1-What is a cyborg, or rather why is thinking about cyborgs useful for exploring identity? Is identity single? dualistic? paradoxical? What rolled does gender paly in cyborg identity vs conventional cultural identity?

– A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism. You can find yourself and the mirror. Being a cyborg can help you create you and what you want to be. You can create a new you online and it can be a complete secret. You can have as many identities as you please, which could create a massive problem.

2-Give two examples of cyborgs in books, comics, games, or films you have seen. Describe the cyborg, explain its role in the work, then explain what new perspectives it brings to identity.

– The movie Transformers shows us an example of a cyborg. The robots that are the characters in the movie have a human feel to them because they are in the form of a human. They also have feelings and act just like a human with morals would. Transformers give cyborgs a good name, which makes them seem trustworthy. Frankenstein is another example of a cyborg, perhaps one of the firsts. Frankenstein made his monster on an operating table using technology. This is a half human, half technology. This example is not as pleasing as the Transformers, however, technology is a scary thing sometimes.

3-What does Haraway mean when she writes “ the production of a universal, totalizing theory is a major mistake” How does the metaphor of the cyborg undermine the totalizing theories or dualisms that Haraway feels are damaging to our society?

– She is explaining how we are missing out on reality. We are so caught up in this cyborg world that we don not have time enough to step back into reality and understand the serious issues that are going on around us today. The new digital and technological lives that we carry on today are structured around technologies and cyborgs so much that we have accepted them into our daily lives.

4-How does her cyborg challenge the white, male, heterosexual bias of our culture? (this bias, for example discourages or punishes white males when acting feminine, or wild or gay; or it rewards women who act like men or like heterosexuals; it is not necessarily good for white male heterosexuals, as it boxes them into this role too) How does the ‘monstrous’ liberate us? How is this like code art “perversion”?

– It encourages males to be strong and be the protector. This is what men were intended to do. To be the head of the household, provide for their family, and be the leader. If you act feminine or gay, it demotes you to being not as strong. With women doing things just as good as men can and working the same jobs while earning as much as men, this can be a challenge to fight for the top of the food chain.

5-What is liberating, and what is dangerous about a human/machine symbiosis?

-It is a great thing to know that we have come this far this day and age to create a nonhuman human. To create something from our sources we are provided that is truly amazing. However, it can be a dangerous thing. We are beginning to treat technology as if it is a higher power, a god. Sadly enough, it is starting to become one. We are taking away from our natural selves, and replacing it with a computerized feature. I could see the world convert to a cyborg community, nothing but humans wanting to be a part of technology.

6-Would you consider yourself a cyborg? Explain how you are or are not a cyborg. Would you like to be a cyborg (sometimes, never, only in play, only when serious)?

-I am not a cyborg. I am a human with no circuits attached. I do not make myself known to the world on the Internet. I do however have a Facebook to get in touch with my friends and have this blogging website. I do not see myself in tact with technology as a whole, however I do feel comfortable with using technology.

1-What are some of the reasons for a surge in digital autobiographical production from “home pages” to “wearcams”?

– New Media is always changing, always making it possible for the impossible. When new documentary tools flooded the web, like webcams, Flash and QuickTime movies, and blogs became available, a revolution started. These tools make it easier for bloggers and family members wanting to share their lives and stories to all of their viewers. Autobotographies reveals relationships of individuals to their new contexts or communities of the Internet age.

2-What is the role of autobotography vis-a-vis technology’s “narcotic effect”?

– Autobotography provides us with images of who we have become in front of the new mirror. The most powerful autobotographies help us to see both ourselves and the mirror; thus they disrupt the new technology’s narcotic effect. What autobotography reveals are technological memes which describe how we are being inhabited by our latest tools and how our tools are embodying us.

3-Jennicam gives us an example of the pleasures of self-disclosure, Mann’s WearCams give an example of the dangers of surveillance. Are there dangers in Jennifer Ringley’s work (or similar projects)? And what might those dangers be? Conversely, are there any pleasures in Stephen Mann’s WearCams?

– Yes, there are dangers in Jennifer’s work. Since she shows her whole life, people can get to know her, even in a weird sense. There are stockers that will do anything to find people and not only that but revealing her who life on the Internet for anyone can see can cause a lot of physical and mental disruption in her life. And there are pleasures with the Wearcam. It could be used for a lot of different events and it is a very useful product to have. Plus, it looks like a lot of fun to use.

4-Explain how 2 of the blogging projects reshapes our sense of self, life, or writing.

– Jennicam shows us how a life of a student is really like. It started a trend of mass amounts of people doing the same thing. It provides entertainment for the viewers and it helps you get intact with both ourselves and the mirror. Another project, the Wearcam, was the start of something new. Something like this had not happened yet, at the time, and was making a huge impact. Not only did it help with surveillance but could be used for blogging your own life which turned this useful equipment into a hobby.

