Brick walls are no match for cyborgs!
E3, the ultimate conference in the video game industry, is just days from beginning and Square Enix has previewed their hottest new title: Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This trailer rocks! Set in the year 2027, the game will explore a future where human augmentation is becoming more common, causing social and political disturbances. As fun as Deus Ex looks, all the gritty violence and social angst has me wondering: why do we always paint the future as a dystopia? Check out the very cool trailer below and see if you don’t agree that while the world of Deus Ex looks exciting, it’s not one you would want to actually live in.
From the opening images of Icarus burning his wings in the sky, it’s clear Deus Ex: Human Revolution is not a video game that paints humanity’s pursuit of technology in a positive light. Corporations are running amok, riots fill the streets, and licenses to kill seem to be handed out to everyone with cybernetic arms. That makes for an awesome first-person shooter, but not a great place to raise your kids.
Well, Deus Ex is far from alone in its point of view. Take a quick survey of Hollywood movies about the future and you’ll see that Americans don’t seem to think well of our chances in the upcoming years. Fictional futures always seem to include some sort of catastrophe, whether it’s a lack of resources (Soylent Green), biological disaster (Children of Men), or socio-political oppression (Brazil). Even potentially beneficial technologies like genetics (Gattaca) and artificial intelligence (Blade Runner) are painted in dystopian colors.
I understand that any good movie needs a conflict, otherwise we wouldn’t want to watch it. “Soylent Green is made of…a sustainable plant product!” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. I also know that the genre of science fiction was pretty much invented to speculate upon consequences of our climb towards technology. Still, I’m worried that the default portrayal of advanced technology is negative. What does that say about our hopes for the future? How does that affect our attitudes today? Most of the time when I talk to a friend about accelerating technology I end up hearing this sentiment from them: “Wow that’s really cool…we’ll probably find some way to *#$@ that up though. Ha ha.”
There’s a pernicious pessimism that pervades people’s perceptions about the future. It’s easy to find reasons why it would exist: there’s an oil spill poisoning our oceans, the global economy’s still having trouble, and wars keep going and going and going. Yet accelerating technologies offer some viable hopes for overcoming these problems. Institutions like Singularity University, for instance, are specifically geared towards leveraging new tech to solve humanity’s grand challenges. I’m perfectly willing to admit and face the possible dangers poised by our trip towards the Singularity, but I’d like to see a little more equality in our portrayal of that journey. So go play Deus Ex: Human Revolution (in 2011) but then watch a TED presentation or something. Balance is good for you.
[screen capture and video credit: Square Enix]
[source: Deus Ex: Human Revolution]
Comments
In a nutshell, the future is often portrayed in a dystopian manner in film, literature and video games, because, well, the future wouldn’t be that interesting if it were a utopia devoid of conflict and suffering, would it? Let’s face it – the incongruity of technologically advanced societies that have as many (or more) social problems and upheaval as the world of today is always an appealing concept, worthy of repeated fictitious interpretations and explorations.
This kind of implants by 2027? It is an optimistic future!
This kind of implants by 2027? It is an optimistic future!
Ghost in the Shell
’nuff said.
P.S: People have a fetish for catastrophes.
Ghost in the Shell
’nuff said.
P.S: People have a fetish for catastrophes.
Defense R&D is the vanguard of technological innovation. So before we experienced the internet or GPS or satellite TV, their forebears were first employed in optimizing killing efforts of governments and were only commercialized because some unknown dude decided that the technology isn’t disruptive enough and should be declassified as civilians can’t upset the order of things with it.
We live in a dystopia already.
Defense R&D is the vanguard of technological innovation. So before we experienced the internet or GPS or satellite TV, their forebears were first employed in optimizing killing efforts of governments and were only commercialized because some unknown dude decided that the technology isn’t disruptive enough and should be declassified as civilians can’t upset the order of things with it.
We live in a dystopia already.
I love science fiction but if the movie is anything like the trailer, you can count me out. Who wrote this dialogue? Some 16 year old idiot boy from the SiFy channel?
For once, I’d like to see a story where the robots take over the world & (unlike Battle Star Gallactica) they decide that they like us. They see us as we see our pets. They want us to thrive because they have nothing else better to do & they save us with their super intelligence from, hackneyed tenured professors, stupid politicians, & bureaucrats.
So many films these recycle the same tired ideas. Clichés to avoid when writing a science fiction script include:
▪ Dark angst-ridden atmosphere – Blade Runner took care of that 30 years ago so please move on.
▪ Post apocalypse wardrobe – There’s enough torn leather in Mad Max to do for generations to come.
▪ Kick boxing battle scenes – in the future battles will be fought wirelessly. So, you can do the moves at your local Crunch Fitness Center but really, get over yourself.
▪ Bad Military guy – These guys are not going to take over the government because then they’d have to run the IRS.
▪ Evil corporation – So Max Headroom…Just because you are mad at your boss does not mean she is trying to take over the world. Besides, most large companies are too bloated & bureaucratic to take over the world. Not enough imagination to get them beyond the inertia of their original success.
