Be a Pirate, Rock Star or Doctor!

I wasn’t a big reader as a child, and that certainly didn’t change as I grew older. I read when I had to, but preferred to spend my time outside playing. However, when I did want to read as a child the books that I really enjoyed where the "choose your own adventure books offered multiple plot directions. These stories really struck a chord with me because they allowed me control of where the story was going. And after I was done reading one choice of storyline, you could go back and read the other one.
The internet provides the ultimate grounds for the “choose your own adventure” stories because of hypertext. The ability to link multiple pages and text together could virtually create a story that never ends. I think taking this form of literature to mass distribution on the internet would be well received. I found an example of hypertext stories for educational use on the internet in which students are split into groups and create their own websites with the different parts of the story hyperlinked to each other.
I think one of the great benefits of this exercise is the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of storytelling and how to put a story together. This is also a great opportunity to cultivate young creative minds and let them run free with their ideas. When you’re dealing with a story that can take multiple turns there really is no wrong or right direction.

Does A.I. Have All the Answers?

Why do we go to the movies? A simple question that would yield 100 different responses from 100 different people. We go to the movies for many different reasons – to laugh, to cry, to be entertained and to be amused to name a few. We also go to the movies to be transported to different times and places.
Steven Spielberg’s 2001 production of Artifical Intelligence takes us to a time where humans and machines live side-by-side. Spielberg uses amazing special effects and superb storytelling to make you feel like you are a part of this future world. He also utilizes traditional movie techniques like the use of shadows, framing and matching shots to present a truly entertaining work.
The story is told through the eyes of a little boy who was created to show unconditional love for his mother. He is adopted by a family who had a younger boy of similar age but had to put him in cryogenics due to an un-curable disease. Still suffering from the grief of losing her only child, Monica Swinton and Henry Swinton (Frances O’Connor and Sam Robards) decided to take David into their home. Monica is skeptical about this new boy and takes a while to warm up to him while he instantly takes to her. Just as Monica is starting to appreciate David she learns that Martin will be able to be brought back to life and he soon returns home. Martin then consumes all of Monica’s attention and David is left to wonder why is mother doesn’t love him. David then spends the rest of the movie trying to gain his mother’s love.
Although we are introduced to David as a A.I. you quickly begin to view him as another human as the movie progresses due to his ability to show emotions. It is David’s ability to show emotions which engage the emotions of the viewers and draw you into his character and it makes you wonder if A.I. could ever advance to the point where they could understand and perform emotional responses.