(One of the many electrical inventions of Nikola Tesla, the Tesla Coil, an induction coil that can produce alternating currents) |
( The movie poster for The Social Network, a film that tells the story of the rise of social networking and the impacts it has had on society and the human individual) |
McLuhan's description on how the world has been contracted into a "global village" in which there is an instantaneous flow of information is conveniently showcased by another technological medium, film, in one of my favorite movies, The Social Network. Based on the true story of the creation of Facebook, The Social Network uses the medium of film to portray how the medium of the internet and social networks can influence the metaphysical aspects of the human experience. In the film, the creator of Facebook Mark Zuckerburg makes a website with the purpose to connect people. Ironically as the site becomes more successful, Zuckerburg loses the real life connections he has with his friends and makes some powerful enemies along the way. The New York Times describes the movie as, "a narrative of ambition, except instead of discovering his authentic self, Mark builds a database, turning his life — and ours — into zeroes and ones, which is what makes it also a story about the human soul."
Works Cited
Dargis, Manohla. "A Facebook Creation Story With Mark Zuckerb." The New York Times. N.p., 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/movies/24nyffsocial.html?_r=0>.
McLuhan, Marshall. "The Medium Is the Message." Nature 253.5494 (1975): 689-90. Web. <http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/mcluhan.mediummessage.pdf>.
Norman, Jeremy. "Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History Is Concerned." Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History Is Concerned. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. <http://www.historyofinformation.com/narrative/index.php>.
Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2012. <https://cole.uconline.edu/~UCLA-201209-12F-DESMA-9-1
Whipps, By Heather. "Nikola Tesla: Biography, Inventions & Quotes." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 29 May 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2016. <http://www.livescience.com/45950-nikola-tesla-biography.html>.
Photos
http://www.tesladownunder.com
http://www.visualinquiry.org/blog/?p=263
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2826725/Mark-Zuckerberg-reveals-Social-Network-hurtful-tried-block-out.html
Pho
You did a good job of relating the topic to different examples. I like how you ended it with the quote. You highlight the negatives in technology it seems like. I wonder what you feel against it.
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