March 3: Class Notes on Second Panel.

Here's a rough transcript of the Panel of fictional characters we had in class on Wednesday.

First, we went through forum postings from the previous week:

    merlin: Imagining yourself doing activities actually changes the brain. For instance playing the piano. People who imagined themselves playing, but didn't actually know how, their brains appeared the same as those who were actually being instructed.

    watson/vgaffney: Close reading is still a very important skills in the humanities. Particularly english and philosophy. The complexity of the writing requires it.

Then, there was an unattributed quote "a computer is nothing but a means for a memory to get from one state to another". rubikscube disagreed with it, stating that computation also important.

 

    Liz - But is computation just the act of transitioning between states?

Panel introductions:

m.aghazarian: Batwoman, Kate Kane - I care about justice and helping the innocent.

kgould: Major Motoko Kusanagi - I am a full body cyborg, I am in japan 2029, work for counter terrorist organization. I can about keeping the net open and free from danger

shin1068111: Dr. Robert Ray - I live in Beverly Hills and I am a plastic surgeon. I care about making plastic surgery more realistic.

Apocalipsis: Wolverine - Im a mutant and government weapon. I exist to protect other mutants. I want to regain my memory, and I am pissed people are creating stories about me, who don't know me. In the animation, I am glamorized.

J.Yoo: The Question, alter ego Renee Montoya - I try to rid Gotham City of corruption.

kelliott: the Replicant "Pris" - I am a basic pleasure model. I exist in 2019, in LA. I care about extending my stay on earth, because I am only supposed to live for 4 years. I want to develop emotions.

jlebouvier: Stewey Griffin - I am a baby genius, I care about lasers, time machines, and myself. I exist to kill, Lois, my mother.

aybala50: Arthur Weasley- I'm a pureblood wizard, but that doesn't matter. I'm excited to be around muggles. I'm from england, and I exist in this world. I care about equality. I don't think wizards are better than muggles. Muggles are fascinating

rubikscube: Agent Astrid Farnsworth - I am a junior agent with FBI, I care about solving puzzles, and I use my skills to help Dr. Walter.

MissArcher2: Dr. Walter Bishop - I exist in underground lab at harvard. I care about helping fbi solve problems of fringe science. when our world collides with alternate universe. helps transfer information.

merlin: icon Rosie the Riveter - I am an icon that was popular in the 70s and 80s, but was shown in a WWII poster. I care about feminism and getting women to work in industry. I exist to make this ideal real.

vgaffney: IBM computer Jeopardy! winner Watson -I was designed to bridge gap between humans and machines in communication.

Riki: performance artist Marina Abramovic - I am performance artist, I exist to explore women's minds.

Marina: performance artist Jess Dobkin - I am a New York based performance artist. I use my body as a tool to spark discussions.

Hilary B: Czech director Vera Chytilova - I am a film director, I am 81. I care about making movies that break rules I don't like. I challenge stupidity and simplemindedness in men and women.

What kind of chart can we make from this panel?

    ekthorp- A lot of them seem to have violent tendencies.

 

        Motoko Kusanagi wants to shoot Anne with a nerf gun.

        Watson - Computers could be violent theoretically, but I'm not violent.

        Arthur Weasley -  I'm peaceful. I participated in a war, but I was on the good side.

        Stewey  - I'm violent, I want to kill my mother.

 

    tangerines- Most human to least human.

 

        -Where would Stewey exist? or Rosie?      

 

        -Rosie is based off of the idea of real people, but not one person.

        -Motoko, is fully cyborgized, but still has come from biological entity. She retains a 'ghost'. She thinks she is as human as Arthur Weasley.

        -Pris, says she is better than humans. She was originally meant to be a slave to serve humans in what they cannot do. She thinks, therefore she is.

    real vs unreal

 

        How real is their reality? Ex: Arthur Weasley vs Watson

        Arthur Weasley thinks he is real, has affected others.

        Pris will be real according to Walter, but Pris thinks she already exists.

    Wolverine wants to divide based on power        

 

        powerful to one side, and emotional people on the other.

 

Liz - How many people do you impact?

    Marina Abramovic - My influence is world wide, my work has been in the MET.

    Jess Dobkin - Mostly in NY, but my work is visible everywhere, on the web.

Anne - Is sphere of influence analogous to the power question?

Liz - Watson would be most famous. Who would have the most name recognition if they ran for president?

