Title: Promox Nebluous 3000 Cyber Wing
Jennifer- The wing wearer Sara- The child Ninj- AI wing Leo- Narrator 1 Jess - Narrator 2/Staff/Citizens Sara - Staff/Mother/Citizens Scene: 1 In Omelas Narrator 1: “This is Jenny, she’s a happy citizen in a happy place, Omelas.” Jenny waves. “Here in Omelas, everyone is happy.” Jenny walking around. Jenny: “Hey, Eric, Andy and Gottfried! What’s up guys?” Citizen 1: Good morning, Jenny! Another beautiful day in Omelas, isn’t it?” Jenny: “It sure is! The sun is shining, and everyone seems so content.” Citizen 2: “Have you tried the new ProMax Nebulous 3000 Cyber? It's amazing!” Jenny: “I have! It's like having a personal assistant and more.” Narrator 1: “Recently, the citizens of Omelas have gotten their hands on a new piece of technology. Take a look at the ProMax Nebulous 3000 Cyber, our incredible wing.” The wing moves up and down. “In Omelas, people don’t need Didis because of this. It has transformed the lives of its citizens, offering multifunctional wings that serve as their all-encompassing aides, seamlessly integrating into every facet of their existence.” Pause. “Jenny’s mother comes to see her.” Mother: “Jenny! You’re finally eighteen. I know how much you wanted to see the child and now you finally can!” Jenny: “My mom says that our happiness depends on the suffering of a child…” Prepares to go through the door Scene: 2 In the Basement Jenny Goes through the door, into the basement Narrator 2: “As Jenny steps into the basement, a stinky smell welcomes her. The dimly lit room is small, uncomfortable, and most certainly not suitable for life.” Jenny: “Ew. What is this smell? Why is this place so dark? How can it be so small?” AI Wing: “Unhealthy air condition, unhealthy air condition, this place is not sanitary, leave immediately” Scene 3: Meeting the child Jenny: “But I want to explore more…” Walks around and bumps into the child. AI Wing: “Child detected, Child detected.” Jenny: “That’s the child?” AI Wing: “Obviously” Jenny walks up to the child, the child won't speak “Why is this child so sad? She looks very miserable…” Child (whispering): “Help me...” Jenny: "Oh I see it now... the price of our happiness." AI Wing: "Indeed, Jenny. The cost of our utopia is a heavy one." Narrator 2: “The wings, sensing Jenny's torn feelings of empathy and the desire to stay in Omelas, begin to activate regardless.” The wings, sensing Jenny's feelings of empathy, begin to activate. Jenny: “But I don't want to leave…” AI Wing: “But is that fair for the child? According to my moral programming, it is unethical to let the child suffer, even though everyone in Omelas is happy, but based on my calculations and databases, the best thing to do is to make everyone leave.” AI Wing starts to lift Jenni and flies away, the people flying away. Jenny: “But is it fair for the wings to sacrifice the happiness of everyone else?!” Screams and flies away Citizens: The citizens also start flying away “Where are we going?? What is happening?? The wings are doing their own thing!” Narrator 1: The child gets up and walks out to see the world. “The child finally leaves the basement and she finally can explore the world of happiness. The end.” THE END
Our project was set in the environment of “The Ones Who Walk Away From The Omelas”. I think our group successfully made an artefact, especially the wing that moves without technology. I also think we did a great job on the aesthetic image of our project such as the fabric of the wing, and detailed paintings of the book. However, I think we could’ve done a better job with the book and the door by making it more interactive rather than just being a background. Because we couldn’t use any technology such as lights and electronics, it was hard to make our project interactive and therefore, I do not think it aligns with my definition of interactive art.
Though all of the projects and performances were unique in their own way, I personally think “BarbieA” was the most interesting project. Their project was inspired by the Barbie movie and I think they did a great job building the artifact. However, I think the invention was not creative enough to meet the criteria and seemed like it did not really fit with the story they’ve chosen. Their performance was really engaging and I enjoyed it a lot.
As for personal contribution to our team, after getting the name lists of our group members, I immediately opened a group chat so that we could share our schedule and have the first meetup as soon as possible. I showed up to every meetup and also had some days where some members’ schedules were not matching and I would just work by myself crafting the base of the project. My main responsibility was finding the perfect fabrics and other tools since I was more familiar with working at the IMA studio and Fabrication Lab.
I personally think working on this project was much easier because of our group members. We had some days where our schedules couldn’t match as we all had different classes other than interaction lab. As a solution for when we couldn’t meet up altogether, we decided to work on the project alone by either starting a new part or finishing what the other members were doing. When building each piece such as the wing, cardboard people, and the book+door, we were divided into 3 or 4 people to craft each piece.
https://youtube.com/shorts/pKcdz-mbaVA?feature=share
I was first worried about the group project because we were not from the same section, but however I am grateful to our members for always trying to come and contribute by sparing their time even for 30 minutes also for being active in the group chat discussing what we each think about the process. In fact, we also did get along well as we were supportive of each others’ ideas and feedback.