I think we lose the ability lo live a fullfilling life and the character realizes that when he thinks the bird is dead. But he goes back to the same again . I enjoyed this film. The part when the power went out and the workers seemed lost reminded me of when we had rolling blackouts at work last year. It forced us to 'unplug' and interact with our fellow coworkers. Lost, is the interaction with others, including nature (ie, the birds). They are still fascinated with us, and we are fascinated by technology. I think there are still people out there not as dependent, as depicted by the man. But, as we see he is a bit lost in the technology around him (hand scanner). I liked how the security guard needed to do some little tricks with the guy's hand in order to get the entry turnstile to work. This is a classic example of how systems are supposed to work in a purely mechanistic way but actually don't. Systems do not work perfectly on a pure 'cause-and-effect' manner; a holistic approach recognises that there are a myriad of other factors that can influence the mechanistic function. It also sows how humans work around the technology despite its limitations. Odd you say that, I interpreted it that the operator had such belief in the technology that she saw the human hand as defective. I agree with Andy. People very often trust a lot in technology, sometimes even doubt of themselves, like when you write something in a text editor software, it says that your sentence is grammatically wrong and you stop to think what you've done wrong, even if you were pretty sure that you made it right! In this case the movie showed, it's like she said "this can't be wrong, it must be your hand, sir." I believe the short poses a valid question: is technology adapting to our needs or is it adjusting us to theirs? Symbolism to support this is found in the (fantastic) design of the short. With the city mimicking circuits, and we're just part of it. Social interaction, once again, gets the sharp end of it. It truly is dystopic, even though one can appreciate the efficency with which the city runs. I agree with you statement. but the question for me is are we adapting technology for our needs or are we following the adaptation of technology without choise? What you think? I too agree with both Andy and Edison that people tend to rely on technology devices always having the accurate answer. It seems society tends to forget the machines used for automation and etc... are created by humans. Therefore there will always be flaws in the equipment. Have you ever known any human to be perfect? So why should the machine's we build be better than us at processing? In the case of the man's hand there was probably some dirt preventing the machine from scanning his handprint properly. Makes sense the man came from his automated office where he probably was chugging down java and eating as he tapped on the virtual work screen in front of him. Once the guard got rid of the dirt on the hand then the machine was able to scan. So was it really the human who was flawed or the machine because it didn't know how to clean a hand? I totally agree: I think the idea that we adapt to the technology is the crux of technological determinism, and the dystopian vision of technology. This powerlessness seems to me to be part of the message of the film - particularly when the power went out the office workers had nothing else to do, and when the tourists were 'sucked' back in from the viewing platform. Certainly there are plenty of real-life examples of this (such as struggling to get used to using a new phone perhaps!) but I think this overlooks the capacity and the importance of making our technology adapt to us. While I understand the purpose of the problematisation of the human (nature) / technology as a dichotomy to highlight and re-conceptualise our practices of presenting information and communicating with and through the avalanche of "new" technologies, I do not think that it ends up being helpful in the long run. For example at the end of last century, the technology of print had become virtually invisible. Our society had become so used to it that we did not notice the technology. What is interesting about the "new" technologies is that they have highlighted the technological practices that had been always been incorporated in the presentation of information and in our communication practices, in print and now how that changes with new technologies. There are a couple of Australian academics who have characterised this position in relation to Anglo concept of literacy (which loosely means the the study of reading and writing ) by spelling it "l(IT)eracy" (Durrant, C., & Green, B. (2000). Literacy and the new technology in school education: Meeting the l(IT)eracy challenge. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 23(2), 89 - 109.). That is: writing and reading has always, already been technologised. "We defy augury. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow...The readiness is all." Hamlet is speaking to Horatio, at the end of a play during which his conflict has been the difficulty of human action. In "Thursday," human autonomy and initiative are ping ponging through the forms and structures of technology. The patterns of circuits and city streets, repetitious but somehow hypnotic, invoke technological determinism. Yet the woman has her thoughts and the man, his. They arrange to meet. They connect. All amid the hum of technology and the flitting, flickering "augury" of the birds. "There's a divinity that shapes our ends/Rough hew them how we will." Is it in us or the machine? That's the question I think "Thursday," poses. For me The drowning out of the birdsong and the serenity of the viewing platform illustrated the contrasts between everyday humdrum, noises no time to think lives that we live. Even as the guy blocks out the sun and treats it as an annoyance we are shown the role nature plays in our world. Unless we are forced( sometimes by things out of our control like a bird snagging a wire) we never just stop and if we do we can be lost as we have forgotten how to connect and really look at nature or the world away from predetermined content on a screen Autonomy was lost. The ability to think independently. The first upgrade is merely replacing an existing form of mind control. The characters slavishly sought and used newer and newer forms of technology replacing outmoded ones