Snow Crash: A Reflection of the Future?

Technology advancements are made daily. Whether it is through updates or ground-breaking inventions, it advances constantly. Within a few years how strong of a hold will technology have on society? If our future is anything similar to the images portrayed in the book, Snow Crash, we will be living in a different universe. Information will be given to us by digital librarians, children will surpass the limits of technology and overpower adults with their technical knowledge, and storytelling will become active scenes where individuals will thrive outside of their actual world. Although these breakthrough actions are already happening today, they are only in their pre-stages according to the book Snow Crash. The texts studied during the class outline many major advances of how technology has begun to make its mark on society, however, these points seem minor when compared to the stain technology has made in the book Snow Crash.

Lawrence Lessig argues for the right to remix in his book, Remix. He disagrees with the laws that govern copyright materials, believing it is dated. Lessig defines and argues for remix in the following statement, “But before I can hope to make that normative argument stick, we should think more carefully about why this right to quote—or as I will call it, to remix—is a critical expression of creative freedom that in a broad range of contexts, no free society should restrict” (56). While reading the book, Snow Crash, I related this to Hiro Protagonist’s use of coding in the Metaverse. Lessig believes that remixing is a creative form of expression, similar to Hiro’s use of coding in the Metaverse. Hiro uses existing codes to aid him in creating new ones. Similar to “stepping stones,” the existing codes used by Hiro end up helping him save the day. Therefore, back to Lessig’s point this act should not be condemned or thought of negatively because the freedom to access the codes ultimately saves civilizations from becoming infected with the drug snow crash.

Not all forms of remixing deserve applause. R. Bob Rife’s case is different. Rife high jacks Lago’s research and uses it for his own personal gain and with a negative intention. Rife is an example of negative remix culture because he has stolen personally complied research which he plans to use in taking over the world. If it were not for Lagos, Juanita, Hiro, Y.T., and several others working constantly to stop his plan he would have succeed because of his abundance of power and wealth. Lessig also makes an argument about wealth at the end of his book by stating, “The simple reason we wage a hopeless war against our kids is that they have less money to give to political campaigns than Hollywood does” (294). Therefore the “kids” in Lessig’s argument can double for the characters of Lago, Juanita, Hiro, and Y.T. because they are not nearly as wealthy and certainly not as powerful as Rife or Hollywood. Rife, like Hollywood, is able to alter regulations placed on him because of his power and wealth, which in turn, directly affects the line between wrong and right.

Snow Crash not only portrays the age-old argument of wealth as dominance but how technology is affecting kids. The character, Y.T., is a fifteen-year-old girl that uses her technologically enhanced skateboard and “weapons” to save the day. Y.T. plays a major part among a dominant adult character base. In his book, Convergence Culture, Henry Jenkins discusses the impact of technology of children by writing, “In a hunting culture, kids play with bows and arrow. In an information society, they play with information” (130). Y.T does not sit down and blog about Harry Potter like Heather Lawver, but she does use technology to her advantage like Lawver. Y.T. plays with advancing technology and is aware of its every aspect. This is how she is able to defeat the FEDS and escape. The FEDS are unaware of all the advancements that are available to the public and they disregard Y.T. as a punk kid that they can easily defeat. However, Y.T’s escape proves her technical knowledge during her escape while thinking the following lines, “Which is why on an expensive skateboard, like this one definitely is, you can get, as an extra added safety feature, the RadiKS Narrow Cone Tuned Shock Wave Protector. It works on real short notice, which is good, but you can only use it once, it draws power from an explosive charge, and then you have to take your plank into the shop to have it replaced” (313). Y.T. is aware of her advantage and also knows her limits, unlike the clumsy FED officers. This is because she has grown up in a technical world, a place where technology has always been her companion. This companionship saved her from becoming a prisoner of the FEDS. Like Jenkins argument, Y.T. has grown up aware of technology and she has played with it. Similar to Y.T., kids today often outsmart adults when it comes to technology. In the future it will probably be the same way because of technology advancements and the fact that kids are becoming much more advanced in their knowledge of technology at a much younger age.

