Blog #3 (Elysium)

     Imagine being able to hook a mechanical exo-suit into your central nervous system. Each limb of the exo-suit, along with your actual limbs, are then controlled by your thoughts of their movement. The suit enhances your strength to a superhuman level. In the movie Elysium, the main character, Max, uses this kind of exo-suit to try and reach Elysium. Elysium is a space ship with advanced medical care and a perfect living environment. The reason Max is trying to reach Elysium is because he was working in a factory, and was exposed to a lethal amount of radiation. He only has 5 days to live and loses the ability to function normally, causing him to search for another source of strength, in order to reach Elysium and be cured. The only chance he has of making it up to Elysium is by having a device installed into his central nervous system. This device allows him to use the exo-suit and gives him the strength needed to complete his endeavor. Along the way, Max is confronted by three members of the government that also have exo-suits. The enhanced strength capabilities are shown by the men being able to lift each other with ease and being able to force a hydraulic door open. Benefits from suits, like the ones in Elysium, could be very useful for our military or people with disabilities.
     If these suits are able to be controlled with only using brain waves and no physical exertion, the number of people that could be benefitted with this technology is huge. Think of people that suffer from slight paralysis from strokes or different forms of accidents. These people are limited to what their bodies are now capable of, no matter how strong the will is to make their limbs function normally. Even people with cerebral palsy would have a way of moving around and completing tasks with ease.
     Almost every advanced technology is used in military operations. An exo-suit like this would be no different and could be extremely useful. If the soldiers would be required to fight in hand to hand combat, they would have a massive advantage in strength. If a building is bombed and there are men trapped under the rubble, use of these suits could make it possible to lift debris that a normal human wouldn't be able to. Although there would still be some fatigue on the user, there would be far less physical exertion on the body and most of the work would come from the mind. This would allow soldiers to cover more ground in a day and run for longer distances when in the midst of battle.
     The potential benefits offered with a suit like this is remarkable. What is really exciting about all of this, is how close we might be to having exo-suits available for military and medical use. They are still in the early stages of developing such suits, but when they are fully designed they will have a major impact on many lives.

Cyborg Film Blog: I, Robot

     Have you ever questioned your reason of existence, or purpose of life? It’s normally for any human being to. Living without a purpose or even hope seems to lead people down the wrong path. Another question commonly asked by human beings is, who is are creator? This question is explored through religion and scientific studies. No idea is known to be the one hundred percent truth, but humans insist on putting their faith in either of the two. If humans were ever successful in creating life with a conscious, would this new species have these same questions? A lot of novels and films explore this conversation with different circumstances. One film I thought displayed this conversation the best was I, Robot. The connection and the relationship of the robots with the humans seems realistic. Then also the challenges and obstacles are plausible. I, Robot, hit theaters 2004 directed by Alex Proyas. The film was inspired and based off the novel I, Robot written by Isaac Asimov. These medias explore the idea of an advanced technological world, displaying the different possibilities of its pros and cons.

     In film, I, Robot, Will Smith is the main character named Del Spooner. The setting takes place during the year 2035 in Chicago. Everyone seems to rely on a huge system of robots, which are programmed to specifically aid humans with everyday task. Will Smith’s character, Del Spooner, however doesn't think robots are so innocent and helpful. He is a homicide detective, and does his job with an arrogant attitude. Spooner’s given a case to solve the mystery of the robot creator’s death, Dr. Alfred J. Laning. He immediately blames the robots without any justifiable proof or reason. All the robots remote exactly the same expect for one, Sonny. Sonny’s programming allows him to act more humanlike. For instance he can dream, and question his reason of existence. Robots have three laws to follow in regard to their interaction with humans. Sonny is forced to break these laws commanded by his creator. Sonny tries to keep the incident a secret, until Spooner discovers what happened. 

