Adam Curtis’ documentary The Trap discusses the concept and definition of freedom, and it raises various issues including themes that suggest that society is modeled and run on mathematical equations, theories, performance targets and statistics. It examines the rise of the game theory during the Cold War and informs the viewer on how one large computer monitored the Soviet Union and enabled people to be aware of signs of danger while helping them anticipate how to respond. The notion that we are controlled not by people, but by computerized systems is quiet frightening to me.
Hollywood has been warning its massive audience of the plans the computers have to take over the world for years now. The above clip is a trailer for the recent movie, Eagle Eye. I believe that it is a great example of how Hollywood has demonstrated the scary, yet possible control computer systems could potentially have on us. The movie is about a computer that assists in matters of National Security in the U.S. However, this computer takes a life of its own and decides that the President and his cabinet are a threat to the country because of an incorrect decision they made. Since it has been programmed to follow the laws and regulations of the United States of America it programs itself to eliminate the President along with its cabinet. It decides what is wrong and what is right, and ironically triggers a bomb to be detonated when the word “free” is said in the last verse of the U.S. national anthem. Eagle Eye is just one of many films dealing with this scary issue of a world controlled by computers. The Terminator, The Matrix, I Robot are just a few other examples.
In Part II Curtis discusses certain physiological symptoms that people experience and how they react to them. He explains how R.D. Lang challenged the medical elite by implementing a system based on numbers. Basically, people would fill out a checklist based on symptoms that they have experienced and a computer would decide if the were “normal” or abnormal”. Surprisingly, this system proved to be much more effective than the previous one. However it scares me to point out that a machine was the determinant factor of diagnosing the human. It first led to a feeling of freedom for the people. No one told them how to behave. Nonetheless this notion of freedom seemed to switch to that of confusion. And they were found asking themselves, “what was normal”?
In this day and age it seems like we are being “trapped” in computer systems and networks that we really cannot avoid. We are placing too much trust on technology systems and computers. Adam Curtis raises the argument that humans act like machines that certain elite have social control over. Has the power shifted away from humans and has it landed on computerized systems? Is the prisoner dilemma applicable in this situation? Are we placing a little too much trust in technology? Will it betray us? Are computers defining our freedom?
Possibly Relevant Posts:
- The Internet’s Impact on Freedom (4) | Jessica
- What if it’s not a Trap? (6) | Dylan
- A spinning circle where actions are traceable (3) | ethram
5 Comments
That is so true, what happens when the numbers and technology which seems so concrete betrays us? Especially today when people rely so heavily on computers, I remember when my computer crashed and I lost everything it seemed like the end of the world. Now I back up my computer using three separate technologies (DVD, Back up drive, and my fathers computer- what are the odds that I will lose anything now!) But I feel that we lost something when we allowed technology to take over. Like who writes letters to there friends anymore? But a letter seems so personal because you have to write exactly what you mean since it would take a few days to receive a letter. It is as if we can not express ourselves anymore due to technology. Maybe technology is making us now go backwards and that is its way of attacking us?
Tying the idea of computerized revolution to Hollywood is a really interesting take. Humans have been afraid of technology for as long as technology has existed. An early offshoot of this might be seen in Star Wars or other films where machines take over, or at least have control akin to that of humans’.
There have also been a consistent smattering of Armageddon films the past few years; I wonder what impact technology has on this universal fear of the world ending that seems to be embedded into the human subconscious?
I completely agree with your claim about Hollywood warning us of the power of computers. It has been years since these futuristic films began to dominate at the box office. While hits like Men in Black and Independence Day were two of the biggest hits of the type (not the same extent or intent that Eagle Eye achieved), Hollywood has always taken a keen interest in highlighting the dangers and the what ifs!
It is interesting how technology gives us so much freedom (information, not having to go to the library to look everything up) yet this technological advancement is also what holds us back (our fear of the “Big Brother”)
The fear of technology is a very interesting theme (from Frankenstein to Die Hard 4). It is this fear of disembodiment – we fear what we have externalized – Technology was always feared but as it evolves and becomes more “intelligent” we transform our fear as well, we are not afraid from our use of technology, we are afraid of “technology’s use of itself”. We are shedding our responsibility for the tool, as it becomes too complex for us to understand – it is not us using it anymore, it takes a life of its own.
Die Hard 4 (while completely trashy) was an interesting movie in that genre as the bad guys were still human using technology, rather than technology using humans. What I take from The Trap in that context, is less about the danger of technology, but more a critique of our attempts to give us mathematical solutions to questions we have not answered culturally. – In that sense, it calls us to not focus on the fear of the (technological) bomb, but to fear and address the (cultural/political) military industrial complex that developed it.
This phenomenon in Hollywood has been very interesting to me, but more so from what Jessica started to mention about post apocalyptic movies. As these movies have continued to reach mainstream theaters, the question of how we got to this scary sparse Armageddon is often times blamed on technology and numbers. It makes me wonder (when I let my imagination run completely free and pretend I’m in one of these silly Hollywood movies) if what we should really be scared of is computers taking over the world, not just taking over our freedoms or humanity. Just something to think about when all of this talk of the human race as robots seems like the worst outlook to take.