Electronic Monuments, Part 4

Ulmer proposes in Chapter 7 that MEmorials be subjected to the Turing Test, saying on page 181 that, "The Turing test is a point of transition from literacy into electracy." The Turing Test is a thought experiment proposed to determine whether or not machines (specifically, computers) can be considered intelligent. In this experiment, a man and woman are hidden from the view of a judge. They can only communicate with the judge by way of text. The man's goal is to convince the judge that he is a woman, while the woman's goal is to convince the judge of the truth. Turing takes the experiment a further step by proposing a switch between either the man or the woman and a computer. The computer has to convince the judge that it is the woman, or even more interesting, it has to play the role of a man who tries to convince the judge that he is a woman. This all reminds me of one of my mother's favorite movies, a Judy Garland musical entitled, "Victor, Victoria." In this movie adaption of a Broadway production, Victoria is a struggling singer in France who can't get any work despite being able to shatter glass with her high notes. She and a friend devise a plan whereby she will pose as a man who cross-dresses and performs songs that are out of the range for male singers; a woman posing as a man posing as a woman.

An artist's interpretation of Miranda Rights

Ulmer refers to Carmen Miranda, as a similar type of hybrid or paradox. In this portion of the book, he is trying to express the need for freedom and fluidity in MEmorials. Carmen Miranda, born Marie do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, was a famous Brazilian Samba dancer. In fact, Ulmer states that, "Carmen Miranda" is a metonym for 'samba'" (197). The samba is a dance of freedom. It is noteworthy that Marie had to change her name to Carmen Miranda in order to hide her dancing profession from her father, who looked down on entertainers and considered them worthy of contempt and the lowest being on the social ladder (198). Miranda is also the name of the famous Venezuelan general and adventurer whose legacy is one of a champion for freedom and resistance of tyranny. Miranda is also the name given to the set of rights that one must be read in America when they are being arrested (You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...). It is paradoxical that the Miranda "Rights" serve the purpose of silencing you, effectively hindering your freedom.

In Chapter 8, Ulmer returns to the 9/11 MEmorials that he mentioned in the beginning of the book. He relates the story of Will Pappenheimer and his "Soft Wishing Y Tour" of New York. His MEmorial was born out of his mystory, wherein he focuses on his love of music and the Y shape, which represents both the musical tuning forks of his childhood and the concept of a wishbone. Pappenheimer's peripheral was a tour of New York City's ground zero. Pappenheirmer planned out a tour that spanned the approximate length of ground zero and was in the shape of his emblem, the Wishing Y, formed by his placement of fluffy pompoms. The Y, which we read about earlier in the book, represents an intersection of ideas and identities, while also focusing on the abjects that allowed 9/11 to happen. What I found



questions:

1) MEmorials require freedom of expression to be fully realized. Do you feel that you've found this freedom of expression in your group MEmorial projects?

2)

3)

photos:
http://www.blogwaybaby.com/2005/01/how-great-was-victorvictoria.shtml
http://frequentcritic.blogspot.com/2011/01/political-miranda-warning-everything.html