Time and space dissertation

Space and Time A reflection on the Matrix

Author: Elle Phan Tutor: Julia Dwyer Date: June 2012

Contents

Introduction to The Matrix

01

A Personal Interest: Film and Architecture

05

Space and Time

07

Methodology

09

Virtual Stimulation and Space

11

Bullet Time in Digital and Analogue Photographic Media

15

Cinematic Experiences of Real Time and Space

25

Prosthetics and Humans Enhancement

29

Hertizan Space, Interactive Environments

33

Global Village and Time-Space Compression

37

Conclusion

39

Image Index

41

Bibliography

43

"Whether real or imaginary there is an inextricable link between the creation of film and the development of our buildings." Maggie Toy, Architecture Design.1

1

Maggie Toy, and others. (Nov/Dec 1994). AD Profile 112. Architecture & film. Architectural Design. no. 11/12 (64), p. 6

1

"Whether real or imaginary there is an inextricable link between the creation of film and the development of our buildings." Maggie Toy, Architecture Design.

Introduction to The Matrix During the approaching year of the 21st century, our society suffered from millennial anxiety and hysteria directed towards technology and digital media. News reported by the BBC predicted a global system crash, where computers would not handle the transitional change of date from 31st December 1999 to 1st January 2000. 84% of businesses prepared for possible power failures, loss of telecommunications links and system failures.2 This millennial computer threat was called the 'Y2K''.

Predictions of a global crash eventually proved unfounded3, and explanations for Y2K ranged from a divinely designed punishment, to a human-engineered conspiracy.4 The panic demonstrated by our society illustrated our high dependence on technology and digital media. Y2K coincided with the release date of The Matrix, a compelling film narrative of machines and technology taking over humanity, through its portrayal of the artificial intelligence, machines and inhabitants of its setting.

Despite countless film documentaries covering issues of machines versus humans and the environment, The Wachowski Brothers successfully captured the attention of the public audience who was uncertain of the technological future in the new dawn of the 21st century.

The film's protagonist, Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), is a programme developer by day, and a computer hacker by night under the alias 'Neo'. In the beginning of the film, a group of black suited Agents who patrol the artificial network, abduct Neo from his office for questioning (see Fig. 1).

During his escape, he meets freedom fighter Morpheus, who tells Neo the world he is living in does not exist but it is actually a form of virtual reality - an artificial world known as the 'Matrix' (see Fig. 2). He discovers the reality that humans are bred for biological batteries, to energise the Artificial Intelligence who run the world.

2 3 4

BBC News. (1999). Business Firms 'already hit' by Y2K bug. Oct 18th. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/477991.stm [Assessed: 20th January 2012] BBC News. (2000). Y2K bug fails to bite. Jan 1st. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/585013.stm [Assessed: 20th January 2012] Schaefer, Nancy. Dreams of Paradise Visions of Apocalypse. Apocalypse Now: Evangelical Visions of Dystopia at the End of the Last Millennium. VU University Press Amsterdam, 2004. p.189.

1

Fig. 1: Neo abducted by Agents

Fig. 2: Neo meets Morpheus

2

All humans are kept in sealed containers, while their minds are fed the illusion that they live in an ordinary world. To the untrained eye, the Matrix is impossible to differentiate from the real world, questioning the sensory perception between the physical and the virtual representation of reality.

When Morpheus frees Neo from the real world, he discovers that reality is closer to the year 2099 than 1999 and the real environment is a vast empty wasteland (see Fig. 3).

All we know is, the humans have scorched the decaying land with dark clouds to stop the Artificial Intelligence machines from gaining solar energy.

Neo and Morpheus join forces with a group of underground freedom fighters who have also broken free from 'Matrix' world. Together, they roam in and out of the two worlds, to battle against the control of artificial intelligence and the Agents who patrol the 'Matrix' ; in hope the to win back their psychological and individual freedom (see Fig. 4).

3

Fig. 3: The real world as a deserted wasteland

Fig. 4: Underground freedom fighters

4

A Personal Interest: Architecture and Film In 1994 and 2000, the Architecture Design journal featured a collection of articles dedicated to architecture and film, including discussions of various films including Blade Runner (Ridley, 1982)5 and Metropolis (Lang, 1927)6 with regards to postmodernism.