with ever bigger and better ones. This was despite the obvious dangers and pervasive nature of the technology. The redeem scene is the single individual rejecting the latest form of technology at the en Are you talkin about the bendito machine? I think you may have written in the wrong thread I also think this comment fits to the bendito machine even though I have to admit that Thursday has a similar message - or at least one the film's messages is our dependence on networks (in a concrete and an abstract way). No electricity - no work - no perspective (at least for some of the workers shown in the film). Important things like the sun seem to disturb us working with he computer... On the other hand, networks - esp. social networks - are important for our well-being. A crucial situation... And our learners feel probably the same: they think they depend on our input, on technical support and they're often afraid of swimming against the current instead of using the power of their peer group and its potential... Well, I think that one thing that is lost is the ability to let ourselves be bored. We rely on tech sometimes to the point where if we lose internet for a few minutes we can drive ourselves bananas (note the scene in the office with the office workers who had nothing to do). But even through tech sometimes we can gain that human contact, such as the woman e-mailing her date for that night so they can get together later on. Nature has a way of adapting, although not always in the ways we think. Although I did find it interesting that it took a bird's fake death for the character to realize how important life is, if only for a moment. I agree! I wanted to elaborate on your point about nature. I thought it was interesting that among all the technology (even the robotic humans) the bird(s) were the only natural beings. It adapts to being surrounded by technology and tries to find food for its family. Mistaking a wire for a worm, it disrupts the mindless technology forcing the robotic humans to adapt to their world (even if for a moment). Once technology is restored and the human is back in their tech driven society, the bird continues to do what it does best-fly. As it flies into a window, dies, and comes back to life, the human sees the bird in its most natural form. It's not tech driven but a hunter/gatherer and resilient to adversities. Reminding the human that it was once the same way (even if only just for a moment). Really interesting point about nature; although I thought at first the bird was using the wires to build her nest... But I also loved that the bird had adapted its song to the "song" of technology created by the woman's cell phone texts. Sorry Karen, I wanted to give your post a plus one, but I accidentally clicked -1! it won't let me change it. Megan, I loved what you pointed out about the bird reminding the human of it's wild roots. Seeing the bird flying through the city I though of its freedom. Despite the fact that the physical world is not ideal (block upon block of repeating buildings, completely un-organic design) the bird is still free to fly where he wants, when he wants. He reminds those of us who are bound to our technology that we can be free if we choose to go without it. It was also as if the bird was laughing at the people who took that insane elevator (that uses vast amounts of energy, materials) up to the sky (a long trip) to see the stars. If the people were able to break free from their obsession with technology, they could return to nature and have a much less stressful and unlimited glimpse at the beauty of the natural world. I also feel that the fact that the man in the story only had brief interactions with something 'beyond' technology but it didn't change his day to day life was the ultimate irony of the movie. Like when he floated in space and got the view, then it was over and done with and back to day-to-day life. His relationship with the woman also didn't really affect him. Thanks, Lindsey :-) Ah, the elevator: that was one of my other favourite parts about the bird; it's ability to do what the people could only do by machine (and on 2 for 1 ticket night!) Ella, I agree. It felt like the man was immersed in the anonymous nature of the technology. I really liked the visual grid of the city, and how that then became the grid-like pattern of his sheets on the bed. And the way he uses a robot bird as an alarm clock, while the real bird lives in nature. I don't think I would say "bored," but that we need to not expect to be "on" all the time, being engaged with something other than what surrounds us. It's almost like every moment is supposed to be some fantastical experience, or so is the image we are sold of a fulfilling existence. It seems like many of us just don't want to be alone with ourselves. There have some great comments on the juxtaposition of nature and technology in this video. I too, thought the bird was using wires to build nests (re: worm comment), but I think the greater point is that nature, despite technological changes, will always exist in some way or at least try to adapt. I think of so many instances in which worlds or civilizations destroy themselves and yet, nature still remains. I actually think the birds in this video depict a much less consumed adaption to technology. The birds still fly, still raise their young, and in general, take in their surroundings, making it their own. The humans in this video become much more consumed with technology to the point that anything peripherally non-technology related is ignored or purposely shut out. I think the scene where the workers go nuts because they have nothing to do while unplugged also shows us that different people«s attitudes regarding technology are different. The men are bored and frustrated; the woman uses her "free time" top connect with her husband - by means of another technology, which remains functional despite power loss. For me, it illustrates beautifully the dangers of generalization, because we can never predict the reactions of everybody, only of the average people. For me the woman in the park scene represents that we might lose the ability to sense our natural surroundings. We see the world around us through digital means and not our own eyes and ears. What is gained is the ability to rise to new heights and achieve technological wonders. This is what I thought of too, as I watched the video. The bird was singing and she didn't