So, how do you make a web doc?
This documentary is eight months in the making! In September 2019, we were tasked with choosing a socially significant topic to research for our senior capstone thesis for the Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts program at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont. After seeing many quick gimmicky clips of flashy new technology over our years as media studies students, our group decided that it was worth it to explore the impacts of this technology on a deeper level.
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Our topic began as "the ways in which humans are becoming more like machines, and machines are becoming more human-like." We spent the fall of 2019 researching topics like AI, robotics, prosthetics, and biohacking, conducting pilot interviews, and doing other ethnographic observations until we realized just how broad this topic was. Finally, in December, we narrowed it down to You Are A Cyborg. The final research paper can be found at the bottom of this page.
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We spent the spring of 2020 lining up interviews and digging even deeper into our topic. That is, of course, until the global COVID-19 pandemic swept through the United States, and forced us to do a bit of restructuring. Despite this, we are happy to have been able to create the piece that you've seen today, and hope to continue doing great work in our careers post-college.
Central Questions
These were the questions that we used to guide the major themes and content in our documentary.
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How do you convince those less knowledgeable on the subject of robots becoming more like humans, that it is a positive progression?
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What are the financial benefits and drawbacks of integrating robotics into society and how affordable are these high-tech options?
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With personal technology as a staple in everyday life, is our privacy a thing of the past?
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Are prosthetic limbs and implant technologies creating freedom in what the human body is able to do?
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How do these technologies differ from culture to culture and how have they been impacted?
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How has pop culture influenced the public’s perception of robots and artificial intelligence?
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What are the possible health ramifications that are associated with implant technology?
Meet The Team
An Enormous Thank You
Mudita:
1. joy; especially sympathetic or vicarious joy.
2. the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being.
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This documentary would not have been possible if it weren't for the kindness and willingness to help from so many incredible people. You are the ones who continue to make this world a meaningful and human place.
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Thank you to those who let us interview them for the film: Amal Graafstra, Anastasia Synn, Jason Barnes, Tim Cannon, Ryan O'Shea, Shriya Srinivasan, Rickard Braanemark, John Cohn, Jeffrey Tibbetts, David Li, Natasha Vita-More, George Becker, Jeremy Bourgeois, Juli Lopez-Linehan, Jonathan Ferri.
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Thank you to those who helped us get off the ground with pilot interviews: Jeff Finkelstein, Nick Cheney, Josh Bongard, Thomas Dickerson, Katheryn Wright.
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Thank you to Saint Michael's College: our IT department, our librarians, our professors, and our fellow classmates (especially MJD seniors) for supporting us and helping us create our final piece. And thank you to our friends and family for listening to us talk about this for nearly a year and getting just as excited as we were for the final product.
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And to anyone else who offered to help or support us along the way, thank you.
A senior Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Art major at Saint Michael's College, Bella has been interested in media and technology since the beginning of college. This interest grew as she picked up Mathematics and Data Science minors along the way. She is now exploring careers in data analytics and digital marketing.
Isabella Cigna
A senior Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts major with a Studio Art minor at Saint Michael's College, Stephen specializes in Videography and Photography. As a technological and traditional artist, he has a passion for capturing, creating, and sharing art in all forms. With a keen eye for production quality and aesthetics, Stephen seeks to produce professional-grade work in each assignment.
Stephen Higgins
A senior Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts major and Psychology minor at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. Sierra has always had an interest in art and design and quickly became interested in media and technology after taking her first few classes at St. Mike’s. She’s worked on projects that have combined all her interests and is excited about future careers in this field.