The Convergence Map

A world where the line between reality and digital reality is almost invisible comes to life in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash. This novel follows the adventures of a hero who traverses two worlds to defeat an enemy. The threat in question is a virus that is able to affect computer uses within virtual reality and affect their physical bodies. This entire concept of both the digital and physical overlapping is constantly revisited throughout the novel. The technology and the descriptions of the various settings (both on the streets and within the Metaverse) are examples of a futuristic convergence between current society and the growing popularity of the internet. Is Snow Crash a glimpse into our own future? While certain aspects of this novel are simply composed of romanticized adventure elements (such as a mafia-run pizza corporation), the reliance humans have on virtual social networks is something we see today. This reliance will continue to grow as technology morphs, and maybe, in the not-so-distant-future, Hiro’s reality will become ours.

In the reality within Snow Crash, computers no longer resemble the screen and keyboard components we are familiar with today. Instead, they are close cousins to what Janet Murray calls a holodeck. In her book, she describes the holodeck on Star Trek consisting of “an empty black cube covered in white gridlines upon which a computer can project elaborate simulations by combining holography with magnetic ‘force fields’ and energy-to-matter conversions” (15). This image of a black box, is very familiar to Hiro’s own computer, which is simply a black box with a fish lens embedded on the top. This computer does the exact same thing as the machine upon the Starship Enterprise, pulling Hiro into a “computer generated universe that his computer is drawing onto his goggles and pumping into his headphones” (Stephenson 22). This concept of an individual completely submersing himself in a virtual (fantasy) world is very popular in sci-fi genre entertainment. With the current existence of 3D movies, and virtual goggles, today’s  society seems to be aiming for this submersive technology to become a reality. After all, what is more exciting than actually becoming the hero of a video game instead of controlling a character? This level of control, and the new doors that morphing technology continues to open for us “are explicitly equated with lethal drugs as the source of addiction, destitution, bad trips, overdose deaths, and gangster violence” (Murray 23). And, despite the dangers these different situations could cause, they are painfully addicting. After all, what isn’t enjoyable without a little bit of a rush involved?

The various streets in Hiro’s reality AND within the Metaverse is another concept that brings our attention to the convergence between reality and virtual reality. In the beginning of Stephenson’s novel, we follow Hiro as he delivers pizzas on busy streets. He speeds around corners, traffic, pedestrians, and other drivers as he does his best to deliver his pizzas within the 30 minute time frame. Hiro describes the roads he drives on as a complicated maze of buildings and roads:

“Vista Road used to belong to the State of California and now is called Fairlanes, Inc. Rte. CSV-5. Its main competition used to be a U.S. highway and is now called Cruiseways, Inc. Rte. Cal-12. Farther up the valley, the two competing highways actually cross. Once there had been bitter disputes, the intersection closed by sporatic sniper fire. Finally, a big developer bought the entire intersection and turned it into a drive-through mall. Now the roads just feed into a parking system—not a lot, not a ramp, but a system—and lose their idenity. Getting through the intersection involves tracing paths through the parking system, many braided filaments of direction like the Ho Chi Minh trail. CSV-5 has better throughput, but Cal-12 has better pavement. This is typical—Fairlanes roads emphasize getting you there, for Type A drivers, and Cruiseways emphasize the enjoyment of the ride, for Type B drivers” (Stephenson 7).

What does all this complication and detail remind you of? While reading about Hiro’s travels from the pizza company to the customers, you can’t help but see how closely the roads resemble the huge, complicated face of a motherboard. Through this convergence between reality and technology, Hiro becomes more than simply a pizza deliverer. He is part of the computer, making sure that bits of information get where they need to be, WHEN they need to be there.

At the same time, when we are introduced to the world within the Metaverse, the streets resemble real locations, such as The Street, which is a mirror image of Las Vegas’s Strip. As Henry Jenkins claims in his book, Convergence Culture, this allusion between virtual reality and reality is “a way of making sense of a moment of disorientating change. Convergence is, in that sense, an old concept taking on new meanings” (6). Stephenson follows this line of thought as he creates the vastly different, yet painfully similar worlds within and outside of the Metaverse.

