Author Archives: Diana Zhu

Rebirth and Identity

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Diana Zhu

In the opening credits, rebirth imagery is utilized to question the separate identities of the organic and artificial. This is echoed where Kusanagi is floating through the ocean. Oshii draws upon baptism notions of being cleansed of a past identity … Continue reading →

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Second Life Social Norms

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Diana Zhu

I felt like it was interesting to see the distortions in social norms and social engagement at play in Second Life. While in the virtual reality, I suddenly saw on my screen that someone was trying to call I was … Continue reading →

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Hyperreal in Social Media

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Diana Zhu

Hyperreality is tied up in the notion of the inability of consciousness to distinguish between reality and the simulation of reality. We also see in the definition of hyperreal, the repeated copy and simulation of a simulation and so on, … Continue reading →

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Irony and Humor in Snow Crash

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Diana Zhu

Stephenson uses ironic, tongue in cheek humor to reveal his intention of commenting on current day society. The novel begins,  “The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory.” He uses genre words like “mission” and descriptions of his … Continue reading →

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Cyberspace: Negotiating psychological, spiritual and technological spaces

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Diana Zhu

Gibson utilizes spiritual and psychedelic imagery in describing cyberspace revealing an intention to create more than simply a virtual reality that mimics or copies physical reality. He uses vivid visual and abstract imagery: “phosphenes boiling in from the edge of … Continue reading →

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Freudian Robot: Death Instinct and Entropy

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Diana Zhu

I was interested in further understanding the link between drawing upon the concept of entropy and converting the law of thermodynamics from one of heat to that of energy. I researched further that entropy is a law describing how nature tends … Continue reading →

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Dominance and submission in Blade Runner

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Diana Zhu

In comparing the book Androids dream of electric sheep? and the film adaptation Blade Runner, my attention was immediately drawn to the differences in the relationship between Deckard and Rachael. In particular, the two mediums approach opposite dynamics of dominant … Continue reading →

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Illness and Health: physical and metaphysical constructions of humanity

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Diana Zhu

In Frankenstein, Shelley highlights the characters’ physicality in order to create tension around typical conceptions of life and human-ness. Underscoring the monster’s emotional and intellectual advancements, Shelley also focuses on his physical state in portraying his superhuman vitality – she … Continue reading →

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