In Donna Haraway’s, A Cyborg Manifesto, she attempts to tie together feminism, socialism, and materialism by using the cyborg as a means of achieving this feat. Through the lens of cyborgs she makes unclear and controversial statements about fact and fiction in terms of consciousness and unconsciousness of the human experience, whether that be through the women’s experience or from a different perspective. Yet, the idea that stuck with me most was the idea of the machine replacing conscious beings.
Haraway’s article brought to my attention the idea of connectivity and consciousness in terms of New Media. We go through day-to-day activities while constantly being connected. We do not emphasize memorization because we have tool at our fingertips to do the memorization for us. Google search is our memory. Such reliance has taken away our consciousness so that we have become cyborgs in a sense. The physicality of cyborgs has not yet materialized, but in theory it is ingrained in our minds. There is little to no consciousness to what I am doing as I use new media in my everyday life.
Haraway argues that in order for one to be liberated, one must first be conscious and second, be oppressed. When thinking about this statement in terms of the way media penetrates our society I think that the idea of consciousness is interesting to examine. If one is to break free from the new media boom, the consciousness must be present and the sense of oppression must be lingering. One is not going to demand freedom from the machine without the consciousness of the machine’s presence and influence over him or her.
Haraway ‘s argument is full of contradictions and purposeful confusion, yet most of her claims are marked with the undertone of consciousness. Whether talking about cyborgs and revolutions or simply the presence of new media, consciousness is a key component that is muted or amplified according to the platform.
Haraway’s article brought to my attention the idea of connectivity and consciousness in terms of New Media. We go through day-to-day activities while constantly being connected. We do not emphasize memorization because we have tool at our fingertips to do the memorization for us. Google search is our memory. Such reliance has taken away our consciousness so that we have become cyborgs in a sense. The physicality of cyborgs has not yet materialized, but in theory it is ingrained in our minds. There is little to no consciousness to what I am doing as I use new media in my everyday life.
Haraway argues that in order for one to be liberated, one must first be conscious and second, be oppressed. When thinking about this statement in terms of the way media penetrates our society I think that the idea of consciousness is interesting to examine. If one is to break free from the new media boom, the consciousness must be present and the sense of oppression must be lingering. One is not going to demand freedom from the machine without the consciousness of the machine’s presence and influence over him or her.
Haraway ‘s argument is full of contradictions and purposeful confusion, yet most of her claims are marked with the undertone of consciousness. Whether talking about cyborgs and revolutions or simply the presence of new media, consciousness is a key component that is muted or amplified according to the platform.