As we are continuously propelled into a future society where technology will take a larger part in our lives, we will continue to be confronted with literature and films that present the convergence between the now and the future. After all, the future can only exist with past technology and ideals as its foundation. Lawrence Lessig brings this into perspective by saying, “a ‘Read/Write’ (‘R/W’) culture: in Sousa’s world (a world he’d insist included all of humanity from the beginning of human civilization), ordinary citizens ‘read’ their culture by listening to it or by reading representations of it” (28). We take what we are presented (whether it is a new or old concept) and make something brand new. The motherboard of a computer becomes the busy network of roads upon which Hiro drives. The heart of the Metaverse is reflective of the bright lights of the Vegas Strip. This convergence is what keeps us from getting lost in a world that refuses to slow down for us to catch up. If we have something to keep us grounded ( a concept that relates to what ALREADY exists in reality) to help us understand something new, then the birth and acceptance of new technologies will be easier to adapt to. This is the basic lesson embedded within Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash (and what makes Hiro Protagonists such a fun character to follow).

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Works Cited

1. Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: 2008.
2. Lessig, Lawrence. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy. New York: 2008
3. Murray, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck. Cambridge: 1999.
4. Stephenson, Neil. Snow Crash. Bantam Books: 2000.

 

I Remix, You Remix, He/She/We Remix

As I read through Larwence Lessig’s Remix, I couldn’t help but think of Lessig as a “Robin Hood for the common digital man.” He pleads for the creative freedoms of regular people, very much like you and me. He uses examples of the band Girl Talk, which creates something new out of the pre-existing creations of other musicians. Just what is Lessig striving for?

He wants to protect the creative remixes that make up much of our digital age.

Now, what is a remix?

My first thought was of those songs you hear at clubs, where DJ’s use synthesizers and other computerized beats to “remix” original songs. Two particular artists come to mind for me, Cascada and Basshunter, who are both well-known and well-listened to remix artists. But, are remix artists really artists? Or are they simply glorified plagiarists?

History is filled with inventions being created out of past inspirations and concepts. Morse code turned into telephones. Telephones gave birth to cell phones. Cell phones inspired internet-based video calls.

Cascada took Savage Garden’s “Madly Truly Deeply” (a relatively mellow song) and turned into “Madly Truly Deeply” (a Best High Energy/ Euro Track nomination).

Same difference.

Lessig gets a little more technical than this. He views our current culture as “a ‘Read/Write’ (‘R/W’) culture: in Sousa’s world (a world he’d insist included all of humanity from the beginning of human civilization), ordinary citizens ‘read’ their culture by listening to it or by reading representations of it” (28). This leads in to a hands-on situation, where an individual uses what they find in a particular piece of work to inspire other works. This train of action/thought encourages young people to interact and play with existing works of art to spur the birth of something new. With this, Lessig focuses on two basic concepts throughout his entire book:

1. The importance of “amateur” creativity, producing in RW culture
2. The importance of limits in the reach of copyright’s regulation, leaving free from regulation this amateur creativity (33)

Lessig strives for a future that combines Hollywood (professionals) and the growing pool of artists on the Internet (amateurs).

 

Convergence Culture (Pt.2)

How can we talk about media convergence without talking about one of the biggest movies on media convergence? “The Matrix is entertainment of the age of media convergence, integrating multiple texts to create a narrative so large that it cannot be contained within a single medium. The Wachowski brothers played the transmedia game very well, putting out the original film first to simulate interest, offering up a few Web comics to sustain the hard-core fan’s hunger for more information, launching the anime in anticipation of the second film, releasing the computer game alongside it to surf the publicity, bringing the whole cycle to a conclusion with The Matrix Revolutions, and then turning the whole mythology over to the players of the massively multiplayer online game. Each step along the way built on what has come before, while offering new points of entry” (97). The Matrix challenged it’s fans to venture out into the technological world, asking audiences to try to discover the answer to “What is the Matrix?” I personally think that this was a stroke of genius (even though I was less than thrilled by the last two movies). In making all of these media outlets (websites, games, cartoons, etc.) the Wachowski brothers were able to almost bring the transmedia world of the Matrix to reality.

The chapter, “Heather Can Write” nearly blew my mind. Jenkins introduces this chapter by saying, “Storytellers now think about storytelling in terms of creating openings for consumer participation” 175). And, if anyone took this cue and ran with it, it’s Heather Lawver, and her love for the world of Harry Potter. This girl is an amazing role model for kids growing up in our digital age. She will singlehandedly inspire future digital artists to venture into the transmedia world, and in turn, inspire young children to reach out to other outlets for educational purposes. In regards to the Harry Potter wars, Jenkins considers it a “struggle over competing notions of media literacy and how it should be taught: the informal pedagogy that emerged within Harry Potter fan community, the attempts to tap kids’ interests in the books in classrooms and libraries, the efforts of corporate media to teach us a lesson about the responsible treatment of their intellectual property, the anxieties about the secularization of education expressed by cultural conservatives, and the very different conception of pedagogy shared by Christain supporters of the Harry Potter novels within the “discernment movement” (177).

