Blog Entry #6

The future we see in the world of "Burning Chrome," is, in my mind, the dated but still rich-of-context outlook the older cyberpunk writers of the early eighties would write, where it's about the blending of worlds, one inside the computer called "cyberspace," where all collective information is computerized, and second the world of reality in which they live, where dystopian skyscrapers that loom over them reminding them of usually corporate overpower. Now I know that sounds exactly like the world we live in, but for a majority of the story you can tell that it is written before the days of the Internet, especially with using the term"cyberspace," to describe what a virtual collective of all the worlds information on one place anyone can access if they have the right equipment and codes to get it. Speaking of who has the codes and equipment, the man with power in the story is the criminal mastermind Chrome, whom has control of all the money that criminal organizations have to send through him to which he send through the cyberspace. Usually, as with most cases of cyberpunk, The men with control of the money usually have the most power, regardless of what kind of crazy hacking someone might do. Regardless if you're a genius hacker, I believe Tony Montana said it pretty well in Scarface...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ7HZATMKBY



Oh my god, do you know how refreshing it is to read a story with kids that actually sound like kids actually talk? I watch too many films where they choose to instead think of a well enriched character background that they forgo any of those traits and head straight for muddled exaggerations and stereotypes, and to show the world of Cyberpunk through a young little girls eyes are quite spectacular. I get the feeling like I, along with the girl, are exploring these different area's of the place not with disgust or fear, but of wonder and curiosity. She has no idea the processing center her father took to would do anything bad to her possibly, especially when she is told by her father that her mother is apart of the processing system as a part that tells commands to the CPU. The choice the writer makes to be very oblique with how to describe the universe is one I find really powerful, with such a young character who doesn't know anything about the realities of her world, we are taken along for the ride (so to speak) in finding out more of her universe as she goes through it. Also, the fact that readers can pick up on certain things that the main protagonist can not also leave the reader with a much more insightful view on the universe without taking or giving any abilities to the main character. It's the type of Sci-Fi that gets me excited to go to class to talk about it, so I hope the conversation for this one is wonderful!

Blog Post #5

Mmmm, microwaves...I'm just kidding, I am actually not the biggest fans of stuff to come out of a microwave, but in this story by Issac Asimov, "Reason," microwave signals tend to be utilized in a much different way. In this story, what I thought was the most interesting aspects of the story were the connections I could make to cult like religions on earth and the ignorance within one to survive, as well as the human nature to not alter a situation that might seem bad overall in the long run, would rather wait till the situation stops benefiting them and in turn start to handle the situation. The first aspect, when Cutie is to be believed to be a "messiah," and that "There is no Master other than The Master, and QT1 is his Prophet" signal a parallel to all religions at the time, and with the unquestionable certainty on what they believe to be true and an unwillingness to realize otherwise, they continue to do the work they were sent to do, only to believe that they aren't working for Powell and Donovan, and that no planets or stars or any other being aside the prophet is what they work for. It also seems odd to me that for a story that is seemingly anti-religion that is the complete opposite of how most modern anti-religious writing would turn out. I would say that for the most part, Asimov points to the fact that the robots who follow the new religion are in fact using reason, but choosing to be ignorant of certain facts to progress. It gives a less stark and more humanistic approach toward the views of the robots, giving them more ability to connect with the reader and being able to express it's context in a more vivid manner. The other aspect I found interesting is the lack of effort Powell and Donovan end up showing once they find out that regardless if the robots followed the humans or their new religion to get their work done. I mean, I understand not wanting to mess with a good thing, but when the world relies on these robots to do it's work, as well as the fact that they know the robots think planets such as earth are pointless. Wouldn't you as a human want someone to check up on the robots and make sure they work as we programmed? It could be a symbol for the way humans lack the desire to affect any change unless it has a direct benefit towards themselves, emphasizing our attention on the most selfish of desires. It's not a sign that we're bitter and cold, but that when things get a little out of our hands, our hands won't be big enough to handle the next bigger issue to come, and it just goes downhill from there...

I dunno, I know Stanley Kubrick wanted A.I to be his next movie to work on right after Eyes Wide Shut in '97 and I just am surprised. It sounds to me a little like a mix of Pinocchio with Artificial intelligence and for a guy who has made some of the most intelligently conceived films to date, this seems much less cerebral of a story as it is an emotionally driven one, but that doesn't mean it is bad in any way. I found myself enjoying the story, and the fact that the mother feels so isolated and adrift even when she has the boy she always wanted, you can tell through her actions that David isn't really the boy she always, "wanted," more like the boy she was able to get that seemed closest to what she wants, with a father doing all he can to work and provide her with the happiness he believes she deserves. The connections to robot/human emotional spectrum are made as in all A.I based stories usually have, and I think this story is more along the line of Science fiction rather than Science fiction...