tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post7449984649934128206..comments2023-11-05T07:27:43.837-05:00Comments on Narrative and Technology: Blog #3 Prompt #1Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-69543398958090651512012-02-02T20:06:43.383-05:002012-02-02T20:06:43.383-05:00Question: Where does the desire for happiness com...Question: Where does the desire for happiness come from? Media? Government? Longing for the antebellum world? How are happiness and media connected for these? Are people being given an artificial desire for happiness by the media, or is media simply filling a hole to provide people with the happiness they need to continue living?<br /><br />The most effective quality in your writing is your use of examples. You use great examples and use them to develop some awesome ideas, but what would be even better is if you focused on a select few examples and analyzed them in depth. There's nothing wrong with being succinct, but don't let your writing get too narrow.<br /><br />Something ineffective is that you introduce lots of ideas and ignore many of them. You mention that it's "odd to showcase androids", but don't elaborate on it, even though it could make an awesome body paragraph. The same applies for the question of whether or not artificial happiness is good or bad and Iran as moral aberration. Spend time developing these ideas and the essay could be incredible.Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07961083943118360282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-53102076216028511242012-02-02T20:02:44.125-05:002012-02-02T20:02:44.125-05:00How does Mercer and the empathy box also play a ro...How does Mercer and the empathy box also play a role in societal control while remaining outside of the realm of entertainment? Also, what are the ramifications for someone who resists being controlled through these methods?<br /><br />I think this essay is well presented and draws from a good theme in each work. The strength of your essay is in your comparison to Dick's futuristic entertainment mind control to our own TV obsession. I think a greater comparison could potentially even be drawn between the government TV station in the novel and the conglomerate media we have today and their ability to spin or censor stories as they see fit.Brian Moellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07286405933796094725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-38439420331743037912012-02-02T19:59:17.913-05:002012-02-02T19:59:17.913-05:001) Question
Do you think Marcuse's criticism a...1) Question<br />Do you think Marcuse's criticism applies only to MEDIA as a method of thought control (TV, radio, etc) or is it larger? What else can we see in his terms?<br /><br />2) Most effective<br />This essay brings the issues presented in Marcuse into direct contact with the novel very clearly. The argument that Marcuse and Dick were getting at very similar things almost down to a one-to-one connection between certain of their ideas is presented very well.<br /><br />3) Least effective<br />More specificity is needed about the content of Buster's show and what the effects of its particular stupidity are - not just that the content is vapid but what kind of ideology it is instilling in people esp. in relation to Mercer. I think more elaboration on false consciousness would be good as well since it only comes up at the very end and isn't really explained.RJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553161343973094022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-1853639481747493642012-01-28T12:41:43.742-05:002012-01-28T12:41:43.742-05:00As a focused, straightforward reading of the novel...As a focused, straightforward reading of the novel using Marcuse's comments, I have absolutely nothing bad to say, and many good things to say. While I think there are individual moments which are problematic (just because Buster friendly's guests aren't fully human doesn't mean they are androids - think in terms, e.g., of computer animation here...), this is a compact explication of how social control is instituted through technology in the novel, along the lines (but further along!) that Marcuse describes.<br /><br />If you revise, there is a lot more to do, of course, simply following these themes through the rest of the novel - in particular, you would need to do more with both Buster Friendly and with Mercer. I'm also curious whether you think there is ever any form of "true" consciousness in the novel - in other words, does "negative thinking" emerge at any point? And, if it does, is it (or can it ever be) effective?<br /><br />But more to the point - you are already touching on the ways in which PKD's novel functions as a Marcuse-esque critique on our own society as it was in the 1960s. It would be interesting to see you *respond* on this level. Does this critique apply to us? Does it need to be altered? Is it false? In other words, does the novel function, in your eyes, as a critique of our world, in Marcuse's vein, or not?<br /><br />That's just my way of putting it, and there are other ways of phrasing those types of questions. What I'm getting at here is that this is a good, focused reading of both authors - what I'd like is more of your vision, or your voice.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com