even take notice. When the power goes out and the technology ceases to work, she's OK with it because she still has her cell phone to use. Reminds me of what happens in my workplace when the network goes down. People think they need to go home or take a work break! we're too busy trying to recreate the natural world in a technology one instead of just focusing on the natural one. I listen to crickets every night digitally to fall asleep so I'm as guilty as the next. Yes, I find it very sad that nature is forgotten so fast today. Some people only see forests and hear silence at planified times in a very busy schedule. One day people will forget about all this technology and truly enjoy themselves I am definitely in agreement with this interpretation. While the technology is a means to gain knowledge and stay connected it's easy to lose yourself in the technology instead of submersing yourself in nature and life that is happening outside of the media bubble. However, the world is vast and technology is as well. In some ways you are probably able to find value in and admire the natural beauty of life and nature, but there is a big disconnect between say, pictures or videos online (I see this in myself on Pinterest and other websites with a lot of photography), and opening a window and hearing natural sounds or stepping into a park. At the same time, technology is a great tool to learn about and spread information about nature and the natural world, so I feel as though while the film may have been more dystopian, a balance could be struck between the two that doesn't marginalize the importance of the natural world that we belong to. Shutting out one or the other is limiting in the sense that both of them provide us with different, but useful, knowledge about the world, our lives, and ourselves. I agree, technology often seems to result in us forgetting about the natural world around us. But although technology seems all encompassing, the film shows the natural can still intrude and render it ineffective (bird breaking a wire, dirt on the man's hand). We are all in danger of allowing technology to alienate us from nature, and from each other, and it is a warning not to forget to stop and listen to the birds singing. Nature, on the other hand, seems to have adapted to accommodate technology (nesting in a dish, making a nest from wires), but seems a weak point of the film. After all, the only 'space' for nature in the city appears to be a green cross with a few trees. The only living nature we see is a single-parent (male) bird and its 3 fledglings. So what is lost to us? The beauty of nature, replaced by an automated beauty-experience that is cut-off at the programmed time. Nature can adapt, but only in a very limited way. I'm not sure how any of this relates to the classroom, since the classroom is also by its nature not part of the 'real' world, so I guess technology here just adds to an already artificial world. Celisa, the live crickets are stopping me from going to sleep where I am, I had to use earplugs a couple of nights ago and catch one that had sneaked into my house! I know that sounds pathetic. Visually, it think interface with nature is really beautifully captured in this film. The graphics that are almost entirely geometric - the grid of the city, the buildings, the cpdecor, also time is another grid that 'striates' life and so on - but the irregular shapes of nature - the leaves falling, the birds, the nest, the stars - can barely even be seen by the humans in the world they inhabit. They have lost access to, and the capacity to recognise unpredictability and irregularity. But the bird sees in more organic way - the red worms of the wires seem to feed the babies anyway (at least we don't see them choking on them and they seem to leave the nest and learn to fly in the regular way even if all they have to eat is wire). The long slow moment of the reverse vision where the bird is reflected in the retina of the man and the man is reflected in the retina dof the baby bird who then shakes himself and flies off suggests to me that all is not lost - perhaps we can learn to follow the birds? In some classrooms technology is overused. This can lead to a variety of problems. Many students learn best by physically and mentally interacting with what they are studying. If most of the teaching is done using a computer, these students' needs are not being met. Technology should be used to supplement the classroom curriculum, but should not be used as the sole source of learning. So true! The human characters in Thursday could represent those of us who mindlessly incorporate technology into our classes and curriculum, so much so that we actually become less creative and lose sight of why we started using technology in the first place. I so agree with the human interaction in the classroom. So many students are lacking family time and personal time at home, because of family's busy schedules. Or the child spends too much time on computer gaming. What I have seen is some loss in social interaction. So even though technology is a great resource and a visual attention getting for students, there is also an equal need for socializaton with time for human interactions in lessons. An interesting angle on this film! I remember attending a seminar on augmented reality and education. The seminar leader talked about an architecture class where they used QR codes embedded around the city to lead their students on a virtual scavenger hunt. I felt a bit "off" when hearing this. I could imagine the students with their phones out, scanning QRs and engaging with the information that showed up on their screen, rather than engage the architecture without the mediation. As this film shows, technology is not necessarily bad... it is the heart of just about everyone's livelihood, for better or worse. I think the interesting aspect here is the mediation aspect. The technology allowed people to fly like birds on "2 for 1 Thursday, but it was a mediated experience, like looking at architecture by scanning a QR code pasted outside a site and interacting in front of the real thing via a screen. The birds, on the other hand, would be able to engage the real deal, without mediation or limits. I agree. Most students learn better when the learning experience is collective and shared with other people. This opportunity can be lost in some classrooms where the teacher relies too much in individual