Monday 23 September 2013

POST 3 : INDIVIDUAL WORK ON 'THE IDEA OF PROGRESS' VIEWED THROUGH HIGH TECH PRODUCTS


          
          When we think about new technology what come first in mind are the bad aspects of it. It is true that people are now addicted to new technology we cannot live without a phone, we almost live in a virtual world. But new technoly have also good aspects.

          We have to be realist, without new technology this is much more complicated to keep contact with our family and friends. Now that we have all those social networks and other web sites, life began more simple. We can find everything we want on the Internet, we can watch movies, listening to music, watching the evening news, well almost erverything is possible. The progress of technology affects also the progress of science and research. It is true that since the end of the XX° century we have seen medical progress and so on. 

          Medical industry invreased a lot through the last fifty years. Now, almost all the disease are known and we know how to cure them or at least anticipate or ditect them and master them as long as possible. The average life expectancy increased because of those progress. People's lives changed and now we are less scared to be sick because we know that scientists and doctors care about us and they do their possible for us to be safe. 

          We do not have to forget that new technology have downsides and that we have to be careful with all those web sites and be vigilent about what you post or publish on the Internet because once it is on the Internet, we can not delete it, it is saved. But we also have to know that, thanks to the new technology, science and medicine progressed a lot and help people to survive in front of the disease.   

          

Saturday 21 September 2013

POST 2: VIDEOS (CLASS DEBATE)

When techonlogy is too much





          The video is structured around two main narative voices and a character illustrating what the voice-over says while a singer often merely/simply repeats what's just been said.
The setting is a Christian home and chuch, so this particular context is particularly meaningful. We can see notice on various occasions that the main character is addicted to high-tech products, mostly smartphones.
He is shown as a family man unable to intercat/communicate with his wife, except through texting. He is also shown as a church-goer insapable of attending worship without alll his phones vibrating all the time, making him look like he's full of the holy spirit. Finally, he is depicted/described as a computer geek/guru whose lifa has become extremely complicated instead of having been simplified.

           Basically, this video means that high technology has become a religion for many people, even Christians who are not supposed to be materialistic. Then, in a Christian lifestyle, quite a few church-goers and believers tend to focus more on materialistic issues than on spiritual ones. We can add that technology reigns supreme for many people who revere/venrate it as a God enlightening his followers.
The question is: is this real progress for humankind/humanity? 


When technology is missing




          Two people are stuck on an escalator in a place that seems literally empty/deserted. The man looks upset/annoyed. He might be an office worker walking to his job. The woman claims that she is already late, this is the last straw (that breaks the camel's back).
At one point, she is about to cry and begs/asks for a phone yells/screams for help. In shorts, two of them look helpless, dueless, powerless, even hopeless.

          We can relate this situation to a fairly common one in real life: getting stuck in/on an elevator. The difference is, however, that in this situation people have a right to feel panicky/panic/freak out whereas on on escalator, ther is no reason whatsoever/at all to panic/to be scared. 
The video points out the increasing/dependence of human beings on technology. If it goes missing, it is as if a crutch had been taken away, so these two people cannot even climb/walk up the escalator, which would be the normal thing to do. We could also think that technology progress makes humans lazy or at least less prone to/inclined to take initiatives/make efforts/think by themselves. 

Wednesday 11 September 2013

POST 1 : A cartoon



     This is a cartoon published in the International Herald Tribune and drawn by Chappatte. there is no infirmation about the publication's date.  It is a much debated topic because the theme of pirating movies is treated. Like it's shows in the cartoon, people used to consider pirating as normal thing even if it's illegal. 

     At first sight we can see three main characters and the man with the " @ " t-shirt catches the eye because he is talking, there is a ballon. The middle part illustartes the three characters and at the top there is other characters and photographs. 

     The cartoonist aims to become aware of the fact that the Internet becomes an advantage but also a disadvantage. This is clearly a caricature and a critic. He wants to show that the Internet is not always a good idea. The message put across by the author is that pirating stills.

     The document is carefully thought-out. The document is not useless and the argument is persuasive but the people are not convinced about the message, they understad it but they just don't care. The document does not convice the viewers. I do, i approve of the document and the issue it raises. I totally agree with the author.