Bob Mondello claims, in his article, Our media, ourselves: are we Headed for a Matrix, that as a society, we are becoming more attached to the screen and we are losing things and as a result, we are becoming like a society from the Machine Stops. He claims that our rooms are becoming emptier and we are stuck to the screen these days. His main claim was that we are comfortable in this society and that we cling to all of these things so that we won’t lose what makes us and the connections that they represent. According to Mondello, our biggest fear is the emptiness inside us, not of empty rooms. Mondello hits the mark with being afraid of emptiness inside, but at the same time, he seems misguided on his claim that we have a fear of losing ourselves.
The main example that he provides to support his argument was comparing our society and the Machine Stops society to the one in the Matrix. He states, “in that film, as you recall, people interact in a reassuringly cluttered but virtual reality. Actual reality is barren. No stuff at all. Nothing physical to establish that one person is different from another….The fear of losing ourselves as we lose our stuff-.” I do agree that in our society, many objects and things such as the media take away some of our individuality, but I would say that the Matrix is a bit of an exaggeration because even though some traces of this has occurred, individuality is still present and we have not gone to the extremes of the sci-fi stories that he provides.
In his article, he mentioned that we are simply afraid of losing all of our possessions because they make us who we are. He was close, but I believe that we cling to our possessions because it is what makes us comfortable and it does possess some connection. For example, in the Machine Stops, there is a moment when Kuno ignores Vashti when she is hesitant to let him visit her and the story states, “For a moment, Vashti felt lonely. Then she generated the light, and the sight of her room, flooded with radiance and studded with electric buttons revived her.” This shows that the objects, that she is connected to, represent a comfortable surrounding that she can go back to at anytime. It seems like a comfort issue more than an issue of losing one’s self.
I believe that in today’s society we have lost some of our individuality and even if there is a subconscious fear of losing one’s self, we do not seem to pay much attention to it because we continue to take away the individuality of others. I believe that we do have connections to our possessions and this creates a comfort with them and whenever we feel the need for comfort, we cling on to them. I believe that Mondello doesn’t realize while some strive to be different and individuals, many are more afraid of being different and not having a comfortable place in society.
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