computer-learner activities. In this world depicted in the short film "Thursday" humans gain efficiency and order in their lives. Everything is well planned and organised: routines, free time, streets, traffic and cities. On the other hand, humans loose spontaneity, will power, freedom and sense of wonder. Animals have lost their environment, so they need to gain in adaptability ( instead of branches they collect cables). In Education is the same, we, as teachers have to plan lessons but we cannot forget to leave spaces of freedom for both educators and students to not to loose our sense of wonder and to develop together our creativity. Angela you are so right!! I loved the part "not to loose our sense of wonder and to develop together our creativity" Thank you Silvana :) couldn't agree more with Angela. Thats what lost and gained at "Thursday". Angela, yes, I fear that people in general are losing their sense of wonder, especially of the natural world. Now the focus is on spending hours online, on FB, smartphones or Twitter. It's essential to encourage creativity, and to do this, people need time to think and feel and play, to experience life without being bombarded by technology! Excellent observation Angela, In the film technology has brought humans a lot, but it has cut them off from their natural surroundings. Technology allows the protagonists to wonder at the earth from space, but it has taken from them the ability to wonder at what little nature is left in their town. Did anybody else think of Escher when the town was shown in bird's eye view? Oh, and both the humans and the birds have agency, but the humans seem to have been encouraged by technology to surrender it. This animated lecture has some interesting ideas about changing paradigms in education: RSA Animate - Changing Paradigms http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa-animate-changing-paradigms saw that . But how's it connected to what we just saw? Yet at the same time, the technology was able to bring some wonder. The trip to space that provides momentary experience of something else. Even the bird flying high above the city wonders at the patterns of the regulated traffic. Despite the fact that sensory depravation had occurred to some extent, I thought this was a utopian message reason being, it shows the flow of the network of life. The bird is the means by which this is drawn together. A mocking bird sits in a tree as a woman walks past texting to friends. The bird mimics the sound the texting makes. The woman is one of many who works in an office. Meanwhile a man is sitting at his home computer when, at the office, the bird mistakes a wire for a worm and disrupts the whole office system. The bird uses the wire to build up her nest where there are three chicks. After work the woman texts the man to meet her, he and she go on a space adventure (a two for one special) to see the sights of the world below. The bird is trying to get her chicks to fly while still mimicking the sounds of electronics around her. One chick does learn to fly. When the man wakes up the next day, it is this chick that flies into his window. Stunned, the chick lays on the ledge while the man becomes more and more concerned that it may be dead. Finally, it revives and takes off joining its mother and siblings. In this short, technology is seen as a tool. It is a way for people to work and communicate, and provides order in society. The city, seen from above, looks like a giant neural network. The bird also uses technology in ways unforeseen. As a bird call and as a means of building her nest. The woman uses it as a communication tool to interact with different people. But none are so dependent on technology that they cannot survive without it. I love how the rhythms and music and bird sounds intertwine with the views of technology...there seems to be an underlying feeling of satisfaction with all the players. When they ALL went to space - both people and birds - it seemed to be saying that everyone has moments of rising above the ordinary, and also that they seemed to like what they saw when they looked out; they haven't lost their sense of wonder.Ê The man's short interaction with the bird when it ran into the window - such a good reminder to all of us of the fleetingness of it all... Yes, I loved the sense of wonder of the people who went up for the view. The music was beautiful, and they held hands, and they were lost in it - and then bam! it's over, go home. Other than that experience, their lives were completely planned and driven by technology, from the alarm clock, to the drive to work, through the work day. Even the poor guy who couldn't stop pressing the keyboard keys when the power went out didn't have any free will. And they were completely cut off from nature, so much that when there was finally almost contact between the stunned bird and the man, he could only watch helplessly through glass. This loss of wonder is not new to us. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay "Nature" remarks that if the stars were to come out anew, that we would be amazed. But there they are, night in and night out. And for the most part, we ignore them, as did countless generations before us. When I drive my car to work rather than bike, I miss out on the sounds of the city and nature. I will probably not notice the osprey or eagle soaring above the river or sitting in the tree. But when I bike, I have to look around more, if only for my safety, and I see so much more, hear so much more. and every once in awhile, I appreciate what I experience. I do the same in the mountains when I ski, or go on a long bike ride. No music in the ears as I want to hear and see. Perhaps I'm an anomaly, but we have so many chances to connect, but we (meaning 'I') have to unplug. I found the section where the characters were transported to outer space ambiguous. I felt on the one hand they had to go to an extreme in order to be able to admire a view - suggesting that normal life isn't exciting enough in the 'advanced' society, while on the other hand the technology enabled them to have an astonishing experience that wouldn't otherwise be possible. I think I come down on the side of it being negative, because they had no autonomy over the experience - apart from deciding to go they were controlled over the day through economic means (2 for the price of one), and the timing because someone (or something) decided