Final Blog Post

The topic I decided to write and do research on was 'The Portrayal of Robots in Film.' I decided that 'The Terminator' would be a good choice because I always loved this film. I then decided to relate the robot in this film to the robots on today who are taking away our jobs. I learned so much about college level research when I decided that this would be my topic. I did not know LaGuardia has so many great search databases they offer to their students with excellent sources that can really make your research paper stick out and result in a better grade. LexisNexis was my favorite tool because it gave me access to countless newspaper articles that gave me different ideas for my paper. I wish I knew how to work these search engines more efficiently and took more time getting use to them. Some of them are really complex and digging through them to find a source can be a pain at times. I loved that we meet in the library and got a hands on tutorial on how to work some of the search engines. Some things that I wish I have done differently is to try and find sources right away so I can sort the good with the bad and which ones are good enough to use for my paper. I loved the online hybrid activities because it kept me engaged on writing my paper on a weekly basis. It is very easy to get lazy and keep putting things off because your final draft is not due till the end of the semester. You must stay on top of your topic and don't leave everything to the last minute. I was always on top of my topic and did a little research every week so I would not be hit with all this work as the semester came to an end.

Improving My Paper

During the next two weeks, I need to work on getting my sources in order by adding 3 more sources, I also need to complete two more pages, also I am changing my film still, I need to add a conclusion and I need to change my title in order to complete my research paper. I need to make sure I don't leave all this to the last weekend before the paper is due. I need to use these next two weeks to improve my paper day by day by having fresh eyes on my work as it progresses.

Close Reading of Film Stills in "The Terminator"

The first film still shows "The Terminator" was sent back in time and how they appear when they first arrive in the past. This reveals that these killing machine robots are in the most simplest form being naked and ready to complete the mission at hand. The way James Cameron depicts Arnold as bent down and over a oval shape that almost looks like he is being born into the past. The location of where this takes place is perfect a messy and deserted back alley way. By looking at this film still I am able to gage how the directed wanted to show that time travel is very similar to being born.
The second film still shows Arnold or his character T1 in a night club about to shoot at Sarah Connor. This film still really related to what my paper topic is about and how I can connect this image to how machines are taking jobs. The job of the T1 is to take out Sarah Connor to prevent her from having her unborn child and he will stop at nothing to accomplish this. In this still the robot is in a crowded night club and this doesn't stop him from doing his job just as machines stop at nothing (unless they break) to complete a job. In looking at this film still I can see how different people dressed and the club scene is from the present. The details of the night club make you feel like it is really just a normal night until the terminator arrives.

Hollywood movies are sometimes trustworthy of a real issue. Obviously science fiction movies are made up, but sometimes they do hold some truth to the future. When making a movie about robots in the past many people would find this idea of real life robots as almost comical. But now not only do robots exist they are taking our jobs by the 100 of thousands. We can learn things about the world we live in or the future world we will live in by science fiction films.

Blog Assignment #1

     The topic I am writing about is the portrayal of robots in film. I will be looking into the film "The Terminator" and see how it foreshadows how robots will change our lives in particular taking jobs. As artificial intelligence grows so does the fact that robots are replacing humans in the workplace.

    My first research paper source is titled "Robot Small Talk; Humans need not fear progress in artificial intelligence" found on Lexis Nexis. This was taken from a news paper called "Financial Times"and is located in London, England. This provides insight on the idea of how humans are fearing the worst from robots as they gain more and more smarter as technology grows.Two cornell students did a test and it showed that computers are not yet fully able to think and act as humans do as both of the robots who took part in a conversation ended up arguing. This fits my topics because it gives ideas of how robots may end up in the future. Otherwise “Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator may be too busy rowing with his wife either to overthrow the human race or to deliver the answer to life, the universe and everything.”

    The second source I found for my research paper is a taken from "Encyclopedia of Science, Technology and Ethics" and is called "Artificial Intelligence." I found this source of the Gale Library site and it will fit perfect into my research paper. I wanted to use this source because it gave me a clearer picture of what artificial intelligence actually is from a scientific perspective. "Researchers in AI use advanced techniques in computer science, logic, and mathematics to build computers and robots that can mimic or duplicate the intelligent behavior found in humans and other thinking things"

My Research Topic

I am leaning heavily towards "The Terminator" as the film I will be writing about under the topic "Portraying Robots in Film." I feel like I can make connections and really have a solid paper with this movie as the base of my writings. Being such a popular movie it might be hard to find good information and quality sources but I am ready to do some heavy research in order to make my paper good. I saw this movie for the first time when I was very young and it opened my eyes to science fiction movies, which I now consider my favorite movie genre. The presentation of robots in this movie is very negative and I will make the connection in my paper.