#sharing subject

Authors: Maria Corbett, Christian Devon , Mariam Rija, and Juliana Guyt

Analyze the vision of the technological determinism that frame Minority Report. Does it align with hard or soft technological essentialism?  

Technological determinism is the belief that “changes in technology exert a greater influence on societies and their processes than any other factor,” (Smith, 1994). Smith argues that technological determinism has a strong role in American culture, and this is explored in the popular Steven Spielberg film the Minority Report (2002) and the 1956 short story inspiration for the film of the same name by Phillip K. Dick.   

Traditionally, technological determinism is viewed from a hard essentialist perspective, one that leaves no room for human agency with the rise of technology (McLuhan, 1964). However, this ideology has since been challenged. In contrast with this view, soft technological essentialism holds that “the impacts of technologies are socially and culturally constructed by the ways in which they are employed by humans,” (Taffel, 2013). This is to say that humans do play a role in deciding their own destinies, even in a world that is seemingly controlled by technology.

The ideology of hard technological essentialism is illuminated in the utopian society setting of Minority Report. The challenge to this ideal is presented through the character Danny Whitmore as he points out to the pre-crime department that their system is inherently flawed because it assumes infallibility when this is impossible if humans are involved. Chief Anderton, the head of the department, subscribed to the ideal that humans have no role and therefore cannot taint the perfection of the technology that governed their society. The system is further scrutinized by Chief Anderton’s situation itself, as it begged for a more subjective, soft technological essentialism that considers room for error, change, and humanity interwoven in a society dominated by advanced technology.

As mentioned above, technology rules D.C. and the surrounding areas in the year 2054. It is inescapable and omnipresent; embedded in newspapers, in malls, and most importantly, in the criminal justice system. People have come to worship the “pre-cogs” as deities, especially since their lives are at their mercy. While this scenario points to hard technological essentialism, it is important to note the human aspect in this system before the protagonist challenges it. Human police with no special abilities are the ones utilizing this technology to find the supposed murderers and stop them before they happen, and it is human input that advertising relies on to make suggestions for future purchases to customers. Despite this, I believe that due to this community’s acceptance and reliance on technology as infallible and integral to their lives, a hard determinism frames the Minority Report before the flaws in the system are exposed. Because people have accepted the narrative that “technology knows best” and have allowed it to control their lives, it is evident that the film presents and then questions the validity of hard technological essentialism.

Contrast this with the social shaping of technology approach:

Social Shaping of technology is the concept that there are choices in both the design of individual artifacts and systems and in the direction of programs.As Robin A. Williams says, “If technology does not emerge from the unfolding of a predetermined logic or a single determinant, then innovation is a 'garden of forking paths'. Different routes are available, potentially leading to different technological outcomes.” Minority Report suggests that there are no other possible outcomes to the future, what happens in the future is and will always be going to happen. No matter if the person ends up doing it, if you stop them, they have the justice to arrest them because it is going to happen. “Different routes are available, potentially leading to different technological outcomes. Significantly, these choices could have differing implications for society and for particular social groups.”(Robin A. Williams and David Edge (1996). People are too quick to accept technology and may assume that it is always right, but by challenging this like the protagonist did in Minority Report, it show that it can make flaws and the future may be able to change, while others thought that it couldn't.

Situate your cluster of theories in the social shaping of technology approach:

This data has become very meaningful, both when looked at individually as well as when looked at along with other pieces of data. This has occurred because of the fact that instead of forcing all the pieces of data to rely on each other to come together in order to create meaning, each of the individual pieces of data have their own meaning, which then provides various pieces of information to the economy. Because they are able to continuously provide information, the economy is continuously receiving and gaining new information. People have taken power in creating their own statuses via social media networking sites as well as the important component : the ability to regenerating new statuses over and over again, whenever they please and whenever they have an update to make. This is also a social platform for producers to sell their products, finding more and more consumers, and therefore, making more and more profit. For example, advertisements promote their products through various social media platforms, such as Facebook, in an effort to convince more people to purchase their products, providing them with a greater amount of profit. These advertisers can also be referred to as “Sharing Subjects”. Sharing Subjects are those that continuously share the media, making sure that the different media forms are “spreadable”, as it is referred to in this particular text.

What elements of the movie do your cluster of theories illuminate and/or help you appreciate?

Prosumption is the production and consumption of material online. I think that the movie showed this idea well when the woman credited with the creation of the precogs scoffs at the idea that she was truly the creator. She talks about how she was able to keep only three of the children affected by drugs alive and so condemned them to serve a purpose that seemed to be more mechanical than human. The idea that these people were property was evident throughout the movie and further supported the idea of a creative work, keeping the people alive, becoming a form of economy, living only to serve a purpose of predicting and in effect preventing murders from ever happening.

Neoliberalism has a political orientation and supports the idea that everything should be run as a business. Lives begin to be seen as projects and as something that should be shared for the benefit of the community. This idea is also prevalent throughout Minority Report in that, again, the precogs are seen as tools to reach the goal of a murder free society. They are seen as being part of a business who makes it their job to predict and prevent homicide. The precogs are not offered a choice in the matter and are forced to do the government’s bidding for the overall safety and security of the people.

Sharing subject often is supported by the theories of Henry Jenkins, who believed there is “spreadable” media and “sticky” media. It also revolves around the idea that there is a certain moral economy that is in play when people post online or create something. It is then a matter of opinion who should be allowed to monitor and collect data regarding the populous. Some would say it is an infringement on freedom, while others would say that the monitoring is for the people’s protection. This idea can be found in the movie in relation to the privacy of people’s actions. Some might say that having a being see your future is an invasion on your right to live your life in the way that you see fit. However, others would argue that when an individual goes against the laws set in place to protect them and others that freedom is revoked. As Lupton said “the ideal subject, according to neoliberal principles, is self regulated and takes responsibility for his or her own destiny” (page 77). So if the people in the movie self regulate and do not attempt to kill, they would not be at risk of being exploited. Once again, Lupton supports this view by saying that, “technologies may be used in the interest of promoting self-management...over state regulation and intervention” (page 77). This means that because the people being monitored have free will and a choice, they can avoid the situation altogether by choosing moral actions. The technology should deter people from behaving immorally instead of just punishing people when they disobeyed, and it did in the movie. In the movie there was practically no premeditated murder while the precogs were functioning.

Sources: 

Lakakis, Ari. 2014. “11 Signs You’Re A Precog.” EarthUnchained. Retrieved January 12, 2016 (http://www.earthunchained.com/signs-precog).

Lupton, Deborah. 2015. Digital Sociology. London: Routledge.

McLuhan, Marshall. 1964. Understanding Media: the Extensions of Man. McGraw-Hill. 

Smith, Merritt Roe and Leo Marx. 1994. Does Technology Drive History?: the Dilemma of Technological Determinism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 

Taffel, Sy. 2013. “Technology And Agency.” Media Studies 101 ~ A Creative Commons Textbook. Retrieved January 27, 2016 (https://mediatexthack.wordpress.com/tag/technological-determinism/).

Thompson , Paul. 2014. “MLQ Minority Report Trivia.” moviepilot.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016 (http://moviepilot.com/posts/1332153).

Anon. n.d. “Minority Report (Page 5 of 14).” Minority Report. Retrieved January 12, 2016 (http://pyxurz.blogspot.com/2015/08/minority-report-page-5-of-14.html).