As technology advances and society’s children outgrow the old methods of storytelling new ones are being invented. The new wave of storytelling is very interactive as pointed out by Janet Murray in her book, Hamlet on the Holodeck. As described in Snow Crash, the Metaverse, an alternate reality, is a wide spread source of entertainment. Murray’s holodeck and the Metaverse can be seen as a double of each other because in both instances the individual is not just reading a story; they are living it with real depictions and consequences for mistakes. Both the holodeck and Metaverse influence an alternate lifestyle. In Snow Crash the artists has evolved from merely playing a game to living the game and in a different universe. Hiro spends more time in the Metaverse than in reality as described in the following passage, “So Hiro’s not actually here at all. He’s in a computer-generated universe that his computer is drawing onto his goggles and pumping into his earphones. In the lingo, this imaginary place is known as the Metaverse. Hiro spends a lot of time in the Metaverse. It beats the shit out of the U-Stor-It” (24). He spends so much time in the Metaverse that he sometimes has troubling remember where events happened, in reality or the Metaverse.

Hiro dedicates time to the Metaverse because there are many possibilities for quick information and answers. In her book, Murray’s question if the future of digitalized storytelling will continue to go strong, using Hiro and other characters as an example prove her theory. Murray states, “In our ordinary lives, we turn to stories of every kind, again and again, to reflect our desires and sorrows with the heightened clarity of the imagination. We will bring these same expectations to digital narrative” (274). Murray’s stories have turned into a lifestyle for the characters of Snow Crash. Hiro turns to this form of digital storytelling (the Metaverse) in order to obtain answers. Therefore, Hiro’s Metaverse is a radically advanced form of Murray’s holodeck. Hiro as an artist has transferred the role-playing and storytelling Murray refers to into a highly integrated and converging world; a place where possibilities are not restrained.

So, technology has a hold on society. It has become an integrated element of everyday life. With its uncharted course making daily advancements, one may ask how far away from the Snow Crash society are we? With the help of positive remixing, society could see advancements in technology just as Hiro uses the codes of others to create an even bigger code that saves the day. Or, Jenkins' comment on children and technology and how Y.T. uses technology so naturally it as if she was born with it. The Metaverse is approaching, possibly not as vivid as Neil Stephenson imaged it, but a converged technical society is close by. Although as Murray relates in her book there are numerous role-playing games available now, but it is only a matter of time before they become entirely mainstream like the Metaverse. The similarities between Snow Crash and texts discussed are tremendous and will only continue to reflect on another until they converge together in the future.

Works Cited

Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: University Press, 2006.

Lessig, Lawrence. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrice in the Hybrid Economy. New York: Penguin Press, 2008.

Murrary, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck. New York: The Free Press, 1997.

Stephenson, Neil. Snow Crash. New York: Bantam Books: 1993.

Dear Classmates:

Please disregard the warning that will be listed on my page that this is a spam blog. I was in the process of updating the layout / colors on my page when this action was prompted onto my screen. Not too sure what I did (if anything), but I have sent it in to be reviewed. It may take a few days according to blogger.com to get this removed. So, in the meantime please disregard the warning.

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The VCR, LTP, and Netflix

Lawrence Lessig discusses the success of internet based business in his chapter titled, "Two Economies: Commercial and Sharing." The company I am interested in discussing is Netflix. Within the past few years, Netflix has grown and become a dominate force among the movie rental industry. Netflix's relationship to Lessig's discussion of Read / Only (RO) and Read / Write (RW) cultures is it is a RO culture source, the consumers devour it and move onto the next. When films first became available for viewing in the privacy of our homes, it was amazing. At our leisure (somewhat), we were able to watch a film. Later, technology made it even more convenient for consumers to watch a film when the VCR was introduced. However, it also made it easier for copies to be produced. Lessig points out in his book, Remix, that "The VCR, they argued, was a tool designed to enable a crime" (122). This is an example of RO culture. Although the consumer has paid for television subscription or a movie rental, it is for a limited time and not to be copied in any form. But as the years went by, the concept of mass producing movies for consumers looked like a profitable business plan for the major conglomerates. As Lessig points out, "Video sale and rental revenues far surpass what the film industry makes in the theater" (123). So before Hollywood recognized that additonal copies readily available to the public would become a business entity of its own, they condoned it.

Movie rentals have become popular and part of our everyday life. Lessig mentions Blockbuster as the major player for making this happen in the early stages. Blockbuster has dominated the movie rental business for quite some time until the internet based business of Netflix surfaced. Netflix phases out a lot of the the little leg work required for renting a film. One would never have to leave their house and travel to the store to rent a film if they didn't want to. This is one reason why Netflix is so popular. Another reason is attributed to what Lessig labels as "The Long Tail Principal." Lessig defines this term as, "LTP says that as the cost of inventory falls, the efficient range of inventory rises. And as transaction costs generally fall to zero, the efficient inventory rises to infinity" (129). He points out that by cutting the costs associated with a store-based business (overhead), Netflix is able to muster up an inventory that has no limits.

