This week I caught ‘Surrogates’, some of you may have caught it and some not. This show is similar to ‘Gamer’, such that people are able to take control of another living being or being that looks like a human.
“In 2017, humans live in near-total isolation, rarely leaving the safety and comfort of their homes, thanks to remotely-controlled robotic bodies that serve as “surrogates,” designed as better-looking versions of their human operators. Because people are safe all the time, and damage done to a surrogate is not felt by its owner, it is a peaceful world free from fear, pain, and crime.”
I feel that if this was to really happen to us, it takes away all the interpersonal relations that humans ought to have. We skip all the steps, the intimacy and personal connections that a relationship would usually have. Imagine never feeling the touch of another human being, never smelling their scent or ever being able to hug or kiss the one you love. If we never got to feel the sunrays hitting our faces or look at the moonlight under the clear night sky and never being able to feel the sand between our toes.
We would stay at home, never bothering to leave the safety of the four walls. We get to be someone we are not, meaning we look different, we don’t even have to be our own gender. We could lie about almost anything and everything about ourselves and relationships would lose every aspect of its meaning. Interpersonal relationships are precious and if such technology takes it away from us then we are also losing apart of ourselves.
Meeting someone would not be the same because how would we know if they are who they claim to be? If you are able to portray anyone you desire then you do not have to be who you are. People would never be able to trust and find their life-long partner like they can now. Already at present day, some of us are being lied to about who some people are. People are lying about what they do for a living or where they come from. Imagine if we were given the power and ability to take on any persona, any life? It would make it double hard for relationships to form, for them to built any ounce of trust.
How are we suppose to live the life we are meant to live if we live a lie?
One a passing thought, why is that the hot blonds in both ‘Gamer’ and ‘Surrogates’ were controlled by obese men?
October 3, 2009 at 5:53 pm |
interesting movies you’ve brought up, similar to iRobot movie years ago, but way more advanced definitely.
i see the trend or reasoning why people choose to control or live in virtual reality. such would be Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (or MMORPG for short, im g33k, im know!), whereby millions of gamers take on character roles. why the participation in such time-consuming games with thankless roles? i suppose there is the inner personality in everyone who wants to be someone else. and when technology gets involved, it gets pretty messy.
the two movies you featured are similar, and i do see that happening in the future, with large dependancy of humans on technology. even now, online chat rooms play a role in eliminating the need for honesty in the search of friendships, be it superficial or not. yet people continue to communicate as so via this medium, because human yearns for attention, or better yet acceptance.
October 4, 2009 at 8:40 am |
GAH. That technology was a fluke. Honestly… People can do whatever they want with no consequence whatsoever. That’s just disaster waiting to happen. Plus modern day computers can get hacked into by professionals. God knows what people can do with this technology that might go way off anything immoral we can think of.
Besides the damn movie proves the damn flaws that technology has. Plus the creator of it all was a genius, mad with a mountain’s worth of cash and the knowledge of being able to bend his own creations at will. How izzit possible to not see what’s coming.
I wouldn’t wanna live in a world where i wouldn’t know that the person i was dating was actually the person i was dating. Urgh… there’re so many flaws that im tired of naming then. See people who couldn’t afford the technology would be in deep shit. Why? Imagine sitting in a car whereby the person driving you wasn’t even there. He’s sitting somewhere safe in his home while you are actually there and might actually die if he crashes the car.
Well, Alicia touched on the interpersonal part so that’s done with.
Assuming that we reach 2017 of course. Since the whole crap about the mayan calender ending in 2012 might just kill us all.
I’m lazy..soo…yeah….
October 5, 2009 at 2:07 pm |
Ash – You know, if this really happens in the future whereby we are able to use ‘Surrogates’ to do the normal daily life routines that we do, I sure hope I won’t be around to see it. Honestly, I can’t imagine not stepping out of the house and feeling the wind on my face and hearing the sounds of voices.
Having to sacrifice a wholesome relationship for looking perfect… to me.. it just isn’t really worth it.
October 5, 2009 at 2:08 pm |
Shaun
Haha, I so agree with you…. I wouldn’t want to be around if this technology comes alive.
I mean even going onto the train and having this frail old lady push you out of the train or rushing through the crowd on a busy Saturday are the tiny things we take for granted and find annoying. But that’s what life’s all about.
The imperfections of human beings are awesome! That’s what makes our relationships worth fighting for.
October 31, 2009 at 5:16 am |
Gosh, the plot for this movie is just…its like the script writers were playing Second Life, and suddenly had an insipiration to turn it into a movie. The technology has so many flaws its amazing that it was able to be assimilated into society on a global scale.
The world would never accept this. Maybe as a military weapon, perhaps. But for the general public? They would outright reject it. Living in a fake world is not exactly a very good idea. How are humans going to reproduce too? Baby robots? The flaws and plot loopholes are endless.
By the way, fat guys playing as hot chicks? It is an insider joke among MMORPG gamers. Always happens. When these people are stuck in front of their computer screen for hours, who’d you think would their rather be staring at: A hot chick, or a muscular man?