Finish Feed for Thursday if you haven't already; we'll do an in-class writing which may help you with your Paper #2 assignment (posted below), as well as discuss doing research for the paper.
Paper #2: The Future Is Now
Freshman Composition II
Choose ONE of
the following conversations to discuss in your paper:
CONVERSATION #1: “Everything I think of when I think of
really living, living to the full—all of my ideas are just the opening credits
of sitcoms. See what I mean? My idea of life, it’s what happens when they’re
rolling the credits...My god. What am I, without the feed? It’s all from the
feed credits. My idea of real life” (217).
Discuss some aspect of our life that is ‘programmed’ by
social media and/or commercial entertainment. How does it sell us our
aesthetics or values? Why does this make it harder and harder for people to
make decisions totally uninfluenced by commercial interests? Are any of our
ideas “new” or “original,” or are they all variations on the same products and
trends beamed across our own feeds? And if so, is this wrong? Does art always
influence life in this manner? Or is this a modern invention?
CONVERSATION #2: “The feed is tied in to everything. Your
body control, your emotions, your memory. Everything. Sometimes feed errors are
fatal. I don’t know. I could lose...I don’t know” (170).
Discuss some technological advancement from the last 10-15
years that we can no longer live without; something that is vital to our
psychological well-being and daily existence. Why do you think this became so
essential to who we are (and how we are)? What did we do before this
existed? What makes it so difficult to switch this off, and what would suffer
if, like Violet’s Feed, it began to malfunction? Is there a danger in making
technology indispensable to our well-being and happiness? Shouldn’t it be a
tool that we can use and if necessary, discard? Or does all technology change
who we are as well?
WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR:
·
Conversation: at least 3-4 sources, which can
consist of Feed, articles, Ted Talk videos, other stories, films, etc.
(but not 4 films—you need a variety). You must use Feed prominently
in your discussion and show your familiarity with it.
·
Naysayer: how you can introduce a voice that
slightly or completely disagrees with your point of view, and how you can
respond to this voice
·
Quotes/Citations: using quotes effectively in
your paper to show different aspects of the conversation; be sure to introduce
and cite them correctly
·
Length: at least 5-6 pages, double spaced
·
Due: Friday, March 3rd by 5pm (note: we do have class the
Thursday before the paper is due, which is why I scheduled it a day later)
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