Jean-Luc Goddard apparently filmed the movie, in then modern day France, to criticize the cold, heartless buildings and architecture prevalent. He also plots Technology as an enemy of the people, through the form of the totalitarian computer system Alpha 60. Its purpose is to control peoples' emotions, permitting only logical and quantifiable thoughts, rather than raw human emotion. This can be applied to our reliance on technology and the control it exerts in our lives. We are also alienated from real people and social situations because we tend to use online social networks, Mobile Phones and other forms of communication to talk to others.
The readings this week were all related movies and to Alphaville. The first reading i went through, the Film and Screen Glossary, defined technical words used in the film production industry. It was a good insightful read that helped me understand the more technical side of film making.
The other readings were about French new wave cinema, specifically Alphaville. It seems Jean-Luc Goddard was one of the Pioneers of the movement, and didn't mind alienating his audience from the character and the narrative.
The readings this week definitely helped me to understand and appreciate better the motive, narrative and general complexity of Alphaville.
They briefly went through the history of new wave French cinema.
In the accompanying tutorial we were instructed to get the weblog addresses of at least four other classmates. This seemed slightly daunting for me as i am an admittedly reserved character. Nevertheless, i got the four required web addresses, before classmate Clinton decided to create a new course forum thread where we could post our weblog addresses.
Secondly, we were asked to consider how we use new communication technologies to communicate with friends and family.
My Experiences with New Communication Technologies
Undoubtedly, new communication technology has made the world a global village. We can use the internet to chat to people we have never met, from all parts of the world.
I have people on my MSN Messenger contacts list who i have never met. One such person is my uncles' friends' son. Another is someone i met in an online game. There are a few other random people on my list who i only know through the internet.
Amazingly i still feel like i know a person if i get to know and talk to them online. However, it is certainly easier to create an online persona, as i have talked about in an earlier post, than it is to talk to someone face to face. This is the major difference between real social interaction and using online messaging programs. Even someone reserved like myself can feel more confident knowing that i am relatively anonymous using MSN.
MSN Messenger, of course, has been around for a while and has become the most popular instant messengering program in Australia. I can remember using this program as far back as 2002. As is the case in High School, students are easily pressured or willing to indulge in what is popular at the time. This was probably the deciding factor in my choosing to use MSN Messenger like my peers. That and the fact it made it easier and cheaper to chat with mates after school.
Of course, it took we a while to realize that my conversations were recorded by MSN Messenger, and kept in a conversation history folder. Some of my conversations were considered inappropriate by my parents, who found the transcripts of my conversations on my computer. To me, privacy is an issue as i can see how sensitive information might be leaked to eavesdroppers and others not supposed to received this information. This being said, i am happy for my parents, and parents only, to monitor my conversations, as i respect them and want them to trust me.
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