The RIBA showcased a season of architecture and film at the London BFI for its 175th birthday to demonstrate how cinema uses architects and the built environment to influence our emotional responses.

Having previously worked in a media production company before studying architecture, I see architecture as spatial design, whether it is a design of an actual building in a city, or the virtual environment in a film. One could argue that whist the work of architects is sometimes not built, these utopian design concepts are potentially suitable for films and gaming.

My last essay used the film Avatar (Cameron, 2009) to compare the world of Pandora to the real-life environments found on Earth (see Fig. 5), to reflect upon contemporary issues in the environment. In particular, I compared nature, biodiversity and sustainability verse development and new age ecological philosophy7. I discovered that most films are based on past and present architectural theories and impressions. and it is my belief that it is an effective visual medium to communicate and express architectural concepts and issues to a mass audience. The portrayal of architecture in a film can reflect the fears, hopes and ideas of the society and the era in which the film was created.

Film can be defined in three ways, primarily as a visual documentary for a narrative or i.e. event, using a set of moving images shown in a cinema or on television. Secondly, film is a medium that filmmakers can use to create imaginative concepts to propose surreal concepts effectively to a mass audience. Thirdly, the cinematic experience and interactive control between the filmmaker and the audience whilst watching the film.

5 6 7

Scott, Ridley. (1982). Blade Runner Director's Cut. Warner Brothers Lang, Fritz. (1927). Metropolis. Director's Cut. Universum Film Cameron, James. (2009). Avatar: Director's Cut. 20th Century Fox

5

Fig. 5: Avatar 2009. Pandora.

6

Space and Time Space was first integrated into architectural practice after the mid-20th century when the concept of space was transformed by Hildebrand’s Problem of Form (1893), in which space appears for the first time as an aesthetic concept”8 Space concerning the phenomenology and a place for interaction between people, things and objects.

The emerging interest amongst designs and architects in the problem of time and its relation to form 9 lead a number of theorists to critically write about the topic.

In The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, David Harvey describes space and time as the foundations of human life.

"We document the passage of time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries, and eras...", 10as if time is a quantitative measurement and arrange upon a one objective time range11. Though time originates from physical sciences, time is commonly known around which we arrange daily routines in space.12 Space is commonly known as an objective characteristic of things, such as area, shape, pattern, volume and distance. Our subjective experience of space can take us into realms of perception, imagination, fiction, and fantasy.13 In Architectures of Time, Sanford Kwinter's critical writing guides us through the modern history of ‘time’ through various centuries, from the arts to the sciences.

Despite the extensive text, there is no clear definition of 'space' and time', only a clear evolution of definitions throughout the centuries.

8 9 10 11 12 13

Kwinter, Sandford. Architectures of Time. Toward a Theory of the Event in Modernist Culture. MIT Press. 2001. p.61. ibid. p.3 Harvey, David. The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of cultural Change. Wiley-Blackwell. 1991. p.201 ibid ibid ibid

7

The critical writings by Harvey and Kwinter describes "an array of objective qualities which space and time can express, and the role of human practices in their construction".14 I believe architecture students should challenge the purpose of time and space, against the varying range of human conceptions and perceptions.

14

ibid p.203

8

Methodology Using The Matrix as a futurist vision into a society living in an advanced technological environment, I aim to critic the film's science fiction concepts and impressions employed within this contemporary resource.

The dissertation question asks: "How does the ‘space and time’ paradigm constructed in The Matrix inform us of our human relationship to virtual and physical environments?"

This dissertation has been approached with the theme of space and time as a line of enquiry.

I will also refer to digital and analogue mediums, cinematic experiences, technological prosthetics, interactive environments and the global network. The foundation of this enquiry will then be developed through an analysis of existing critical texts written by Sanford Kwinter, William J. Mitchell, Malcolm McCullough, Manuel Castells, and Anthony Dunne.

The dissertation is structured through the use of overlapping themes.

