Synthetic Pleasures Film

Synthetic Pleasures is a Documentary from 1995 by Iara Lee.

• "Conceived as an electronic road movie, this documentary investigates cutting edge technologies and their influence on our culture as we approach the 21st century. It takes off from the idea that mankind's effort to tap the power of Nature has been so successful that a new world is suddenly emerging,an artificial reality. Virtual Reality, digital and biotechnology, plastic surgery and mood-altering drugs promise seemingly unlimited powers to our bodies, and our selves. This film presents the implications of having access to such power as we all scramble to inhabit our latest science fictions.
  - Written by Anonymous"

I watched parts of the film. It is interesting and certainly like a 'Road Documentary' with snippets of relevant imagery and film paired with interviews with ravers, scientists, teenagers and philosophers. Two thinkers that I respect massively are in the film; Timothy Leary and Michio Kaku.
The whole film is interspersed with short clips from 3D rendered videos from the 1990s. I love this old VHS look, it makes me feel a bit creeped out.


Lots of the quotes are interesting. I do not agree with quite a few of the interviewees' opinions but I find the theme very relevant to my project. It's amazing to think that this film is 20 years old! These people seem so adamant that we are on the verge of living in a 'cyberspace'.
Technology has advanced massively but I feel that these people's dreams of a more immersive virtual reality is only just arriving with consumer products such as the Oculus Rift.
I'm also not sure I believe in a 'Digital Transhuman Utopia' or that it will save us but what I did enjoy about this film is that it makes me feel that it exists, I felt that Iara Lee juxtaposes people and graphics well, combined with the subject matter each of these people are talking about really pulls the viewer into the Virtual world.

I've pulled together a short video of some of my favorite parts. I really recommend watching it!

The fact that people have been talking and thinking about all these things for over twenty years is a bit depressing to me. It simply reminded me that what ever you do it's not very original. Even the graphics are better than what I can do!
I could always sample these videos and use them directly into something else more modern.
But this also got me trying to think about what has changed since 'Digital Pleasures' came out?
what can make my project more original?

Social media? The advancement of mobile technology? The 'sleek and minimal' technology style that has been very popular for quite a while now?