Project Proposal

Blog 8 – Final Project Proposal

            Since the beginning of the semester when the class was first informed about the final projects, I’ve had a story in my head. As soon as we were told that our final projects could be creative, but needed to somehow reflect the views of the class as a whole, it began to form. It has literally just been squatting in my imagination since day one. Now is the chance for it to finally leave my psyche.

            To summarize, in the far future humans will be encased in metal for their protection, like robots (or Cybermen). In this world there is a girl who becomes curious about the way things used to be, slowing becoming more and more disconnected from the world in which she was born into. It is not fully developed in my brain. I was fearful that something might get in the way of it actually coming out, whether it was a new final project format or just a new, easier idea from me. But luckily neither of those things happened.

            Much of what has been discussed in class comes off as an “outside looking in” perspective on technology (with the exception of Neuromancer and possibly Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) But in this story I want to try and capture an “inside looking out” view. I want to argue that technology is not necessarily a bad thing, but that it is not quite enough. For instance, I personally do not see technology as a bad thing, and tend to embrace it’s growing position in our every day lives. That being said, I would prefer to make friends face-to-face, not face-to-screen. I would prefer to give someone a hug or a handshake than text them a winky face emoticon. I’m glad to have technology in my life, but it is not the only thing I want in my life. I’m hoping to write a story that shows this perspective. The girl in this story is not Frankenstein’s monster, or an android that needs to be retired. She’s essentially me with a hard exoskeleton.

            Writing this will be hard. I understand that writing a creative essay is going to take a lot more work, and willpower to complete than a traditional essay would require. I’m not exactly tackling this project because I feel like I would do better on it than if I went the less creative route. I just really need to write this story, and I need some sort of pressure to do it, because on my own I just get too distracted. I know it is not the easy way to go, but I think for me it will be a more honest way. I could churn out a decent essay exploring the literature and themes addressed over the course of the semester, but then it would just be another essay I need to do. But with the story, it can be a bit more than that.