How does a particular music-on-screen phenomenon of your choice engage with the post-digital and/or post-human?
Post-human can be understood through looking at society from the perspective of a technological determining society; where life has shifted from the hands of the human being to that of science and technology. Post-human for me is slightly distasteful, extremely bewildering and an even more so intimidating concept to comprehend. The idea of post-human being that once we were a human determining society, meaning that we as human beings held control of all agency, all the power and the decisions; however this is no longer, or a thing of the past. A technological age is upon us, and not only merely upon us; it is hard and fast, confrontational and ready to control the human life as we once knew it. Post-human is almost like a side-lining, or a quiet hush of silence to humans, as the progression towards a technological society takes main center stage. My example of a post-human music-on-screen phenomenon is that of a hologram of the deceased; “Notorious B.I.G World Tour”. No. This is not okay. After the initial shock and the realization that this was a legitimate thing, it made me really come to terms with the reality; that the power given to technology has ultimately allowed for the claiming position of technology as our global dictator.
Holograms are a three dimensional image, created through lasers and coherent light sources. This effect is to create the illusion of the human figure to appear real and present, suggesting legitimate agency. This technological determined creation can move, interchange and adapt to any surroundings and environment; just like a real human being. Whilst this is all very clever, involving high technical skillsets, I feel all boundaries have been transgressed when you hologram a now deceased human being. “Notorious B.I.G World Tour” raises many loop holes and concerns surrounding the unnatural prolonging of a life, the failure to respect the given lifespan of the deceased artist, and not to mention the questionable profits that are made in the process. Something just isn’t right. Let’s break this down a little further.
Firstly, let’s discuss timelessness. Music is timeless in the sense that it creates emotional responses and both allows for the triggering of nostalgia and creation of memories to be made. Music is merely a reflection of the time, however never a restriction within that time. It is this incredible valued asset throughout humanity, in which represents historical times such as 60’s Rock’n’Roll, and 70’s disco and funk, as well as the endless diversity of musical genres and cultures on a global scale. An asset so valuable as music can be transgressed through multiple generations, forgotten and found again, and can be listened to on multilevel accessible formats such as vinyl, cd, tape, digital etc. Timeless in the sense that no matter the time, era or genre, the sound still holds the power to speak to people, to inforce change, fuel emotion and motivate the moment; and has continued to do so for centuries. However, the idea of timeless music is separate to the idea of timeless musicians, which is where the hologram and the collision of technology and humanity is currently on shaky ground.
A human being is not timeless. Every human being, no matter how different and diverse we are, human’s share one same commonality; death. We live, we create a life for ourselves, and we pass. A musician or a music artist is not separate from this procedure, shockingly they also encounter death. The holograms “bringing back to life” in three dimensional imagery, aim to suggest or imply real-life human agency, which challenges the idea of natural mortality. This is ultimately going against what it naturally means to be a human, suggesting that we are timeless, immortal, and post-human. Notorious B.I.G was ironically notoriously known for his music, and the strong African American influence throughout his music. This particular hip hop and rap music is timeless, this music is also still very much appreciated, respected and still highly influential; but this does not mean the artist itself needs to physically be alive and ‘touring’ to keep his music alive and listened to. He is not alive. This is the cold hard reality that is somehow strangely being forgotten. Biggie died nearly 20 years ago and we do not need to bring him back in order to respect him. We already respect him, as well as many other legends from the past. If these holograms continue and become a desirable performance, it is only a matter of time before we bring back Elvis, Amy Winehouse, Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Hendrix. Post-human performances will become an unnatural extension to the human lifespan, which ultimately becomes normalized. Freaky, in my opinion.
So whilst that is my personal opinion, I sought after other opinions on this strange new phenomenon that is in process. I was torn between being shocked, and also disappointed. The upcoming tour sold out in seven minutes. Instant success, instant interest and excitement from hip hop fans throughout America. However, it made me wonder curiously if these people are only hyped because a new form of technology is coming out, a new heightened reality that is simply unseen before. Within this technology determining age, the rapid opportunities are endless therefore our levels of boredom are heightened, as new becomes old extremely quickly. As humans we crave new, shiny, updated versions of everything and anything, from cars to iphones... and now progressing onto three dimensional deceased musicians. Our brains are shrinking as technology is evolving, which is again only reinforcing the reality of the post-human world we live within. Technology is our controller, our dictator, shaping and constantly constructing the world we understand. I was torn between wondering if ticket buyers are genuinely hyped to see the legend of Biggie perform, or if they are most hyped about the exciting new technology. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s leaning towards the latter.
Another concerning issue is the high quality of these holograms and the way in which they genuinely appear real. As Notorious B.I.G’s mother quoted, “Words can’t even capture how elated I am for the world to finally see my son again on stage and beyond” leaves lingering feeling of inequality. To witness her son in three dimensional imagery gives a glimmer of realism to the mourning mother, allowing her to strangely “physically” see her son again. It will only be a matter of time before this becomes a fashionable and common way of remembering the dead, regardless of a legendary musician or not. For example, a mother who has lost her child will seek for this glimmer of realism, to see their child moving and smiling with agency. Naturally, this causes deep problems, again tackling concerns around denial of death, and unnatural prolonging.
Seeing that Holograms are going on tour, made me question several surfacing concerns. Firstly, would I attend a concert of a famous artist that has passed? Secondly, would the concert/tour hold any sense of true authenticity associated with that artist? Short and sweet simple answer to both – no. Considering the entire point of seeing an artist on tour, is that strange realization that - wow, this person does exist – is completely removed from the entire performance. The realisation that you are simply just watching a pre-recorded, and technologically toyed with piece of content, aiming to fool you into this scary world of a fake reality. Maybe I’m being too cynical... quite possibly. However, I still just come back to the same conclusion every time. The conclusion that artists make memorable and legendary music that can be lived on, passed down, appreciated and remembered, however the technological re-creation of themselves is simply unneeded. Respect both their music, and the life they lived, and just leave it at that.
Mothers Quote: http://www.vibe.com/2016/04/notorious-b-i-g-hologram-tour/
