It is now Week Twelve and we have officially finished all of our screenings for BCM325, and live-tweeting has been a valuable addition to my learning. We have now watched 5 more films since Tweeting V1 in week 5. The films we watched were Blade Runner 2049 (2017), The Matrix (1999), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), Ready Player One (2018) and Robot and Frank (2012). My five most engaged-with tweets in the last two weeks have been:
Week 6 – Blade Runner 2049
Just like in the original Blade Runner screening, Blade Runner 2049 brought up questions about humanity, as myself and my peers debated what it was that makes someone human. I also discussed how the film presented the future and whether this was reminiscent of how our future could turn out. I found Blade Runner 2049 extremely interesting as it took the themes and ideas of Replicants and their right to life and took it even further, by blurring the line between Humans and Replicants with the introduction of childbirth to the mix.
Week 7 – The Matrix
My favourite screening in BCM325 has been The Matrix, not only because of how amazing of a film it is, but because the themes of computer enslavement is the most realistic of all of our screenings (apart from Robot and Frank). I found The Matrix particularly relevant to how social media is used today, with Social Media and the internet being used as an escape from real life, but often making us lose sight of reality.
Week 9 – Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
All of the films we watched had similar themes and ideas, and this is especially true for Alita: Battle Angel. Watching Alita brought up the same key questions that Blade Runner, its sequel, and Ghost In The Shell asked – What is it that makes us human? This also brought up another question I was intrigued by – if we replace our body with technology, can we still be considered human?
Week 10 – Ready Player One (2018)
Just like The Matrix, Ready Player One depicts a world where humans roam a virtual world, however this time by choice. Ready Player One addressed issues surrounding our increasingly digital world focused revolving around social media, and my tweets focused on how although social media and the digital landscape can enhance our lives, they cannot serve as a substitute for real life.
Week 11 – Robot and Frank
Robot and Frank was by far the most realistic of the films we watched (The Matrix comes close but is more sci-fi-based and futuristic) and the future it portrayed seemed the most probable. The film presents the future of technology as more grounded, being used as an aid to daily life as opposed to a replacement or threat in other screenings.
Reflection
Overall I am quite satisfied with how I managed to tweet and engage with the screenings and my peers. My tweeting for Ready Player One and Robot and Frank was not as frequent and involved as the rest of the screenings, however I did manage to engage with my peers through retweeting and commenting. My favourite screenings were The Matrix and the first Blade Runner, however I have taken something away from all of them and believe they have all contributed to my understanding of the possibilities the future presents and these teachings shall help me improve my Digital Artefact for the better.
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