when they went up and when they came down again I agree Cecila with your take on Ônormal life isn't enough interesting in advance societyÕ. My interpretation of that would be a ÔblasŽ stateÕ, or the paradox that humans are becoming increasingly incapable to digest the amount of the impressions they are exposed to on a daily base, living in technological Metropolis they create for the better . So, they end up without reactions, and in order to ÔrestartÕ themselves they search for additional dose of ultimate (extreme) daily impression (view point in this case) to overcome blase state and feel the impulse of being a live. The bird flying high also had a moment to wonder at t he traffic patterns below. Perhaps there are always opportunities for wonder in whatever environment, natural or technological, we are in. And for there to be wonder, it would seem that it would have to be fleeting and not at all ordinary. If we were only surrounded by nature and never experienced any technology how would we experience nature. Amazing how in the other film, Inbox, just replacing the computer with magical red bags brought back the wonder of two people taking separated by space. Celia - I do agree that the film suggests there is some determinism at work here, with technology shaping the experiences that are open to them But I think that the relationship between the two characters is worth picking up on. I don't know if anyone has seen the analysis by the sociologist Pieropaolo Donati, but he suggests that society is distinctively human in so far as it gives a key place to relationships. There is less scope for determinism here, say, than in relation to traffic flows. (And good to see that you are learning away here on the course, Celia!) Perhaps opportunities for wonder are also distinctively human, Felicia. It's certainly something that is hard to mass produce - something that the film also tends to emphasise with technology. In this short film I realized the reality of our times. People spend so much time with technology products that no longer know how to appreciate the finer things in life, like a sunset, for example. We are being manipulated by this trend and forgetting how to live. There are developments, but I don't see any gains. It was kind of ironic to see the mother bird bringing home a piece of wire to her children (metaphor for distorted ideas of sustenance? Educational computer games and such can fall under this category.). The employee repeatedly stabbing at his keyboard is so familiar that it makes me uneasy (depression, bloated concepts of efficiency and worth as defined by how well one fits into a system). As for the space-viewing... well, the little bird who took hours to fly about two feet seemed more satisfied than the people who were close enough to touch the stars--and that only until they were sucked into the tube and forced home. The most interesting scene was at the end, though. When the bird looked at the man whose face was pressed to the glass, he may have been momentarily puzzled because the man looked very much like a bird to him (even if you reject the idea that homo sapiens are 'animals,' we are still living things). This film presents a bit of utopia and distopia at the same time: Utopia - because people carry on with their personal lives and face to face relationships even though there is a strong presence of technology which also is used to improve work. Distopia - because there is a lost of nature life, not only in terms of environment but also in the capability of people to enjoy it and preserve it. I think tech has more agency in the film than the others elements, like nature Nice thesis, I have thought about the film in terms of dystopia but you are right, both ways are present in it. The couple and the birds seem to be happy in this techno world. Interesting. I notice that the couple smiled at one another. Also, the workers did not seem bothered by the technology breaking and put up their feet and checked their text messages. Could we say that the human and animal worlds are both blissful in their ignorance of what we, the objective viewers, see as a possible dystopia? The characters do seem content, though we wonder why from our vantage point. the only thing I did not understand was what the space elevator. But everything else I think is daily in anyÊcity Space elevator as an idea developed by the Russian scientist Yuri Artsutanov. Rope is held at one end on the surface of the planet (Earth), and others - at a fixed point above the planet orbit by centrifugal force. On the cable lift rises, carrying a payload. When lifting the load will be accelerated by the rotation of the Earth, which will allow for a large enough height to send him out of the Earth's gravitation. Space elevator wonderfully described by Arthur C. Clarke's novel "Fountains of Paradise." I thought it was interesting that in the first scene it shows the bird behind the woman but she does not take note of it. However, when they go up on the space elevator the signage on the elevator says amazing views, which happened to be a bird. To me, this is telling us there are amazing views right in front of us if we pay attention to the views instead of the technology. Technology has tied the society down through various day to day dependencies. It becomes harder and harder to disconnect from these things and fly free like a bird agreed. Disconnection from technology is a new life skill we need to teach the children in our classrooms. I really, really find this thought interesting. We always talk about being more connected through technology and there's always a big deal about being even more connected than we already are, but when do we talk about being disconnected? I know it's not uncommon to see articles pop up on news sites about recent research or just thoughts on how extremely connected employees and bosses find it very hard to release stress and actually disconnect from the daily grind. I can relate to this myself having worked in a position where our unit was mobile (and the job also), but the netbooks and phones come home and it's hard to disconnect work time from personal time. Connection is important, as is being connected, but I think it's also worth the time to understand how to be disconnected from the world and others. Being disconnected and even bored has meaning and can be a channel for creativity, thought, and many other different processes that can lead to greater