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Space and Virtual Stimulation Chapter One addresses the definitions of space their context in relation to cinematography and virtual environments.

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Bullet Time in Digital and Analogue Photographic Media Chapter Two discusses the photographic techniques employed by the Wachowski Brothers with reference to cinematographic precedents by EtienneJules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge.

9

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Cinematic Experiences of Real Time and Space Chapter Three discusses Laura Mulvey's’ Death 24 x A Second and the concept of 'delayed cinema' in relation to space and time in detail.

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Prosthetics and Humans Chapter Four discusses the portrayal of humans living in The Matrix, and the prosthetics used to enhance spatial experiences and limitation of the body.

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Hertizan Space and Interactive Environments Chapter Five investigates Hertizan Space, the electromagnetic specturm and the use of technological devices to interactive environments.

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Global Village and Time-Space Compression The chapter will identify the influence of Manuel Castells' concept of a systematic environment known as the 'global village' and the compression of time and space in this environment.

The dissertation concludes by suggesting several points embraced from The Matrix and a reflection of its contemporary importance.

10

Chapter I: Virtual Stimulation and Space Neo:

This isn't real? (Indicating the chair)

Morpheus:

What is real? How do you define "real"? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, taste and see, then "real" is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

From this dialogue Neo is reluctant to believe the chair is a virtual stimulation, causing him to rely on his haptics to prove he is in the right (see Fig. 6).

Only Morpheus is aware of the truth about the real world and tries to convince Neo that everything he sees is created by the Artificial Intelligence.

In the following scene, Neo is seen jumping from one roof top to another after Morpheus teaches him how to fly. His fears and doubts for heights, leads him to fall right into the concrete road below (see Fig. 7). He wakes up in a fright and realises the fall was in the 'matrix', where the environment is not real but a virtual stimulation for him to practice fighting, thus physically unaffected by the fall with no injuries.

Space seems real in the 'matrix' because the virtual replication of reality can still provoke sensory perception on people. Jean Baudrilled describes this hypothesis as 'stimulation', this means those affected by the space will not tell difference between the environment that is real and is stimulated because of their sensory perception.15 Although the perception in our minds seems to make the environment realistic to the observer, virtual stimulation does not have any physical affect on the person's body.

Baudrilled also introduced the concept of 'hyperreality', where "there is no longer a distinction between reality and its representing image of simulacrum."16 The hyper-real symbolises the death of the real, and the rebirth of a holistic reality resurrected within a system of digital data.17 The Matrix is a good example for understanding how our perception perceives space in the postmodern world,

15 16 17

McDougall, Julian. OCR Media Studies for A2.. Hodder Education. 2009. p. 139 ibid ibid

11

Fig. 6: Neo and the chair

Fig. 7: Neo falling

12

where we only need signs of 'representation' to present ideas, people and places for the viewer. There is no longer a need to present the real and original thing because we in habit an environment made up of simulacra and simulations of the reality which replace any 'pure' reality.18

18

Ibid. p.139

13

14

Chapter II: Bullet Time in Digital and Analogue Photographic Media

In a battle between Neo and Agent Smith, Neo leaps to viciously kick his opponent before gently descending back to the floor. His kick slows down to the point where he appears to be gliding through the air, in an extraordinary illusion of space-time continuum known as 'Bullet Time'.

The action scene was firstly filmed by using conventional cameras and a green screen to predetermine the camera path (see Fig. 8). The captured images were then scanned into a computer, where a laser-guided tracking system "mapped out" the movements of the camera. With this information the production team placed a series of still cameras along the mapped path to shoot the still photos (see Fig. 9), these were then uploaded onto the computer to be combined together to form the final scene.19 'Bullet Time' allow the audience’s point-of-view to move around the scene at a normal speed while the action is played out in slow motion. This means the audience can see the object and the environment in a new cinematic perspective. 20 The alteration of time and space through the tracking camera angles in 'Bullet Time' lets unfilmable events (such as flying bullets), to be seen by the naked eye.

The final result is a new form of three dimensional reality on screen and a new cinematic experience, beyond the traditional flow of the film.