     I noticed this film portrays a lot of moral and ethical flaws of human beings. Humans have a tendency to feel the need of being in control or superior. The robots of the film are created to assist humans with living, more or less like a slave. Even though the robots may not be treated badly, they are still given the work that is either strenuous or tedious. The robot system is computerized, which means they don't have a conscious or feelings. Of course they can not witness this relationship of ownership, however the humans can. With this prediction of advancement in technology, the film comments on the dormancy of human activity. Technology allows human to be hand and stress free. With the creation of robots there’s no need to be self sufficient or independent. Our society now is already laxed with our age of technology, now imagine humans as a society with everything at our disposal. Humans interestingly enough, do not necessarily need a species to be human in order to sympathize with it. This dynamic plays out with Sonny and one of the technicians. Even though she knows Sonny is different, which poses a threat to mankind, she goes against her orders to deactivate him. There’s a scene in the film were as soon as she goes to follow through with orders, Sonny asks her if what’s about to happen to him be compared to death. In this moment the technicians sympathizes with Sonny, realizing his conscious and importance of life. 

     Films and novels with these ideas of the future connects with our society today because it is based off of our relationship with technology and machines. Previous generations had more physical labor and thinking than we do today. By comparing aging generations, you can see the difference in their response to completing certain task. Washing clothes, for example, used to be a long difficult job because a wash board and bucket of water was required. To get the clothes clean you had to scrub the dirty clothes against the board with soap. Once the clothes were cleaned, they were hung up on a line for hours until dried. Today, with the aid of technology, there are washer machines and dryers. Washing clothes as become one of the simplest chores. With this pattern of cause and effect, cause being the advancement of technology and effect being the decrease in human activity, you can what the future generations would be like. They would have many new found resources in store, however they wouldn’t be active on the world. I think technology is great and helpful, but my only fear is that it will eventually go overboard. The creation of robot slaves are unnecessary to me. With the America’s history of slavery, I don’t think it would be wise to revert back to it’s old ways.

Blog 3: The Matrix

Analyzing the movie The Matrix is an interesting task. From it's origins to how it connects to the real world The Matrix is an amazing film through and through. Directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski The Matrix demolished multiple records and won four Oscars. Having an interesting plot and intense action scenes The Matrix took America by storm.

 Set in a dystopian future the character Thomas Anderson lived an interesting life, living a double life as a computer hacker that goes by the name of Neo. Unbeknownst to Neo, he and everyone else lives in an electronic computer system that simulates their lives. Inside the simulation life appears real and normal. However, in the real world everything is controlled by machines except for one human city called Zion. Many humans in the city called Freedom Fighters fight back against the machines to try to gain back their freedom. The leader of the Freedom Fighters, Morpheus, awakes Neo because he believes that Neo is "The One" who is to defeat the machines. Although Morpheus tells Neo that he believes that Neo is "The One", Neo does not believe him. Even at one point Neo goes to see the oracle who tells him that he is not "The One". This just adds to Neo's belief that he in fact is not "The One". However, later in the film Neo finds out that he is the one and just has to accept that he is and he can do anything. From this point on Neo accepts himself and begins fighting back against the Matrix and begins to win.

Although in the film there is no context showing any ethical dilemmas, in our real world it poses some of our issues. This film really makes you think about the real world and about what types of things are real and what is not. I believe in some instances that it represents our dependency on technology and how we become lost in it. Also, some aspects of the movie represents our lives in technology and how we live different lives outside of technology. In many ways The Matrix was used to create realization throughout our world that just shows how we can not live without technology and i believe that this is just another way The Matrix was an impactful film.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Blog #3

Terminator

            Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a blockbuster sequel to the original Terminator film. It was released in July of 1991. The film stared a few of the same characters from the original Terminator, including Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800 and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. This time around the Terminator, the T-800 is here to help. Sarah Connor has a son, John Connor, who will in the future save all of humanity from the Armageddon. A newer Terminator model, the T-1000 was sent to Earth to kill John and eliminate the pending threat to the cyborgs in the future. The new T-1000 has a few advantages over the old T-800, such as morphing and shape-shifting into any person it comes in contact with. While the Terminator, T-800, saves Sarah and John, the T-1000 is not far behind them. Throughout the film the two cyborgs go head to head and eventually have their final battle with the T-800 being victorious and saving Sarah and young John. When his task is done he must terminate.

