Computer Games Infinite Pleasure

New computer games are comming up and they are stunning. "Fortunately" my PC is not strong enough to take such amazing graphics and pixel complexity. But if it did I would get absolutely addicted. I always laughed at guys being attached to fictional computer games' worlds and characters. But with such amazing ideas, plots and stunning animation you just feel like being in a different, exciting world and want to stay there.

BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite is an impressive BioShock sequel in adorable retro-future atmosphere. A taste of Sherlock Holmes-old London style in modern America. There is different gravity and sky scrapers fly in air. Sometimes you walk, sometimes run, sometimes ride on roller-coaster ramps between buildings. There is a pretty girl who knows magic. And there are robots. But what is best of all - you are the hero, there is adventure and by the end of the day - you get the girl!

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TRON And Its' Fantasmas

Psychologic Insight Into Science-Ficion
TRON 1982
Steven Lisberger
TRON Legacy 2010
Joseph Kosinski
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Jean Baudrillard - a famous philosopher - in his books uses the phrase "fanstasma". It is a combination of words "fantasy" and "dogma" and describes subconciuos meanings which appear in all generations throughout the history of humankind. Sometimes they change in time, sometimes they remain the same for centuries and motivate us, usually without our knowledge. Fantasma is a dogma for our mind which we secretly want to brake.

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One of the dogmas of our existece is that we can't live life on trial. We have only one copy of our entity. And it somehow seems not to be very fair, as we can test everything else before we learn how to use it properly or before we buy it. Here we are left with no sample tests. Our choices are irreversible. It is frustrating and risky. That is why people have always been trying to create a different world, an alternative universe for ourselves which we can go into if the hard copy of our life appears full of bugs.

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Men have always been moving on a border of two or more worlds. But somehow we know it is wrong to give up life in this reality for a life in a different one without superior force's permission (God's, destiny's, fortune's) and escape. Fantasma in this case is a wishful thought that we on our own can get away to a new dimension, somehow quit being ourselves, but not die and turn into a new, better entity. When technology appeared, people started fantasizing about turning complitely into a machine or a system - a new form of perfect, controlled existence. And they have been afraid of machines becoming self-aware, turning against them.

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I guess I enjoy science fiction movies and comics because they always move in the area of those subconcious meanings.

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"TRON" - a famous science fiction movie from 1982 - tells a story of a genius programmer and arcade games geek - Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) - who brakes into a large system - the Master Control Program (=MCP). It turns out the MCP gained independence and became a self-aware unit which aims at taking control of world's military defense systems.

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Kevin's ex-girlfriend Laura with a team of scientists creates a special molecular laser which, pointed at any objects, captures it, makes it dissappear and restores it in the cyberspace. Later the laser makes the object go back from the virtual space to our world again. The MCP becomes very powerful, turns the laser on itself and traps Kevin in the digital universe - The Grid.

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In The Grid Kevin realises the computer world is a space full of mountains, casms, vehicles and buildings where programs live their lives. Programs are not just lines of code - they all have a human form, wear funny futuristic clothes and helmets with fluorescent circuits. Every Program, in order to perform its' task, has got to fight like a warrior, climb hills, jump out of windows and risk life. Programs look like those who wrote them - The Users. Kevin wants to reach the brain of Master Control Program and shut it down. On his way he meets TRON - a program written by his friend. Surprisingly or not TRON has got a face and body of his human author.

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"TRON" is a story based on a fantasma of digital world of machines being alive. It is a mysterious dream about the inside of a computer system, which at that time was something people didn't have much idea about. There is a sense of enchantment with the new technology and fear of it. In the Medieval times people wrote stories about monsters and cyclopes living in distant lands or sees, because they had to fill the unknown space with life. The forms of life they created in their myths represented their fear, but at the same time fascination with the unknown and the extent of their imagination. Here people had to fill the unknown level of new technology with some life, too. "TRON" is in fact a very optimistic fantasy about this relatively barren land of programs and computers.

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2010 "TRON - Legacy" is the continuation of the original. Special effects are boosted a million times. The Grid is actually very much a Cyberpunk world. Vehicles and gadgets are upgraded, but they keep the spirit and idea of their originals. Music written by Daft Punk has got somewhat Kraftwerk's feeling. The movie is made both for the old TRON lovers and the young audience. Make ups and clothes are trully amazing and incredibly impressive. The Grid universe is solid. It is made in the 3D technology which increases the experience of adventure and being trapped in an alternative universe..

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Of course 1982 "TRON" was not deep psychological drama or an avantgarde picture. But its' screenplay was very innovative for that time. It was written when internet we now know didn't exist. And people had absolutely no clue the phenomenon of cyberspace would soon become a regular experience. They were enchanted with the idea of turning complitely into a digital signal and dissappearing from our world. In the movie there are a lot if 3D effects which at that time were probably incredibly innovative. Now they look very basic and naive, but at the same time a bit nostalgic. "TRON - Legacy" somehow grips the feeling of this nostalgia and memories, but in the spirit of now available technology and style. All representative elements from the first part are genuinly restored and upgraded, but with a bit of a retro geek touch. Even though there are compromises, there is a connection between the vintage past and modern presence in this sequel. And it is something to be appreciated.

