Rating: 3/5
After having some issues with PHP code change, which is btw a one-day issue just that I did not have that one day to sort it out, I am finally back. In this particular case, I am back and ready to moan against Netflix’s Bandersnatch!
This new film on Netflix is receiving lots of buzz for its innovative concept of interaction. Therefore, we as viewers can decide how the story develops by choosing from various options. Some are going that far to explore many different ways of story development, and the possibilities are indeed numerous. In a nutshell, we follow the life of a young programmer Stefan Butler (Fionn Whitehead) who invents an interactive game based on a book he read. Depending n which options we chose in the film, he can develop the game and kill his father, travel through time and change his childhood, etc.
The film truly needs to be praised for developing so many different stories, and for an innovative way of storytelling. However, I feel uneasy about this because I can’t help but ask whether this is invented to address the ever shortest attention spam. Are people watching Netflix and switching programme on and off because nothing entertains them anymore? Also, do we need to take technology development this far? Can’t we just watch films and series in the evening and be able to focus on the story. Truth to be known, there are lots of bad films out there, but there are also good ones too. There is plenty of series as well.
What we need the most is engaging (or re-engaging) people with reading. That will solve all sorts of problems, from attention spam to concentration, and most importantly, reading will create more meaningful lives. I know I sound like an older person moaning about new developments. This is far from the truth, I love new developments within a reason. For example, I love WordPress design (which made it simple to design and run a website, as I do now), SEO (which helps with attracting traffic to your content), I hate even the thought of life without Internet and Google. But, I could certainly do without social media and all this technology madness.
While libraries are being shut down, if we don’t stop this madness with constant technology development and change the course we are taking, the future might just look like the one vividly portrayed in ‘Idiocracy’. At the end of the day, we are already halfway there since school kids don’t know where food comes from (see here)
As we already know, chips are already being implanted into humans and not just animals. So, if we don’t want to end up like human robots (fair enough for enthusiasts who like it, but I don’t), we better do something about it. NOW!
Thank you for reading (and read more please)!