gains. I think technology will help our understanding as human beings and our relation with the environment and other life forms. People tend to see technology far from our interaction with other living forms and not considering the positive effect this might bring in the future. The film Thursday depicts dichotomy in this relationship and education has been one of the most privileged area regarding innovation. We are stealing terrain from nature and transforming into modern society spaces, even we try to recreate nature through technology. Birds have to war against the machines for a piece of human food because there is no longer worms of grain at their disposal, they have to adapt in order to survive. Humans are loosing the simple joy of life, they must go to space in order to get a better view of the world. Parks are just open spaces where people walk through. Technology is overwhelming. I work as a teacher. Every work assigned to students must be double checked because it might have been "copied" from any website. That«s not the worse part, the worst occurs when the students don«t even care of reading what they are handling on, they relay on other people«s work without trying to understand the concepts. Information is available for everyone, but the idea is to read it, understand it and re-create it with individual points of view and experiences. Why was it called Thursday? Is Friday going to be different? I liked the way that shapes shifted into different things, an altering of perspective. The shut down of power affected the bird's world not at all. The elevator thing was a conundrum. At first it seemed that maybe their souls had been sucked into the ether sphere. All the workers at their computers were little different than all the mill workers of another century (except the work is less dangerous). It took thinking the bird died to jolt the man out of his everyday existence. But the bird wasn't dead. Maybe we just need to be able to alter our perspective to retain a sense of wonder. IÊthink it's called Thursday because the Space Elevator tickets are on sale (2 for 1) on Thursdays. Otherwise it's same as any other day and Friday is unlikely to be much different :) I think this film made a point that while technology provides many benefits, they are best used as a way to connect with and enhance the real world around us. The office workers were completely useless when their machines shut down... judging by the number of wires in the bird's nest, it's happened more than once, but the maintenance worker seemed unable to make the connection to what was going on around him in the real world and plug up the vent (despite the sound of birds chirping around him!) However, it is technology that finally takes the couple out of the monotony of the city and gives them a new vantage point they wouldn't have had before, and seems to lead to some kind of growth, happiness, and a connection between them. I think this is the strongest point to be made in regards to technology and education. I think the film ends by making the point that with all the technology around us it's easy to forget that the real world is still going on as well, but inevitably the real world bumps into you (or at least your window) and makes you pay attention. Hopefully we haven't forgotten how to when it does! I did like how the bird was mimicking the street-sweeper's beep, and then the man's alarm clock was designed to mimic nature. All throughout the bird was trying to adjust to the surrounds, hearing the new calls (chimes from the texting woman). Nature was confined to a simple, straight-lined cross and the "view" was simply of humanity's influence on the Earth, the criss cross of lights. I think there's a lack of user understanding in the technology they used, the train station attendant breathing and wping the hand to get it to work (saying that any error in technology is user based perhaps?.. that may be putting words in their mouth) I see this as a view of an all encompassing technology verses a persistent nature. The birds survive despite the interference of technology, and ultimately the people respond to nature despite that same technological interference. Technology was hailed as a means of freeing humankind to be more social, more natural, with more free time, more relationship time, more time to be outdoors (etc, etc). I remember 20+ years ago, they (who is they?) told us we would be a paperless society by now. If anything, technology has pushed us farther the other direction: busier, less social, less active, more inside, more urban, less time. The only couple time the couple shares (truly together) is when they go a bazillion miles up in space to view the world (and that's only because it's a sale on Thursday). Overall I think the film says dystopic. Neil, the argument can be made that technology has freed up our time to be more social and have more leisure (just think gains in productivity over the last several decades). The fact that our workdays aren't any shorter and, in many cases, much longer, is not often caused by technology. Bertrand Russell addressed this issue in his Praise of Idleness. The animation is reminiscent of 8 bit Atari/Activision art that relied on a repetition of graphic backgrounds. The patterns suggest a world that looks and feels like computer motherboards, not just from the vantage point of a few floors up on our cookie-cutter condos, but the world also seems to look the same even from miles above. I am reminded of something I noticed happen around 5 years ago when teaching digital arts courses. What was always an interesting course, one that created a diverse range of works, as unique as the students, the course become a series of short films wrapped and framed by ready-made templates from Macbooks. While the technology had opened up a limitless palette of design and communication in education, I have found that so much of the digital whiteboards/canvases (animoto, iMovie, instagram, etc.) have begun to all look the same. The easy to use services and prepackaged software are the digital versions of our suburban sprawl and box-store environments. I agree that the street grid system is like a computer motherboard although my first thought was how similar it was to the grids on the old computer games. Are we all living in a huge game? Where do reality and make-believe merge? Can we escape the automation of daily life and choose our own destiny? Maybe