Chris Castiglione » Control and Freedom http://www.ccastig.com Chris Castiglione, New Media, Development, Music, University of Amsterdam, New York City Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:11:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Wendy Chun’s Control and Freedom http://www.ccastig.com/2008/12/04/wendy-chuns-control-and-freedoman-argument-summary/ http://www.ccastig.com/2008/12/04/wendy-chuns-control-and-freedoman-argument-summary/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:40:15 +0000 Chris Castiglione http://www.ccastig.com/?p=388 Wendy Chun's Control and FreedomIn Control and Freedom Wendy Chun argues that “power now operates through the coupling of control and freedom”. Rather than thinking of control and freedom as opposites, Chun stresses that they are two sides of the same coin and therefore they rely on each other. Chun argues that the “freedom” we experience when using the Internet comes from the controlling technology that is the foundation of the Internet. The moment you attempt to access a web page the computer involuntarily begins a dialogue with the network and therefore there is no anonymity on the web. The screen “suggests that your computer only sends and receives data at your request”, explains Chun, but the truth is that the network is receiving a reproduction of your data “without [your] consent and knowledge.”

Chun believes that “the idea that we are only free when safe defers freedom” because freedom exceeds control and should not come with a guarantee of good or evil. The control-freedom paradox is made evident through the entwining of human freedom (as free will) with the underlying objective control necessitated by our presence on the network. Chun asserts that we must “explore the potential of communications technologies–a potential that stems from our vulnerabilities rather than our control”. Chun poignantly illustrates “deterrence no longer prevents,…our very ‘preemptive actions’ often cause the very events they claim to be preventing”. Therefore, we must overcome paranoia and pre-emptive tendencies if we ever hope to truly experience freedom.

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