With the widespread commercialization of the cordless telephone and the birth of the internet in the early 1980's, humanity became connected in a way that would be incomprehensible to earlier generations. The trend of connection has since kept up with the invention of the cellphone and social media, which allow you to instantly communicate with nearly anyone, anytime. This drastic increase in connectivity has effected the rate at which information spreads, how cultures blend, how we treat each other, and so much more, all of which have an effect on the art and media created after the 1980's.
My first work for my Age of Connectivity exhibit is the 2019 videogame "Death Stranding", developed by Hideo Kojima. I'm not sure if videogames count as a work for use in an exhibit, but I'm going to use it anyways because I don't think there's enough time for me to email the professor to ask, get a response, and finish the assignment in time. This game is so connected to connectivity that I couldn't not choose it for this exhibit. I'm going to start with my aesthetic reaction before moving onto how it relates to the theme, because the relation to the theme stuff will have a lot of spoilers and I want anyone who wants to play this game to at least be able read some of this without spoilers. I will say when I'm getting into spoiler territory for anyone who wants to play the game. My aesthetic reaction to this game is beyond positive, I highly recommend anyone who plays videogames to stop reading before the spoiler part and check this game out. While the game takes place in the US, its terrain is entirely based off of Iceland and it is beautiful.
This is a link to the opening cinematic, which for the first minute and a half just shows the landscapes that are present throughout the game. It starts by saying spoilers but it is lying, it is the first few minutes of the game, I would not count that as spoilers. I especially like the upside-down rainbow show and the riverbed shot, which I have placed below.
This shot reminds me of home, I grew up within walking distance of the Matanuska river, which looked a lot like the river in the image at certain spots. I think the fog contributes greatly to this shot. Without the fog, this would be a magnificent and uplifting view, but with the fog, things fade ominously in the distance and the lighting is subdued, which brings the mood along with it
I find the clouds and terrain to be very pretty, and the upside-down rainbow perfectly delivers the feeling of what once was pure being corrupted and wrong. It is much more visible in the game and in the opening cinematic. The clouds alone could seem almost heavenly, but with the dark terrain beneath and the upside-down rainbow, it gives it a much darker mood.
I recommend anyone who wants to play this game in the future skip the rest of the Death Stranding part of the exhibit, because I will now be getting into spoilers. Kojima takes every single possible opportunity to shove the theme of connection in the players face. The name, Death Stranding, comes from the in game event of the same name where the living and dead became connected, resulting in lots of not good things. Of the not good things, the most important for this exhibit is that society became almost entirely disconnected, and it is the main characters job to reconnect all of society. You play as Sam Porter Bridges. His first last name comes his occupation. Until just after the start of the game, Sam worked as a porter, which is someone who simply delivers things. His second last name is less important for the sake of this exhibit and so I won't be explaining it, or any of the other last names he uses throughout the game. Porters are one of the few ways that society remained connected, because without the internet or an automated mail service, porters are the only way for people to communicate long distance. A couple hours into the game, you are recruited by your mother (the president of what is left of the USA(don't question it)) to finish setting up the "chiral network", which was started by your adopted sister who has god like powers and is also the soul of extinction(don't question it) and is also the same entity as your mother but also separate(don't question it).The chiral network will allow instant communication between the remaining cities by sending information through limbo(don't question it), firmly reconnecting society. You are tasked with traveling from coast to coast, connecting the network as you go, and acting as the "strand" that will tie society together again. Gameplay wise, objects which you place in game to help navigate the terrain may appear in other players games, as a way of showing that all players are connected and traversing the country is a collaborative effort. There's also a like system; when you encounter another players placed object, you may like it any amount of times by repeatedly tapping on the ps4 controllers touch pad. The more an object is liked, the more likely it is to show up in other players games to help them on their journey. The symbolism of connection persists throughout the game, this is just a few examples I could come up with off the top of my head. The game is all about connection through technology, but it prominently features connection through family as well. If you desperately need answers for all the "don't question it" things, the Whitelight video in the sources has all the answers, it's a quick watch.
The second work of my Age of Connection exhibit is the 2019 film "Us", directed by Jordan Peele. This movie was filmed and takes place in California, but it has scenes featuring a variety of states. "Us" is a horror movie about a ton of (several million) doppelgangers appearing, killing their counterpart, and then reenacting the "Hands Across America" charity event. This movie displays connection in various ways. The word "us" is used to connect yourself and others in a sentence, and its the title of the movie. The doppelgangers display connection in the movie through the mimicry of their counterpart and their connected souls, which they wish to disconnect through murder. The charity event that they reenact is about connecting the country, coast to coast, and raising funds to fight homelessness and hunger. I have not watched the movie myself, only reviews, so for my aesthetic reaction I will be looking at the movie poster above. The movie poster does wonders to express creepiness or unease. The placement of the character in the center surrounded by black reminds me of something suddenly emerging from the shadows, which is a common way horror movies scare the shit out of viewers, or in the case of things emerging not so suddenly, a way of building a ton of tension and unease. The widely opened eye gives a sense of being watched, which is an uneasy feeling for sure. The director has stated that the movie is about ourselves being our worst enemies despite our fear of others, which I interpret as calling the fear of others unnecessary to a degree; why fear others when the thing we SHOULD fear most is ourselves. By dropping the fear of others, you can form more connections. This movie is very much about connection through circumstance, which fits well with the movies other theme of class struggle.