that is what the couple were doing? I think that the way that the bird mimics the sounds around it is like the way that we have used natures designs to build machines. It is a sort of irony but also we adapt the way we act and speak to fit in with our surroundings especially when we are in unfamiliar or challenging situations so as not to stand out and to survive. Maybe this is a dystopian struggle for survival? But then if ther is hope for the future maybe it has a utopian element. I'm glad you two have pointed out how the grid system resembles the art from older video games or a computer motherboard - that is something I also picked up from the film. It seems to imply, in a sense, that the world in Thursday is just an extension of technology, and when a piece of that technology breaks - only then, it seems, can the two characters break away to enjoy themselves. Ok, fine, technology enslaved us, etc, etc. There are some great points about how no matter the tech advances we are not any happier (overall) and are ever more disconnected from each other and the world around us. But here's a different angle to consider. Unlike the birds, we are not capable of flying on our own. Yet we keep dreaming of flight (one of the oldest dreams of mankind, it seems). To achieve our dream, we need a certain level of technology. To build a space elevator (or a much less technologically advanced contraption, such as, say a hot air balloon) we need a certain level of science and technology which also means a certain infrastructure to support it (and other technologies and infrastructure are a byproduct of scientific breakthroughs). I liked the overall idea of ??the film - a warning about the dangers of mechanization and automation of everything. It may be that people will become mechanisms without emotions and feelings. But I noticed the other related to education. I'm probably boring, but the authors of the film shows the ignorance of the technical details and it spoils vpechtatlenie. The authors would like to show the situations referred to the absurd and the artistic point of view, everything is fine. However, the technical points of view - a lot of errors, from a cable pull a bird to a space elevator and the space station in geostationary orbit ... I think the film depics how alomst every part of our lives can become dominated by technology. Our work, communication with others, social life. And we have integrated it or become so dependent on it that without it things come to a standstill. However other things haven't changed at all - human development, need for physical contact, need for food (I saw this depicted in the birds) so we still have to fulfil these basic needs. When thinking about education, having extra technology in the classroom can be great (the interactive whiteboard has many affordances) but the way people learn hasn't changed significantly over time. The way we develop etc. Unless we link the technology to how we learn it doesn't enhance the educational experience. This video was a little harder for me to follow (too many pretty colors, shapes and sounds all conflicting) but I like the general ideas behind it. People losing themselves in their phones, flipping out when the net cuts off at work, not being able to scan a hand print correctly when going through a scanner... it all sounds too familiar. The hand-scanner particularly resonated with me. I live in Japan and to get on the trains here you have to swipe pass card to get in the station. I spend about half the time reswiping it because my card is damaged, hidden too deep in my wallet, or because I just forgot to load it with more money. I usually end up taking the crd out of my wallet, wiping it on my pants to get any dirt or prints off and then it swipes fine (unless there's no cash on it). So when I saw the guy try to can his hand over and over again, then the security personnel wipe it off and then it let him through... I know that feel. The message this film is presenting to me is that humanity seems to have lost it's touch with nature. By and through technology we gained for instance the ability to fly and see earth from space but by and through the same technology we also lost the true meaning of communicating with one another and nature. As to the question who has agency here I think it is technology and not humans, might even be the bird because it is free wherease humans in this film are not. They still fall back on other means of technology even when the bird cuts the wire. Funny how Google Earth and all the amazing videos we can see on You Tube of exotic destinations only serve to make us feel detached from the very places they portray. The global village is a fantastic concept, but the problem is we stare at the world through screens, goggles, rather than seeing it through our actual eyes. Most people film everything now. I know many people travel to the most sublime locations only to spend 90% of their time recording or taking pictures of the geographical space. Experience is tainted by this type of seeing. We are looking at the world through a lens, rather than with our eyes. In this case we might as well stay home and participate in an all inclusive virtual vacation. When the couple looks at the stars they seem to be staring at pot lights, not actual stars, even the solar system seems tainted by this digital vision. Perhaps, they have forgotten how to see naturally, without the influence of technology? What is lost ? A good relationship with nature and what is gained? A certain ndependence from technology. It seems to be that human touch should be improved. Instead of making this video so dystopian, I wonder what are the ways that human touch can be kept in this digital age. The puzzle is, there had been time human wonder if humanity would lose in books or movies, and what now? The technologies have sure invaded our lives and it is an inevitable process. There are both advantages anddisadvantages about that. But while watching the film I was just thinking that it is, probably, necessary to chanage our focus from the influence of technologies on us to the ways how to make it just one side of our life that does not neglect the other sides. What I mean here is showing people that there are a lot of others thing we can enjoy as human beings instead of just being absorbed by technologies in different ways. Yes, technologies make our life eaisier and faster, but on the other side we still need