• Opening Scene: The prophet considered as an early adopter.
• @2:28  The dangers of mass media on the young.
• @2:37  Advocates of technology worry more about its welfare than the damage it can cause.
• @4:03  Version 1.1, now with added terror; (or, “Corrupt Download”).
• @5:02  The system is broken; the people want control; a new prophet seeks the light…
• @5:26  Version 1.2 “The Freedom Patch”.
• @5:56  System Crash.

As to the actual title, Bendito (“blessed”) Machine, I would add one word: Nuestro.  The system belongs to us as surely as does ones own faith.  If we are to worship the system then we must be sure to debug it fully, or risk its collapse.

We’ve been discussing two films this week over twitter and in a synchtube session based loosely on the subject of digital culture.  But interestingly it seems that the dominant theme has been the idea of a digital space being a kind of alternate reality or other place that we go to.  The same is true of the many tweeted film nominations being suggested.  So do people think of digital culture as somehow unreal, or perhaps even escapist?  I think there is definitely an element of other-worldliness to the way in which we interact digitally, but for me at least, it’s not about the decorations in the room, but the people at the party and what they are saying to one another.  This motivated me to nominate a sample of the The Visions of Students Today project for our film festival (lifestream: 23.09.2011 #2).  Anything that Mike Wesch and his students produce is always fascinating, but VOST2011 seems like it will be particularly appropriate to this course, given the medium of sharing and the collaboration that is taking place.  From my personal perspective, a culture is nothing if it is not shared; indeed it can not even exist without some forms of interaction.  Experiencing something virtual on ones own is not a cultural event, but the sharing of that experience,  synchronously or asynchronously, in real time or after the fact is what makes it important.