19 20

The Making of the Matrix. (n.d.). Matrix Fans. [online]. Available from: http://www.matrixfans.net/thematrix/makingof.php [Assessed: 20th January 2012] Spectacular Attractions. (n.d). Virtual Actors, Spectacle and Special Effects in the Matrix Trilogy. [online]. Available http://drnorth.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/virtual-actors-spectacle-and-special-effects-in-the-matrix-trilogy-2/ [Assessed: 20th January 2012]

from:

15

Fig. 8: The Green screen and cameras

Fig.9: Bullet time capture

16

This is not the first time photography has captured the passage of time or motion. Prior to 'Bullet Time', Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey were the pioneers of photography and cinematography, using cameras to capture the motion of moving humans and animals.

Muybridge's first photographic capture was of a galloping horse, where he used still cameras placed along a racetrack to capture still photos of a galloping horse (see Fig. 10). Each camera was actuate by a taut string stretched across the track (see Fig. 11), as the horse galloped past, the camera shutters snapped, taking one frame at a time.� 21 Similar to the bullet time method of capturing images, Muybridge's cameras were not highly advanced as digital capture methods as they had not been developed at the time.

21

Hendricks, Gordon. The Edison Motion Picture Myth, Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1961. p46

17

Fig.10: Cameras along the racetrack for Muybridge's motion photography

Fig.11: Phases of a stride by galloping horse and Eadweard Muybridge

18

In Marta Braun's Picturing Time, she critically looked at the Muybridge's work in and noticed the sequence of images were not taken in a chronological order but rearranged for viewers to see a sequence of locomotion.22 Muybridge's Denver. Refractory (see Fig. 12) is an assemblage of unconnected images, sequentially arranged and consecutively numbered. In Miscellaneous Phase of the Toilet (see Fig. 13), the model has removed her chemise by the seventh frame, but appears in the eighth frame again.

The two examples of Muybridge's locomotion photos shows us untrue representation of movement in space and time in comparison to the bullet time method.

22

Braun, Marta. Picturing Time: Work of Etienne - Jule Marey (1830-1904). New edition. University of Chicago Press, 1994. p 241

19

Fig.12: Denver. Refractory

Fig.13: Miscellaneous Phase of the Toilet

20

In 1882, Marey, a French scientist and physiologist, invented the chronophotographic gun (See Fig. 14). An instrument capable of shooting 12 consecutive frames per second on one photograph.

Marey wanted one single representation to show "all the relationships occurring both between one body part and the body as a whole at each several instants of specific movement executed during a discrete unit of time and in a specifically defined and constant space."

23

His aim was to capture time with his camera so that he could analyse motion and 24

expand on the multiple events that occurred simultaneously with movement.

Fig. 15 shows a photograph taken by Marey with a chronophotographic gun, of a gymnast jumping over a chair. Marey's techniques is closer precedent to the Bullet Time technique than Muybridge's locomotion photos, because the motion captured is a true representation of sequential movement and the passing of time of the runner.

I believe the Matrix was largely influenced by Marey's photographic work of overlapping forms in flowing compositions.

23 24

ibid. p.18 ibid. p.19

21

Fig.14 First chronophotographic gun

Fig.15: Gymnast jumping over a chair 1883.

22

The digital effects in the film has led to a environmental simulation where the filmed and artificially generated are indistinguishable by the audience.

25

The virtual world of

the 'matrix' asserts an environment which enables it to create impossible objects, locations and characters of great flexibility.

The extended use of computer-generated images enhances the ambiguous relationship between the real and the virtual of today. The end result is a visible expression of the passage of time beyond traditional film making, a new cinematic experience of time and space for the audience.

25

The Making of the Matrix (n.d). Matrix Fans. [online]. Available from: http://www.matrixfans.net/thematrix/makingof.php [Assessed: 20th January 2012]

23

24

Chapter III: Cinematic Experience of Real Time and Space As Neo stands at the end of a hallway where he is shot by three Agents (see!Fig.16).

The projection of bullets defies the law of physics as they slowly travel and freeze, in mid-air. The movement of the bullets gives an illusion of reality being halted in time, highlighting the presence of a distorted time and space continuum.!!!

