Pattern Recognition Brainstorming

Mystery and/or Spy Genre of Fiction

As a mystery/spy novel aficionado, I thought this book has an interesting plot line. Who is this “Garage Kubrick” whose short, seemingly unrelated clips captured the attention of the whole world? Why is he (or she) doing it? In order to advertise something? For the fun of it? To simply play with people’s minds? Those questions I feel are the essence of the mystery portion of the novel. And then there are those mentions of James Bond and his tactics for security breaches that Cayce adamantly follows. Furthermore, there is espionage with Dorotea serving as an international spy, and the creation of fake personas with Keiko, Parkaboy’s fictional Japanese girl. There is the central figure Hubertus Bigend, like Bond’s M, who orchestrates the schemes and has the connections and the money. There is the sidekick, Boone Chu, who tags along and provides vital pieces of information. There are enemies and impending violence, and high stakes in case the plan goes wrong (the maker will cease creating more of the videos). All in all, Gibson could consider writing under Ian Fleming’s genre if he ever needs a change in scenery.

Internet and the Prospects of Online Social Networks

The main plot in the novel seems to center around the Internet and the videos posted on F:F:F. Social networks are where people connect without confrontation, where they interact while experiencing the comforts of their home or personal space.  It’s where they can interject opinions and tear down those of others, where they can discuss things important to them without going through the dilly-dallying of small talk. In Gibson’s world, the people following the mysterious footage can connect with other “believers” and share a sense of community and secrecy. That’s why Cayce was shocked when Bigend asked her what she thought of The Kiss. Cayce believed her work to be separate from her life with the forum and when Bigend proposed to merge those two worlds together, it left her feeling confused. The reason that online social networks have catapulted to such great heights as they have, is because people turn to them as others would turn to books or movies. It’s a sense of detachment from dull and dreary lifestyles, a place where one can focus on being someone else. In the “real” world, Cayce is a logo-phobic cool hunter who lives in a house with robots. On F:F:F, she is one of the footage enthusiasts with remarkable insight and high connections. Everyone, for the most part, respects what Cayce says on F:F:F. Not everyone (ex. Dorotea) respects what Cayce says while she’s at work. It leaves little doubt to why she’s so eager to sign in on the forum every day.

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner was written in the first person singular point of view so that the reader could be presented with the facts and gossip regarding Emily as any newcomer to that small town would have been. Emily’s life generates intrigue and curiosity since the narrator and the rest of the townsfolk barely knew anything about the title character besides the fact that she was a lonely, old woman cooped up in her dusty and unkempt house for most of her life.

Tobe, on the other hand, was there with Emily for that blurred part of her existence. He knows what really occurred between her and Homer and why her supposed beau’s dead body was found on Emily’s bed. While the rest of the town looked up on Emily as an awed figure, a type of local celebrity, Tobe knows Emily in her human state. True, he may not have said a word to her during his time as her manservant, but living in close proximity with others usually gives one insight into their true natures. Tobe’s version of the story would probably be more factual. He may not have spoken to Emily very often, but he still chose to remain with her until her death. His story would relay the events in a matter-of-fact style, yet with a hint of guardedness. He was not someone that Emily confided with, him being her servant, so the information he has was probably what he stockpiled from eavesdropping or verbal slip-ups. Even though Tobe may know what went on in Emily’s mind, his narration of the story would be quite biased. He might have even felt a little resentment towards his owner and that would have colored the facts.

Homer is another story. The man dies before the story even finishes! The last thing he may have thought was that Emily and he had patched up things between them since he had left her for a period of time. Little did he know, the woman that he believed to be a friend (since they seemed to be nothing more) was actually planning to poison him. Homer knows Emily in a different light than most people. She actually spoke more than a few words to him, for one. He liked her well enough to visit her. Nevertheless, he still did not see the violent side of Emily that ended his life.  His take on the story would be honest and limited.

All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace by Richard Brautigan

     The title of Brautigan’s poem, “All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace,” itself seems to read as ridiculous. Brautigan appears to mock the notion of technology and nature coexisting peacefully, almost giving machines the place of God as “compassionate protectors” and controllers of fate. In the first stanza, Brautigan compares “pure water touching clear sky” with “a cybernetic meadow where mammals and computers live together in mutually programming harmony.” While the former scene consists of two natural things (water, sky), the latter does not (mammals and computers together in nature?); it almost seems that Brautigan chose two very contrasting scenes to invalidate that comparison he was making in the first place. Through the verse “the sooner the better”  (first stanza, second line), Brautigan seems to imply that the issue with technology is only going to get worse so the reasonable thing for all of us to do is to accept and advocate for a world where the natural and the man-made can coexist, as quickly as possible. It seems like he was quite reluctant to accept the idea himself, especially when he says “I like to think (it has to be!)” in the first and second lines of the third stanza.

     Brautigan’s poem could be considered as pro-technology as well. Each stanza contains the description of a picture where nature and technology exist side-by-side on peaceful and symbiotic terms, like the “cybernetic forest filled with pines and electronics.” In the third stanza, Brautigan credits the “machines of loving grace” with watching over humans and freeing them of their labors. Those lines might suggest the possibility that machines could become efficient enough to carry out work to lighten the human load and thereby allow for time to bond with nature or return “to our mammal brothers and sisters.”

     Personally, I feel Brautigan’s poem casts a negative light on technology in general. It could be that Brautigan wrote a poem that at first seems accepting of machinery to appease those who invited him to stay at Cal Tech. However, certain clues and the poem’s overall tone seems to entail a hidden, yet deeper meaning, one that does not necessarily promote the use of technology and its advances.