The Avatar Is The Ideal Version Of Oneself

George Orwell's 1984 is a book that is purely based on power and propaganda. The party manages to accomplish this power and propaganda by using surveillance. Party members in Oceania are constantly under surveillance, whether it is of their private or public life. There are numerous surveillance techniques which are used by the party to maintain and even gain more power. This leads to the concept of a panopticon, originally thought up by Jeremy Bentham. Thus this essay will include the concepts of the panopticon with relation to the novel and consider how these extensive surveillance techniques eliminate party member’s private space and how it has the ability to constrict the thoughts of party members.

The Matrix, released in 1999, is a science fiction action film that depicts a dystopian future. In this reality, what is perceived by humans is only a computer simulated reality called ‘The Matrix’ which was created in order to sustain human delusion while their bodies were used as an energy source by machines. The main character, computer hacker Neo (played by Keanu Reeves, respectively) is drawn into rebellion against the machines once he is united with those that have been freed from the false reality. The characters, suffering from the reality of a broken illusion, make specific choices and decisions which can be explained or validated by sociological perspectives discussed by Berger. First off, ‘The Matrix’ can be defined as a social institution with the ability to give those that live within the false reality a fulfilled existence and exert social control over it’s residing victims. Second, the betrayal of Cypher touches upon the concept of sociological knowledge; specifically, the reference group ideology. Lastly, Neo’s previous feelings of unease and change of character after he joins Morpheus’ rebellion shows the importance a reference group can have on the overall personality and ideology of a person. Therefore, the Sociological Perspective understands the personalities, actions, and story of the movie ‘The Matrix’ in a variety of ways.

Several conflicting frames of mind have played defining roles in shaping humanity throughout the twentieth century. Philosophical optimism of a bright future held by humanity in general was taken advantage of by the promise of a better life through sacrifice of individuality to the state. In the books Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 clear opposition to these subtle entrapments was voiced in similarly convincing ways. They first all established, to varying degrees of balance, the atmosphere and seductiveness of the “utopia” and the fear of the consequences of acting in the non-prescribed way through character development. A single character is alienated because of their inability to conform – often in protest to the forced

Therefore, Chigurh, understanding his unconventional sociopathic self, allows him to create an impersonal persona which provides the necessary façade to interact in society, contributing to individuation, something that is already achieved at the onset.

An animated television series that ties into Transcendentalism with the concept of oversoul. In the series, the fantasy world is divided into four nations that are based on the four classical elements shown throughout many common ancient philosophies. Each generation there is one person who is capable of controlling and manipulating all four elements, the Avatar. The Avatar possesses a unique ability, that allows him/her to be able to gain knowledge, powers, and abilities of all the past Avatars that opens his/her mind, during times of need or meditation. With this ability, the Avatar’s purpose is to keep the four nations harmonious and to maintain world peace.

Foucault's "Panopticism" (1979) is a careful piece that talks about how a panoptic framework would impact culture, society, the political, and individuals. Foucault describes panopticon is to “induce the inmate a state of conscious and visibility that assures the automatic function of power.” Foucault mentions, surveillance has a lasting effects, regardless of the fact that it is discontinuous in its activity; that the perfection of power ought to render its real unneeded practice. The Inmates are in a dominating circumstance that they are them-selves the bearers. Foucault (201, 202–3) also mentions that "He who is subjected to a field of visibility, and knows it, expect responsibility regardless of the constrains of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon

Panopticism is a social theory named after the “panopticon”, which was originally developed by the French philosopher, Michel Foucault. Panopticon was first mentioned in his book, Discipline and Punish. In his book, he refers "panopticon" to “an experimental laboratory of power in which behaviour could be modified.” Foucault considered panopticon as a symbol of the “disciplinary society of surveillance” (Panopticism). In the two novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Frankenstein, panopticism is an element shown greatly. Though these two novels have many differences, this similarity shared between the two is equally important.

