What really struck me this week was how much art has influenced technology. I had an idea of the impact of mechanization, robotics, and specifically mass production had on the spreading and developing art, but never to the extent of what Professor Vesna described in her lecture. Mass production lead to many benefits for society and allowed society to profit mightily. However, the idea between futurism and fascism described in the lecture, which encompassed art and technology was very fascinating. The industrial revolution lead to ideas of futurism, described in Futurist Manifesto in 1909, which was a philosophical ideal that mass production and advanced mechanization will lead to our love of war and conflict, leading to the fostering of fascism.
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| http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper_Corps |
Art has played a huge role in robotics and the advancement of robotics. Art and theatre is where the first robots were seen in work by Karel Capek. Movies such as Star Wars really incorporates both mass production and robots and brings them both into a new light. Their idea of storm troopers, an army made up of the same person and robot replicated over and over to make an army. Star Wars was monumental in its impact on technology and its influence on future mechanization.
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| http://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2011/jan/28/no-actors-robots-play-theatre |
Lastly, movies like Wall-E show how technology, when used correctly, can help be beneficial to humanity. However, Philosopher Walter Benjamin argues that mass production can eliminate creativity. Wall-E shows how man-kind and earth are destroyed by technology, but then find a way to learn how to use technology to be beneficial and productive rather than being so highly dependent on it.
Sources
1) Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
2) Vesna,Victoria. “Lecture Part 1.” Math + Art. 17 Apr. 2015. Lecture.
3) Marinetti, F.T.. “The Futurist Manifesto.” masi. N.p.. Web. 17 Apr 2015. <http://masi.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/T4PM/futurist-manifesto.html>.
4) The Little Robot That Could: Religion in Disney Pixar’s Wall-E. Digital image. Religion&Wall-E. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.religionandwalle.webs.com/>.
5) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Dir. Irvin Kershner. By Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. Perf. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Billy Dee Williams. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 1980
Hi Andrew! I really enjoyed your discussion of the influence of movies on science and robotics. It is interesting to think about how movies take into account things happening in current society (such as mass production) and how futuristic ideas in film go on to have a huge impact on scientific exploration. I also think Wall-E is a great example of this week's topics portrayed in film!
ReplyDeleteIn regards to mass production eliminating creativity; I believe that creativity is instilled in the mind of an individual, not in the minds of the masses. With that said, mass production of a certain product is not eliminating creativity, but flourishing the inspirations of those whose creativity could lead to something better than what was originally created. If speaking about mass production in relations to "hindering" creativity versus "eliminating" it, I think that argument would be more sound because children/people learn from their environments and if for future generations to come and the only occupation was going to work in an assembly then things would probably be different; however, that it is not the case.
ReplyDeleteHumans cannot stop the rise of technology and detrimental effects it has on the environment and humanity itself, but we can definitely learn to live with it in a way that would be beneficial to every living thing. I adore the Wally example for this.