Neo's time–space morphing abilities and bullet time scenes within the film are to some extent true of the human ability to control and delay their cinematic experience.

Filmmakers of The Matrix have controlled scenes by slowing, pausing and forwarding key elements of the narrative.

In Death 24 x A Second, film theorist Laura Mulvey addresses some of the key questions of film theory, spectatorship and narrative. Traditionally the cinema and the filmmaker would have full control of the way film is being represented and preserved on screens.

25

Fig. 16: Neo controlling traveling bullets in space and time.

26

The move from analogue to digital format for film, has allowed films to be made available on videotapes and DVDs allow the spectator to manipulate the existing speed by delaying and interrupting the normal flow of the film. Mulvey describes the actual act of slowing down the film as 'delayed cinema', referring to the delay in time through which some detail has laid dormant, before waiting to be seen by the spectator.26 This means the spectator can now control both the flow and narrative, normally dictated by the filmmaker and cinema. This has created an interactive relationship between spectator, filmmaker and the traditional control of the cinema.

Cinemas are traditional known as a theatre where films are shown for public entertainment. The BBC have reported a decline in cinema attendance because "more than 65 million tickets were sold at UK cinemas this summer, reversing a two-year decline in audience numbers" 27. Following steady growth in cinema attendance from 2007 to 2009, visits declined by 2.4% in 2010-11 with further falls of 0.5% anticipated in 2012-13. These declines are due to a lag effect from the recession, higher prices, fewer major films released during the year, and increased substitute entertainment products. 28 Since digitally formatted film is now available to watch on devices such as computers, game consoles, mobile phones, or television sets. The spectator has full control of when and where they can watch the film, since the confined screening times and auditorium seat by cinemas are demised.

The cinema as a defined space no is longer necessary because a simple room such as a bedroom, or a living room can be personalised into a space for cinematic screening.

26 27 28

Mulvey, Laura. Death in 24 x A Second. Reaktion Books. 2005. pg 8.

BBC News (2011). Cinemas in the UK braced for tough 2012. Sept 28th. Available from: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15092801 [Assessed: 20th January 2012] IBISWorld (2012). Cinemas in the UK Industry Market Research Report. July 5th. Available from: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/5/prweb9540642.htm [Assessed: 20th January 2012]

27

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Chapter IV: Prosthetics and Human Enhancement After Neo is retrieved from the imprisonment as a battery, he wakes up to find himself on an operating table inside the mother ship (see Fig. 17). Shocked and confused, he discovers he inhabits a modified body; bioports are added on his arms and neck (as a way to access in and out of the 'matrix' simulation). His modifications improved his physical and mental capabilities in preparation for the chosen freedom fighter to battle against the Agents.

The concept of a technological enhancement on the body to augment intelligence or physical ability has been a common theme in many science fiction films such as Terminator (Cameron, 1984) and Blade Runner (Scott, 1982). These films were developed out of the need to interrogate and investigate the state of technology and man in the post-industrial era.

29

Neo's body attachments share similarities to existing prosthetics used in the

medical industry today. A 'prosthetic' is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part. The mechanical device operates in connection with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist control lost by trauma, disease, or defect.

In May 2012, Claire Lomas headlined local news for being the first paraplegic runner to finish the London Marathon in a bionic suit after 16 of use.30 The bionic suit, designed by Esko, is a motorized exoskeleton made with motion sensors and an onboard computer system (see Fig. 18). 31 The suit allowed Lomas, paralysed from the waist down, to regain her upright mobility to stand, sit, and walk during the race. Changing the physical state of her body from that of a paraplegic to a fully enable bodied person to complete the marathon race.