The Brave New World portrays the perfect society, where citizens of “Utopia” live a life without depression, and any socioeconomic problems. In the New World, every portion of life is controlled. Only when a person is able to dig deeper inside of himself will he find that this world is nothing close to perfect. Drugs, sex, and mind games control this world and solve any problems that may arise, such as overpopulation, and caste tension. The usage of such tactics causes a loss of individuality.

“Our society is not one of spectacle, but of surveillance; under the surface of images, one invests bodies in depth; behind the great abstraction of exchange, there continues the meticulous concrete training of useful forces; the circuits of communication are the supports of an accumulation and a centralization of knowledge; the play of signs defines the anchorages of power; it is not that the beautiful totality of the individual is amputated, repressed, altered by our social order, it is rather that the individual is carefully fabricated in it, according to a whole technique of forces and bodies. (pp.333-34)”

Similarly, his need for distractions and deliberate sublimation of personal guilt and disappointment in an obsessive voyeuristic interest with the lives of those around him may also be a reflection of how modern communications technology has altered human behavior and ways in which people perceive themselves and the world around him. Historically, it may express Wim Wenders' view that `the Americans have colonized our subconscious' as well as the broader phenomena of an effective colonization of people's lives by those of people whom they have never met through the omnipresence and pervasiveness of mass media. And so, Marshall McLuhan's 'global village' has resulted in a concomitant alienation of the individual from his fellows and of the individual from his sense of sovereign

A Panopticon is a cylindrical prison where all prisoners’ cells face a central watchtower with the intention of instilling the idea of constant surveillance in prisoners. Panopticism stems from the same model which refers to the idea of constant surveillance in any setting especially in today’s world of technological pervasiveness. The panopticon represents the double edged sword that is present to society as authorities want to exert more control on the individuals. Between giving up privacy for safety and private lives that endanger all, the need for regulation of behavior gets stuck in the middle of it all. The movie Citizen Four (Poitras, 2014) highlights that any shred of privacy that we thought we had has been lost in the “shadowy labyrinths

As a computer science major, it is only natural that I would have an affinity to science fiction films. However, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina is not just any science fiction film, it is a view into the human psyche and society’s subconscious fear of being replaced by something we perceive to be greater than ourselves. Ex Machina is a morally ambiguous story that is Promethean in nature, because “fire” or intelligence has been given to machines. Many of the characters in Ex Machina exhibit Jungian archetypes such as Ava being the dreamer, Caleb Smith as a positive animus, Nathan Bateman as a negative animus, and Kyoko as a positive shadow. However, some may have different perspectives on who would

Sandra Bartky begins her piece by explaining Michel Foucault’s ideas about modern power dynamics. Unlike in the past, power in modern society focuses not only on controlling the products of the body but, rather, on governing all its activities. In order for this power to continue, people are disciplined into becoming “docile bodies” which are subjected and practiced (Bartky, 63). This discipline is imposed through constant surveillance in a manner similar to the Panopticon. Inmates in said prison are always visible to a guard in the central tower, so they mentally coerced into monitoring their own behavior. In the same way, individuals become their own jailers and subject themselves to the society’s whim due to being in a “state of conscious and permanent visibility” to its all-seeing eye (65). Bartky, however, breaks from Foucault’s theory by claiming that there is a clear difference in the disciplines imposed on men and women that are ignored in the latter’s writings.

The depiction of immorality in the Hideaway confers the theoretical text that creatures portrayed in myths or science fiction can be accepted gradually from the society (LeGuin 76). For the argument, both the audience and Morris keep questioning themselves whether the performances being done meet the moral standards of the society or not. Another aspect is how Haley precisely develops archetypes, she catches the audiences’ mindset to the virtual existence and leaves them with numerous ethical questions while going back to the real

If you walk continuously along a straight path, you will never be found again. But on a cyclic path, you come back repeatedly at the starting point and eventually cover endless distance, provided the energy and system remain intact. Interestingly, most phenomena occurring in nature favour a cyclic rather than straight path.