POST #2: VIDEOS (CLASS DEBATE): WHEN TECHNOLOGY IS TOO MUCH OR... MISSING

WHEN TECHNOLOGY IS TOO MUCH OR... MISSING

Description

This video is structured around two main narrative voices and a character illustrating what the voice-over says while a singer often merely repeats or comments on what's just been said (as in a Greek chorus).

The setting is a Christian home and church, so this particular context is very meaningful.

We can notice on various occasions that the main character is addicted to high-technology products, mostly smartphones.

He is shown as a family man unable to communicate with his wife, except through texting.

He is also shown as a church-goer incapable of attending worship without all his phones vibrating all the time, making him look like he's full of the holy spirit.

Finally, he is depicted as a computer geek whose life has become extremely complicated instead of having been simplified.

Interpretation

Basically, this video means that high technology has become a religion for many people, even Christians who are not supposed to be materialistic.

Then, in a Christian lifestyle, quite a few church-goers and believers tend to focus more on materialistic issues rather than spiritual ones.

We can add that technology reigns supreme for many people who revere it as a God enlightening his followers.

The question is, is this a real progress for humankind ?

The man in the video is building this allusion of an non-existent social life through all of his gadgets that he probably loves most than his wife or fake internet friends because he probably has no frieds in real life for spending so much time trying to connect with his virtual ones.
There is a quote that goes very well with the story of this man, which says "The best things in life aren't things."
Maybe he should turn he cellphone off and "reconnect" with the real world...

Description

Two people are stuck on an escalator in a place that seems literally empty/deserted. The man looks upset/annoyed. He might be an office worker walking to his job. The woman claims that she is already late, so for her, this is the last straw. At one point, she's about to cry and asks for a phone, then she screams for help. In short, they both look helpless, clueless, powerless and even hopeless.

Interpretation

 We can relate this situation to a fairly common one in real life : getting stuck in an elevator. The difference however, is  that in this situation, people have the right to panic/freak out/feel panicky whereas on an escalator, there is no reason whatsoever to be scared.

This video points out the increasing dependence of human beings on technology. If it goes missing, it is as if a crutch had been taken away from them, so these two people cannot even walk up the stairs, which would be the normal thing to do. We could think that technological progress makes humans lazy or at least less prone to take initiative and think by themselves, less inclined to make efforts.

This situation tells us more about this generation Y we are part of, where people start losing their humanity or their abilities to do simple things like walking, for example. They became so used to having every single task completed for them by machines that they completly forgot how to live like normal people. The absurdity of this situation is that it emphasizes very well this world of new technologies addicts we live in although neither the woman nor the man have a cellphone!