Robot Aid: Robotics, Education and Social Innovation
In 2016 it is 45 years since film director Stanley Kubrick released "A Clockwork Orange" on Alex, who looses his free will, and end up as a robot, everyone can control.
In working-class English, the phrase "Queer as a Clockwork Orange", which inspired the British author Anthony Burgess for his novella "A Clockwork Orange", has got various meanings, from being a normal person, who appears to be natural on the outside, but internally is artificial. Clockwork can also be a reference to Machine, and since Orang means human in Malay, the title of the novella or movie, can also be translated to a man-machine.
In the middle ages, various Astronomical Clockworks, among them, Orloj in Prague, somehow also illustrated the shift in time of mankind, where Gods laws slowly started to loose power to the laws of Science. Or, from a time, where humans started to emancipate themselves from its own destiny, and lives as puppets, wherein all the moves in persons lives already are scheduled from day one, to a believe in that the "free will" actually excist, and that persons actually can choose their own paths of life.
Dr. Martin Saska of The Czech Technical University presented a small lecture on drones and swarm behaviour at Cafe Neu Romance 2014.
In Kubrick's version of "A Clockwork Orange" we're following the teenager Alex and his gang. They beat up homeless people, steal, rape, and one day Alex kills a female art collector. After spending two years time in prison he got an offer to be a part of a psychological experiment, which on one hand "cure" his violent side of his personality, but on the other hand made him out of control to defend himself, and to have joy of one of his biggest passions, Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Left alone out in the streets, he one day returns to the house, where an old author, who is aware of that the democratic chosen government, not only can use this new treatment to "cure" criminals, but also to elimate critical persons of the government, like himself.
The sci-fi movie from 1971 introduces to a lot of conflicts, we can recognize in the society of today. Because, how can a state on one hand make a secure place to live for its citizens, and at the same time respect democracy and the human rights declaration, while it on the other hand, is not ending in a totalitarian "1984" society, where all the citizens have lost their freedom and are under strong surveillance from the state, who can control all their movements?
In "Queer as a Clockwork Orloj: Robotics, Security & Emancipation" we seeks to make an exhibition and a seminar, which reflects on:
a) Orloj, the Astronomical Clock in
Prague, now and then, with special focus on the automata of the
Clock.
b) A Clockwork Orange, in relation to robots, security and
emancipation
c) Robotics and Security
- from various perspectives.
If you want to contribute with a work, live performance or a talk, or have something else in mind, which could be interested in relation to this theme, then write to info@cafe-neu-romance.com.
[image source: Vive Les Robots!]
[source: Vive Les Robots!]
The Danish "robot" marketing and event firm
Vive Les Robots! is the main organizer of Cafe Neu Romance.
The Gallery of the National Technical Library in Prague, Galerie NTK, is co-organizer of Cafe Neu Romance.
The Institute of Intermedia (IIM) at the Czech Technical University, is a special partner of Cafe Neu Romance.