http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/09/26/promises-and-threats/ part of the MSc in E-learning at the University of Edinburgh Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:20:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/09/26/promises-and-threats/#comment-8 Daniel Griffin Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:43:26 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=26#comment-8 Good post Grace, and interesting question Jeremy! I've definitely noticed the sense of a lack of control feeling and being overpowered by the system in allot of dystopic media or literature. But I hadn't really considered it as a loss of control. That said, we do have a tendency as a culture to look backwards through rose coloured glasses and remember "the good old days", even if they weren't so good to begin with. Perhaps the speed of change in a digital culture makes us feel like we are moving ever further away from the good old days? Good post Grace, and interesting question Jeremy!
I’ve definitely noticed the sense of a lack of control feeling and being overpowered by the system in allot of dystopic media or literature. But I hadn’t really considered it as a loss of control. That said, we do have a tendency as a culture to look backwards through rose coloured glasses and remember “the good old days”, even if they weren’t so good to begin with. Perhaps the speed of change in a digital culture makes us feel like we are moving ever further away from the good old days?

]]> http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/2011/09/26/promises-and-threats/#comment-7 Jeremy Keith Knox Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:36:41 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/gracee/?p=26#comment-7 ‘Humans are afraid of losing power and control’ I think this is an interesting perspective on the dystopia films, and one that would be fascinating to consider further in the coming weeks. Loss of control seems to feature heavily in many science fiction narratives, whether it is threatening extra-terrestrials with unfathomable power, or villains who utilise science and technology to destructive ends. Can we read cultural trends by the fictional narratives they produce, and how does this vary across cultures? All this sense of loss, however, must come from a pretty strong feeling that 'we' were once in control. But were 'we' ever? ‘Humans are afraid of losing power and control’
I think this is an interesting perspective on the dystopia films, and one that would be fascinating to consider further in the coming weeks. Loss of control seems to feature heavily in many science fiction narratives, whether it is threatening extra-terrestrials with unfathomable power, or villains who utilise science and technology to destructive ends. Can we read cultural trends by the fictional narratives they produce, and how does this vary across cultures? All this sense of loss, however, must come from a pretty strong feeling that ‘we’ were once in control. But were ‘we’ ever?

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