English 1213
Paper #4:
Final Transmission
INTRO: “The contents of Voyager 1’s record were chosen by Carl Sagan...[he] and his team have assembled over a hundred images depicting what they decided were typical Earth scenes: a woman holding groceries, an insect on a leaf. The sounds include Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” the sorrowful cries of humpback whales, and recordings of the brain waves of Carl’s third wife. Footsteps, heartbeats, laughter.” (Beautyland, 4).
PROMPT: Imagine that we’re sending a Voyager-3 out into the cosmos with a new Golden Disc, this one with a lot more storage capacity and the potential for everyone on earth to upload at least 3 representative files. So now you have to choose: what do you upload to represent your own unique contribution to humanity, or what you simply feel represents the best that humanity has to offer? In a short paper, choose THREE items from the following categories: (1) any kind of visual art; (2) any kind of sound or music; (3) any kind of media—show, movie, video clip, etc.
In your paper, you should list and describe each one, and then explain why you chose it to represent your snapshot of humanity. Explain what associations it has for you, and what you see/feel that other people might not, and what you think it says about humanity as a whole: either the best of us, the worst of us, or simply the ‘average’ of us.
No length requirement, but to get maximum points for this assignment, be thoughtful and give some detail. Remember, you won’t get to revise this one, so don’t turn in anything incomplete or late.
The paper
is due NO LATER THAN Tuesday, December 9th by
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