DTC 101 – Spring 2013

@cougar_sean

Both the Hacker Manifesto and the Cyborg Manifesto deal with the question of freedom and power within their texts. The very word “manifesto,” according to Merriam-Webster, is defined as “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.” Does this not, by the very definition, give way to the power of speech—and the freedom to say what you believe? The First Amendment of the United States’ Constitution applies to all US citizens. Why shouldn’t it be applied to hackers and what Haraway refers to as cyborgs? The hackers mention that they “exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias…” (Paragraph 13), which proves the existence of racial equality or rather the lack of race altogether in the digital world. The Cyborg Manifesto, on the other hand, discusses the equality of women in the workforce. It is said that there is a “continued intense sexual and racial division of labour, but considerable growth of membership in privileged occupational categories for many white women and people of colour” (Haraway 19). Beyond this, hackers feel a sense of connectedness to the machine, much how cyborgs feel, but also because “It does what I want it to” (Paragraph 9). This idea of bonding with a machine is not new, but the spread and support of people who seek out that connection is.

Gamer Culture Manifesto: Much like hackers, gamer culture is often times stereotyped and belittled because of misunderstandings. Society sees a person staring at a screen for endless hours, but a gamer sees a window into a virtual world. In life, a person may feel powerless, a slave to the man. But in games, one is only as limited as your own imagination. In many ways, games are an escape from this world and a window into the next.

@Heather94720356

In the ‘Hacker Manifesto’, the illustration is clear that there is one stereotype for a “hacker” and that type is of none other than a fraudulent criminal. It is clear that really very few hackers are actually criminals; their purpose is for the challenge and learning experience of creating something new out of a previous work possibly along with many other benefits. The argument of the ‘cyborg manifesto’ is that we are all, in some way, cyborgs in the sense that it includes any type of realities. According to Hathaway, “Cyborgs are socially constructed hybrids of machines and organisms.” Both of these display a similar passion for individualism in both the cyber and the real world by defending the right to explore and create at whatever pace the creator desires.

The freedom of online information has grown so rapidly, some describe it as limitless. You can enter any search engine and the imagination of the user is the only limit to what will be found on the internet. Societies around the world are so infused in the social networks that they have actually exposed themselves to the virtual world and its users. Many people do not realize the freedoms regular users, hackers, and private officials have access to once their information is submitted into cyberspace. This could be both positive and negative your information could either be used for a monumental level of good, or it can be utilized and turned into the darkest evil. Remember no one really knows who is on the other side of the networks of the cyber world or their intentions. Moderation of personal information is encouraged for the safety of yourself and other users. The internet shall not be used as a weapon for evil but a joyous electronic engine for knowledge and personal gain.

@RachaelS_DTC

The gamer culture is composed of freedom of speech, but also the power of promoting your own values. Most game designers are white males and their values are presented to the gamers, most of which are younger boys of a different race. These “games that are being designed unconsciously include the biases, opinions and reflections of their creators” (blackvoicenews.com). This has a negative impact on the young gamers. If their race is represented in a negative manor, then their self confidence is deteriorated. In other words, the values and perceptions of the white game makers are being promoted through the gamer culture to the gamers. Can this negative affect on the gamer culture be changed and improved by controlling the portrayal of characters? Why not? As a bridle controls a horse and protects the rider, restrictions on games can control the messages given to children and protect them from discrimination. The values of the game makers are forced upon young gamers with their power to control their message. In order to stop discrimination, restrictions on the portrayals of characters of different races need to be enforced. Unfortunately, restrictions remove the freedom game designers have. The gamer culture is based on the freedom of speech and creation. Shall we take away freedom in order to change the gamer culture to stop discrimination? I wish it was that easy. The fact is control is not the answer. “[W]e can learn from our fusions with animals and machines how not to be the Man…”(Manifesto).