Prosthetics can also operate inside the body, pacemakers monitor the heart's electrical rhythm, when the pacemaker does not detect a heartbeat within a normal range, it will stimulate the ventricle of the heart with a short low voltage pulse. This sensing and

29

30

31

Yilmaz, Kader. (2006). Born to Be On-line: Cyberpunk, Cyborgs and the Matrix Trilogy. A Thesis Submited in partial fulfilment of the Requirements of Hacettepe University for the Degree of Doctor of American Culture and literature . Ankara, Turkey: Hacettepe University Pickover, E. (2012). Paralysed woman Claire Lomas completes London Marathon in bionic suit. The Independent. 8th May. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/paralysed-woman-claire-lomas-completes-london-marathon-inbionic-suit-7722887.html [Assessed: 20th June 2012] The Verge. (2012). Paralyzed woman uses bionic suit to complete London Marathon. [online]. Available from http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/9/3008979/paralyzed-woman-bionic-suit-marathon [Assessed: 20th June 2012]

29

Fig. 17: Neo on the operating table

Fig. 18: Esko Bionic Suit

30

stimulating activity continues on a beat by beat basis.

In another scene of The Matrix, freedom fighter 'Tank' uploads battle training disks on to the computer, feeding information through the bioport into Neo's neck.

Neo's memory is now upgraded with combat training in real time. Increasing his knowledge and learning time, he learns how to control the virtual image of himself in the 'matrix'.

The idea of accessing another space, or environment through a bioport in the neck may be an obscure idea, however the concept of a 'port' acting as gate way to access another space of virtual reality, or learning information, already exists today with the Internet. For example, smart phones are wireless portal for accessing data, such as google map in real time.

This is similar to the hypothesis mentioned in Marshall McLuhan's Understanding of the Media, where he describes the concept of 'extensions' as 'tools of the brain'. for example, a pencil is an extension of the hand, the hand is an extension of the arm and the arm is the extension of the brain.

In Andy Clark’s Being There, he talks about developments in cognitive science and the way the world is interwoven with the body and mind through a network of electronic devices. He believes that our consumption of electronic devices in our everyday lives has made us into hybrids of man and machine. Clark explains that the ‘cybernetic organism’ is a creature which is a mixture of organic and electromechanical devices. He explains how objects in the environment can be used as tools to extend the mind, allowing humans to perform tasks in real-time and navigate spatially beyond human capacity and cognitive potential. 32 Human mental states are not necessarily co-existent with the biological boundaries of the brain; they can sometimes extend beyond the brain to encompass aspects of the external technological and social environment. Prosthetics can imitate the operational function normally produced by the biological body and nervous system and can be used externally and internally. The Matrix highlights the fact that the use of prosthetics can enhance the body's natural ability and can overcome certain disabilities and defects, by acting as an existing body part and as an extension into space.

32

Clark, Andy. Being There: Putting Brain, Body and World Together Again. MIT Press. 1998

31

32

Chapter V: Hertizan Space and Electronic Objects In a final battle scene between Neo and the Agents in the corridor (see Fig. 19).

Neo's enhanced vision reveals a corridor space made of green digital flows, giving an impression of a hidden space surrounding us that cannot be seen to the human eye.

Remarkably the presence of flows are highlighted by the green flickering light radiating through the walls and ceiling, strikes a strong resemblance to the concept of 'hertizan space' (see Fig. 20). 'Hertizan space' is a space on the electromagnetic spectrum that is invisible to the naked eye and nonexistence to human touch. It is a space made of electromagnetic waves where only electronic objects can influence and manipulate.33 In Hertizan Tales, Anthony Dunne claims that electronic objects are not only "smart', they 'dream"- in the sense that they leak radiation into the space and objects surrounding them, including our bodies. Thinking of them in terms of radiating objects opens them up to much more interesting interpretations of how they interact with hertizan space; a new hybrid landscape of shadows, reflections, and hot points.

The Matrix explores the dimension of space; a space that is an integration of the physical and virtually simulated. A space that you cannot be physically seen, but is occupied by electronic devices.

33

Dunne, Anthony. Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. Birkhauser. 2001. p.8

33

Fig 19: Neo's x-ray vision

Fig 20: Computer model of waves interacting with buildings

34

The concept of using a device to link to 'active space' is an ongoing theme within The Matrix. Professor Michael Bull at the University of Sussex conducted a study on people using these electronic devices to mitigate the contingencies of daily life. For example, a device such as an iPod has enabled users to personalise their experience of the contemporary city with their own music collection. Whether they are on the underground, or shopping on Oxford Street, the city becomes a film for which they can compose the soundtrack. With interactive environments there is no physical boundaries between private and public space, so the iPod also provides degrees of privacy in public places, affording the listener certain exceptions to conventions for social interaction within the public domain. 34 In effect, the iPod becomes a tool for organising space, time, and the boundaries around the body in public space; challenging the concept of devices as a space-making tool. As a result, interactive space is more personalised in real time to the person's style than physical spaces would be with real furniture and objects.

In Germany, Silenzio Music produced a CD 'Alibi' containing "...recordings of street sounds, airport announcements from different countries, train stations, bars and beaches. Designed for those 'little white lives in between', the CD was designed to be played in the background while you are making a telephone call from a place you should not be. This soundtrack CD allows you to cut and paste reality."35 The audio provokes thoughts of narrative, so the person on the other phone believes the call is from an airport because of the audio clips. Media devices allow people to personalise their environments, the simple addition of sounds can develop a new ambience and spatial experience.

34 35

Wired. [2007]. Bliss in a Box: How iPods Insulate City Dweller. [online]. Available from http://www.wired.com/gadgets/portablemusic/news/2007/12/bull [Assessed: 20th June 2012] Dunne, Anthony. Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. Birkhauser. 2001. p.47

35

36

VI: Global Village and Time-Space Compression When freedom fighters leave the 'matrix' world to come back to the real world, they teleport through telephone receivers (see fig. 21). Although the idea of teleporting into the phone is physically impossible to do, 'teleportation' is the transfer from one point to another in real time without needing to travel distance in between physically. I believe teleportation and telephones in the 'matrix' are tools of communication in a spatial context. They have the ability to build a new space by selecting communication, connecting to where ever the other communicators are located and calling them at any given time.

In McLuhan's Understanding of the Media: The Extension of the Man, he explains, "Today, after more than a century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system itself in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned. Rapidly, we approach the final phase of the extensions of man – the technological simulation of consciousness... Any extension, whether of skin, hand, or foot, affects the whole psychic and social complex." 36 McLuhan's view of electronic technology is that it has become an extension of our senses, particularly those of sight and sound. For example, the telephone becomes a long distance ear by projecting further than our biological range of hearing. the rapidity of communication through electric media echoes the speed of the senses.

Through media such as the telephone, and more personal computer and the 'Internet', we are increasingly linked together across the globe and this has enabled us to connect with people at the other side of the world as quickly as it takes us to contact and converse with those who inhabit the same physical space (i.e the people that live in the same village). In The Condition of Postmodernity, David Harvey coined the term “time-space compression” .Time–space compression is a term used to describe processes that seem to accelerate the experience of time and reduce the significance of distance, even though the real distance remains the same.

36

Mc Luhan, Marshall. Understanding of the Media: The Extension of the Man. MIT Press. 1994. Page 3

37

Time-space compression often refers to technologies that seem to accelerate or elude spatial and temporal distances, including technologies of communication, travel and economics. Electronic transmission of high-tech machines, and therefore man, is present in this sort of time, not via his physical presence, but via programming.

McLuhan is suggesting that through our 'extended senses' we experience events, as far away as the other side of the world, as if we were there in the same physical space.

McLuhan argues that electronic media allows us to act and react to global issues in real time speed, describing this connected electronically world as a 'Global Village'.

Through Neo and the Agents technologically connecting with the 'matrix', it implies a holistic worldview and deep technological awareness with regards to the electronic world.

The 'Global Village' is a belief that interprets the world as an integrated whole and collection of parts. The message of Matrix seems to represents a centralised technological global system.

Fig 21. Morpheus teleporting back into the real world via telephone receiver.

38

Conclusion The Matrix demonstrates ‘space’ and 'time' in a technologically based environment. 'Space' and 'time' is a combination of technology, science and culture. The subject diversifies into other concepts including virtual stimulation, photographic capture, networks and systems, bionanotechnology, cybernetics, philosophy and electronics.

The film’s high-tech world and visual imagery makes it a product of mass appeal. The Wachowski Brothers have obviously used these devices to tell a story that is part reality, part fantasy, and fighting movie.