As a client of Netflix, I can vouch for this. The convenience of having a movie delivered to my home and not having to make a trip out really makes Netflix feel more like a service, one that more and more people are buying into for the same reasons. In recent news, Blockbuster has announced that it will be closing a good majority of its stores. Although they offer online movie rentals, they just weren't as quick to jump on the idea as Netflix and their business has suffered tremendously.

From the humbler beginnings of the VCR and in-store movie rentals to the internet-based business of Netflix, movie rentals have probably saved Hollywood. Without the fighting for VCR rights many years ago this concept may not have come about. But thanks to consumers fighting the conglomerates, the concept of movie rentals has morphed into a major source of income for Hollywood and a huge form of consumption for hungry consumers.

Lessig, Lawrence. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrice in the Hybrid Economy. New York: Penguin Press, 2008.

Jenkins, Harry Potter, & Covergence Culture

As technology advances, so does it audience. However, when we think of the technology in our everyday life, we normally do not consider the age of the audience using such forms of technology. In his book, Convergence Culture, Henry Jenkins examines the important aspect of how technology will / has started to run together into a great big melting pot. He notes how once practical items, like a television, are much more than a screen displaying a movie or television show. The shows and films are gateways to greater and more technology such as video games, text messaging, and marketing ploys. However, Jenkins strongest discussion is one of children and this convergence culture.

In the chapter titled, " Why Heather Can Write," Jenkins examines the youth founded online newspaper, The Daily Prophet, that was created especially for the Harry Potter series. Interestingly enough, Heather Lawver was thirteen when she started the online newspaper. It features news of Hogwarts and allows for participation with role playing. Participants are given free reign to create their very own Harry Potter story line. Through role playing Jenkins notes that, "Much as an actor builds up a character by combining things discovered through research with things learned through personal introspection, these kids are drawing on their own experiences to flesh out various aspects of Rowling's fiction" (176). Participants are using their knowledge of the book series combined with their own personal experiences and creating a richly imagined and informed world. These kids are thinking critically about a text and designing an elaborate story of their own. To me, this is amazing and should be praised not punished.

Later in the book, Jenkins discusses how the Harry Potter series has been viewed by some as demonic or religiously challenging. My opinion is that many children will be able to distinguish their created identity versus their actual identity. Children should be allowed to explore their imagination, especially through reading and writing. Convergence of our culture will continue to impact the ways children entertain and express themselves because of its wide range of possibilities and available outlets.

Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: University Press, 2006.

Murray Blog

To further elaborate on the question Murray poses of the digital age's acceptance as an art form in the future, it is important to consider the influence technology already has on society. Technology has made many lives much easier and has shaped new lifestyles in its advancements. The generation that has grown up with technology at their sides are much more accepting of the digital world than those who have not. However, the significance of virtual gaming has become popular among all age groups. When video games were in their early stages the target market or crowd of appeal was much more limited than it is today. With the surge of popularity of digital based games came new ideas for the story lines which appeal to a range of ages.

Digital games are no longer strictly regarded as manufactured for teenagers needing to waste time. The elaborate and creatively designed digital games today are bought and played by a much wider demographic than ever before. The thrill of virtual gaming has become sought after by a large and growing population. This is because of the genres now available.

Most recently the game, "Guitar Hero" has sparked immense popularity with both children, teenagers, and adults. Just as Murray discusses in her book, "Hamlet on the Holodeck" that creating an alternate world is just as exciting as the real world sometimes. In the "Guitar Hero" game the player can create their rocker based on a slew of characters that reflects different music genres. The character the player chooses reflects their personal style or their alternate style in the digital world. Mom and Dad can become "cool" rockers for the night and impress their kids with their guitar skills. The same goes for other ages playing the game. The better your skills are at playing the game, the more exciting it is to watch. Murray notes in her book that, "Games always involve some kind of activity and are often focused on the mastery of skills, whether the skill involves chess stratgey or joystick twitching" (140). So the point is that virtual gaming, such as Guitar Hero, allows for players to assume a possible alternate lifestyle that ultimately depcits their gaming personality.

Recently, the rock-n-roll lifestyle has become popular again and digital technology has taken advantage of that by creating a game that mixes all types of music together that appeal to several different audiences. So the question if the digital age will become accepted in the future is yes. The series popularity of Guitar Hero has shown that gaming no longer has a particular age group.

Murrary, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck. New York: The Free Press, 1997.

Just wanting to check and see how this works!