REAL VS REEL: Technology and Pop Culture | by Ankur Tulsyan

INTRODUCTION

Movies and series have often established themselves as prodigal in the extent of their utility and efficiency but their corporeality will leave you astonished. Indubitably, there is some sort of resemblance between life through the lens of technology and real-life but there is a rudimentary difference between the two.

The show of connected life is not an actual one, meaning experiences are created by technology with the aim of approximating and simulating substantial experience. The problem with the “low-resolution” life is that though it mirrors real life, it lacks the high resolution and granularity of real life. It is no cloak and dagger that technology has made striking advances in cloning the experiences of real-life but it is not able to offer the full spectrum of sensory experiences.

The major visual effects used by most technological films are bullet time, computer-generated imagery, motion-controlled photography, digital compositing, virtual cinematography, matte painting and stop motion animation. The landmark films that have wreaked havoc on the tech world and left the audience wondering about the actuality of the tech universe have been critically appreciated below:-

IRON MAN’S WILL-O’-THE-WISP

Multibillionaire egoist Tony Stark’s laboratory will leave you wool-gathering and bewildered. Inspired by Elon Musk, the rich spoiled brat is much more than what meets the naked eye. The technology shown in the film is marvelous and comprises of rarities such as Repulsor Ray, Gauntlet, Arc Reactor, J.A.R.V.I.S, Unibeam projector, U and DUM-E, Suitcase armor, Extremis and Hulk Buster Armour which is enough to put the audience in an exhilarating state of mind and to lead them towards a sub-conscious comparison of technology in the movie with technology in the modern era of the twenty-first century or any technology for that matter that ever trod the earth’s surface.

INNOVATION IN REALITY

• In 2016, Mark Zuckerberg developed his very own AI assistant inspired by J.A.R.V.I.S. Zuckerberg’s version of J.A.R.V.I.S. is not nearly as advanced but can control his home settings (including lights, temperature, appliances, music, and security).

• Richard Browning, a British inventor, and entrepreneur, invented a body controlled jet engine power unit called ‘Daedalus’. He even took a flight on 3rd April 2019 outside Prague’s Zofin Palace to show off his suit to the public.

• Even Iron Man’s gauntlet, designed to create a sonic blast, came to life when Patrick Priebe, a German innovator, created his own arm-mounted glove that mirrors Iron man’s micro missile launching platform.

• On the other side of our planet, South Korean designer Jinha Lee is trying to make computer screens non-existent much like Tony Stark’s computer system.

THE MATRIX’S PHANTASM

The multi-tech billion-dollar film basically features two technological phenomena mixed with psychological ones. First, the movie demonstrates the world we actually live in as a computer program created by AI machines in the future. Second, virtual reality technology redefines the meaning of the phrase “plugged-in”.

The movie makes use of various tools and techniques of media such as slow-motion effects, bullet time, digital composting, and stop motion animation.

Imagine it’s the year 2190; AI has dominated the mortal human race. Mankind is enslaved and imprisoned in a Virtual Reality System. Although the scenario is unrealistic, it still makes us speculate that maybe we’re in a Matrix and machines are controlling us!

INNOVATION IN REALITY

• In real life, Siri and Google Assistant are popular forms of AI.

• The Oculus Rift comes a little too close to generating the feeling of being totally immersed in virtual reality.

• The closest thing to the multi-tech film is given by engineers at Oculus Rift who have hammered down positional tracking, leading to the feeling that virtual animation moves with the user’s head, with low persistence OLED display, mimicking even the blinking of eyes.

ELYSIUM’S KAFKAESQUE

The film brings you into a universe in 2154 where humanity is unjustly divided into two categories: the predominant ultra-rich humans who live aboard a space station called “Elysium” and humans who are the devastated, impoverished ruins of their former selves and are forced to remain on Earth.

Saucer drones patrol the skies, rail guns cut men to ribbons, robots enforce order, bullets seek their targets, exoskeletons confer human strength and agility, and there’s a healing machine which can cure any illness. This encompasses the cabbalistic world of Elysium, a big-budget sci-fi action-adventure.

