Abstract
Set in London, “Hated in the Nation” depicts a utopian phantasmagoria about life in the near future. Climate change will have taken its course, fundamentally changing how people cater to themselves and how they are catered for.
The story is based on a situation wherein pollination of plants is taken over by the human-coordinated work of millions of Autonomous Drone Insects (ADIs). The introduction of ADIs is a government-financed response to the commonly-known phenomena of the sudden death of complete bee families, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The story ventures into the area that this array of a digital fleet of miniaturized drones is not created only to simply replace the work of bees, but, through an automated control system, to also bring pollination to a perfectionist level and to develop a tool for large scale face recognition and mass control. Technology is put to use to maximize the efficiency of artificial bee-made pollination and of ruling by surveillance.
This chapter articulates its analysis of “Hated in the Nation” by looking at four separate angles: technological, social, and climate determinism, the issue of permit to innovate, risk assessment and management, and finally, the positioning and framing of climate change. Adapting these angles provides the possibility for a diversified and focused analysis, as well as places the story in a wider context.
The story is based on a situation wherein pollination of plants is taken over by the human-coordinated work of millions of Autonomous Drone Insects (ADIs). The introduction of ADIs is a government-financed response to the commonly-known phenomena of the sudden death of complete bee families, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The story ventures into the area that this array of a digital fleet of miniaturized drones is not created only to simply replace the work of bees, but, through an automated control system, to also bring pollination to a perfectionist level and to develop a tool for large scale face recognition and mass control. Technology is put to use to maximize the efficiency of artificial bee-made pollination and of ruling by surveillance.
This chapter articulates its analysis of “Hated in the Nation” by looking at four separate angles: technological, social, and climate determinism, the issue of permit to innovate, risk assessment and management, and finally, the positioning and framing of climate change. Adapting these angles provides the possibility for a diversified and focused analysis, as well as places the story in a wider context.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Reading »Black Mirror« |
| Subtitle of host publication | Insights into Technology and the Post-Media Condition |
| Editors | German Duarte, Justin Battin |
| Publisher | transcript Verlag |
| Pages | 309-324 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-3-8394-5232-5 |
| ISBN (Print) | https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839452325-017 |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jan 2021 |
Keywords
- Climate change
- media
- technology