You make an interesting point. I really wonder if humankind would accept even the most benevolent ‘robot caretaker’ scenario. I’m trying to think of one that would be acceptable to us. Wow, what does this thought experiment suggest about human nature?
How would you write a ‘pro-robot’ story about a society like this without sounding like a Pollyanna? Even Asimov’s robots had to act in secret, but I don’t remember any discussion of what humans would do if they had found out what was going on (granted I read his stuff long ago. Weren’t there some utopian-type stories in the 20s-30s? And then again in the 50s? )
Wouldn’t that be weird? Fighting against being happy and fulfilled? I suppose that is what the Matrix was about. But, it is never suggested to the viewer why humans are fighting against the machines. It is just *assumed* that that would be what we would do.
Oh no offense to the Polyana who commented below me. What a coincidence.
Actually benevolent robots, or super beings trying to save humanity from their own self-destructive tendencies is a reoccurring theme in many Japanese anime series. The conflict however arises because Humans rebel choosing a dystopia with freewill over a Utopia of compliance and obedience.
Amusingly, the Utopia / Dystopia argument is summarized nicely in that conversation between the Architect & Neo.
Wish I knew the conversation between the Architect & Neo. Sounds interesting. However, in lieu of that I must ask, who says that Utopia trumps free will? Don’t lovers sacrifice their ego freely for the benefit of their beloved? How much crap did our parents put up with just for the privilege of raising us? No one is ever perfectly free. Even Hitler paid the price for his superman fantasy.
Perhaps people will be truly set free by robots to peruse their imaginations. Pursue poetry, love, & music with out fear of going hungry or into a debtors’ prison. Speculating on the future is always risky. It could go any way, good, bad or indifferent. I just think people of our era tend to look for failure in a sort of knee-jerk fashion. So, I sometimes want to look at things a different way just for balance.
I love science fiction but if the movie is anything like the trailer, you can count me out. Who wrote this dialogue? Some 16 year old idiot boy from the SiFy channel?
For once, I’d like to see a story where the robots take over the world & (unlike Battle Star Gallactica) they decide that they like us. They see us as we see our pets. They want us to thrive because they have nothing else better to do & they save us with their super intelligence from, hackneyed tenured professors, stupid politicians, & bureaucrats.
So many films these recycle the same tired ideas. Clichés to avoid when writing a science fiction script include:
▪ Dark angst-ridden atmosphere – Blade Runner took care of that 30 years ago so please move on.
▪ Post apocalypse wardrobe – There’s enough torn leather in Mad Max to do for generations to come.
▪ Kick boxing battle scenes – in the future battles will be fought wirelessly. So, you can do the moves at your local Crunch Fitness Center but really, get over yourself.
▪ Bad Military guy – These guys are not going to take over the government because then they’d have to run the IRS.
▪ Evil corporation – So Max Headroom…Just because you are mad at your boss does not mean she is trying to take over the world. Besides, most large companies are too bloated & bureaucratic to take over the world. Not enough imagination to get them beyond the inertia of their original success.
You make an interesting point. I really wonder if humankind would accept even the most benevolent ‘robot caretaker’ scenario. I’m trying to think of one that would be acceptable to us. Wow, what does this thought experiment suggest about human nature?
How would you write a ‘pro-robot’ story about a society like this without sounding like a Pollyanna? Even Asimov’s robots had to act in secret, but I don’t remember any discussion of what humans would do if they had found out what was going on (granted I read his stuff long ago. Weren’t there some utopian-type stories in the 20s-30s? And then again in the 50s? )
Wouldn’t that be weird? Fighting against being happy and fulfilled? I suppose that is what the Matrix was about. But, it is never suggested to the viewer why humans are fighting against the machines. It is just *assumed* that that would be what we would do.
Oh no offense to the Polyana who commented below me. What a coincidence.
Actually benevolent robots, or super beings trying to save humanity from their own self-destructive tendencies is a reoccurring theme in many Japanese anime series. The conflict however arises because Humans rebel choosing a dystopia with freewill over a Utopia of compliance and obedience.
Amusingly, the Utopia / Dystopia argument is summarized nicely in that conversation between the Architect & Neo.
Wish I knew the conversation between the Architect & Neo. Sounds interesting. However, in lieu of that I must ask, who says that Utopia trumps free will? Don’t lovers sacrifice their ego freely for the benefit of their beloved? How much crap did our parents put up with just for the privilege of raising us? No one is ever perfectly free. Even Hitler paid the price for his superman fantasy.
Perhaps people will be truly set free by robots to peruse their imaginations. Pursue poetry, love, & music with out fear of going hungry or into a debtors’ prison. Speculating on the future is always risky. It could go any way, good, bad or indifferent. I just think people of our era tend to look for failure in a sort of knee-jerk fashion. So, I sometimes want to look at things a different way just for balance.
On a less controversial note. I wonder if choosing Detroit was a deliberate homage to Robocop. The parallels are definitely there.
On a less controversial note. I wonder if choosing Detroit was a deliberate homage to Robocop. The parallels are definitely there.
