“Before long, billions of people around the world were working and playing in the OASIS every day. Some of them met, fell in love, and got married without ever setting foot on the same continent. The lines of distinction between a person’s real identity and that of their avatar began to blur.” — Ernest Cline, Ready Player One
Date: Tuesday (20th September) 5:00 pm
Venue: American Corner Debrecen (19/d Bem square)
Program: Ready Player One – What does the future hold?
Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One serves as a starting point to discuss the role of science fiction in shaping our expectations about the future and to reflect on the fast-changing human-tech relations we also experienced first-hand due to the pandemic. Based on Ernest Cline’s young adult novel, the film raises crucial issues that need to be addressed in the very near future by a generation of digital natives: besides obvious privacy and security issues, how does constant connectivity affect our lives? Is the world depicted in Ready Player One an idealized utopia or a dystopic warning? Are we personally responsible for how the Internet will shape our future?
Held in the framework of our English Conversation Club and our newly launched “NAD goes to AC” series, we invite you to a fascinating interactive presentation on and discussion of these topics, facilitated by Dr. Imola Bülgözdi, assistant professor at the North American Department, Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen.