The idea of an advanced human civilization living aboard an international space station somewhere in the universe is quite debatable and cannot be analyzed simply in black and white.

INNOVATION IN REALITY

• In Japan, two companies- Honda and Cyberdyne are already leasing out exoskeletons used by Matt Damon to hospitals and humans.

• Lockheed Martin is developing an exoskeleton called HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier) which can lift 200 pounds and was tested on real soldiers in 2011.

• Med Bot has been designed by Veena Robotics to be used in all types of battlefield combats.

• The aircraft and helicarrier used in Elysium are similar to V-22 Ospreys, with rockets instead of rotors.

PACIFIC RIM’S IGNIS FATUUS

The action-packed electrifying movie features Jaegers which are gigantic humanoid mechas created by the human race to defend itself against grotesque schizophrenic demons emerging from a portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As shown in the movie, each Jaeger is controlled by two pilots, and the more in sync and compatible these two minds are, the more effective and efficient is the Jaeger. Though mechas have been a staple and fundamental base for sci-fi movies, its origin can be traced back to movies such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Avatar, Gundam series, and many more. However, the possibility of such a thing to walk across the earth in full vigor is infinitesimal.

INNOVATION IN REALITY

• Using minds to control machines is already a reality. Today’s Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) allow people to perform basic tasks by a medical technique known as electroencephalography.

• In reality, the closest thing to the Jaegar was built by Sudobashi Heavy Industries in Japan: called a Kurata, it is a 13 foot, 12,000-pound wearable robot that can be purchased for $1.3 million.

PROMETHEUS’ PANACHE

The film, which comes from the mind of Ridley Scott who is often considered the Godfather of Hollywood Sci-Fi film-making, revolutionizes how humans view technology and rivet the audience’s attention, leading them to a soul-stirring and emotionally surcharged technological journey. In 2093, Weyland Industries- a hyperbolic composite of Apple, Google, and SpaceX- sends a team of humans, equipped with hyper-sleep chambers, an eighth-generation humanoid android named David, an automated medical procedure pod and spectrographic mapping drones, on a mission to find the creator of humanity.

INNOVATION IN REALITY

• We are miles away from humanoid androids and there is absolutely no scope in reality for hyper-sleep.

• A fully automated Medical Procedure Pod is used by the doctors at St. Thomas Hospital in the UK for experimental purposes, by using Microsoft Kinect technology during surgical procedures.

• Prometheus’s real-time mapping orb is slowly floating towards the brink of reality. Google Street View handheld for local mapping might be scratching the surface for the same.

• The mapping drones that scan alien habitat are very real and are currently used by NASA, ISRO, and Space-X.

CONCLUSION

Technology, which people deemed impossible to exist centuries ago and which appeared only as a figment of our imaginations, has become an essential part of our daily lives. Even researchers and innovators look into the elaborate technological advances shown in the movies and derive inspiration from them to pursue advancement in technology.

“Tricorders” which first caught the audience’s eye in the Star Trek original series released in 1966, are now called smartphones and are owned by a major part of the human population. Virtual reality, one of the most popular technologies for tech-savvy persons is ever developing and evolving. With each passing day, it is advancing one step closer to actuality. Considered a wild goose chase until 1962, it first made its appearance in 1962 cartoon series Jet Sons, but today smartwatches are very trendy and extremely sought-after by our generation. 2001-A Space Odyssey exhilarated its fans with the video calling technique which, in real life, Skype made possible in 2003. Motion sensors, once considered a futuristic technology, are now a reality. As fascinating as ever, but existing only in Subway Surfers and movies, the Hover Board was made a reality by Lexus in 2018. Back To The Future Part II left us awestruck with its self-tying shoelaces, which have now been developed by Nike and named HyperAdapt 1.0. A number of Hollywood movies have shown us the dream of self-driving cars, but these were converted into reality by Tesla and tech giant Google.

Indubitably, the technology shown in the sci-fi movies is nowhere near the current scenario (for the most part of it) and seems like a personal whim and fancy of the moviemakers, but in reality, it paves the path for turning dreams into reality! The only requirement for the above task to be accomplished against the incompetence of our present minds is to stand tall against the test of time and remain as inquisitive and curious as ever.