Anthropomorphin' Power Rangers

So lately, I have fallen head over heels for Veronica Mars. One might tersely characterize it as a mid-oughties televisual masterpiece or a razor sharp postmodern re-imagining of Nancy Drew. But it is so much more than that. It definitely deserves its own post. Sadly, my lack of follow-through means I may never get around to it.

While that could be the dreary eventuality, and an introduction to the series would be served far better by, say, a clip of the eponymous character, far more relevant to my thoughts at this moment is a tidbit from the series' resident smart-talkin' bad boy Logan Echolls (played by Jason Dohring):



That's right. Anthropomorphic. That is where my thoughts reside.

I'm flippin you people, with a total 180. Because while I would like a to do a lengthy post that praises the show above- referenced, I'd rather muse more here on the idea of endowing objects/machines with human qualities.

In medical practice, building relationships with technology, anthropomorphizing machines to improve the efficacy of health care, is gaining a foothold (see 1:24):



I was struck today by this vid via a post on e-patients.net. What I find exciting in the post were all the practical applications to some ideas that I have only been dealing with on a mostly theoretical plane. However, what I found lacking, was the linkage from these highly practical and tenable suggestions for revolutionizing health care, to the deep social relevance beyond simply improving efficiency and well-being on a large scale (though that's hardly simple, I know). In my own recent academic inquiry I have become increasingly fascinated with the relationships between humans and non-humans, whether they be other species, or objects. Not only I am concerned with how this affects the ways that we talk about the human body and the porousness thereof with regard to transplantation and transfusion medicine (where my research has hovered), but also to the ways we think more broadly about what constitutes "the social," and what still matters in human interaction.

A thinker that I have found particularly inspirational in this regard is Donna Haraway. Her extremely influential work as the founder of cyborg theory, grapples with these issues extensively. While I cannot do justice to her oeuvre in a mere blog post, this lovely video of her expresses some of the sentiment behind her ideas:

Donna Haraway on Human Exceptionalism from Eben Kirksey on Vimeo.

Could I go one longer about this? Sure, but I'm lazy. One way to tie this all up, is to say that with greater appreciation for the non-human in our life, and to engage with the non-human more creatively, we can begin to better the human condition. Paradox perhaps, or just pure wisdom?

Final thought: The Megazord was an excellent example of the cyborg:



Go! Go! Power Rangers!