User:TSmith2020/HUMN 4472 Journal

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August 14, 2019: Science Fiction

Science fiction is what it sounds like to me. It is happenings that occur versus the theories in science that have been proven. Fiction in literature means not real. When I think about science fiction I think of supernatural powers. For example, shooting spider web silk from your hand. It is impossible because humans and spiders have two different genetic makeups. Another example could be someone having psychic visions. No one can see into the future and know what will happen next or have something happen and try to prevent it. How about people creating weather like storms and tornadoes? I don't think that we as humans can make weather patterns but how we treat our planet and litter can affect the weather. My last example since we are coming up two months from Halloween would be witches on brooms flying in the air. All of these things are impossible because of the science we have today. Until science evolves we are stuck where we are.

August 30, 2019: What I Learned

The three aspects I learned about are speculation of future, impact on science and technology, and in a different time or space. After watching a video [1] I learned that science fiction helps scientists embark on new journeys and seek the unknown. Science fiction helps take things out of perspective and put in what-if scenarios. Science Fiction shows us different perspectives. Two definitions I read that stood out to me from this week's readings. One was from Isaac Asimov his definition of science fiction is that branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings.” The other was stated by, Robert Heinlein, his definition of science fiction is a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the scientific method. To make the definition cover all science fiction (instead of ‘almost all’) it is necessary only to strike out the word ‘future.” 

@TSmith2020:: Science fiction definitely shows us different perspectives, I agree. For example, the trope of "aliens" can mean so many different things thematically in a story. With that, we're able to explore and understand what it means to be an alien, not just the kind with the big eyes and spaceships, but also the perspectives of those that are foreign or different. -MorganAtMGA (talk) 19:53, 8 September 2019 (EDT)

September 7, 2019: "The Swimmer" With Allusions

In John Cheever’s book/film The Swimmer [2] the aspect of different allusions and symbolism is a science fiction element I picked up on as I read up on it because of funding reasons. I had a chance to read “The Swimmer” through a google book. The plot starts with a guy swimming home from a social function using his neighbor's pools. As the plot of the story thickens the setting of the scene changes. The weather changes from being sunny to gloomy. Not only did the weather change but the attitudes of the people he was surrounded by were getting worse. The final thing that went through a change in this production was the pool’s water level. Metaphorically the guy is experiencing change which helps a person grow. The different dimensions give the man different obstacles that he has to hurdle over to get home. Different dimensions is another element of science fiction as it deals with different perceptions and altered worlds. The production changing the scenery and vibe of the people helps a person see their alter ego. He named the journey he took through the pools as a river after his wife. Roberts site said [3] As seen throughout the film the guy loses everything he has as and is no longer young as the weather represents the seasons changing. The seasons changing not only tell us the time of year but also how things didn't happen all in one night but all over time.

@TSmith2020: I agree with your statement that “things didn’t happen all in one night” because if you separate this story from its aspect of time, you get a man that neglects the problems of the present. This accumulates to impacting his future life and persona in a way in which he never wanted, but avoided fixing. As a result, he can never return to his past self or the image it held since it is too far gone. Atallent (talk) 10:31, 9 September 2019 (EDT)

@TSmith2020: I agree with you all. Things did not happen all in one night. It's imperative that we keep that in mind. Great point! —AmaniSensei (talk)

September 7, 2019: Theme comparison between "The Swimmer and "La Jetée"

I have seen “La Jetée” directed by Chris Marker and read “The Swimmer” by John Cheever they both have time travel and symbolism in common. Both of the main characters that are the protagonist live in their past lives. Neddy the main character in "The Swimmer" goes through life in disbelief. As the story plot progresses he loses everything of value to him. Throughout the plot, the season and his age changed to reflect the time travel. the main character in La Jetée is a male prisoner of World War 3 who is being experimented on for time travel. He travels through time to find this woman that he once saw in his past to start a romantic relationship with her. He soon realizes that the death of a man he saw in the past was his own death. The works in this post both tie together through the symbolism of death by Neddy’s family breaking apart and the guy who time-traveled just to understand the man he saw dead was himself.

