Transcendence Film Report

After watching the movie Transcendence, I thought it was a really good movie. The movie is about a researcher named Dr. Will Caster who does research in an Artificial Intelligence Facility. It was really interesting and a little scary. This movie made me think about artificial Intelligence a little more. It makes think about what the benefits and risks are of having a human mind put into a robot. When Dr. Will Caster was shot with a bullet that contained radiation poisoning, he told that he has 4-5 weeks left to live. When he was poisoned with the radiation, his mind was working, but his body was dying. At that point, his human mind was put into a computer to save him. It was really interesting seeing what the outcome of it was.

Body Rhetoric

In the 4th chapter in his book Rhetoric for Radicals, Jason Del Gandio wrote about how body rhetoric can easily make an argument. The four ways that bodily argumentation expands the realm of rhetoric are that embodies argumentation is a call to action, embodied argumentation provides more rhetorical options, embodied argumentation is empowering, and embodied argumentation highlights the craft of everyday living, (Gandio 146). They are essential to supporting one’s position because your body is continuously delivering a message. Being aware of your body language gives you more control of what people may think about your position. Your messages should always meet the wants and needs of your audience.

The five steps to cultivating style are to observe your own style and the style of others, to reflect upon those styles, to experiment with different styles, to apply your style, and to take chances with different stylistic choices. 

An individual body argument is using your own body to make all kinds of arguments. For example, you can easily get tattoos or body piercings, wear particular clothes, display buttons or pins, create unique hairstyles, etc to “…communicate social and political messages that others read and respond to,” (Gandio 148).

An collective body argument “…often occurs through protests and actions, which might include: sanctioned rallies, marches, and demonstrations; direct actions; silent die-ins; snake marches; street festivals; both militant and peaceful confrontations; a few people on a street corner or a million people across the globe,” (Gandio 151). Collective body arguments involve a group of people coming together to communicate messages to others.

Moon Film Report

The movie moon was about an astronaut named Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has a contract for three years with Lunar Industries. Bell spends three years on the moon for a mission. While he is on the moon, he has little contact with humans and starts to hallucinate at the end of the three years. During the three years on the moon, the computer system GERTY, the intelligent computer system, attends to Bells daily needs. GERTY is the only real-form of communication Bell has.

In the movie, there was not only an intelligent computer system, but also there were human clones. It was interesting seeing how there were clones in the future time where the movie was taking place. The movie portrayed what artificial intelligence could potentially be like in the future. As with any artificial intelligence movie, something always goes wrong with the machines. It was really interesting to see artificial intelligence at another perspective.  

The Power of Language

Language is a mixture of words, signs, gestures, and pictures that allow you to be able to communicate in different ways. In each language, words have different meanings to them. I think that language connects with the media to grow an influence because language allows the media to communicate to you in so many different ways.

The five guidelines to language and communication are to be accessible, to be clear, to be respectful, to be provocative, and to be interesting. I think that our generation follows these guidelines today.

The quote “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength” from George Orwell’s book 1984 represents the totalitarian government that Orwell creates in the book. It “…enable[s] Orwell’s totalitarian government to unleash a continuous war of infinite reach and endless duration. The citizens of that regime are besieged by linguistic power and never think to question the perversity of their sociopolitical reality. They are so enwrapped in their governments language that they have foregone the ability to think beyond their situations, enabling the government to act as it wishes,” (Rhetoric for Radicals 107). In his book 1984, Orwell portrays a totalitarian government that controls the language that everyone speaks. The government controls everything he citizens due and watches them through a screen. Language on social media is influencing us like the language did in Orwell’s 1984 by using language that persuades us to perceive something in a certain way.

The book Rhetoric for Radicals by Jason Del Gandio defines Propaganda as “…any [type] of communication that distorts or obscures people’s understanding in the service of social, political or economic power,” (116). The five basic filters of social media are profit, advertising, unquestioned authority, direct control, and ideological bias. The book states that the media has a profit-driven motive. Anything that would lower their profits is ignored from the media.