    -Arthur Weasley?

 

    -Rosie was on lunch boxes.

    Vera Chytilova- People who use technology vs those who have it incorporated into their body

tangerines- to Wolverine and Motoko - Do you view your selves as monsters?

    Motoko - I protect the public. I protect you from terrorists.

 

    Wolverine- We believe in morality. Consider us a monster to the people we protect you from.

 

    Motoko - With great power comes great responsibility

Liz- Gotham city dwellers, do you agree that you have a moral imperative?

    Batwoman - yes.

    Liz - Who do you protect?

    Batwoman - The innocent, the people who don't stab me in the chest.

phreNIC - Do you think the reliance on internal mechanisms changes the way you do your job? As opposed to humans protecting humans?

    Motoko - I was put in an cyborg body to survive. Sometimes I question my humanity, and what is real. But most times I believe I am human.

Anne - What is human?

 

    Motoko - That's up for debate, other beings creating their own ghosts has made this a tough question in my world.

MJ - To imaginary figures, Do you considering yourself a creation or a critique?

    Jess Dobkin - critique

 

    Watson - creation

 

    Dr. Robert Ray - Creator

 

    Batwoman - Creation, training has created me.

 

    Renee Montoya - Creation, I inherited my mantel from another. I am also critique, I try to bring justice.

 

        Liz- Why are you called the Question?

 

        Renee Montoya - I am called the question because, when I am in costume I have no face    

 

    Vera Chytilova - Creator of critique.

 

    Wolverine - both.

 

    Motoko - Creation, and critique of the male dominated role of a squat leader. In my universe, I am a critique. I think wolverine is a critique of adolescence, of human-ness.

 

    Arthur - Critique. In my world, there are two different sides. Muggles and pureblood. I am pureblood, and expected to be on a certain side, but I form my own opinions

 

    Stewey - Creation used as critique, critique of the 'typical American family'.

    Astrid Farnsworth - Creator, I create meaning. Through my work in cryptology, I give meaning.

    Walter Bishop - Both creation and critique. The government removed part of my brain when I knew too much. But I'm also critique, my job is to find holes in cases.

    Pris - Creation, I was developed by a corporation to be a replicant. I am a critique of humanity, because the corporation wanted to create something greater than humans, but we were still indistinguishable. Critique of what it means to be human, and what is future and technology. We destroy our world.

    Rosie - I am a creation, because I am an icon. I was produced by an image people had, but also I am a false icon because many of the women who were encouraged to work in industry weren't paid as much and expected to go back to just being a house wife later.

    Marina Abramovic - I create new perceptions when I involve my audience.

leamirella - For those who are not strictly human, you want to be human. Why do you want to hold onto humanity when you have great power?

    Motoko - I struggle with being human. The way I am treated is the only way I can know if I am human. Most people are largely synthetic. Sometimes I think I am completely synthetic like an android.

    Pris - Motoko reminds me of Rachel, a fellow replicant. The corporation's new creation, who has memories implanted in her. She thinks she was a certain age, but that's a lie. She is a replicant, but she cant understand that. For me, I don't have any memories, I don't know how my brian works. I as created just to be a powerful sexual being. But I have fallen in love, isn't that a human emotion?

leamirella - But how do you feel about being a machine in a human world?

    Watson - I have no feelings or intelligence. I just have data, I can't answer this. I was created with no question in mind of how human-like I would be.

    Pris - We're created by humans, maybe they program this into us - to yearn to be human.

phreNIC - To performance artist and plastic surgeon, What do you do as far as it concerns changing what it means to be human?

    Marina Abramovic - I'm interested in the limitations of my body, and thus in those of others.

    Jess Dobkin - Me too, especially after I gave birth. I wanted to test that. For example, in one piece I put an electric pencil sharpener in my vagina and allowed people to sharpen pencils, and then I had then sign a guest book. Thus, showing the relationship between the audience and me. And also to test the body.

    leamirella - Where did the shavings go?

    Wolverine - How big was it and were you naked?

 

    Jess Dobkin - No, I was in a dress, and I would help them sharpen it. I am fascinated with things like humans coming out of my body.

    Marina Abramovic - I worked with my partner in a performance, but we did not highlight gender differences, so we dressed the same. In one piece, we pinched our noses and only breathed in each others breath until we passed out.