@TSmith2020:: I also talked about how time travel was a common theme in both the stories. I think both protagonist were trying to escape the horrible present realities they were faced with.--Daisja30 (talk) 18:20, 8 September 2019 (EDT)
@TSmith2020: Similar to your journal, I talked about how both The Swimmer and La Jette had themes of time and change. Both had some memories in the past that they were more fond of, so they each had their own ways of going back to those time. Brebre143 (talk) 19:26, 8 September 2019 (EDT)
@TSmith2020: Please see the directions about referencing. some good thoughts here, but they must be accurately supported. —Grlucas (talk) 07:29, 10 September 2019 (EDT)

September 15,2019: Doctor Who "Blink" Analysis

Doctor Who" is a well-known television show during the 1990s and had twenty-six seasons. In the episode "Blink" which was directed by Hettie MacDonald happened in the third season of the show. The show uses some common symbols but has a twist in their meanings. What you perceive the meanings were originally are the opposite in this episode. The angels are one symbol that is a common symbol of faith, devotion, hope, trust, and love. Angels are usually seen with calm peaceful faces and white wings or wardrobe to represent purity. In this episode, they are seen weeping to show a change in the mood of the symbol. These angels are not sent to the actors to bring peace or clarity but rather sadness and confusion. In the video clip of [4] The angels are seen as the antagonist to assassinate the characters.

With a hidden theme of power, and life the producer uses this as the angels' form of life. David Tennant states as Doctor Who in the episode, "They just zap you into the past and let you live to death. You die in the past and in the present, they consume the energy of all the days you might have had." With that statement, you see life and death in an instance. Taking one from their current present-day life and plunging them into a time period they know nothing about and forcing them to live in the past until they die. Somehow also making it possible for these alien creature to consume the life which the individual would have left in the present day. This episode alone gives its audience the idea that life is worth living whether it be in the past or in the now present. This is interesting because of the whole idea of time traveling. I have always seen people move forward in time and not backward.

@TSmith2020:: I found your journal to be very interesting. I also analyzed the angels in my journal but I took a different approach on the matter. However, I liked reading how they represented opposite of what they typically symbolize.--Daisja30 (talk) 23:20, 15 September 2019 (EDT)

September 15,2019: Comparison Between "The Gernsback Continuum" and "Blink"

Comparing William Gibson’s “The Gernsback Continuum” and Doctor Who’s “Blink” episode [4] can be a bit of a challenge if you aren't a big science fiction fan or it can be hard to find something that the two have in common other than the fact that the protagonist of both works watched and viewed this week were photographers. It is clear to me that the main aspect the two works from this week have in common are their themes. Both stories theme is about a future that has not happened yet.

In Gibson’s “The Gernsback Continuum,” the protagonist dreams of an alternate reality based on the 1900's image of how the future world is supposed to look like. He is able to do this through “semiotic ghost” which are characterized as “bits of deep cultural imagery that have split off and taken on a life of its own”. In the "Blink" episode of "Doctor Who", protagonist Sally Sparrow has to fix a future that has not happened yet. The antagonists of this story also known as “the weeping angels” are unearthly creatures that send humans to the past to create paradoxes the 1930s pictured a future world with “white marble, slipstreamed chrome, immortal crystal, and burnish bronze” and this is the very future the protagonist had to awaken in. Then Sally is given multiple clues from the past and future from a set of DVDs to connect her to the right people to help her manifest a future where she gets to live, the Doctor gets his time machine back, and a number of the angels die. [5] Hill stated, "the Weeping angels resemble conventional horror monsters, monsters that have no role other than being monsters". The protagonist in The Gernsback Continuum couldn’t understand how the future of the 1930s had become his reality. As he captured more and more of the current remains of architectural attempts at the thirties envisioned future, he started to see zeppelin docks and weird flying objects. Then he even comes in contact with the people of that time period with their food pill belts and aluminum avocado shaped car. Ultimately this future never came true because during the process of trying to make it a reality it nearly destroys the very earth through things like pollution and the carbon footprint. Nevertheless, a future that was able to be successfully changed was that in “Blink.”

