Before I started typing these words, I used my gmail (google) account to sign in with IMDB, which tracks my phone and other activities. It tries to learn what I like, what I don't, where I've been, where I've avoided... so there's that. Perhaps we're another form of luddites here in 21st century thinking we're entitled to our privacy in an age where "connected" is the norm.
In any case, the psychological aspect of the movie is just as interesting as the political. Having the power to anonymously look into other people's lives is tempting but ultimately corrupting to the soul. How would that effect you knowing that you could be watched just the same? What would that say about you as you're having so much fun with your peep show into a bystanders life?
Perhaps we all do have something to hide and perhaps we'd like to keep it a secret no matter how trivial but that never stops us from wondering about what others might be hiding or how they're acting when they don't know when somebody is watching them, mundane as it might be. It's perhaps got something to do with power or some form of conditioning where we separate our innate desires and public persona from an early age so that we are all destined to be paranoid schizophrenics.
Nobody (excluding her) knows how I have sex with my girlfriend. That's not something I'd like to share with the world, especially people who know me. Is it because I think what we do is depraved? That's what a lot of people would think first, before questioning why anyone would like to share intimate parts of their lives with strangers, against their consent. If someone had the power to peek into my world, could they be trusted to not peek for their curiosity or amusement?
then there is the flip side of the coin, where we want to be seen and heard. This very forum where we share some part of the inner workings of our mind reviewing movies. A psycho-analyst could have a field day following our comment thread, what we choose to reveal about ourselves given the opportunity. Social media shows us the worst in us at times, where we're most transparent when we think we have the protection of anonymity. If there was nothing but anonymity, would our civilized society crumble when we no longer feel like we have to follow social norms linked to our identity?
This movie is so relevant, because at some point we have to decide what the future will look like and like any good cyberpunk fiction, the emphasis is on flawed humanity rather than the tech itself. Maybe we just have to fix ourselves before we fix our tech.
In any case, the psychological aspect of the movie is just as interesting as the political. Having the power to anonymously look into other people's lives is tempting but ultimately corrupting to the soul. How would that effect you knowing that you could be watched just the same? What would that say about you as you're having so much fun with your peep show into a bystanders life?
Perhaps we all do have something to hide and perhaps we'd like to keep it a secret no matter how trivial but that never stops us from wondering about what others might be hiding or how they're acting when they don't know when somebody is watching them, mundane as it might be. It's perhaps got something to do with power or some form of conditioning where we separate our innate desires and public persona from an early age so that we are all destined to be paranoid schizophrenics.
Nobody (excluding her) knows how I have sex with my girlfriend. That's not something I'd like to share with the world, especially people who know me. Is it because I think what we do is depraved? That's what a lot of people would think first, before questioning why anyone would like to share intimate parts of their lives with strangers, against their consent. If someone had the power to peek into my world, could they be trusted to not peek for their curiosity or amusement?
then there is the flip side of the coin, where we want to be seen and heard. This very forum where we share some part of the inner workings of our mind reviewing movies. A psycho-analyst could have a field day following our comment thread, what we choose to reveal about ourselves given the opportunity. Social media shows us the worst in us at times, where we're most transparent when we think we have the protection of anonymity. If there was nothing but anonymity, would our civilized society crumble when we no longer feel like we have to follow social norms linked to our identity?
This movie is so relevant, because at some point we have to decide what the future will look like and like any good cyberpunk fiction, the emphasis is on flawed humanity rather than the tech itself. Maybe we just have to fix ourselves before we fix our tech.