I was first introduced to the concept of big brother, during high school upon, reading “1984”, by George Orwell. In Orwell’s novel, humans are ultimately subjects of observations, monitoring and are manipulated in many ways by the ‘one’ in control, “Big Brother”, also referred to as the government.
The discussion in the article, Virtual bodies and Flickering Signifiers, by N. Katherine Hayles in some ways reflects the concept “Big Brother”. In virtual reality however, humans become the ‘Big Brother’, who can control and manipulate another dimension. The dimension explored is not one that our bodies physically enter, but instead our mind. Hayles explains on page 72 that, “Questions about presence and absence do not yield much leverage in this situation, for the puppet both is and is not present, just as the user is and is not inside the screen”. Hayles goes on to discuss what she considers of greater importance, exploring “questions about pattern and randomness’.
Hayles explains technology does “more than change modes of text production, storage, and dissemination. They fundamentally alter the relation of the signified to the signifier”. Hayles refers the film, The Fly, when the “human becomes post human”. The artist Lalla Essaydi doesn’t use computer technology, but instead the technology of written text. Her photographs display Muslim women, who are fully clothed, typically only their eyes can be seen. Words of the Koran are written on them and throughout the photograph. Using previous knowledge one can assume these are in fact women, however, one may say they have been dehumanized, as many are forced to wear traditional Muslim clothing and are considered 2nd class citizens.
Hayles explains that, “it is comforting to think that physical forms can recover their pristine purity by being reconstituted as informational patterns in a multidimensional computer space”. Considering tech support is often needed, as computers tend to malfunction, I actually find comfort in the written text. One may say human immortality is only as good as its vessel.
The discussion in the article, Virtual bodies and Flickering Signifiers, by N. Katherine Hayles in some ways reflects the concept “Big Brother”. In virtual reality however, humans become the ‘Big Brother’, who can control and manipulate another dimension. The dimension explored is not one that our bodies physically enter, but instead our mind. Hayles explains on page 72 that, “Questions about presence and absence do not yield much leverage in this situation, for the puppet both is and is not present, just as the user is and is not inside the screen”. Hayles goes on to discuss what she considers of greater importance, exploring “questions about pattern and randomness’.
Hayles explains technology does “more than change modes of text production, storage, and dissemination. They fundamentally alter the relation of the signified to the signifier”. Hayles refers the film, The Fly, when the “human becomes post human”. The artist Lalla Essaydi doesn’t use computer technology, but instead the technology of written text. Her photographs display Muslim women, who are fully clothed, typically only their eyes can be seen. Words of the Koran are written on them and throughout the photograph. Using previous knowledge one can assume these are in fact women, however, one may say they have been dehumanized, as many are forced to wear traditional Muslim clothing and are considered 2nd class citizens.
Hayles explains that, “it is comforting to think that physical forms can recover their pristine purity by being reconstituted as informational patterns in a multidimensional computer space”. Considering tech support is often needed, as computers tend to malfunction, I actually find comfort in the written text. One may say human immortality is only as good as its vessel.
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