T-1000 Model

            The returning and main character in the film, Terminator T-800, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger is a cyborg. A cyborg as stated in the film, is a cybernetic organism. It is essentially a computer covered in living human blood and skin tissues. It is sent from the future to carry out one specific task. The film does not go into too much detail as to where it came from. Although the cyborg was sent to Earth to do one thing and one thing only, it demonstrates that it is capable of learning and adapting to different situations. The character of John Connor gets somewhat attached to the terminator and attempts to teach him a few things to better fit into society. For instance, John teaches the terminator a few slang words relevant to that time period and also instructs it not to just kill anybody. In my opinion, this is an illustration of the Terminator’s somewhat human capabilities.

            Before the Terminator meets John he kills at will or whenever it will benefit him. He has not been programmed with any regard for human life other than the one he was sent to protect. This is a major moral and ethical catch-22. Other than the obvious death and destruction the Terminator leaves in his path, directly or indirectly, I do not think it crosses any other ethical or moral boundaries. Besides the fact that there is a living and breathing cyborg walking the streets. Just its mere existence could pose a moral problem and be deemed unethical. All that aside, it could be beneficial to have such a loyal sidekick. After all, we were meant to like this character.

           Currently, I think a lot of people would volunteer themselves to be a cyborg experiment. A plethora of people would love to have the super powers. The phenomena with sci-fi and cyborg technology is continually growing. Although the film by today’s standards is a little dated, it is still culturally relevant. Since this film, there have been dozens of other films made about robots and cyborgs. This trend is not going anywhere anytime soon. Even though it is complete fiction and we will never have cyborgs from the future coming to Earth to save us, it represents the possibilities of the future as long as we can use our imaginations.

Blog 3 I Robot

 

I ROBOT

 

 

The 2004 science fiction movie I , Robot was written by Vintar and Goldsman. Starring Will Smith whom played the role of detective Spooner and the unexpected cyborg.
The futuristic film took place in the year 2035 , within that year a company called U.S Robotics produced thousands of robots to become servants to the public. These robots were programmed with the basic 3 laws that particularly prohibits them from harming any human beings, their only duty is to obey and protect.
All robots were controlled by a system called Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence (V.I.K.I). V.I.K.I is a system that is depicted as a virtual woman who no one knew was secretly corrupted. Because she was too informed she begin trying to hide all clues of the death of her creator Dr. Alfred. Allegedly Dr. Alfred committed suicide by jumping out of a window from his building. However, the window could only be broken by a great force which was caused by another force in the room , presumably a robot. It was not V.I.K.I who killed Alfred but his own personal creation Sunny. Sunny was different from all of the other robots and could break the three laws but only by obeying the request of his owner.
Detective Spooner had a phobia of cyborgs and deemed them all to be slightly evil. Sunny was the icing on the cake of his theory of robots turning on humans eventually. This thought was only developed due to his accident. A car collision that drove both cars into water. Because a robot in the area decided that the logical choice was to save him instead of the young girl, he became furious with any and every robot. As a result of the car accident his arm was replaced with a prosthetic one in which made him a cyborg slightly.
Detective Spooner the cyborg in the film was displayed as a quick tempered man. Who in no way would describe himself as a cyborg of any kind. He wanted nothing to do with any robot at all and had preferred to be dead to save the life of a little girl.
As for the ethical portion of the movie a woman that help program the robots named Dr. Calvin believed that the robots were not things, they were living beings as well and treated them accordingly. She felt for them and believed that they would never do any harm. Sunny also strengthened her belief, he was very different . He could think on his own and seemed very alive. Dr. Calvin was the humanitarian of them all. Equal treatment to all alive or electric.
The film portrayed the robots as human servants similar to slavery but made the robots so happy and willing to assist. Creating the robots without any cognitive ability which meant that no robot would question their position.
Into today's society prosthetic limbs are very relevant and are used for people who have been injured and lost a limb or two. unlike I Robot, fake limbs are not as disguisable and are very easy to spot. Those with these replacements are able to do just about everything they were with an actual arm but with some limitations.

