Culture:
HD, 3D and the next big thing
Despite the recession, technology manufacturers continue
to innovate apace, bringing ever more complex gadgets to
market by the month. But, Martin Saunders asks, why
are we never satisfied with what we have, and what is the
endless pursuit of the 'next thing' doing to us?
You
need an iPad. You really do. It fits
in your bag; it can contain thousands
of books and magazines in its memory;
it has a gorgeous touch screen that’s
perfect for watching movies and
playing games. You can store your
music on it. You can store thousands
of photos on it – photos so average
that you’d never dream of paying to
develop them, but in this digital age,
who cares about that? Just put them
all on your iPad. Go on. It’s so shiny.
But hold on a minute. Did you
just do what I suggested, and buy
an iPad? Because if so, I’ve got news
for you: the iPad is old news. You
might have just spent a small fortune
buying it, but it is so late 2010. Now
it’s all about the iPad 2. Just like the
old, outdated, redundant model, but
with a much needed forward-facing
camera, availability in a range of
colours and…the smug sense that
you’ve kept up with the cutting edge
of technology and culture. I don’t care
if you just sold one of your own feet
to buy the iPad! It’s time to sell the
other one; unless of course you want
to get stuck behind the times.
3DTV
This isn’t even a ludicrous caricature
of Apple’s marketing for its ‘gamechanging’
tablet device. It is no more
than a strongly emphasised reading of
their own publicity. Technology is now
being manufactured with a remarkably
short expiry date, with new, even
better models of every device we know
(and a few new ones) waiting eagerly
around the corner. Fiercely competing
mobile phone manufacturers are
announcing a new high watermark
in innovation every week. Film fans
who have just upgraded their VHS
video libraries to DVD are pondering
on whether to make a similar step to
Blu-ray, or hold fire for the emergence
of an even whizzier format. And of
course television viewers who have
recently made the leap to HD are
now left wondering if they leapt far
enough…
Because the next thing – at least
at this moment – is 3DTV. It’s no
longer good enough to view an image
in two dimensions. Following the
lead of cinema chains which invite
their audiences to wear ridiculous
sunglasses during every performance
(and pay extra for the privilege),
television manufacturers are now
bringing to market screens which
require the family to do the same at
home. One current advert features
a family of six, all seated in front of
the new 3DTV in their specially
provided 3D glasses. Since they’re
indoors, they look ridiculous – like
a group of British holidaymakers
in denial about the lack of Margate
sunshine. Yet this is the dream
being pushed – buy this television,
so you too can wear the glasses.
You don’t want to be the only one
without them, do you?
Supply and Demand
At present, 3D broadcast is still
fairly experimental. Plenty of films
are available in the format (as
the movie critic Mark Kermode
argues, these mainly differ from
2D films only in the amount of
pointy things thrust towards
camera), but due to the expense
involved, innovation has been
slow. Sky are at the forefront,
having begun to shoot and
broadcast live football in 3D and,
intriguingly, also ballet.
Rationally, one may ask
why anyone needs to watch
football or ballet in 3D. All have
enthralled audiences for years
without the addition of balls or
people flying towards the screen.
Yet such is the momentum
created around the constant
improvement of technology that
many consumers are caught up
in a whirlwind of nonsense. We
must have the next thing.
Some responsibility for this
phenomenon undoubtedly lies
with those who manufacture and
market technology. New products
are part of a sales strategy which
renders them obsolete within
a few years, and many would
argue that ‘they don’t make ’em
like they used to’ – that product
durability is being reduced
in order to ensure we replace
our ‘stuff’ more regularly. Yet
ultimately, supply is only driven
by demand. As a society we not
only have the gadget bug, but
we are even excited by the idea
that our gadgets will need to be
regularly upgraded. My parents’
first TV saw them from 1970 to
1995. My first one lasted five
years, and when it broke down
I saw it as a cause to celebrate
– because now I could buy that
LCD I’d had my eye on.
The Gift of Simplicity
For the past six months, I’ve been
studying the Spiritual Disciplines.
Though countercultural, each of
these ancient tools for connecting
with God has a profound modern
application – perhaps none more
pertinent than the Discipline
of Simplicity. This practice of
stripping back the unnecessary
things that we ‘want’, and focusing
on those things which we truly
‘need’, stands in opposition to
this trend. In the West in the 21st
century, we are defined by our
consumption – buying stuff and
then throwing it away is likely to
be what history remembers us for;
especially when the resources start
running out. I’m not anti-capitalist,
but we simply don’t need half the
things we buy.
The gift of simplicity is that it
saves us from the empty lie that in
order to be happy, we need to have
more. In fact, true contentment is
found in having less, but having
the right things, and a right focus.
In Philippians 4:10–13, Paul talks
about how he has discovered this
secret – that happiness is not found
in having plenty, nor in having
little, but in ‘him who gives [us]
strength.’ When our excitement
is rooted in the next advance in
entertainment, rather than the next
advance of the kingdom, we’ve
allowed the riches of the world to
deceive us. Yet when we decide
to operate counterculturally, the
space we create in our lives gives
God room to move.
It’s our job to stand for
something more significant than
the acceptance of the consumerist
dream. The desire to increase the
quality of our TV pictures isn’t a
reflection of our innate longing to
perceive reality more clearly – but
simply that we’re getting caught
up in the never-ending escalation
of ‘things’. To pursue the next
thing for its own sake is to pursue
an idol. And don’t forget: the fall
of man started with the foolish
consumption of an apple product...
Check out Martin's Five Things to be watching out for,
here
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