Black Mirrors

Black mirrors is a British show that in each episode, examines the impacts of technology and also how society interacts with it. The title Black Mirrors is meant to represent the different screens that are used on a daily basis. Director Charlie Brooker took a creative spin in getting a specific message across by making each episode unique. 

The first episode features the United Kingdom Prime Minister being stuck between a rock and a hard place when the royal family's princess is kidnapped, and he is asked to do a gruesome act with a pig in order to guarantee her release. In a crazy end to the episode he follows through with it, but throughout the episode you can see different instances of people glued to the TV screen and social media rather than addressing the main issue. Also when the gruesome act is finished, those close with the Prime Minister realize that the princess was released thirty minutes before the Prime Minister did anything, and people were glued to the TV watching it. 

The second episode, in my opinion was my least favorite out of the three. It showed a very technological based area where people have to earn their way to avoid constant ads and try to sing in a American Idol like contest. In this place people are constantly surrounded by screens and the main character, Bing, gets fed up with the lack of humanity and being able to feel something in the environment. And in the third episode shows people who have a small device implanted behind their ear, where they can replay their memories and can also access memories of other people like their children for example. This proves to be an incredibly piece of technology but comes at a cost when a couple is facing trouble, and it makes the viewer question how boundaries are established with this kind of technology.

All three episodes interestingly enough even though different in their own way address technology and how society uses it. Are these "black mirrors" having a positive impact? And do more boundaries based on the lessons and messages shown in these episodes? Is being connected being too connected, and is there trust with this? To be honest watching these episodes scared me in a sense because it's really a mystery what the future holds. We already have self driving cars that can parallel park for you, is the next thing really a computer chip implanted behind out ear?

Geek Heresy Chapter 3

In the third chapter of Geek Heresy called "Geek Myths Debunked: Dispelling Misguided Beliefs About Technology" it talks about human habits and adaptation to technology, particularly new ones. As students who study media, we hear time and time again the positives and negative that go into technology. It is a balancing act, which was very much reflected by Toyama in this chapter of the reading. A take away point from the chapter was how human usage of technology and how it becomes normalized in our everyday life is solely not the fault of the technology itself but is a part of our nature.

An example of this I have from my own life that comes to mind, even talking about media, is that of my baby cousins. I have two cousins who are older than me, and have two children each. One family lives in rural Kentucky on a farm, with no internet access and no cable. They spend a lot of time outside and even though they have DVDs and have an cell phones, they try not to spend too much time in front of a screen and want the kids to grow up having a good balance. In contrast, the other cousins tend to always be on their iPads, playing educational games and watching their favorite shows. One summer they came to visit Rhode Island on the same weekend, and my cousin from Kentucky (she was about 5 at the time) came to me upset saying that she did not understand why her cousins who were the same age as her did not want to play outside with her. They were inside spending time on their iPads which they know how to use well, and used to Skype their grandparents or even play games together on. But she didn't understand why they didn't want to come outside and play with her, and how they were having so much fun on their iPads. It makes you think, how is one child so focused on the technology and the other not? Especially at such a young age?

I always remember this instance because it shows how normalized technology has become in our day to day lives, both for older and younger generations. But as stated in the reading, is it the fault of the new mediums? Or at the fault of our human nature? Personally I feel it is a mix of both. We always get excited for the new phone to come out or the new app we found, but all of this was created by human intent and with the planning that these technologies would adapt to human tendencies. There is an "addictive" tendencies in human nature, and when we step back and take a look at how we use technology, this does indeed make sense. This is why there needs to be a balance in using these mediums, and not putting the fault on the technology solely but how we as people use them.

Opportunity: Geek Heresy Intro and Chapter 1

“Talent is universal; opportunity is not.”

This quote pulled out from the introduction of the reading not only opens an entire can of worms into the first chapter, but is a strong statement to open with as it is incredibly relate-able to the reader. The reading continues on to discuss the opportunity that is available with technology, and how opportunity is in fact the internet.  For example, in the first chapter they talk about some movements for social change such as the MIT movement to bring laptops in schools of developing countries. This shows a movement for social change through the internet, which can be seen through campaigns and content created then to be shared online. 

It's interesting because "opportunity" can be seen in so many different ways, especially from what has come from the internet and what it offers. Certain figures have become successful businessmen/women as they have created opportunity through the internet. Some believe that media and technology is the best way to create social change.  When in reality it sometimes is over anticipated to create so much change and does not necessarily accomplish all that it is thoughtfully hoped. Technology and the internet are mediums and outlets to gain attention and awareness on certain issues that call for social change. These mediums however, are assumed as opportunities that can solve these exact problems, which is not truth. 

What this chapter pointed out especially to me was the definition of "opportunity" as it works hand in hand with technology. An expectation is that even though talent is universal, there is so much opportunity with technology and the internet. How much opportunity it offers though, does not come directly out of the internet itself, but it is a means to create opportunity. These mediums can be bought, donate and brought to people but the skills and tools needed to use or understand them is something that is not simply given from them.