@TSmith2020: Some thoughtful commentary. Be sure to proofread, and we need to work on your referencing. —Grlucas (talk) 13:06, 16 September 2019 (EDT)

September 21,2019: Themes in "Jose Chung's From Outer Space"

This week's science fiction film to watch is "The X-Files" episode titled, "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" which is directed by Rob Bowman. While watching the Episode I gathered a few themes deemed to be science fiction. Those topics are hypnosis science fiction non-fiction. Hypnosis is a technique to put people in a deep sensation or feeling to the point where someone else can control what they do or know. This technique is starting to be used in films and in our world to put people out of reality so that something can happen or be performed in order to help the antagonist get their way. Ancient fairy tales use magic, have characters telling lies to get their way, teleportation, and also underlying meanings in them also. In the episode, there is also science fiction intertwined with non-fiction to show either two worlds, two realms, or a side of living that is undiscovered or hidden by the government. One thing in the episode [6] that caught my attention is the statement that the truth is as subjective as a lie. I believe that is true because the truth can be stretched to the point it becomes a lie. The truth is also only the truth if the opposite person on the other end of the conversation believe it to be. Everything in the world is viewed through everyone's personal lens of subjectivity, objectivity, culture, and values. It is rare that objectivity is not where subjectivity and personal views are because a person's personal view is the reason why we have subjectivity.

SF with Non-Fiction

Some producers in the film industry wanted to revamp the film industry because the film quality was poor in the early 1950s[7]. So then film producers started to incorporate sf with non-fiction in order to bring a different and new light to the film industry. This new light brought things like scary creatures, extraterrestrial creatures, paranoia, horror, the unknown, fear, new dimensions, and different worlds. In this episode, we see Harold has a belief that he has seen a UFO when his car stopped and his wife and himself were abducted by aliens. The government tries to tell him to forget about what he has seen and that it did not happen because the government officials do not want him to dig into more findings of these aliens and Venus. The government want to control the peoples thoughts about other living creatures among them. They want to suppress his desire to want to dig deeper because they are doing a current investigation. The officials go as far as implanting a tracker in him to track his every move. I think that because we have freedom of expression that Harold should have been able to explore his dreams without being sedated by drugs so he could remember what he did.

@TSmith2020: Did you proofread? What's the rule about big blocks of text when writing for the screen? Sources that do not have an author are probably not string sources. —Grlucas (talk) 10:58, 24 September 2019 (EDT)

September 22,2019: Common Theme in Between Jose Chung From Outer Space and "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale"

The two works I viewed this week were "Jose Chung From Outer Space" and "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale". One theme element that they both had in common was the element of the government wants to keep the knowledge about other worlds and what is on them a secret.sense of otherness from the aliens to the government and its forces – the police, army, scientists – all of whom are working, at times quite violently, to “protect” the people by covering up the visitors’ presence and that transference frees up our expectations, opens other possibilities for the aliens’ appearance[8]. In the episode "Jose Chung From Outer Space" the protagonist is trying to recall and explain to officials that the car he and his wife were in stopped out of nowhere and they witnessed a UFO and grey aliens. In We Can Remember it For You Wholesale the protagonist was curious about extraterrestrial creatures and other worlds. The landings on the moon at the end of the 1960s and the early 1970s made the depiction of other worlds[9]Only government officials had seen the other world and put a special agent on a task force to investigate. The government, consequently, becomes a force of rationalization, of cover-ups, of hiding the truth behind a seemingly reasonable facade[10]. The government wanted to suppress peoples' curiosity and limit what the citizens knew about the creatures or other worlds that may be out there[11]. Close Encounters also develops a shifting perception of self, as the aliens, in the usual manner of that “impostor or something” motif, serve to reflect an “other” or different sense of our own nature one that, the narrative suggests, has typically gone repressed or simply never been recognized[8]. That is where these two works align. They both have protagonists interested in other realms that are being covered up or hidden from the regular citizens. It got to the point where the people closest to the protagonist became distant from them to not be associated with the interest. Ones eagerness to know the other world caused the people close to them to frown upon and look down upon the obsession the government called Mars.[12]One of the works has a way of setting up citizens who look too deep while the other use hypnosis to brainwash the citizens. There is a third party company that wanted to help grant Mr.Douglas Quail wishes and afford him the opportunity to go to Mars.[13]I feel as if the government put a company in place to disperse some of their duties of the secret files. The company implanted a false memory into Mr.Douglas Quail's head so that he wouldn't remember anything that happened after he started the implant surgery.[14] In the end, Mr. Quail lost his wife and she told him to come find her when he was ready. Mr. Quail wife left him in their home and the interplan police were already inside looking for evidence that he knew too much information and did not listen to them, but they did not know that the Rekal company put a transmitter in his head which placed him.[15]

