflect upon as you read because it's poetic--more so than any other author we've read this semester.

We'll see how much of it we can cover on Dec. 3rd. Have a good Thanksgiving Break, and I'll see you in two weeks.

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