Why are people trying to keep kids away from Harry Potter? Well, there are a lot of reasons, most of them stupid, irrelevant, and “retardidly” religious. I think it’s amazing that literature is encouraging young readers to venture out to the internet to create artistic sites of their own, supporting their favorite characters and fantastical worlds. If one is to check out fanfiction.net, you’d realize just how massively huge the Harry Potter fandom is.

When I was first introduced to J.K. Rowling’s books, I was in an accelerated reading class in middle school. We had just finished reading and dissecting the first book, and being a fantasy-obsessed child, I was ecstatic to discover that there were sequels. The other Harry Potter books were not on the itinerary for the class, but my teacher offered to let me borrow the set of books (there were only four out at the time) she had on her desk.

IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY FULL-FRONTAL DIVE INTO LITERATURE.

Before my accelerated reading class, I simply read because there was nothing else to do. I read ratty teen books like Fear Street, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Stewart Little. But, the Harry Potter series really opened the gates for me. I began to search out more books in the library (inspired by the bookwork, Hermoine).

So what is the problem with Harry Potter? Nothing. It’s everyone else.

 

Convergence Culture (Pt.1)

The introduction to Henry Jenkins’ Convergence Culture, gives us a brief overview of what convergence really means. He describes what this emerging concept is  “a way of making sense of a moment of disorientating change. Convergence is, in that sense, an old concept taking on new meanings” (6). Society seems to always be in a state of convergence with the never ending shifts in technology. As a child, when I heard the word “phone,” I immediately thought of the huge-plastic-thing that hung on the kitchen wall. Now, it is hard not to think of a phone as a sleek device that keeps us connected to other people, the internet, and our music. Society today wants devices that do multiple things. In our busy world, where people are running from place to place, they can’t afford to haul around too many devices. Why have a CD player, phone, GPS system, and computer, when you can simply own a Blackberry that can do all of that and more? It is this efficiency that technology is aiming for, and in current times, it is also what artists (directors, writers, actors, ect.) are aiming for: and it is something they must adjust to in order to survive in society.

Jenkins uses the subsequent chapters in his book to delve into the media obsessions that people today indulge in. I was never a big fan of Survivor, but the first chapter revealed to me just HOW obsessive fans can be. And, with the use of the internet and blogs at their disposal, fans can follow their favorite reality television shows any time of the day with other fans. This concept of collective intelligence, refers to groups of individuals (all fans of a particular show, in this case Survivor) who go to almost any length to predict what is going to happen in the next show. Who is going to be kicked of the island next? What crazy test will they have to beat in the next show? Who hates who? Who is falling in love with who?

These nail-biting questions are discussed by avid fans. I was somewhat horrified to read about individuals such as Wezzie and Dan, who are extreme fans bordering on stalker-ish obsessers. These people seem to make it their life’s mission to know everything before everyone else and therefore have the “responsibility” to inform the fans of what’s really going on. While all of this interaction between producer and audience is amazing, I can’t help but think about how dangerous this concept poses to the original artists (and the actors). New technologies makes it harder for artists to remain at a safe distance, and opens them up to blown up scandals and unwanted attention that can be easily spread on the internet.

American Idol is another reality television show Jenkins brings to our attention. A true example of media convergence, this show relies on the use of your television, your phone, and the internet to give the audience power of what will happen in the subsequent episodes. Because of the power given to the audience, American Idol has become a world-wide phenomenon. This in turn has made broadcast stations, phone companies, advertisers, and magazine’s very happy. As Karla Peterson continues, “American Idol was not a summer fling, but a conniving multimedia monster. Shameless product placement. Bloodless nostalgia. Incestuous corporate hype. American Idol has absorbed the sins of our debaunched culture and spit them out in a lump of reconstituted evil. And because we were so dazzled by its brazen lack of redeeming qualities, we stepped over the mess and happily followed it over the abyss” (61).

American Idol is just one example of the fact that passive media is dead. Now, audiences have a hand in almost everything they consume in the media. DVRs and TiVo allows people to skip unwanted ads, making harder for companies to reach consumers.

