Lecture 8 Summary

During the first half of today's lecture we watched a film called ExisTenZ. Set in the near future with technologies such as Virtual Reality Gaming, ExisTenZ presents its audience with the positive and negative aspects of this advance technology. The film ending gives the audience the feeling of being disconnected from reality without ever really knowing if the lives we live are real or just a system that we are ported into. I find that some concepts of this movie are linked closely to those featured in the Matrix. They both prompt viewers to question their existence. Are we slaves to our technological advancements? Are we living in the Matrix?

The second half of today's lecture Professor Stephen Stockwell discussed the themes of Democracy. Democracy can be broadly defined as a way we represent ourselves, it is a chance to state one's opinion. However with this free will of expression the Greeks experience exclusion of citizenship especially amongst slaves and women, clearly illustrating the unjust democracy of that era. The influence of Athens however soon spread to Europe during the 17th and 18th Centuries which prompted changes in France and Britain which can be said to be the foundation of the democracy we know today.
In today's democracy we practice the Freedom of Speech through various means such as the Representative Government this country is ruled by. In contrast the Media has been claimed to be a corporate government organisation that filters the news and illustrate certain opinions to society. In relation to the Internet, this technological application has enabled users to participate and deliver their opinions freely and self-debate, example of these include Blogs and Forums. Clearly the Internet is valuable as it empowers people to search for others opinions aswell as formulating their own.

Is the Internet an effective way to demonstrate democracy?

The Internet provides skills in self-efficiency, training users that in order to produce results one must work hard as Professor Stockwell states, "keep hacking at it" which applies directly to hackers. Stockwell views hackers a somewhat positive outlook and are not neccesarily deviants of society unless they are crackers (Criminal Hackers).

Are hackers training for a new type of democracy?

The Internet not only enable users to have skills in self-efficiency but also encourages users to use the Internet for political change. He gave a couple of examples on how normal people, without Web experience, can use the Internet as a tool for gathering opinions of people and use it to combat the government.

This lecture has given me the chance to view democracy in a new and invigorating light. It has prompted me to read thoroughly into cyber democracy.