The third work of my Age of Connection exhibit is "We're All in this Together", a song featured in the 2006 musical/romance "High School Musical", directed by Kenny Ortega. "We're all in this together" is sung by the cast of high school musical, acting as high school students. It's about the high school students all being in this together. The song talks about how every student is unique in their own right in the third stanza, but they still belong together, connected, as students, as friends, and as teammates. This song is an absolute bop, a banger even. It's well placed within the story, the basketball team had just won their game which was super hype and the song keeps the vibes up perfectly, leaving the movie with a well deserved energetic end.
The fourth work of my Age of Connection exhibit is the statue of Balto in my hometown of Palmer. I'm not sure when the statue was put there, I couldn't find it on the visitor center website. If I was home I would just go and look at the plaque, but sadly I am in Fairbanks. I think this statue is very aesthetically pleasing, and I have very fond memories of it. It's in downtown palmer, within walking distance of the library, Amoosement park, my church, the old Fred Meyers, the middle school, the senior center, the train station, and various restaurants that I love. These are all places that I loved going to as a child, and they're all very close to the statue, so I saw it often. I've booped its nose a good amount of times, and for a while I thought it was a statue of my own dog that had died, until I learned to read. There's a story to be told of the connection between the musher and Balto, and a story of connecting two towns to deliver a serum, but those were all long before the allowed time frame. The connection that this statue symbolizes is to me personally, my childhood, my memories of my dog, and my time growing up in Palmer. That connection was formed in like 2008.
The fifth work of my Age of Connection exhibit is the Japanese anime series "
Neon Genesis Evangelion". It was directed by Hideaki Anno and was first broadcasted in 1995 in Japan. I just finished watching this show yesterday, and realized it would be perfect for this theme. This is the oldest anime I've watched by almost exactly a decade, and the difference in animation quality is jarringly apparent, yet a refreshing departure from the extremely smooth animation of modern anime like Jujutsu Kaizen. This show depicts a lot of biblical figures in a VERY unappealing manner, and that's something I actually quite like. Biblical entities tend to have power beyond human comprehension, it makes sense that they would take on forms that match that. The angels featured in this show almost all take on very unhuman forms. Only 3 of them naturally have 2 arms and 2 legs, and one was designed to have a human figure. The rest take on animalistic or Lovecraftian appearances. To religious individuals, this rancid depiction of figures they venerate can elicit a negative reaction, however I am nonreligious, and I think these depictions are sick as hell. This shows relation to the theme of connection is a little odd, but as apparent as Death Stranding. Connection in the other works is in the form of technology, family, friendships, companionship, personal history, and teammates. In
Neon Genesis Evangelion, however, connection is the dissolution of everything it means to be an individual. Like Death Stranding, the show follows the events of an unnatural disaster of biblical proportions. In Death Stranding, it was the blending of life and death. In NGE, it was the blending of part of humanity, literally, everyone affected got turned into "soup". The human "soup" incident became known as the second impact, and 15 years later when the show occurs, the main antagonists are trying to create the third impact, which is like the second one but on a global scale. The reason they wanted to create the third impact was to connect all of humanity to the highest degree. When turned to human "soup", the characters are not simply dead. Instead their consciousness is connected with every single other consciousness in the "soup", and since everyone is one big pile of soup, their bodies(what's left of them at least) are also connected. When that happens, the concept of being an individual kind of breaks down, because they are all one body and one mind. That is connection to the highest degree, its kind of gross but it still counts. The red sea in front of the two characters in the image I included is the human soup, the two characters in the foreground are there because they maintained their individuality, and the massive head in the back is the deity that caused the soupification.
Sources
University System of Georgia "
A Brief History of the Internet" Feb 18 2002
Hi Sawyer, I really liked your analysis of the theme of connectivity across various art forms. It is very interesting. Your exploration of "Death Stranding" goes into its thematic emphasis on societal disconnection and the subsequent quest for reconnection. Similarly, your thoughts into "Us" and "High School Musical" offer perspectives on connection through horror and unity, respectively. Your personal reflection on the statue of Balto in your hometown adds a touching dimension to the discussion. Overall, your selection of artworks and your insights into their thematic connections to the age of connectivity provide a look into the “1980’s and now” era. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
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