 

What is a holodeck? (Pt.2)

Better, cheaper, and faster technologies make it easier for people to access holodecks. As time passes, technology builds upon itself building something that is both brand new yet familiar in it’s functions. This trend is prominant in the history of entertainment (manuscript to novel; novel to film).

Murray delves into the concept of new technologies giving birth to the multi-form novel. This new medium is a brand new and freely accessable tool for artists seeing emergence into the digital world. The multi-form novel form allows creators and audiences to view different aspects of a single plot, experience multiple possible realities, and discover “what could have been?” or “what should have been?” This medium is “an expression of the anxiety aroused by posing such choices to oneself” (Murray 33).

The rest of Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace, studies the various aspects of the present “holodeck” and it’s shift into the future. The section on active audiences (feeling as if you are actually IN the story) brought various examples to mind:

• IMAX
• Movie Rides
• Movie-like Games
• Hypertexts

All of these attractions/mediums are interactive mediums, that literally pull the audience into the action. What more could make an experience more consuming?

And with the development of interesting technologies such as Eliza, video games, and “Choose Your Own Adventure-esque” concepts, artists are given the opportunity to make intimate impressions upon our senses.

Is this a dangerous power? In a way, yes. Many people become so immersed in a fictional situation that they begin to blur the thin line between fact and fiction. Regarding the story Don Quixote, Murray says, “The story has become a legend because it discharges the anxiety aroused by the fear that Weizenbaum (a scientist who created a program that could textually interact with people in a human-like fashion)  had gone too far, that he had created a being so much like an actual person that we would no longer be able to tell when we were talking to a computer and when to a human being. This is very much like the fear that people would mistake film images for the real world” (70).

 

What is a holodeck? (Pt.1)

According to wikipedia, it is “a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases in the fictional Star Trek universe.”

Janet Murray makes numerous references at the beginning of her book, to the holodeck used in the Star Trek television show.

But, what do we care about this odd invention that exists only in the futuristic imaginations of authors and directors?

The forward acceleration of technology, and the ever present need for humans to fully emerce themselves in alternate realities, is making the holodeck a very real presence in current society. A holodeck is what we today would consider a controllable alternate reality. In Murray’s Hamlet on the Holodeck, she poses some crucial questions pertaining to this concept: “Will the increasingly alluring narratives spun out for us by the new digital technologies be as benign and responsible as a nineteenth-century novel or as dangerous and debilitating as a hallucinogenic drug?” (17). Society is already experiencing the symptoms of virtual obsession  with the current foray of online multi-role playing video games, sites such as MySpace and Facebook, ect. This virtual obsession and the concept of holodecks brings to mind the 3D rides that are so popular in theme parks and mall arcades, where and individual is able to experience a virtual situation that closely possess as “real life.”

Murray continues on to indicate the attractiveness a holodeck is to society. Virtual reality provides various potential relationships and outlooks. Sites such as Eharmony.com, allows insecure individuals to reach out to others without the need to physically meet another person. This enables people to connect with people not only within their neighborhood but all over the globe.

Conversations and situations can stimulate emotional and physical responces very similar to how the illusions a holodeck illicit responces from humans. This is reminicient of the literature created by the Victorians (sensory literature) that feasted on the emotional and physical responces of the reader. This intense illusion is what audiences/readers have been enjoying for centuries. Instead, technology is morphing our controllable illusions (a novel that can be closed and put away for further reading) or uncontrollable illusions (virtual reality, and the people who interact with us through that reality).

Through out many literary and televised mediums, “virtual reality technologies are explicitly equated with lethal drugs as the source of addiction, destitution, bad trips, overdose deaths, and gangster violence” (Murray 23). However, virtual reality is also a medium that allows us to face inner feelings that we would other wise supress. The holodeck, “like any literary experience, is potentially valuable in exactly this way. It provides a safe space in which to confront disturbing feelings we would otherwise supress; it allows us to recognize our most threatening fantasies without becoming paralized by them” (Murray 25).

And, in order to prevent technologies such as the holodeck from being a harmful influence on humankind, we must be stronger than the technology’s influence. If it becomes something that consumes our personalities and identitities, it is because WE make it that way. Humans are responcible to not allow the holodeck to consume them. In Murray’s text (being a feminist) she shows examples of this through Captain Janeway’s control over her own Holodeck, where she can pause, start, and terminate any illusion she creates or faces.

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Text Cited:

Murray, Janet H. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace