"…Darling, our world is so boring. That's why there are no things like telepathy or ghosts or flying saucers. The world is governed by strict laws, and it's unbearably boring. It's a shame those laws are never broken. They don't know how to break the laws…Living in the Middle Ages was interesting. Every house had its own soul, and every church had its own God. It must be so boring. Searching for the truth…It hides and you keep looking for it. You dig somewhere – Eureka! The nucleus is made up of protons. You dig the other one - great! Triangle ABC is equal to the sum of sides A, B and C.”
34 years have passed since Tarkovsky wrote this scenario in Stalker. The world is no longer a boring place. Nobody is looking for the truth anymore. It has already reached exaggerated dimensions and disappeared. We do not have any secret teachings or hidden knowledge. Thanks to the rapid development of technology, we have turned into simple-minded beings. Information is now everywhere. Today, it is as if even our destinies have been reduced to computer software.
Sharing, controlling, approving or distorting responsibilities and wills through digital networks (social media, Facebook, Twitter) constitute our new culture of life. Today, there are computers that store our memories (photos) for us and others who see them for us.
In the 21st century, we now live in a world of instant sharing, far from imagination. Our thought systems have begun to take the form of an electronic circuit produced (and even interpreted) by technology. Our imaginations, which were once extraordinarily sensitive, are now turning into a simple game of digital systems.
This artificial freedom for the human will offers us a constantly seductive energy; with the excess of news, information and speculation, it is already reaching a very dangerous point in the system we live in.
From now on, we have moved from the strict certainty of the ABC triangle to the "online" homogeneity of the global world. As time passes, similar network groups and seemingly opposing social media groups make us question what reality can stand against this virtual environment.
Perhaps all this is the last part of humanity's surrender to something superior to itself. Because there does not seem to be an alternative to artificial systems.
Already, digital technology seems to have taken away the "chance" feature of even classical photography, which once helped us record our moments. Classical photography, which feeds on the uncertainty of daily life, has now lost its alternative reality with the development of technology. Nowadays, the art of photography has turned into a platform where the world can be intervened instantly at an imaginary level.
Just as the art of photography no longer uses reflectors and negatives, there are no longer reflectors and negatives in its virtual and artificial systems (that is, its alternatives have disappeared). It seems that the ideals and thoughts created on virtual platforms will not have an alternative in the future.
A world far from imagination, where all categories and all concepts are mixed together, is no longer a boring place. In a world surrounded by illuminated billboards, screens and visual images, everything now has an entertaining, aesthetic, political and sexual appearance at the same time. As the dose of entertainment and spectacle increases, the price to be paid also increases.
The reason why the rules of the thousand-year-old game have changed and the world is no longer a boring place is that the game is now immoral. The solid reality that used to dominate our lives is now constantly being seduced. What the consumer sector, such as fashion and advertising, constantly does is to feed this system by bringing an attraction specific to all kinds of prohibitions and fantasies.
This visual feast and communication madness fascinates people and provides them with constant pleasure. This seduction seems to force everyone to break their silence and reveal their secrets (shares and discussions on social media). However, in the past, being away from this world of images allowed us to dream. It was as if an untempted eye was condemned to be fascinated. Nowadays, we all have to listen to things that are not worth talking about even if they are seen. These cause all kinds of emotions, thoughts and actions to disappear in a seductive world. is happening.
If we go back to Tarkovsky's scenario, the world is no longer a boring place. Because there is no room left for any reality that could be boring. The sky dome has literally turned into a kind of plasma of excitement. Each house has its own soul, each church has its own God - since the feeling of worship has disappeared today - has been replaced by people admiring images in the comfort of technology. Now the church of the new age is under the dictatorship of technology, and their homes are under the dictatorship of images. Individuals, on the other hand, have turned into a light that disappears on all kinds of digital surfaces.
Ali Alışır
2013