Based on the 1960 and 2002 adaptations of the movie The Time Machine, here are some question/answer reflections:
Primary Blog Question
When compared, the two film clips help illuminate a key question for this course: How has our relationship to technology changed over time?
The 1960 film highlighted the use of technology to showcase man’s intellectual technological advancement and his fascination with accomplishing “the impossible.” However, the 2002 film changes the use of technology to not only highlight advancement or achievement, but also to change the past. In other words, whereas the first film dealt with technology on a more objective level as a tool that could transport something back in time, the second film dives into the subjective level of using technology to overcome a social constructed certainty–the finality of death. This may reflect an ideological difference between the two generations represented by these films.
Love that you point out the ideological difference between the two films! Awesome work.
I’m curious about the phrase “social constructed certainty.” What do you mean by that?
Death has always been a socially constructed certainty–no one can escape it regardless of age, race, gender, etc. However, the second film showcases how technology could finally end the hegemony of death (personified :).
‘Like’
O.K…other than the comment about “social construction,” I think that you have a lot of good insight here, as you ALWAYS do. The idea of the ideological differences is spot on. Like I just said, society has become more analytical. In that analytical renaissance, we have become more seeking of instant gratification.
Maybe the targets of popular analysis has changed? In the 1960s version, the audience is encouraged to think about the science of the four dimensions, for example, whereas in the 2002 version, the audience is presented with a social dilemma, rather than a scientific one.