to know how to calculate and do some simple operations, just in case the technology is broken down. I think it is important to remind the people about "old-fashioned" activities or even introduce them in order not to turn into robots and always be a human with feelings, emotions, ability to appreciate the beauty, keep on alive conversation and so on. To me, the message about technology is that it makes every day the same, makes people be like robots. Takes food away from animals because of automated processes. Makes people dependent on technology. Makes every house, street look the same. Every Thursday you can enjoy the view from above together for the price of one. But only for so long and you are automatically taken back. The gains of technology may be that amongst all these same looking buildings, you are still able to find a love one through using your phone... And the phones make bleepy noises for the birds to copy and sing along to... I think the birds have agency in this film: they can influence technology by damaging it. Most people have to wait till the expert fixes it. But when the bird flies against the window, it takes a little while and fixes itself. Free as a bird. Was anybody else reminded of a computer motherboard when they saw the entire community zoomed out? That's immediately what I thought of when I first saw it. Though, I guess I've always kind of noticed a symmetry between the two; I remember building a computer for the first time and thinking that the little chips and pieces on the motherboard looked like a tiny city. I wonder if this was intentional in the video? (I tried to read through this thread to see if anybody else had already mentioned this, so I'm sorry if somebody did and I missed it) Anyway, I identified with the message in this video that technology can be helpful and make us happy when it "works" like it's supposed to, but our reliance on it is dangerous. For example, when the bird ripped out one of the cords and the technology system "crashed," people began banging their heads off of desks and did not know what to do with themselves. I think this is symbolic of our over-reliance on technology. I don't know if I would say anybody or anything in this film has a sense of agency, though if I had to say something did, I would choose the bird. Although, even that is interesting in the sense that the bird (which, to me, represents nature in the film) is almost "killed" by technology (the window--we may not think of it as a technology in the same sense as a computer, but I would argue that the window itself is a technology) at the end of the film. Could this be a warning to us as humans? This one really struck home for me. The disconnect from nature -- particularly for children - is the topic my work focuses on. A great tongue in cheek video on the subject can be found here:Êhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyhRzZbU1i4. As the birds learn to adapt to the encroaching environment, man is seen not adapting nearly as well, struggling to move forward when technology goes down, or simply moving on to another technology, versus reaching out for human contact. I think this also spoke to the larger issue of the need for better urban planning in our cities and suburbs, calling for parks and greenways to help continue our connection to nature. Of course the "if you build it, will they come?" argument will always be present. The connection to nature and a technology balance must be present in schools, how we are raising our children, the workplace, etc. American children spend upwards of 7.5 hours per day on screen time, something that I believe must be monitored and capped. Jeremy asks: What is lost and gained for the human beings and animals depicted in this world? And then: Do you perceive similar themes of deficiency or enhancement in discussions of technology use in education? About the first question, I think, as ever, one would need to consider the starting point: the usual binaries - technology provides order/excessive control, security/oppression, excitement/regimented entertainment - don't really work, unless one assumes an ideal place we would all be at without technology (The birds in the film, on the other hand, seem to adapt, taking instinctively what is useful. Having said that, they have to live off what is discarded, when they can get to it). The same binaries are often found in the educational discourse around new technologies, in ways which can weaken the argument, I think. More contextualized critical reflections tend to be more helpful, in my view, to avoid absolutes and help formulate more nuanced considerations. Thanks for posting the link to the funny Dutch film Elizabeth. I really enjoyed it. However, I do feel that the tension is much more severe than we anticipate. Technology has the power to create a desired world for us when and where we want. We can be in the Amazons one minute and the other minute we can be in the virgin islands of Seychelles. But somewhere in between all this quest for seeing and listening to all that we desire at the click of a button, we forget to feel the real things in life. In terms of what we loose and what we gain, I think while on one hand as we are gaining momentum technologically, on the other hand we are loosing control over the rhythm of life. This rhythm is manifested in nature alone. I strongly feel that technological world should not replace the natural world, rather be an impetus to seek nature at its magnificent glory. Loved the visual aspect of the of the short, fun yet serious. What is lost and gained for the human beings and animals depicted in this world? Wow what a good question! I think that we gain a lot of positive things from technology like better tools, better health treatments, better ways of learning, better interaction and so on. But this short presents what I would say is my biggest worry and that is that we lose the aspect that makes us human.What I mean is that we lose interest in the things that nature offers us, the mysteries it holds, the beauty and grandeur that it holds. I think it is important to remember that what makes us humans and that is not only our thirst for knowledge and innovation, but our ability to show compassion and be sensible. I think it is part of our nature and the film depicts it clearly when the go and watch the view from the sky or when the man thought that the pigeon had died. Let me know what you guys think!