Module C: Texts and Society, Elective 1: Exploring Interactions Feed by M. T. Anderson

Unpacking the Rubric- Note: you will need a related text for this topic

Something to consider- 2015 HSC question on Feed: Interactions with others challenge attitudes and belief. To what extent do the texts you have studied in this elective support this view? In your response, refer to your prescribed text and ONE other related text of your choosing.

Feed by M. T. Anderson Feed (2002) is a young adult dystopian novel of the cyberpunk subgenre written by M. T. Anderson. The novel focuses on issues such as corporate power, consumerism, information technology, data mining, and environmental decay, with a sometimes sardonic, sometimes sombre tone. Told from the first-person perspective of a teenager, the novel presents a near-futuristic American culture completely dominated by advertising and corporate exploitation, corresponding to the enormous popularity of internetworking brain implants.

Major Scientific and Technological Events from 1950 to Now

Genre- a way of categorising a text Genre- a way of categorising a text. Genres are formed by a set of shared conventions. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. Reading about Feed’s genre

Language is the key to this unit. Different groups, social contexts and individuals use ‘language’ to interact and communicate with each other. These ‘languages’ reflect the values, attitudes and beliefs of the social context and, in turn, the values attitudes and beliefs of the social context are determined by the ‘language’ people use. Your job is to develop an understanding of how the ‘language’ of interaction used within social context can affect the people’s perception of themselves and others as well as impacting upon the ways in which they form relationships and interact with society. In various social contexts a person can either support or challenge the ideas, beliefs and attitudes of that society. These choices can influence and affect both themselves and others.

Bildungsroman – noun journey of education, development and maturing of a young person. It is about ‘growing up’, going through the stages of changing or transforming one’s attitudes and beliefs, identity and behaviours.

The three stages in Feed Shaping Titus’ attitudes and beliefs, identity and behaviour Challenging Titus’ attitudes and beliefs, identity and behaviour Transforming Titus’ attitudes and beliefs, identity and behaviour

Consumerism- noun the concept that an ever-expanding consumption of goods is advantageous to the economy and society.

Related text option- Humans Humans is a British-American science fiction television series. The series was written by the British team Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley. The series explores the themes of artificial intelligence and robotics, focusing on the social, cultural, and psychological impact of the invention of anthropomorphic robots called "synths." The series is produced jointly by AMC, Channel 4 and Kudos.

Plot Setting Characterisation Theme Style 5 elements of narrative Plot Setting Characterisation Theme Style

Narrative Voice Who is narrating the story? Why has this narrator been chosen by the author? Does the narrator know absolutely everything about the story and the characters? Is the story being told in the first person or third person? Why? Is the story written in the past, present or future tense? Why?

Setting ‘Feed’ is set in a foreign and unrecognisable world where they grow fillet mingion and clouds are owned by corporations. The Earth has been devastated, the natural environment barley exists anymore and most people live in artificially created zones.

Context Anderson has used an excessively foreign setting and context where holidaying on the Moon, flying ‘Upcars’ and fields of meat to highlight are the norm to highlight the similarities between the experiences of the characters in ‘Feed’ and contemporary human interactions. Anderson uses his novel to comment on the life of excessive many are currently living and uses his novel to foreshadow the future for Earth if we continue on our current trajectory. ‘Feed’ acts as a doomsday omen, which seeks to warn us about the potential problems of relying so heavily on technology. Even though Titus is content and accepting of his context, through his interactions we see the problems that arise due to living in this futuristic world.

Communication Since the invention of the internet communicating with people has become even easier and more accessible. In the world of ‘Feed’ Anderson is able to highlight the way that technology effects human interactions. In‘Feed’ individuals ability to communicate is inhibited by the constant bombardment of advertising that they are confronted with. As a result, the feed can be viewed as impeding interactions rather than facilitating them.

Module C: Elective 1: Exploring interactions The important words in the elective descriptions are: Explore Analyse Variety of texts Social contexts: home, cultural, friendships, sporting groups, workplace and digital worlds Acts of communication Shape, challenge or transform Attitudes and beliefs Identities and behaviours Interactions perceptions

Module C: Elective 1: Exploring interactions You need to come to an understanding of how the language contained in the text can affect certain ways of thinking and acting in society. It is expected that you will develop insight into how the context surrounding people’s interactions can have an impact on the way we see ourselves, other people , relationships and society at large. Task: Describe the setting of Feed. Describe the context of 2002, when Anderson wrote the novel. Describe the setting of your related text- eg Humans Describe the context of when your related text was made.

Close studies of the interactions – look at the style and the techniques used The types of interactions that occur in Feed between characters are reflected by the style of language used by Anderson. Positive interactions use figurative language, descriptive language and poetic devices. Characters like Violet draw allusions to others texts, such as her reference to ‘Salad days’ and this is done to highlight the difference between Violet and characters like Calista, Link and Marty. These interactions are more cohesive and coherent and this reflect that the interactions are more meaningful. Consider the emotions being represented in that interaction also and how Anderson’s choice of technique relates to that emotion. Eg -Love, anger, jealousy due to the pollution, the bubbles in which they live

Who has negative interactions? Close studies of the interactions – look at the style and the techniques used Negative interactions in the novel tend to use less sophisticated language choices, such as colloquialism, profanity and truncated sentences.. Who has negative interactions? The interactions between Titus and his friends are superficial in nature. Whereas Violet and her father WANT more from their interactions. They want to exist outside of the Feed but realise when Violet gets sick the problems with seeking to live outside the feed. All consuming consumerist nature of the world in which they live ultimately win out in the end and prevent deeper interactions. due to the pollution, the bubbles in which they live

Think about the significance of the names; Failure to Interact In Feed, the characters fail to interact with the environment/nature and other countries. What causes the characters in Feed to not interact with nature or other countries? Another technique- Think about the significance of the names; Link – Titus says that Link is a clone of Abraham Lincoln Calista - comes from the Greek for "most beautiful. Greek huntress in the myth of Callisto, who was loved by Zeus. Titus – A moon, a was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A character in the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus Violet – a flower due to the pollution, the bubbles in which they live