Crawford Blog Post #8

In “The Machine Stops”, EM Forester portrays that the people in the future relied on the Machine to do everything for them. They used it every day for communication, sleeping, reading, etc. People were thrown out when they realized what was going on and knew that the Machine was not perfect and that the people should not trust and rely on it quite so much. He is communicating to the audience that the constant increase in technology could lead to the harm of humans and Earth. In the first episode of Terra Nova, the condition of Earth is practically unlivable. The technology is really advanced and scientists were able to discover ways to make the unlivable conditions livable. It is implied in the TV show that there had been so much pollution from technology that the air on Earth was no longer breathable by humans and therefore they had to create oxygen masks for everyone to wear when they were outside.

The two productions both portray how technology can harm the future by representing the rough shape of the Earth many years from now. In “The Machine Stops”, though, the people only relied on the Machine to live in the terrible conditions. In Terra Nova, the people used technology to their advantage to make the Earth livable. I believe that both of the productions were made not only for entertainment, but also to inform the public that the continuation of the growth of technology could result in the harm of our planet.

I have mixed feelings about both of the visions portrayed. I feel that they are both over exaggerated but act as a wakeup call to the people in the audience. Both of the productions are dystopian. I imagine the future not very different from how it is now, just modified and updated to the new technologies. I think people will just adapt to their surroundings as they change.

Crawford Creative Proposal

My group’s topic is about relationships and how they might be in the future. I feel as though relationships in the future will be more computerized. I do not necessarily agree with this, but this is what I see society progressing toward. I would like to draw a comic depicting social networks in the future and the impact they have on peoples’ relationships whether they are just friendships or romantic in their nature. The only materials I will need are pencils, paper, and my own artistic ability. My plan is to draw out the comic to come up with generic ideas and the storyline and then draw it again in full detail.

Crawford - Blog Post #7

Online privacy is a complicated and in depth issue. Many people have different definitions of what is and is not appropriate to share with the general public. We also need to be cautious what information we share with friends and people we know, or think we know. I believe that people should be cautious to share information that could possibly get them into trouble. Situations like that can include being the victim of online stalking; future employers denying you a job because of information they found online about you, among others.

I have a Facebook profile and I post certain information on it that could not come back to harm me in any way in the future. Also, my privacy settings are set up so most people cannot see most information about me. I never post addresses, locations, or schedules. The information I do have available to the public is simply superfluous interest in things such as movies and music. I have gone through all of my privacy settings, viewed my profile as the general public, and I made sure that I was comfortable with anyone viewing the information I had available.

I searched for myself through Google and found absolutely nothing about myself. I added my high school to the search for myself and still came up with nothing about me. I suppose that means I keep the information I put on the Internet to a minimum and the information I do put on there is kept secure for the most part.