Blog #3 - Matrix

For this 3rd and final blog we were allowed to pick a movie off of a short list of films. My film of choice was The "Matrix". The Matrix came out in the year of 1999. Starring Keanu Reeves as Thomas Anderson aka Neo and Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus. In this Sci-Fi thriller Neo starts off living a normal life with a desk job. Until one day he is sent for by a girl named trinity (pictured on the right of the cover). Soon after he meets her he meets Morpheus who is basically the leader of the free world. Morpheus then explains to him that the world he knows is a façade controlled by sentient programs aka agents. Neo is then offered a blue or red  pill. The blue pill will take him back to his everyday life and forget about all he was told. The red pill will let him explore the free world and live up to his potential as the "one". Neo takes the red pill and then joins forces with Morpheus in the fight against the agents.
     In this film in the world they knew it was the year 1999, but in the free world it was more like 2199.They lived on some type of underground space ship where from there they plugged them selves into a computer software simulation "Matrix" also referred to as the real world. They called it the real world because they were no longer being controlled by anyone. As a matter of fact they could now control things with their mind. In the film this meant with a free mind and a strong belief you could do anything.

     I compared that concept of being able to do anything with a free mind in the film to online/virtual gaming. I think that's the idea with virtual games you adapt the idea of being able to do the things you think of with no restrictions. As well as controlling your character in a different world with just your mind. As you could see in this picture from the film their bodies are laying still but their mind is controlling them in the matrix. The only difference between them an virtual gaming is they can actually die in real life if killed in the matrix.
     Another interesting concept was the fact that their real world was being controlled by sentient programs. I saw that as a play on the way our world is today in a sense. By that I mean the way the government has a way of making us believe certain things as well as have the power to control just about any aspect of our existence. Just to add on to that idea there was another scene in the film that was interesting. In this scene Neo went to see the oracle (fortune teller or psychic) and while seeing her she said don't worry about that vase as he turns to see what vase he knocks it down. She then says basically if you think that's crazy ask yourself would it have happened had I not said anything. That scene even made me think. Then I wondered how many times throughout our life our we told something's will happen? Then because we go looking for it, it actually happens. Then the same question applied if we weren't told certain things would they ever happen? Something to wonder about.
    On another note during the film I did notice a positive correlation. A message was spread to Neo several times about opening his mind and believing he can do anything. From the allusion of bending a metal spoon to stopping bullets. Now it was clearly stretched to outrageous extents. But I do believe the root of the message which was open your mind and believe in yourself was very valuable even todays world as well. Another positive correlation in my eyes was the idea of him having the ability to change the plan that was given to him by the oracle. I thought that represented beating the odds In the sense of allow yourself to believe you have the power to change your life even when others see it headed for destruction.
   Overall I thought the film was good. I saw some purpose behind things that I never noticed before. I think these blogs allowed me to really see the meaning behind the film which goes a little deeper than just what we see. I mean it is usually exaggerated but the root of the idea is usually dead on, whether we notice it some what at the time of watching it or years later. I can honestly say I have a different view and understanding on sci-fi films. I believe if you read some of these blogs and watch the films you will notice the same and maybe even more concepts now that you are aware of the big picture within these films. They correlate with our everyday life more than I could have ever imagined. Add  the fact that this movie came out 15yrs ago and still make sense just shows the accuracy of the thought even over a long duration of time. That's the part I find most impressive.

Blog #3 Cyborg Film

Luke: G.I Joe

For my cyborg film blog I chose the movie G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra.  The movie G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra displayed two types of cyborgs, a G.I Joe army cyborg suit and the cobra venom. The movie first started out in 1641, in France, with a man, by the last name of McCallan being punished for selling his weaponry to both the Scottish and the French. The French then made him wear a mask for punishment because of his disobedience. In present day, the McCallan name still lives on and so does their weaponry. McCallan has a plan of selling his nanomites to the United States army and then capturing back the nanomites. These nanomites, which are also called warheads in the movie, is a venom that can destroy anything in its path. Without a kill button, the nanomites cannot be stopped. McCallan has an army of villains such as Rex who is a Cyborg. Rex was been infected with cobra venom and has a face mask to hide his identity and to help him breathe more efficiently. The Villain’s plan is to attack the world with warheads with protection of soldiers who have been infected with the cobra venom. Fighting to stop McCallan and his clan is the G. I Joe team. The G.I Joe team is partially cyborg during combat using robot like suits that enhance everything up to running, jumping, and fighting skills. These two types of cyborgs help to complement each other in moral and ethical values and its representation to society today.

