eXistenZ

     These days we are all dependent on some sort of technology.  This is what the movie eXistenZ is trying to get across to the viewers.  Many of us would not know how to function without computers or cell phones.  In a way we put part of our self into them by uploading pictures and videos or entering a list of personal phone numbers.  In the movie this actually physically happens when the gamer plugs the cord from the pod into their back.  We put trust in our electronics to save and keep our information just like in the movie where the pod has control over the person in the game and the person must the game to keep them safe.  The pod can make the virtual gamer say what it wants to keep the plot of the game going, even if the gamer does not want to say or do an action.  The pod then becomes apart of the person.  The humanly, skin type texture of the pod just adds to it. This correlates to what McLuhan has said about media being an extension of us and when our media is taken away it is like an amputation.  The pod actually feeds off the gamer in the video and if the person is tired and weak the game wont work right.  This is seen in our life with technology, too.  If a person spends too much time on the computer or watching TV they get tired and feel drained.  They then resort to eating or exercise or a mental break from technology to get their strength back. Overall, eXistenZ is a metaphor about how technology has become so important to us that it is like it is we are physically connected to technology.

Bodies and Machines

The film blurs the lines between the physical body, mental perception and mechanical machines. In the world the body is not only flesh and bone but also incorporates a machine. Or in the case of the gun, flesh and bone can be transformed into a machine. But the body also house emotions and opinions, but by incorporating a machine into the body these are altered, as to what extent we cannot know. No longer is the body pure. The film shows that it is hard to distinguish what is reality when involved with something virtual. It is only through machines that this virtual reality is accessible. The film also shows how there is a compulsive relationship between body and machine, and mind and machine. The machine needs to the body to function, it runs of energy. The mind needs the machine to access the virtual world, like a drug. The body and pods are connected by umbilical like connectors, symbolic of the nourishment a mother gives an unborn child. Furthermore the mind also contributes to the virtual reality by introducing it's own thoughts into the already constructed system to bring about small alterations. In this way the machine, mind and body become connected.

The film also questions the idea of being "alive". The pods are grown from mutated animals and require mutated organs if they need repair yet they are not "alive" in the same sense as a human being is "alive". There is some reference to these pods wanting to communicate to the connect humans through the theme of disease whilst in the game as a cry for help. Does this mean the pod is "alive"? It clearly wants to live.  However it is a manufactured object, a games console, it does not require the essentials that a human being needs to survive. The film is ambiguous in that it questions what it means to be living. Those people addicted to living in these virtual worlds, are they living? Or is it the people who fight against these virtual worlds that are living?

eXistenZ

Keeping in mind this week's reading concerning bodies, senses, biomedia, cybernetics, and new media, answer one of the following questions about eXistenZ:

-- What point is the film making about the interaction between bodies and machines? How does the film blur the boundaries between machine-like bodies and biologically "alive" machines, and what is it saying about the differences and similarities between them?

-- What does the film propose are the limitations of virtual reality? Can a virtual world be more real than the real world when one is removed from one's real body, and when one's virtual body is forced to do things beyond its control? Or does a virtual world realize possibilities concerning the body that are actually limited by the physical laws and mental repressions of the real world?

-- Dialogue from eXistenZ:

"We're both stumbling around together in this unformed world, whose rules and objectives are largely unknown, seemingly indecipherable or even possibly nonexistent, always on the verge of being killed by forces that we don't understand."

"That sounds like my game, all right."

"That sounds like a game that's not gonna be easy to market."

"But it's a game everybody's already playing."

If life is a game along the lines Jude Law's character describes, then what does it mean that in the film people play virtual reality games that merely amplify real life rather than completely escape from it? Is it because we are still so attached to our bodies that we cannot completely transform into "the new flesh" envisioned in Videodrome? Or is it because we are less in control of our bodies than we like to think and use games to more fully let go of any control over them?

Rap Battle: Obama vs. Romney

This video features impersonators of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama having a rap battle.In the video, infamous issues that both candidates have faced during their campaigns are included, such as the 47% statement made by Romney and Obama's inability to follow through with changes he promised four years ago. The video does not take a side since both candidates are being trashed, especially seen at the ending when Abraham Lincoln flies in. This "rap battle" is a creative way to express the idea of both candidates being wrong for the presidency by bashing them in a humorous way.

Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxch-yi14BE

This video takes parts of President Obama’s speeches, Mitt Romney’s speeches, and other recognizable political figures to create a new version of Eminem’s “Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up.” In this case, however, the song is called “Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up.” This video is a creative way to bring attention to Mitt Romney’s reputation for flip-flopping on issues. This would not have been possible in the past because we did not have the editing programs necessary to isolate parts of different videos and splice them together in a creative, new way to convey a message to the public while being humorous. Videos such as this one show how far technology has come and how it can be used in different ways to convey a message to the public.

Barack Obama Singing Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX1YVzdnpEc

     In this Youtube video a person has taken parts of many different speeches Barack Obama has given over the television and has used his words to produce the song "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.  The video twists the meaning of the word's Obama says by taking them out of the original contest.  It is a perfect example of a creative way to use technology and politics.  Its surprising to the viewer to see he has actually said all the words needed to make the song.  The audience gets no political information from this but instead is amused by the video.  The video is very ironic because it is taking a very serious subject of politics and turning it into a light, playful joke, which is not normally how politics are viewed.  Before television was invented this was not possible but now there are endless possibilities with the use of television.  This reminds me of the word clouds we viewed in class since both are taking the President's words out of context.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQu2SVFF-cU&feature=relmfu

The internet provides people with access to share ideas and opinions through creative ways, even on political topics. YouTube fosters the creation of creative material, whose main purpose is entertainment of viewers. This video compiles clips of President Obama speaking over the tune of "U Can't Touch This" in order to cleverly respond to the criticism of him saying "you didn't build that." That quote is an example of the media spinning a phrase in a negative light, taken out of context, to make an argument using the offense. It shows clips of right-wing political commentators saying that there is no way to take  what Obama said out of context, after ironically doing just that. The song exaggerates Obama's statements in an entertaining way and shows just how out of context anything said aloud could be taken. This same user has created many other politically oriented videos that have all received millions of views since people enjoy the material. He creates arguments through the use of music and edits of political figures, and it makes it seem like the concept is so simple even though so much effort has to be put in to perfectly edit the final product. This video is a great example of expression using the unique audio-visual format of YouTube, and also unites the powers of technology and media.