My motion graphic work “Overdose” tells the story of a white-collar worker who becomes addicted to using a vacuum cleaner claiming to remove people’s negative feelings. Instead of removing negative feelings, this machine secretly erases users’ interests and hobbies, gradually robbing them of the motivation to pursue happiness, ultimately turning them into joyless tools.
Interestingly, despite the title being “Overdose,” the excessive use of this negativity remover is, in some ways, the opposite of traditional drug abuse. The former enhances a person’s instrumental qualities, while the latter is a purely mental trip, the highest form of hormonal pleasure.
Initially, I wanted to explore the boundaries of human instrumental qualities. Humans are spiritual beings, and in Greek, the words for organs and tools share the same root, implying that tools can be seen as extensions of certain organs. Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” accurately predicted the mechanization of humanity after the end of the Second Industrial Revolution. This mechanization gradually led to a literary trend in the 1960s and 70s, which later evolved into a unique artistic style in films and games known as cyberpunk.
Cyberpunk’s cyborg enhancements take the idea of tools as extensions of organs to the extreme. This aesthetic transitioned into reality, where on social media, selfies of disabled individuals with cool cybernetic enhancements became a unique form of beauty. The fusion of man and machine, machines becoming human, and humans becoming machines are recurring themes in the realm of artistic creation, with notable examples like the TV series “Black Mirror” and the game “Detroit: Become Human.” Beyond the visually appealing fusion of man and machine, I wanted to explore the internal and mental mechanization of humans, the theme of humans becoming machines.
I have personal experience with this theme. One direct observation is that after drawing with Procreate for a long time, my first instinct when I make a mistake on paper is to double-tap the paper with two fingers, as if I can undo it. Also, the muscle memory of using the command+z key in Apple systems to undo actions made me instinctively try to use it when I accidentally spilled water, even though it doesn’t work in the real world. After noticing these tendencies in myself, one of my animation ideas was about a protagonist whose interaction with the world gradually transformed into Adobe’s interaction logic, leading to humorous situations. This idea stems from the perspective of a designer, emphasizing the notion that tools can be seen as extensions of certain organs.
Initially, my thoughts on this matter did not go beyond the scope of the film “Modern Times,” focusing on how a person’s instrumental qualities in their work erode their consciousness, and the harm caused by the mechanical nature of human work in capitalist mass production. The idea that “no desire no pain” in the film can be taken further.
In the TV series “Black Mirror,” there are many explorations of black technology and human body modifications, especially regarding the impact of technological developments on sensory limitations. One of the most iconic episodes is the “Black Mirror Christmas Special,” where everyone has a chip implanted in their brains to control what people see and hear. Those with a criminal history are rendered invisible and inaudible to others. People can only see grayed-out figures with mosaics and hear blurred sounds. Not only is people’s creativity stifled in education, but what they see and hear is also filtered, leaving only content that the government deems suitable for its citizens to be transmitted.
Apart from controlling people’s behavior, the most destructive aspect is the further control of people’s thoughts by capital and the government. Capitalist production requires suppressing people’s natural inclination to seek happiness; without suppression, there is no production. This contradiction of instrumental suppression of human nature has produced a group of sociological schizophrenics. Fortunately, the land produced by capitalism requires democracy and freedom, so even if people become sociological schizophrenics, they can still seek relief within a community with shared understanding.In the context of so-called state capitalism or authoritarian politics, political pressure prevents people from having the freedom to form societies and protest. The last route to seek relief is also blocked.
This control and rigidity, from behavior to thoughts, may make having a negativity cleaner a mild form of escape for those trying to evade reality, a voluntary relinquishment of hope. Without hope, there shall be no pain, but without hope, it is not enough to be human. Human nature is destined to break free from this instrumental enslavement, and while artificial intelligence can be a partial solution, a deeper solution requires a global cognitive awakening. Capitalism driven by desire is unsustainable; production cannot keep up with the generation of desires, and material satisfaction can never fill the void of the spiritual. This void needs to be filled from within, and capitalism, which unbridledly mortgages the future due to desire, is destined to have its end.
