In an interview with Benjamin Woolley filmed in 1997 for BBC's The Net, science fiction author William Gibson anticipates the effect of the internet on celebrity culture.
Funny thing is that nowdays internet is not for "sharing recepies with family" but it has a lot to do with what Gibson described on he's books. Dominated by mass media and big multimillionaire companies compiting for information. So... Gibson was right.
Over the years weve seen an amalgamation of dystopian novels become real. Starting in the 60s to 90s it was more Huxlyean, from the 90s to the present it's becoming more Orwellian, and we'll be sliding into a Gibsonian future before long. I'm an armchair dystopian futurist scholar of sorts, as I've read them all.
The thing that gets me about Gibson's amazing future vision is that in so much of his work, he describes his characters as sensing the patterns of human evolution - I feel this is a reflection of what he himself has done in creating his works.
As an SF writer, the intro dude is entirely wrong. I've never seen an SF writer believe that he/she is a seer who is able to somehow look into the future. Neither have I met one who thought their writing could do just that. SF uses real problems and makes a story about what "could be" or what "should be" but not what "will be." It's using science and (most often) the possible future as a backdrop for the storytelling and conveying particular messages.
I noticed that as well, I thought it strange that he would even bring up the idea that a particular SF writer was any less qualified as a storyteller for making 'wrong' predictions. Perhaps there was some context for that discussion at the time he was trying to dissuade as a journalist, but alas it seems irrelevant to even ask now. SF is fiction, I play Shadowrun and much of the questions about why the world does not look that way is essentially due to a splitting of timelines. I can only guess that people at the time, or at least this guy or someone he spoke to could not make that distinction of taking a concept to some logical conclusion or creating a self-contained universe.
Agreed, but having said that, Gibson was startlingly accurate in his portrayal of the near-future earth. So many elements of Gibson and cyberpunk generally have come to pass, it's quite uncanny.
Years ago a read a SPUTNIK article about SF, with a Soviet viewpoint. And the writer started the article with "How many stotories start with "What if...". Um, none that I know of!
Gibson's vision is still a possibility. Google Glass, Hololens, Oculus Rift, etc. are going to make it possible for us to live connected to the Internet. I imagine virtual pop idols like Rei Toei in Idoru will become pretty common, and nerdy 13 year olds will have digital girlfriends/waifus instead of real ones.
@quertovich I don't know about that...but he grew up in the 60s. He did a lot of drugs. I heard he managed to get out of getting drafted because he honestly told the draft board "My intention in life is to sample every mind-altering substance in existence".
Very good video. Gibson always has good insight. It's pretty sad that I have to go online and look hard for good documentaries, when some of the deep/interesting programs should really be delivered to us via TV. Most of the current TV channels that are suppose to show educational programing are mostly presenting Reality TV entertainment. However, maybe reality entertainment is what the public really wants...oh well....
@MrJackswan Gibson is suggesting that when a new technology comes about, we will utilize it, no stopping that, unless it is unmarketable like he said. But, at the end he was talking about our nature to obsession with new technology, are over zealousness sometimes to use it 24/7, or some peoples total rejections of it. He suggests we should take a careful eye to new technologies, try to speculate the unseen consequences, appreciating and being critical of it, in one first gaze.
too bad that panzy interviewer chickened out when gibson comes up with a POLITICAL implication on the debate. he seems to piss his pants at this, sure would've been real cool to see re-questioning to let gibson develop the subject a little more
@rivethead1982 It is what the public really wants. The public is all too willing to just give in to the machine and do whatever the big corporations tell them to do. It breaks my heart that we have to try so hard to find any interesting and useful information!
First Macintosh released January 24, 1984- according to my pre-cursory web search. Still an interesting fact that the first mackintosh and the necromancer was released the same here What exactly did William Gibson say about white separatist?
..i think it would perhaps be more apt to have suggested Rebecca Black's 'Friday'...S.Boyle does have talent so there was at least a chance of a 'normal' rise to fame..whereas it did need the net alone to create the Rebecca Black phenomena??
Seems like the most interesting comment is the one about ambivalence at the end. I wish there was more on that here, because I don't really get it. Don't want to sell him short, but it sounds to me as if Gibson is just playing it safe, just trying to not go to any kind of extreme on the question. My own automatic feeling is that when something new comes along, you should be thinking of how to utilize it, not be taking a neutral attitude- I'm no expert, but to me it seems immediately apparent..
1984 wrong? #Bullshit #BigBrother sees all. Televisions monitor what you do, some have cameras as in the television one could never turn off, smart meters, mobile phones, 5 Eyes: all watching and sending the information to Big Brother ie Fedetal USA.