                The G. I Joe suits were created by the army for the G.I Joe soldiers. The suits were made specifically for the G.I Joes in combat. Undergoing extensive training in the cyborg suits, the G.I Joes became even better at saving their country. The G.I Joes also have scientist working hard to help them get use to new equipment and guide them through their journey. The other cyborg Rex

Warhead Launcher

originated from a darker scenario from the G.I Joes. Rex was also a long time war friend with the main G.I Joe, Luke. Luke thought Rex was killed at war and didn’t recognize him because of the face mask he uses to hide his identity. Rex became a cyborg at war by finding the scientist who contained the venom. The scientist offered the venom and all the knowlege that came with it if they both survived the war, which they did. Rex now wears a metal mask around his face to protect his burn wounds and to help breathe. Later Rex does reveal his true identity to Rex and his sister, Anna, who is also working for McCallan.

                At first the public doesn’t see the G.I Joes as the good guys. After the G.I Joes altercation with McCallan and his clan at Paris, the public thinks that the G.I Joes are the ones who are causing the world to destruct. Even though it is very clear throughout the movie that the G.I Joes are the ones helping the society from the warheads and everything being diminished. Although there is a villain it isn’t known that society knows that Rex and McCallan are the villains. To the G.I Joes, Rex and the cobra venom, and warheads are seen as bad. If the people knew what the McCallan and Rex had in store, they would seem more unethical than the G.I Joes.

                However, the G.I Joe army suits are made to help society they cause some dilemmas. In the fight against the villains in Paris, the G.I Joes caused destruction such as wrecks in the middle of the street and jumping through a train window. If I was a civilian in a train and a big robot was flying through I would be a little scared and confused too. The G.I Joes don’t display to the population that they are the guys trying to help them; they always tell the police who they are when they are arrested. With the power of the G.I Joe suits it could be easy to get carried away with running and jumping everywhere in the street. The villains obviously have some moral dilemmas to their powers as well. The object of the villains’ plan is to destroy the world with the nanomites and infect the strongest human soldiers with their cobra venom so they can come out on top of the world. All of the Villain’s motives are because somebody along the line mistreated them. The reasoning and methods of the Villain’s plan is unethical all together because it is hurting the human race.

Rex: Villain before and after explosion

                The cyborgs presented in the move G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra is related to today’s society as well. G.I Joes used suits in combat to protect them and enhance their skills, soldiers today use similar items. For instance most soldiers are required to wear a helmet and chest protection. This helps to increase their risk of surviving and winning the battle. This also relates to the weaponry and machines that soldier’s use in combat. Weaponry as technically advanced over the years giving us an advantage. Video games are now helped in training with soldiers to give them a feel of what being at combat is like and help them learn aim and alertness. The G.I Joes becoming involved with saving the country and being invincible is related to the United States involved with the war. The United States gets involved with international conflicts because they United States is said to be the most powerful and invincible. The United States’ actions other countries relates to the G.I Joes getting involved with the army to assist in taking care of the warheads. Rex the Villain and his venom also relate to society today as well. Rex created the venom to enhance soldiers and also has a face mask to help improve himself. This relates to the artificial limbs and breathing devices we use today to help us live longer and healthy life style. The medical field has advanced to creating artificial organs such as kidneys and creating peacemakers to help your heart work more efficiently. Many of the cyborg aspects help us not only in war but in medical ways as well.

                Cyborgs presented in movies help to relate to the world today and help show us the problems we could potentially have with these advancements and how they could help us. G.I Joe represents how the cyborgs helped to save the war against the villains to save their country but, they also showed the destruction that can be made by the cyborgs. Rex and McCallan also show how some advancements in the human body could be helpful but, only if you have the right reasoning to practice some of those advancements.