The Future and Looking Deeper Into Films

I am told to think of my future almost every day. Not a day goes by where we do not make a decision that will affect what happens later on in our life. The choices we make could have an impact on something as close as a second later to as long as something 40 years away. So clearly the future is one of the most important parts of our lives. A man that goes by the name of Ray Kurzweil is a genius when it comes to predicting the future. He is ranked eighth in the United Sates for entrepreneurs which makes him one of the leading inventors. By him making all of the different inventions, he received a $500,000 MIT-Lemelson Prize. What I understand from learning about Kurzweil, by the year 2030 our technology is going to be so advanced that machines will not be referred to as machines anymore, and we will not be known as humans. This could lead to numerous outcomes for our future. One possibility is that people might be able to live much longer or even for eternity, and their life could be more fulfilling by using this new technology. This would be a utopic world. It could also make things worse and become a dystopic world, for example, if people are already becoming more and more anti-social with the technology today than it can only get worse. Advancements could lead to more obesity and people not knowing what the real world is like. There are many pros and cons to technological advancements. 

Another interesting topic that I have been learning about of late is looking deeper into films. There is so much more to movies that I just never noticed. For example, the lighting effects on all of the different shots have a great impact on what message the director is sending to the audience. Some movies in particular go from happiness to depressing very quickly. When the movie is in a happy state the shots are usually bright and nicely lit up. Other times the movie is dark which symbolizes the depression. I also learned that there are different types of camera shots. "The three most basic shots are as follows: the long shot, the medium shot, and the close-up" (Snyder 2011, 178). These different camera angles have a great effect on the movie. By looking deeper into the clothing of the characters can give some great incite as to what their attitude is towards each other. For example, in War of the Worlds (2005) the son has a Boston Red Sox hat on and the father has a New York Yankees hat. The hats are just one symbol of how they are different. A few other scenes that mean more than what we would normally think of are when a character is walking and there is something crossing in front of the shot. A car would be a good example, it could symbolize how the character is always busy and their mind is always running at a fast pace. There are just so many little details that a normal viewer like me, would never spot while watching a film. This personally, is fun to do because it makes watching any movie more interesting.