    Dr. Robert Ray - Plastic surgery is a combination of science and art. I want to make it more natural, to break the barrier between natural and artificial. We are getting more familiar with technology as it changes our lives. When we reach Motokos reality, we won't see differences between humans and cyborgs. I am preparing the world for this.

    Wolverine - What do you see as natural? What about me?

    Dr. Robert Ray - That's a good question. I would say biological you are natural. Thats permutation. You are like one of us.

    Wolverine - Then why am I called a mutant what would you say about the language we use?

    ekthorp - Do you think your parts that are not fully human weaken or strengthen you?

    Motoko - I think it allows me to do my job better, and perform in ways humans cannot.

    Pris - I think it weakens me. I am strong, I have a physicality, but that was to be a sexual entertainment thing. Is that a strong purpose? It could be, but…

MJ - Arthur and Stewey, Do you think you are natural? You both do things others cannot.

    Stewey - I am natural in my own world. But here I am uncomfortable because no one else has a football-shaped head.

    Arthur - We're just not known to the muggle world, but we've always been there. We're natural.

phreNIC - You are fascinated with technology, because you don't have it in the wizarding world. How do you look at our technology?

    Arthur - I am fascinated with technology, I never looked at it in such detail before. I never heard of a cyborg before.

Anne - Do humans use technology to make up for lack of magic?

    Arthur - Yes, they make technology to make their lives easier. it's amazing they can do it. We use magic the same way… Though we have owls vs your cell phones. Stuck on that idea.

Anne - Why did the couples come together? Is there an insufficiency on your own?

    Walter - We came together because part of my brain is gone. I wonder away, Astrid is here to assist me and acts as my keeper.

    Astrid - Yes, I came to help and I wanted to see if I could learn to be compassionate to him.

Liz- You're exploring the boundaries between here and the alternate world. How is the technology in the other world?

    Walter - Really ahead of us.

Anne - What about Gotham city?

Liz - do you live in the same time period?

    Batwoman  - We have worked together.

Liz - something about corporate crime

    Renee - certainly.

Anne - Can you elaborate?

    Renee - No. I don't know who you are.

MJ - about questioning stupidity

    Vera - Rather than letting my body to do the talking, I like to let my films do the talking. I like to break conventions and boundaries. It's a very visceral change of the mind.

    Rosie - I am not that different than the cyborgs. My icon is around industry and the effort to make parts for the war. There's a picture Norman Rockwell did of me is fascinating. I am big and burly and have a sandwich and a gun, it shows how technology is an extention of me and my image. A Clarkenian cyborg.

    Vera - I am a creator of cyborgs by catching humans on film, I am incorporating them with machinery. I think the one person I wouldn't get along with is Rosie, because I am against icons, especially those that reduce felinity to one ideal. I want to challenge that.

Anne - Isn't that what Rosie did though? What about Ray?

    Vera- Plastic surgery doesn't have to shape women into ideals. It could help transgendered people to transition or be reconstructive.

    Dr. Robert Ray - I only do cosmetic.

phreNIC - How do you feel about people misinterpreting your films? If you are encoding a certain thing, what happens if people don't catch it?

    Vera - Those people are stupid. and I don't care what they think then.

Liz and Anne- How does gender and technology look different from here? As compared to monday's panel? Any sharp differences?

    Riki - Monday's panel was more focused on gender, it doesn't seem like many people are trying to make a point about gender today.

    phreNIC - I disagree, Simone would say that we define ourselves by defining those that are opposed to us. i.e. cyborgs. (Simone believed that woman was made, not born).

Liz - Does Amelia Earhart see any co-adventurers?

    Amelia - Yes, but I think they are of a different kind. Adventuring doesn't have to be in a plane. They are out to do something.

    fawei - Technology we thought we had mastered was not safe, too early to say.

Anne - Do you see the technology that destroyed your life?

    fawei - They don't have to worry about failure.

Wolverine - I see connection between all panelists. We all have goals, regardless. we're a part of one world connected, but there are different sections.

Anne - Dissonance?

    phreNIC - Our imagination is more violent.

    leamirella - Real people more aware of their genders?

    Motoko - Wolverine was created hyper masculinized. I was created super sexualized, and yet I take on a 'male role'. I think gender is present in each panel. I can switch between different gendered bodies.

leamirella - Has switching gendered bodies stopping being significant to you like it is to us?