5-Pick one of the “moving self-portraits” and explain how the project evokes the mystery of our contemporary lives. What kinds of issues does the portrait raise?

– Blogging a Birth is a very useful spot to sit down if you have questions and find that answer. Not only can you find the answer that you were searching for, you can gain more from just reading posts. If you are a first time mother and do not know what to expect, you can witness someone’s whole pregnancy stage online to help you on your way.

6-Katherine Hayles speaks of the “post-human” in describing the cyborgian entities we have become. How do the artists of this chapter create autobotographies of this “post-human” cyborg? Consider, for example Life Sharing and [phage].

-These autobotography artists are like cyborgs. It is almost as if they are part human and part cyborg. They are sharing their lives using technology and only can be viewed from technology. This makes them seem half human and half computer.

7-How do digital artists examine the commodification of the self? How has the self become another consumer good, or how does a human being get reduced to a “consumer”? Which digital projects raise theese questions and how do they do it?

– When you are posted on the Internet and people pay you to watch your life or just watch animations of yourself in awkward positions, you are a product. It is like selling yourself to the computer age and you are a part of it. You become less human and are seen more of an object that an actually person.

8-Describe the autobotography of “invented selves” or avatars. How do Female Extension and Darko Maver raise questions about the nature of digital selves. Why do they use invented selves and what are the reasons for doing so and the effects of their choices?

– Invented selves are any alias you have with the Internet. Whether it is Email nicknames, chat-room handles, game characters, or an avatar. People create these because they can be who they want to be without the criticism of the world and how they should be in today’s society. It is a break from reality to do what you want. It is your world and you can create anything you want and be who you want without any rebacutions.

Theater of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal

1) What’s the most sever consequence for Boal of his Interactive techniques? Why does his “interactivity” elicit such a violent response?

– Boal has already been to jail for his Interactive techniques. Boal’s colleagues were murdered by the military government and he was jailed and tortured for 3 months and was warned that he would never be safe after his release. Boal has already seen the most sever consequences. The government is doing this to him because he is helping and warning people about what they are doing to them. He helps ordinary people open their eyes to see what is really going on and when the government is made aware of this, they see a need to stop it at once because they do not want to be found out.

2) Why is “knowing the body” so important to the power of Boal’s techniques? WHat does “knowing the body” have to do with interactivity? passivity? hierarchy? resistance?

– “Knowing the body” is important and the first step to Boal’s process. It is important to stand out and be the leader, the hierarchy of a small community to stand up and let your voice be heard. When you know what you are talking about and show it and tell what you can do, people will listen. Especially if it involves them and making their lives more easy to live.

3) Why are Boal’s techniques called “The Sims of the Oppressed”?

– Boal’s techniques are called “The Sims of the Oppressed” because he is allowing users to explore characters and their situations more thoroughly than a new video game can.

4) In simultaneous dramaturgy the actors present a local problem to the crisis point, then invite local people to suggest solutions to the scene. The example is an illiterate women who discovers her husband’s secret documents are love letters from a mistress. The problem is how is she to get revenge without it hurting her? Now think of a situation of injustice in which you felt a powerful impulse to act, but in which your actions could have hurt you or someone else. Describe this scene. Could you imagine it in a game scene with various solutions?

– A situation that I can relate to that jumps in my head at first thought is the new policy that the University of Maine released. They banned cigarettes on campus. I am a smoker, I pay thousands of dollars to live on campus and eat on campus, and also pay for classes. This is my secondary home. How can people that do not even live on campus, that do not even attend school on campus even have a say about how the living styles should be? In my opinion, they do not have a say in this case. I will keep smoking cigarettes on campus, even though I could get fined, or get sent to a drug and alcohol conduct meeting, which stays on my record. They treat smokers like criminals and it needs to be stopped. I for one am not giving into this policy.

5)What is image theater and how & why does it work?

– An image theatre is making an issue or statement known to a group of people and without responding verbally, you can identify everyone’s opinions by their stature and facial expressions. It is as if you are sculpting the audience into what you are trying to make.

6) What are the rules of invisible theater and how does it work?

– An Invisible Theatre is when someone has no particular audience and does not present himself in a theatrical setting. It is more of a public announcement and by standers who are passing will hear and remember certain quotes that may stick with them, or keep them listening. Rehearsing and having a script to read is ideal for this kind of presentation.

7) Why is spectator a bad word? In what ways is a spectator less than a man? What is the antidote? How does interactive theater liberate passive spectators and transform society? How is interactive theater (or Occupy) practice for revolution, and why is revolution necessary?

– Spectator is a bad word because it means that you are less than an man and it is necessary to humanize him, to restore to him his capacity of action in all its fullest. It demotes the man who is listening because it is as if you are telling him something that he doesn’t know. It is demoting.