ms pilkington >:(
Immersion:
| Idea | Representation | Values/Attitudes | Context? Examples | Purpose | Voice/perspective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology is used to discriminate/marginalise minority groups | Representation of a defunct society where technology works in immoral ways, author intends to criticize technology via lack of naturality etc. | Family values/human connection vs technology | To pursuade readers into taking caution regarding technology | Quy+Tam's aggressive voice | |
| Critical attitude towards technology's use in conformity | To criticize technology e.g. social media | Agnes's disoriented state | |||
| Critical attitude towards society's conformity | |||||
| The prevalence of social media (means of changing appearance) negatively impacts contemp. society | Representation of Agnes as weak and broken by technology, to draw sympathy from audience, critique lack of acknowledgement that tech. can be addicting | Sympathetic attitude towards the negative effects of technology on society | To pursuade readers into taking caution regarding technology | Agnes's disoriented state | |
| The importance of vision and being able to see reality is very important in society to ward against the detriment of the human experience | Representation of (main characters) to emphasise their unhappiness and dystopian nature of their reality | Critical attitude towards technology, positive towards human connection. | To pursuade readers of the importance of encouraging a healthy vision of reality | All voices + disoriented |
| Evidence | Character | Symbol | Motif | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Her avatar was paler than her, and taller: it made her look beautiful, most customers agreed." | Quy | Immerser as a means of changing appearance/ethnicity | Technology is used to promote conformity | Science-fiction |
| "rubbed his hands, … a Galactic expression of satisfaction." | Second Uncle | Immerser changing personality/individuality/character traits and cultural customs | Technology is used to promote conformity in speech | Science-fiction |
| "This is a Galactic toy, ... it takes a Galactic to believe that you can take a whole culture and reduce it to algorithms" | Agnes | Immerser as a technology that is able to change culture (very shocking) | Technology is used to manipulate culture, a fundamental natural aspect of humanity | Science-fiction |
| "In the morning, you're no longer quite sure who you are." | Agnes | Immerser as a device that controls the mind/vision on reality | Technology is used to heavily distort reality/meaning, causing a pitiful, sickly life | Science-fiction |
| "She could almost imagine herself rootless, finally returned to the source of everything." | Quy | Quy's expression is very liminal, bleak, depressing etc. | Society outcasts individuals | Science-fiction |
| "a unison of foreigners descending on the station like a plague of centipedes or leeches" | Quy? | The flock is described as a collection of insects and parasites, showcasing their parasitic nature on Quy's society. | Dominant groups in society tend to exploit minorities in materialistic ways | Science-fiction |
| "There was no one here; just a thick layer of avatar" | Quy at Agnes | Agnes' disillusioned state is described as caused by an overuse of technology | Technology is used to heavily distort reality/meaning, causing a pitiful, sickly life | Science-fiction |
| "Couldn't he recognise an immerser junkie when he saw one?" | ||||
| "it's strangely silent, and this scares you... Immersers never fail. "" |
The Pedestrian:
| Evidence | Character | Symbol | Motif | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good as alone," | Leonard Mead | Leonard is symbolised as isolated in society, despite being the most authentic/human | Society's alienation of individuals leads to a dystopian reality | Science-fiction |
| "it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard" | Community | The community is symbolised as lacking in humanity/connection and describes as essentially dead due to their lack of meaning in life | Entertainment can dehumanise citizens in society + remove meaning in life | Science-fiction |
| "Sudden gray phantoms seemed to manifest upon inner room walls... there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomb-like building was still open." | Community | The community is further dehumanised, showing their lack of meaning and authenticity/naturality in their life | Entertainment can dehumanise citizens in society + remove meaning in life | Science-fiction |
| "an entire street [would] be startled by the passing of a lone figure," | Community | The community is symbolised as isolating Leonard | Society's alienation of individuals leads to a dystopian reality | Science-fiction |
| "In ten years of walking... he had never met another person walking," | Leonard Mead | Leonard is symbolised as alone and isolated | Society's alienation of individuals leads to a dystopian reality | Science-fiction |
| "he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good as alone," | Leonard Mead | Leonard is symbolised as alone in society | Society's alienation of individuals leads to a dystopian reality | Science-fiction |
| "this one lone car wandering and wandering the empty streets." | Police car | The police car is represented as a symbol of enforcing conformity, as an outlet of technology. | Technology can be used to the detriment of society by enforcing an unhealthy status-quo of conformity | Science-fiction |
The Pedestrian
Immersion by Aliette de Bodard
