Have just attended an extremely focused panel which addressed exactly what it said it would "puppets and human rights". All five speakers provided clear and inspiring example after example but each framework used was distinct. I was having trouble formulating my question so I'll place it here. Let's talk about puppets as an ORGANIC site of resistance to, not technology, but the mechanical/impersonal/global? The final speaker touched upon this with her alternative software programme to PowerPoint (TM)--which comprised a wooden box, cardboard, wire. Despite the inorganic nature of these materials, she conveyed an organic resistance, an aligning of puppets with the human (though they weren't particularly human-looking puppets). This contrasted with the user-friendly laptops that are somehow not nearly so tactile despite touch-sensitive keyboards. What's going on here? Why is a plastic and wire puppet more tactile and organic than a laptop made of the same materials? Or than an avatar created on the Internet? Just putting it out there...
2006-06-17