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Anton Angelo

All watched over by machines of loving grace - 24 views

Social Informatics poetry documentary Richard Brautigan Adam Curtis Dystopia Utopia

started by Anton Angelo on 04 Jun 12
  • Anton Angelo
    #1 Anton Angelo on 04 Jun 12
     
    This is two things: a poem by Richard Brautigan that imagines a future where machines surround and protect us.

    http://web.archive.org/web/00000000000000/http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/10496-Richard-Brautigan-All-Watched-Over-By-Machines-Of-Loving-Grace

    The second is a set of films taking the poem as a start, and looking at the history of computing from a social perspective. Very much worth watching, even if the rather pretentious style put you off.

    (HD) All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace - Intro. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL9BjKH5MSY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
  • Anton Angelo
    #2 Anton Angelo on 04 Jun 12
     
    Here's the poem:

    All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace

    I like to think (and
    the sooner the better!)
    of a cybernetic meadow
    where mammals and computers
    live together in mutually
    programming harmony
    like pure water
    touching clear sky.

    I like to think
    (right now, please!)
    of a cybernetic forest
    filled with pines and electronics
    where deer stroll peacefully
    past computers
    as if they were flowers
    with spinning blossoms.

    I like to think
    (it has to be!)
    of a cybernetic ecology
    where we are free of our labors
    and joined back to nature,
    returned to our mammal
    brothers and sisters,
    and all watched over
    by machines of loving grace.
  • Maranda Ward
    #3 Maranda Ward on 04 Jun 12
     
    I always love using different mediums for learning and poetry is definitely a medium of interpretation.

    Quickly, I went and Googled an interpretation of this poem: http://armonorogs91.blogspot.com/2011/01/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving.html

    I think I lean more toward the negative response to the authors feelings about technology. Almost satirical in nature, the poem has a soft overtone but is fairly sarcastic when it comes down to it. The union between nature and technology is sort of overplayed to let the reader know that what the poem describes isn't necessarily a good thing.

    "All watched over," says it all.
  • Anton Angelo
    #4 Anton Angelo on 04 Jun 12
     
    Aww. I'm a softie, so i was taking it at face value. Actually, it reminded me of when my Mum was in Intensive Care, very very sick, and had every machine in the world hooked up to her with a big display like something out of Star Trek (OS, of course). All of that technology there to keep her alive and well. As a technologist it was inspiring and deeply satisfying to see the good use it gets put to.
  • Maranda Ward
    #5 Maranda Ward on 04 Jun 12
     
    Oh jeez, shows that I lean more toward pessimism toward technology rather than optimism.

    :-)
  • Pamela Hawks
    #6 Pamela Hawks on 04 Jun 12
     
    Wow -- we could spend the entire semester debating the interpretation of that poem. Prof. Pavlovksy -- what a great idea!! ;) The one image I found disturbing about it was the line: "when we are free of our labors." Will this ever be the case, and is that a preferable reality??
  • Carrie Pyne
    #7 Carrie Pyne on 05 Jun 12
     
    I think this is a really interesting poem and a unique way of looking at the interaction between man and machines. As I've discussed in other posts, the sci-fi world has countless books that revolve around the theme of 'the rise of the machines' against the humans who created them. This poem takes a different approach and assumes that we coexist together in peace and harmony. Of course, the phrase, 'machines of loving grace' is an oxymoron because machines cannot have truly have emotions. As Spock would say, "Fascinating."
  • Lilia p
    #8 Lilia p on 05 Jun 12
     
    I didn't read the interpretation so I don't know really what to think. My instinctual reaction was totally mixed.

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