Noble Human Beings

Noble Human Beings vimeo <==click here

“On the battlefield no one has a name.”  Solid Snake.

Violence in mass media is a topic for hot debate. Many people will claim that the media’s portrayal of violence has significant effects on the aggressive behavior of people. I have personally played video games for as long as I can remember, I am not a violent person. I make no claim however, for either side of the argument. I will admit that there is violence in mass media. I must admit that most video games are violent.

As a sentient life form we try to portray ourselves in the best possible way. Aggressive and violent behavior is a topic that we are possibly ashamed of. Perhaps this is the reason the debate of violence in mass media, and video games, exist. We do not want to shelter people from violent acts; we want to shelter people from knowing that we enjoy violence. 

Each time I view this piece I feel that I learn more about what I actually created. To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure what I had created.  It has taken some time from me to figure it out. The piece is a puzzle that I put together, and had to take the time to figure out why. I think that every viewer can add a new piece to the puzzle that I haven’t taken into consideration.

It is easy to say this piece is about violence in video games.

It is easy because violence in video games has become a standard of debate when talking about games, especially to the non-gaming community.  When typing the words ‘violence in’ Google automatically filled in video games.

But, this piece isn’t completely about violence in video games.

That isn’t to say that this piece isn’t about violence. This piece has become about the violent nature of human beings themselves. Violence is a part of human nature. While this may seem like a bash against the nature of humans, calling ourselves violent, and enjoyers of violence, this is merely an observation.  There are many layers to human nature, as there are many layers to this piece.

Visually in the piece, the first game slowly degrades. Metal Gear Solid 3, a violent game, where an undercover soldier sneaks his way to save the world, was chosen because you can kill every person in the game. But… you can play the entire game and not kill anyone. You have the choice. Now this doesn’t justify the game as one style of play is non-violent and the other way is, but it does give you the option. We choose to kill the people in the game. We are not forced to.  As that layer degrades it reveals the Rockstar game Manhunt. Criticized for its violence, Manhunt forces you to kill every enemy you encounter. That layer deteriorates and reveals footage of an actual war. Where people really die, and never respawn. The deterioration of the games reveal where we get violent ideas from. The actual world we live in, because it can be a violent place.

But, like I said, it is easy to say this piece is about violence in video games.

The audio adds a layer of depth to the piece that the visuals alone could not convey.  Most of the audio was taken from a Dennis McKenna speech on mind expansion through psychedelic drugs, and edited for the piece. The audio conveys different information in the piece than the original audio, as well as contrasting information that the visual aspect presents.

When put in the context of violence, Christopher Columbus is relevant. Christopher Columbus arrives bringing the destruction of “the new world” with him. The blame for the decline and destruction of the native people should not be placed solely on the shoulders of Columbus. But this idea of change through destruction is established.  This idea is further established with Dennis McKenna’s idea of machines taking over the role of human beings.  

“The Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as an intellectual event horizon, beyond which events cannot be predicted or understood. Proponents of the singularity typically state that an "intelligence explosion" is a key factor of the Singularity where super intelligences design successive generations of increasingly powerful minds.” (Wikipedia)

What I am getting at is; much like Columbus inadvertently wiped out the native population, we will inadvertently wipe out ourselves.

“After a week on the battlefield no one has a name.”

The technological explosion has led human kind to the beginning of a hive mind. Now ideas can be shared globally and instantaneously. The speed and range of information exchange has accelerated and the artificial intelligence technology has made leaps and bounds over the past few years. Just give it a while longer and sky net will be live. Through this information exchange, technological improvement will eventually render us useless.  

Through violence we are changed.

There is a saying that the winners of war write the history of mankind.  Perhaps this was true. But in the technological era that we live, we have begun recording everything. We have become not only hive minded with our information, but we have become an archival species as well.

Since the beginning of written language we began recording events, history, and stories. Through the spread of the internet and social media networks, we have begun recording even personal day to day activities.

While this piece may not be about this archival society, it certainly couldn’t exist without it. Everything in this piece has come from an archival source, edited, and repurposed. It is only because of our advancements in technology and information exchange that this piece exists. This creates a counter argument to the piece, which is to say the least, about violence due to humans and technology. Perhaps even on the battlefield art can exist.