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District 9 - A Breakthrough In The Science Fiction Cinema

District 9

Director: Neill Blomkamp

2009

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I had doubts before watching "District 9" science fiction movie, because my friend told me the film was sad. The weather was gloomy and I was not in the mood for more sadness. However I decided to take my chance. And it was a good decision.

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"District 9" is one of the best science-fiction movies in the history of filmmaking. It is shot in a form of a documentary, showing and event which didn't happen in fact as if it occured for real: the landing of aliens' massive spacecraft in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. The film includes footage imitating survailence and news material, interviews with experts and citizens. It is a masterpiece in the way it is delivered.

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The film starts in 1982, when a large alien spaceship appeareas over Johannesburg and suspends in the air like a gigantic dark cloud. People are patrified. After 2 months the government and the military decides to get into the alien vehicle. They cut its' cover with laser and drills and open it mechanically. When they get inside, they discover hundreds of sick, exhausted, gaunt newcomers. They feed them and deliver medical help. Later they locate them in the city's special zone - District 9 - which becomes in fact a refugee camp for the alien population.

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After 20 years from then, the spacecraft still hovers motionless over the city. It hasn't at all moved. Being a host to the new arrivals becomes a prolonging burden to the citizens and the government. The aliens do not integrate with the human civilisation. They have their own customs which are not understood. They are bigger and stronger than people and thus people fear them. Medical help and food supplies are cut off. Nobody wants to sustain a population which is not only unfamiliar and foreing, but is not even human. Aliens are not allowed into shops or bars, so they can't buy food. They haven't got a work permit, so they can't sustain themselves in a normal, respectful way. They are marginalised and closed in their district which in time becomes slums where living conditions are unhumane. But people don't find it all that wrong, because aliens are not humans, so they don't have to be respected. Our world demonstrates superiority and holds the new civilisation in a grip. The courtesy and kindness given first to sick and needy new commers is short-term and turns into opression and negligence.

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People of Johannesburg want to get rid of the spacecraft and the growing alien population, but they don't know how. Also they have their own interest in keeping the new commers - they constantly examine their modern weapons which they want to use, with no results however. The stunning, powerful laser guns work only in contact with the alien DNA which means that in human hands they are useless. The governement tries to figure out a way to combine human and alien genes, make use of the advanced weapons and progess on the way of military domination.

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By some point it turns out that the aliens, called offensively "Prawns" because of their particular anatomy, do not at all wish to stay on Earth. For 20 years they have been collecting fuel for their spacecraft which they want to leave our planet with. Nobody knows or realises that, as nobody wishes to communicate with them. Aliens don't trust humans and don't reveal their plan to them. People of Johannesburg decide to move the new commers to a new District_10, miles away from the city, which creates a lot of tension, because "Prawns" have their secret underground laboratory is in District 9 and it's their only hope for ever going back home. Also the new camp offers far worse living conditions.

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The movie in not only a well delivered futuristic fiction, but a metaphor of our world's problems. It in fact deals with the issues of refugees, foreing immigrants, fear, untolerance, racism and segregation. The cast is relatively unknown, but the roles are strong and impressive. "District 9" was released in 2009. It is directed by Neill Blomkamp, written by Neill Blomkamp and Teri Tatchel, produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It was nominated for four Academy Awards in 2010 including Best Special Effects, Best Picture and Best Editing. Daniel Falconer has written a book "The Art Of District 9" detailing the process of designing aliens, their spacecraft and futuristic armament.

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I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK

Comedy/Romance/Science-Fiction/Drama
Film
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"I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK" is a Korean film from 2006 about a girl who believes she is a machine. She speaks to electronic devices such as light bulbs, radios and coffee-makers and thinks they talk back and share their energy with her, so she doesn't have to eat. As a human being she doesn't understand the purpose of her life. All machines have a very simple purpose of existence. A light bulb gives light, an electric kettle boils water etc. So she starts to believe she is in fact a robot inside, a sort of a Terminator, whose purpose is to kill people.

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Of course by some point she find herself in a hospital for mentally ill people. She meets a very nice boy there who helps her, but in a special way - he lets her believe she is still a robot.

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It is a great and very funny movie by Chan-wook Park. He is an acclaimed filmmaker who in the past made serious documentaries. Here he makes a comedy which makes you laugh, but at the same time shows the complexity and sensivity of human psyche. It referes strongly to popculture and the fascination with technology. People's fantasies are not ridiculed even though they are amazingly grotesque. The hospital becomes a world in which everything is possible, a sort of a fairy-tale. The film has also got strong special effects which make it fun to watch.

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The film's message is that we are all a bit crazy, but it is not a crime to be crazy in a good way if it helps you move on in life. Sometimes we hide in the world of fantasies, because of our family's or environment's bad influence or pressure and the illusion is all we have left. And also it is fine. At the same time we are allowed to burry bad memories, get healed and start again.

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