Labors of the Multitude

In the 2^nd chapter in his book Rhetoric for Radicals, Jason Del Gandio wrote about how technology creates a separation in the way that we communicate and about the rhetorical approaches used in media. Technology today (especially social media) creates a separation between the way we express ourselves through writing, public speaking, and conversations with each other by allowing us to communicate in so many ways. For example, the way we converse in text messaging differs from the way we converse with one another. We communicate in different ways based off of whom we are communicating with and how we are communicating with them.

The four rhetorical approaches are persuasion, argumentation, storytelling, and invitation. Persuasion can change, shape, or sustain someone’s views and it occurs all the time. The four basic approaches to persuasion are logic, emotion, values, and credibility. Logic can take on many forms. It can be an argument, story, or basic description. Emotion can be manipulated and it can be used for socially just purposes.  “Emotions can be used for love, honor, encouragement, excitement, humor, and respect,” (Gandio 72). It can easily manipulate our choices. Values guide our daily decisions and actions. “Values are often used as persuasive tools, and this is usually done by using values to either unite or divide people,” (Gandio 72). Credibility has three characteristics: likeability, trustworthiness, and knowledgeableness.

Argumentation consists of three things: making a claim, providing evidence, and using reason. Argumentation allows you to “[take] a stand on an issue and [assert] your opinion...,” (Gandio 76). A claim that you make is your own opinion. Providing evidence allows you to support what your claim is. Reasoning allows you to further explain your claim and evidence.

Storytelling allows you to give meaning to whatever you are talking about. “We tell stories in order to evoke the meaning and importance of events, issues, struggles, and experiences. Good stories are based on human identification: we identify with the story, allowing us to see the world through that narrative frame. We then envision ourselves as the characters living out that story,” (Gandio 81). Stories are composed of five basic parts: characters, action, scene, conflict and resolution, and plot.

Invitation allows others to state their opinions and positions on a specific issue rather than persuading them to take on a particular position. There is more than one way to do an invitational rhetoric. Invitational rhetoric can be used in all forms of communication. Invitational rhetoric should be used honestly, should clarify intentions, and much more. It allows you and your audience to state their opinions on a particular issue. Each person can state his or her positions on a particular issue.

The Media uses the four rhetorical approaches to spread the news. The media allows everyone to have his or her own opinions. They use these tactics so that they can allow everyone to have a particular opinion on a certain issue. 

A Call to Rhetorical Action

Technology today might help us build a new, inclusive social norm by providing new ways of communication. Technology allows us to communicate in ways that we never thought was possible. In the book Rhetoric for Radicals, Jason Del Gandio states that, “Every human being is born into a world of interaction and we must all learn how to interact or die. Interaction is foundational to our existence,” (18). There are so many forms of interaction today such as communicating in person or communicating online.

The five contemporary challenges activists face are “…creating decentered movements, developing new forms of leadership, learning to communicate across contexts, building transnational alliances and dealing with the media juggernaut,” (29). Technology can help us overcome the five contemporary challenges by allowing us to share out any new solutions or doing some research on the challenges. By finding information about the challenges, it will allow activists to learn how to overcome the difficulties they face.

The media ignores or falsifies our movements and actions by “…[forcing] us to work against the media juggernaut,” (33). The media is everywhere at any time. Media has changed the way we communicate. “…Activists and organizers have utilized different forms of mass communication long before the Internet age,” (34). As time goes on, activists and organizers would have to learn how to communicate with newer forms of media.

The Terminator Film Report

After watching The Terminator, I thought that it had a good portrayal of what artificial intelligence would look like in the future. The Terminator, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is an indestructible Cyborg who goes back in time from the year 2029 to the year 1984 to kill a woman named Sarah Connor before she fulfills her destiny to save mankind.  While the Terminator is out to get Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese, who is a soldier, comes with a mission to save her.

If Artificial Intelligence becomes smarter than humans, they could easily turn back and terminate all mankind. Just like in the Terminator in the movie went back to try to kill Sarah Connor before she fulfills her destiny, any type of artificial intelligence that becomes so advanced could do the same exact thing. The movie portrayed what artificial intelligence could possibly lead to as time progresses.