This semester we are continuing from the theme of last semester – Liberation. From here on, I’ll be posting my research and tidbits of information and other pieces of inspiration which will help to inform my final product in week 30.
A good starting point is to define liberation: “the act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression; release.”, and also “freedom from limits on thought or behaviour.”; this can be connected to the Magna Carta, a document which of this year is celebrating its 800th anniversary and was chartered to create peace between the unpopular King John and rebel Barons. Although King John died the following year, the Magna Carta was kept as the first step towards constitution within the United Kingdom. One of the most central points within the Magna Carta states that nobody, not even the King, is above the law.
The Magna Carta could generally be compared to the Constitution of the United States of America. Although while the Magna Carta itself may no longer be so relevant to contemporary Britain, it’s almost certain that we wouldn’t have modern Britain without it.
Conceptually, my project could focus on the “freedom of the people” aspect that the Magna Carta represents; a technology of some sort that can help “liberate” people; whether that be from the monotony of life, themselves or something a little more literal.
However, I would much prefer to look into the liberation of information: a much discussed-topic of recent years.
Freedom of information:
Edward Snowden
Jullian Assange
The following are several examples of existing projects that I believe best represent the idea of liberation:
– Wikipedia
– Wikileaks
– Torrent websites
While these are websites, I believe they still embody the spirit of freedom. It would be good to take these concepts and expand them beyond the constraints of the internet.
-USB Dead drops-