@TSmith2020: After thinking about "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" and "Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"" I think the stories have a conspiracy element about it. In both situations, the government is twisting the truth of what the person has experienced and how that person interpreted what they witnessed. The government is always listening and intruding into people's minds and activities (the listening device and the memories being stolen). The government (Interplan agents and the military) are in control and every participant are test subjects under their control. MarinChristina (talk) 21:32, 22 September 2019 (EDT)
@TSmith2020: I also talked about government trying to manipulate the public through erasing their memories. The concept of memory implants was new to me. I think with a combination of both, the government and anyone else who may know how to do the two procedures, would really be able to change who a person thinks they are in an instant. Yet, as long as there are people who remember who those people once were, then I think the procedure would eventually ware off. Do you think memories are erased forever, or like in the stories they can be regained?--Daisja30 (talk) 23:43, 22 September 2019 (EDT)
@Daisja30: I think depending on the procedure whether or not the memories stay or are gone forever. For example when you are about to get your wisdom teeth removed the anesthesiologist gives you the medicine to put you to sleep so you do not have a memory of the procedure. I think if a person is put in a trauma situation that they will eventually regain memories. An example of that scenario is how females have been coming out about being raped but the rape did not take place at the time they confront someone about it. I think that if the government was involved that they would do everything in their power to help memories come back.--TSmith2020 (talk) 02:10, 23 September 2019 (EDT)
@TSmith2020: Seriously, you must proofread and revise for clarity. Much of this is hard to follow. Please see my feedback that I will be updating through the day on 9/24/19. —Grlucas (talk) 11:01, 24 September 2019 (EDT)

September 28, 2019: Black Mirror "The Entire History of You" with the theme that Technology Can make us think too far

This week's viewing is Black Mirror’s episode “The Entire History of You[16] is a science fiction story that shows a realistic reality of what could happen if the technology becomes too advanced before it's time. Given the circumstances, we are at with technology I fear we will head this way. In the past, I have heard about things like Uber, and self-driving cars and look at us now we have other entities coming forward this could be good or bad. In this episode, there is a portion of the citizens that have a grain implant behind their ear that records everything they do and hear. The grain is a small pill-sized memory storage almost like a USB jump drive but only it never leaves your body unless you have it taken out. They also have a remote that allows them to playback memories and things they have done in the past.[17] Whether you like it or not we are being tracked by the government even though there is nothing implanted in us. That thing I am referring to is a smartphone. It keeps up with your location, facial identification, your interests, a camera to capture memories, and so much more.[17] This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the perspective.

Reasons Why it is Worth it

There are some worthy reasons for thee kind of implant and surveillance tactics. One thing to consider is that the government would not have to waste taxpayer dollars on cameras because everyone would have one for the good of society. The government wouldn't have to find evidence for convicting someone or buy and install cameras when the public would be interested in purchasing them to allow them to control what they see[17]. Another great reason is to see if someone tries to get on a plane or train to escape where they committed a crime the travel security officer could require at checkpoints for playback of events that have happened in the past. Security screenings would have to watch entire weeks playback to see if anything comes up negative "you are innocent until proven guilty"[17] When people know that whatever they do will be recorded they would be afraid to commit a crime. The last reason is that they would be good for Crime prevention which means there is no need for lawyers. [17] In order to plead out of court you would have to playback to the time when the alleged event occurred.

