Monday, January 13, 2014

"Forward/Backward" - Futurama Reaction Paper

           The pilot episode of Futurama entitled “Space Pilot 3000,” aired in March 1999. Despite being over 15 years old, the episode still presents several relevant issues related to the sudden spike in the technological growth of this age.  Through 20 minutes of cleverly plotted slapstick humor, subtly mixed with the insights of the writers, this episode of Futurama is enjoyable as much as it is thought-provoking.

There are several advanced technologies that are featured in the episode. Some are wild, funny and amusing to look at on the surface. Yet, these features are not far from invention. Plastic tubes that serve as transport systems, integrated alien life forms, flying cars, robots, even suicide booths are all possibilities based on the development of modern science.

In my point of view, the show tackles time travel in a way that makes us reflect whether or not a future leading to technological singularity, or mastery of all technologies, is really desirable. Time travel, in this case, is the means by which we get a glimpse of a future which some might consider utopic, and others dystopic.

Philipp Fry wakes up after being cryogenically frozen for over a thousand years. At first, he is awestruck by what he sees, in that future society functions so much differently compared to current society. He finally thinks he’s found a place where he’s happy; the problems of his past life are nowhere to be found. The turning point in the story would have to be when the one-eyed alien officer tries to implant a “career chip” into Philipp. People in that society would have to either accept their permanent work, or avail of the suicide booths. This was the first downside of advanced technology that had presented itself to me. With artificial intelligence and better machinery doing our work for us, how much value will be left in human work? Consequently, this might lead to a common struggle for humans in future societies to attain individuality, as society will often dictate who we are for us.

            As he goes through the ruins of his old village, Philipp lets out a sigh of grief as he finally realizes that although the future may have given him a clean slate, he has never felt more alone in his life. Perhaps this is the biggest hazard with the development of technology, particularly, with social media: the loss of actual connection with others. These networking sites, devices, and machines may be giving us more convenient ways to communicate, but in using them in lieu of actual physical contact and conversation, we find that our relationships grow in quantity, but degrade in quality. Despite how “connected” society is getting, we might actually be growing much lonelier.


            This episode of Futurama was a treat, as it gave me a good laugh, and provided much food for thought. Personally, however, I don’t think I would like to travel to such a future.
           
                                                                                          Redentor E. Claudio
                                                                                                2013-59776

No comments:

Post a Comment