Because the organizations, corporations, and governments who fund this type of technology have nothing more on their mind than becoming more powerful, controlling, and influential on the world. We have the least among us leading, the least noble, the least wise, and the least integrity. Look around you, where is all the worlds money being spend? To help each other or to kill each other?
Play the first two deus ex games and you will see these games are not about a dystopia and tech bashing, its about overcoming the dystopia and those who want it.
Because the organizations, corporations, and governments who fund this type of technology have nothing more on their mind than becoming more powerful, controlling, and influential on the world. We have the least among us leading, the least noble, the least wise, and the least integrity. Look around you, where is all the worlds money being spend? To help each other or to kill each other?
Play the first two deus ex games and you will see these games are not about a dystopia and tech bashing, its about overcoming the dystopia and those who want it.
In spite of the laudable intentions of many of the tech innovators this sight follows, human nature seems to inevitably find a darker use. The Wright brothers did not envision Hiroshima or 9/11. It just seems logical to me that tech advancement at an exponential rate would be accompanied by a commensurate potential for darker outcomes. Does the “Singularity” philosophy account for this element of human nature?
This game looks like a blast though. Visually it looks lifted straight out of Masamune Shirow’s “Ghost In The Shell” and “Appleseed” which are both fun, if dark, explorations of the effects of body mod, tech advancement, and human struggles for Utopia.
In spite of the laudable intentions of many of the tech innovators this sight follows, human nature seems to inevitably find a darker use. The Wright brothers did not envision Hiroshima or 9/11. It just seems logical to me that tech advancement at an exponential rate would be accompanied by a commensurate potential for darker outcomes. Does the “Singularity” philosophy account for this element of human nature?
This game looks like a blast though. Visually it looks lifted straight out of Masamune Shirow’s “Ghost In The Shell” and “Appleseed” which are both fun, if dark, explorations of the effects of body mod, tech advancement, and human struggles for Utopia.
I think it’s a case of dramatic license, bad news always sells more than good. It would be nice to have a utopian future society contrasted with a dystopian one, to show both sides of the coin and explore what went wrong and what went right for both societies.
This is what I would consider a fine point storyline. The story [presumably] gives you a narrow perspective on world events based, seemingly, in one city around one central character. And just like any dystopian future it only recognizes the bad things that happen in life that would forward the world to this point, not the balance of “good” and “evil” that pushes society forward in real life. Dystopian futures are only based on the negative aspects of society in present day terms and cannot thrive in the least when subjected to realistic fluctuations in societal and sociopolitical conditions.
This is why i like stories like Neal Stephensons novel “The Diamond Age”. It has just the right balance keeping it from becoming a truly dystopian or utopian landscape. The underlying issues of society haven’t changed. Simply the outside appearance of the issues. There is still a positive and negative pull in society and it is left to the reader to decide which is which. ultimately it is the [solely] individual perspective that will see a dystopian or utopian society. As a group these considerations are never completely resolve do to the individuals personal beliefs and desires.
Nicely put. Diamond Age is a great example of a more balanced exploration and a great book.
Avatar is a good example of a comparison between two technological civilizations. The humans use their technology to destroy and dominate in order to fulfill their greed. On the other hand, the natural environment on Pandora and the way the Na’vi interact with it seems to be the ideal that the Singularity movement has for the future of technology. The Na’vi are very clearly linked ‘seemlessly and organically’ to their planet and its creatures, in a way that our technology can only weakly mimic.
>Avatar is a good
Stopped reading there.
I think it’s a case of dramatic license, bad news always sells more than good. It would be nice to have a utopian future society contrasted with a dystopian one, to show both sides of the coin and explore what went wrong and what went right for both societies.
This is what I would consider a fine point storyline. The story [presumably] gives you a narrow perspective on world events based, seemingly, in one city around one central character. And just like any dystopian future it only recognizes the bad things that happen in life that would forward the world to this point, not the balance of “good” and “evil” that pushes society forward in real life. Dystopian futures are only based on the negative aspects of society in present day terms and cannot thrive in the least when subjected to realistic fluctuations in societal and sociopolitical conditions.
This is why i like stories like Neal Stephensons novel “The Diamond Age”. It has just the right balance keeping it from becoming a truly dystopian or utopian landscape. The underlying issues of society haven’t changed. Simply the outside appearance of the issues. There is still a positive and negative pull in society and it is left to the reader to decide which is which. ultimately it is the [solely] individual perspective that will see a dystopian or utopian society. As a group these considerations are never completely resolve do to the individuals personal beliefs and desires.
Nicely put. Diamond Age is a great example of a more balanced exploration and a great book.
Avatar is a good example of a comparison between two technological civilizations. The humans use their technology to destroy and dominate in order to fulfill their greed. On the other hand, the natural environment on Pandora and the way the Na’vi interact with it seems to be the ideal that the Singularity movement has for the future of technology. The Na’vi are very clearly linked ‘seemlessly and organically’ to their planet and its creatures, in a way that our technology can only weakly mimic.
>Avatar is a good
Stopped reading there.