Despite it being a science fiction film, the foundation of the narrative ironically comes from precedents from our past, present and future. At the turn of the millennium, The Matrix was a film that was ahead of its era and was a future insight into what a technological environment could look like.

Space can be physical, or virtually simulated by the signs of representation. Both types of these spaces provoke sensory perceptions to the mind, which means those affected by the virtual space cannot tell the difference.

Bullet time capture is an accurate representation of movement in time and space, and originates from old photographic techniques used by Marey and Muybridge. Digital photocapture and digital environment in film making shows a new representation of space for the audience.

Bullet time is a form of cinematic control by the filmmaker. The old traditional form of cinema has died and the new technological media has created a new form of interactive watching called Delayed Cinema. This frees the spectator to watch the film without the control of the cinema and the filmmaker.

The Matrix shows us morphological similarities between cyborgs and humans. Prosthetics enable humans to enhance their body's physical capabilities, brain capacity and speed, and spatial experiences. Prosthetics allow people to live longer and enabled paralysed people to walk.

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The Matrix also shows us a third space called Hertizan, a space made of hotspots and electromagnetic waves. Hertizan space is controlled and altered by electronic products and not physical to touch and invisible to the human eye..

Technological media devices such as iPods and CDs are space-making devices, creating a cut and paste reality. Interactive space with these devices allows us access, extend and create new a spatial layer to existing physical environments to make them interactive. Interactive spaces are more personalised and in real time to the person's style and taste.

The Matrix has showed us that highly technological environments are a global network system. This is a holistic concept that has been put forward by systematic thinkers, such as David Harvey, Andy Clark and Marshall McLuhan. This tells us our physical and virtual environment is connected as one united system.

To conclude, people in the 'matrix' demonstrates a hi-tech way of life with real-time and space compression. Where space and time is no longer affected by the distance between them. One could argue we are now further away from the 'real' space and 'real' time where events occur.

The Matrix foresees a domination of technology in the future with many technological benefits for humans and a new perception of space and time.

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Image Index Fig.1

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 2

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 3

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 4

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 5

Screenshot from Cameron, James. (2009). Avatar: Director's Cut. [DVD]. 20th Century Fox

Fig. 6

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 7

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 8

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 9

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 10

Braun, Marta. Picturing Time: Work of Etienne - Jule Marey (1830-1904). University of Chicago Press. 1994. p.46

Fig. 11

Eadweard Muybridge. 1879. "Leland Stanford, Jr. on his Pony Gypsy—Phases of a Stride by a Pony While Cantering”. [online]. Tate. Available on http://www.tate.org.uk/whatson/tate-britain/exhibition/eadweard-muybridge [Assessed: 22 April 2012]

Fig. 12

Muybridge, A. (n.d.) Denver, Refractory. In: Braun, M (ed). Picturing Time: Work of Etienne - Jule Marey (1830-1904). University of Chicago Press. 1994. p.241

Fig. 13

Muybridge, A. (n.d.) Miscellaneous Phases of the Toilet. In: Braun, M (ed). Picturing Time: Work of Etienne - Jule Marey (1830-1904). University of Chicago Press. 1994. p.241

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Fig. 14

Lund, O. (1882) Mary's mechanic practicing with the fusil photographique in Naples. In Braun, M (ed). Picturing Time: Work of Etienne - Jule Marey (1830-1904). University of Chicago Press. 1994. p.58

Fig. 15

Marey, EJ. (1883) Gymnast jumping over a chair. In: Braun, M (ed). Picturing Time: Work of Etienne - Jule (1830-1904). University of Chicago Press. 1994. p.80

Fig. 16

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 17

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 18

Ekso Bionics. 2011. "Esko Bionics Esko". Available on http://www.flickr.com/photos/eksobionics/6261799519/in/set-72157627934108580 [Assessed: 22 April 2012]

Fig. 19

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

Fig. 20

Anon. (2001) Computer model of radio waves interactng with buildings. In: Dunne, A (ed). Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. Birkhauser. 2001. p.33

Fig. 21

Screenshot from Watchowski Brothers. (1999). The Matrix [DVD]. Warner Brothers.

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