Journal Entry 8: Yamamoto: Prologue - Story 1 (Sara Loughran)

1. Some things I noticed that were in common with Davis were the focus on AI and robots, the use of pop culture to create something new (i.e. Star Trek in the first story), the "tribes" of people who communicate and write a story together, the speculation on what the possible future could be, the discussion of propaganda, and the overall idea of stories and their way of transcending reality.

2. The artifacts that this story brought to mind were:

The Handmaid's Tale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale_(TV_series)

I was reminded of this show/book particularly in the prologue and chapter before the first story, because of the idea of a dystopian society where everything is controlled by a government of people (or beings in this case), capturing humans and using them for their own devices. It also reminded me of that because of the idea of one of the "bad" people, Ibis who is part of the robot race, is somewhat friendly to the main character and gives them things that are considered "forbidden", yet their overall intentions are somewhat unclear, like the Commander's relationship with Offred in the show/book.

Black Mirror S4E1, USS Callister: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Callister

I was reminded of this episode not only because of the heavy Star Trek influences, but also the idea of escaping reality into a fictional universe where you can make your avatar, which is yourself, do and act however you want. It also reminded me of that because of the idea of fictional universes and ways to "escape" reality having an unintentional effect on real life, and ultimately harming people in the process.

Death Note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note

I was reminded of this anime/manga firstly because it is Japanese, and the first story takes place in Japan, but also because of the idea of writing contributing ultimately to violence and death. There's the idea of being detached from the victim, yet close at the same time within Death Note, which is like the relationship between the members of the Celestial writing and communicating with each other, knowing about each other's lives yet not knowing each other at the same time. It is also

3. I personally like exploring digital cultures through fiction rather than a semi-nonfiction book like Davis's where he's just explaining concepts and his opinions on him. In fiction, there's obviously opinions that the author has that can be picked out, but it's less "in your face", and instead presents the material for you to ponder and come to your own conclusion. Fiction is also good because it can let us speculate what could possibly happen, and be either a warning or a guide on what to do or what not to do. I find that it makes the concepts easier to understand when in a fictional story, because it's not just a big info dump and you're left to make sense of it all. Everything is integrated within the story with a purpose, and it helps you see those cultures and concepts in action, even if it is fictional.