Weird tech levels |
January 14th, 2010 |
tech |
Last night Julia and I watched Mongolian
Ping Pong, a very slow moving but visually stunning movie set in
rural mongolia. It was not at all the point of the movie, but the
degree to which there were weird
combinations of technology really interested me. Take
transportation. The three main characters are boys about 8 years
old. Two of them ride horses, the third rides a small motor
scooter. Not clear why. Then there's a dance troupe that dances
both to chinese violin and western piano accordion and to recorded
music. There's some use of electricity (attempts at getting a
television signal, electric razor, flashlight) but they are clearly
off the grid. Most of their tech, though, is centuries old. It's
weird how ingrained my sense is that technology
has a specific order, a sense that is very strongly jarred by
nomadic herder children on motor scooters.
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