The film the 6th day relates to the notion of the cyborg, the Post-Human again relates to the notion of human development to the state of immortality.
Can technology develop the biological imperfections of the human body, in this instance cloning. So that one never has to die.
This raised issues of the question into who gets to "Play god" in our society, and control our natural limitations.
Aside from Arnies wooden acting, the age portrayed was that of the electronical, the exaguration of future where we are increasingly dependent on new technologies.
Wikipedia states:
The film purports to look at the ethics of human cloning, but it has been criticised for presenting a scenario that is nothing like the somatic cell nuclear transfer process that would actually be used in any form of human cloning (whether "therapeutic" or "reproductive"). In this film, the clone can imitate the appearance and personality (and adopt the life) of the original person.
Kinda takes the fun out of being alive, doesn't it?
The message portrayed in the film is the opinion that new technologies, especially in the instance of cloning will lead to serious consequences with the natural draft of life, as it shown in the example of the pionerring scientist's wife chosing death over immortality.
As part of this blog, i believe its important to describe exactly what "New Media" is.
The "New" media relates to a change from the old, the main progress within the mediated sphere is that of digitalism, with the example of digital computers. Progressing the mediums of the media and progressing into the new.
With the development of such aspects as the mobile phone, globalisation within the new media occurs, making the new media a far greater source than the old.
The new media relates to shrinking the limitations of a previous media culture, again using the examples of mobile phones the world becomes smaller as the communication system becomes larger. Also as will be discussed, the development of new media shrinks the limitations of the human body, as will be described in the works of Stelarc and Orlan.
The more new media prevails, it is also argued that we somewhat become one with technology as the dependence on it vastly increases.
It can be seen that new media cultures are a constant surrounding within human life, grapples of which we cannot escape as it is all around us.
The advance to digitalism being a key aspect, where the media transfers into the abstract far more, for example the mp3, a piece of music only as data, without solid form.
It is in my opinion, that the development of the new media is intended to make things "easier" in general, the development of techonology often relates to the needs of the consumer, to make things quicker. Again in my opinion this may lead to an "arm chair generation" where most people need not leave the house or interact with the outside world to get things done, and with the advancement of video games, people feel they can live a certain life through the medium of game.
I beleive Apples I-Phone to be a good example of how technologys advancement with the media world, makes things easier. With the ability to make calls, listen to music, take pictures all in one.
This section relates to the relationship between the body and technology, the close relationship which it holds is getting undeniably closer.
A mobile phone has become metaphorically attatched to the ear, becoming intregal in human communication. Even down the example of glasses, in this instance technology is progressing to enhance the human body from its somewhat limited capabilities. The example of the pace-maker is in my opinion the best example of this, technology serves to PREserve the human body, in this case extending the human lifespan.
This is best potrayed through the work of Stelarc,
his performances include the integration of technology within the body, in one instance controlling his central nerve system to a computer to perform "robotics" where the body became at mercy to a central computer system.
This projects the arguments that the body can be reliant on technology, and can change what we see as a biological body, breaking down the barriers of limitation in which the body serves.
He also performs with a robit third arm, again rendering the argument of development of the human body through technology.
Using the idea that the body can be used to perform arts of beauty, such as the example of gymnasts and dancers, Stelarc uses technology to use the body as a tool of modern art, manipulating the body to become a form of entertainment.
"the body lacks of modular design," "Technology is what defines the meaning of being human, it's part of being human." Especially living in the information age, "the body is biologically inadequate." Stelarc
Another example of bettering the biological limitations of the body, stelarc has fashioned the idea of encoporating a third ear.
Another example of using the growth of technology to alter the biological human body, is the French artist Orlan. Orlan uses plastic surgery to alter her appearance to the aesthetics deemed "perfection" within contemporary culture.
It is the idea that using technological innovations, one can create perfection, or pretty much anything they want to portray a certain aesthetic.
Like Stelarc, Orlan uses her body (often infront of live audiences) to potray art, thanks to the progressive nature of technology. Even in one instance, implating horns into her own head as a way of bettering the body.
With the development of the mediated sphere, Music is not an exception in this.
The development of music has soared in not just the instance of new sounds and directions but in the way in which a musical experience is created for the viewer.
With the development of the Mp3 music is now an intregal part of western culture, providing an endless availability of music which plays its part in shaping ones own personality.
Even music experiences have become accessible in the instances of televised live performances, live album tracks and so forth. The viewer need not leave their couch to experience a musical spectrum, even with the development of electronical sound, they can gain some of the sound experience also!
'In the electronic age, the art of music will become viably a part of our lives, much less an ornament to them, and that will consequently change them much more profoundly' (Glenn Gould)
The development of VJ's shows the development within music technology. They provide visuals to relate to the music in which the DJ has provided.
The bbc music website describes the diversity in the term VJ's...
"Many VJs don't even use the term VJ, preferring to describe themselves as visual mix artists, audiovisualisers, pixel jockeys, visual performers, visual jockeys, pro DJs, video jammers or even viewsicians."
The BBC music website provides a guide to VJ's
Along with DJ's this musical experience can all be created from home, thus making it somewhat "laptop music" or "bedroom rock" as it can also be described as. An individual may not leave his home to compose a song. This acess to the electronical aspect of music gives a huge amount of creativity to the masses. Remixes, looping and the general cut and paste aspect of music creates a sound not previously possible. A good example of this is the artist DANGERMOUSE, remixing the Beatles White album with Jay Z's black album to create the Grey album, a mesh between two conficlting sounds creates one individual sound, just like the example of the album titles...metaphorically when mixing two colours, it created one individual colour.
Music technology provides most people the tools in which a contemporary sound is found.
Good examples of this experience are the artists known as DJ SPOOKY and DJ Shadow
Both artists use the visual to best potray the experience intended by their electronically composed pieces, creating a musical athmosphere for the viewer.
It can be argued that with this age of sampling, individual should not be the word to describe the composing, it can be seen more as recycling than creation.
DJ spooky states that his work "deals with the notion of the encoded gesture or the encrypted psychology of how music affects the whole framework of what the essence of 'humaness' [sic] is" (Wikipedia.org)
Dj spooky is a beleiver that music effects the human conciousness rather than acting as a simple entertaining tool.
The development of electronical music gives the tools in which this can be acheived.
The film created by Cronenburg in 1982, is a piece in which the age of digitalism in every day life is analysed. Looking into the distance between the real and the virtual, the film arguably stating the distance between the two, is ever shrinking.
In the film James Woods who plays a cable tv operater named Max Renn, grapples with the Virtual reality esque project of videodrome, mixing sex and violence to create a desired state of mind and reality, with distrubring consequences.
In my view the film set to view the progressive worry that the digital world is extending into the real world to achieve things deemed impossible in reality.
Sort of a social commentary locating the issue that the desire to live like individuals do within the digital world, creates a cyberspace...a sort of mediated sphere where individualism is lost and you become part of the system.
In the film this can be seen where Max enters the television set, thus entering the digital cyberspace.
"Death to Videodrome, long live the new flesh" is the final statement of the film, in my view i beleive this to be the part in the film where the realisation of the empowering and disturbingly controlling Videodrome (and what videodrome represents) is actualised, and long live the new flesh may relate to the new flesh in which develops on his arm, to fight the grip of videodrome. Making a point that the new human flesh will prevail over the growing cyberism of the human body.