Reasons Why it is Not Worth it

One reason it is not worth implementing is because of someone denying to conform to the new norm or they are ineligible to get it. Think about it we all know or have seen someone without a smartphone because they are used to their flip and dial pad phones. They feel as if technology has evolved too much for them to keep up with. The same thing happened in the episode where an actor admitted that she did not have a grain. A person is deemed to be an outcast if they choose not to have one [17]. Another reason they are harmful is that people become socially awkward. They become so fascinated with their past that they are not socializing and engaged with their future. In the episode, we saw that there becomes a disconnect from reality. [17] The final reason that makes it not worth getting a grain is that you don't have an off switch. That means you don't have the option to record or not record what you don't want to be seen by someone else or a bad situation again. In the episode, privacy is invaded because everything is recorded and nothing is excused. [17]

@TSmith2020: Intersting point of view in the post. I do feel that technology is advancing at a faster pace and that is becoming harder for some to pick up the skills to use such technology. Phones in themselves are now becoming smaller pocket sized mobile computers. I fear that technology is moving too fast that the world will soon be welcoming the use of robotic beings that roam just as well as us humans. I also fear that technology has become too much of a crutch for us it gives too much access to everything that nothing is private anymore and everyone seems to be overlooking this aspect. --D.Sams96 (talk) 13:13, 29 September 2019 (EDT)
@TSmith2020: This technology would certainly affect the criminal justice system, I agree. It's interesting to me that the writers for the show came up with a world where Grains exist and chose to focus on a relationship like they did, instead of a crime. -MorganAtMGA (talk) 20:12, 29 September 2019 (EDT)

September 28, 2019: Common Theme of When Technology Goes Too Far in both "The Entire History of You" & "The Girl Who Was Plugged In"

The common theme I have seen while watching and viewing this week's reading is how too much technology can be bad or harmful. It is scary enough at the rate we are advancing with technology and medicine that it is possible for what is seen in Black Mirror's episode called "The Entire History of You" with the concept of remotes to control your memory happen for those who want it in society.[18] The remote controlling in "The Entire History of You" is shown when Liam and most of the population could control how to look back at any memory that they desired by using an actual remote to scroll through whatever they wanted to remember.[18] While in "The Girl Who Was Plugged in", the remote control was P. Burke, who was controlling everything that Delphi did or said.[19] Both of these show how in the beginning, this new advanced technology sounds like a great idea and it would make their life better, but for both Liam and P. Burke, they realized that everything is not good as it seems to be. This is seen when Liam's obsessiveness drives him crazy, leading to him taking out his grain.[18] This is also seen when Delphi falls in love, and Paul tries to save her from what he thinks is "mind control" but ends up just killing the P. Burke and her version of Delphi. [19] There was at one point talk about microchipping everyone but there are disadvantages. Such as someone not being able to receive treatment because of a possible reaction. The FDA has stated that several risks for human microchipping include adverse tissue reactions, electrical hazards, and potentially most importantly “incompatibility” with strong-magnet medical equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs).[20] Another important reason is when technology improves that the chip could move from where they were implanted causing yet another medical issue unless there is some kind of scanner made to detect them. If proper care is not taken of implanted chips, they are capable of migrating within the body.[20]

@TSmith2020: Technology is one of the common themes the two stories share. I think both of the main characters' dependence on technology helps them not want to accept realities in their own lives. P. Burke knows she is not like Delphi and she escapes her misery into a fraud of herself. How can she really say she was in love with Paul when she was living through Delphi? He was in love with Delphi but he was under the illusion that Delphi was a real person. Liam obsession with how his wife's characteristics is brought into paranoia because of technology. He didn't need technology to figure out that his wife is a bit closed off to him. All the clues were there, but he chose to not see them until he saw his wife engaging with Jonas at the house party. Advanced technology is a good idea for those who want to live through a virtual life. However, reality is the better option especially for P. Burke and Liam. MarinChristina (talk) 21:34, 29 September 2019 (EDT)
@TSmith2020: Generally strong. There are still some issues with references and readability. —Grlucas (talk) 11:42, 30 September 2019 (EDT)