WASABI: BITS FOR THE MIND

A 2–3-minute music video of a woman singing “INSERT SONG TITLE”. The performance is a juxtaposition of two versions of the woman singing the same material: one a fully made up (hair, make-up), objectified and sexualized woman, and the other “au-naturelle” (no make-up, natural hair, comfortable clothing). Technology- via social media, the press, Hollywood, has sold us and continues to sell us a version of what a woman is supposed to look like- and advances in technology provide the path for women to pay to augment their appearance to align with that imagery. The video asks: which version of the singer are they attracted to and why? Was one more powerful than the other? Was one more objectified than the other and what did that make them feel? What did they want or get from her in each? How did they feel about themselves after watching this? What does this say about women in our society, how we measure them, and what we are becoming?

A healthy baby boy is born – with the addition of a thin air filtering flesh mask covering his mouth and nose. The mother wants to bring her baby home from the hospital, while her husband and the physicians want him observed for scientific study, claiming an obligation to the advancement of modern medicine- and potentially the end of respiratory viruses. Who has the right to make what decisions for the baby- the parents or the institutions established to protect society as a whole? If a child is born with an evolutionary advantage, should he not be studied for the good of mankind? And more-over, what are we as a species evolving into (physically, emotionally, morally)?

A woman sits in a pizza parlor and listens to a podcast of philosopher, Nick Bostrom, explaining the three questions/possibilities that support Simulation Theory on her headphones. The woman’s doppelgänger comes and sits down across from her. They both take a bite of their pizza in unison; they both panic. The woman tries to trick the other out of the unison routine- to no avail. She rips off her headphones to be free of her, yet she remains. Is one the ancestral version of the other? Which is real, and how do we know?

The Department Chair of Astrophysics at Princeton is being questioned by the all-male faculty board for her inclusion of Many Worlds Theory (MWT) in her curriculum. MWT implies that there are most likely an uncountably infinite number of universes. The theory is a bit too radical for the Board to feel comfortable including in the syllabus. They press her with questions: Why is this so important to her? And if there are multiple realities - is one right or wrong? Good or bad? How can we agree on what reality we’re all in? The scene plays out twice with two contradictory endings.

A woman sits at her computer listening to the news on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Breaking news plays on the radio. She tries to donate to the people of Ukraine, but propaganda pop ups and trolls take over her screen and her internet cuts out. Determined to find a proper internet connection, she hops in her car and heads to get gas. Gas costs have skyrocketed. She searches her pockets for cash and doesn’t have enough. The car won’t start, the internet’s down, the phone is cut off. She gets out and stands alone on the side of the street. People get out of their cars and stare at each other. Who are we without technology? What does connecting with each other look like without it? What does it mean to be disconnected from it? Are we more human with or without it?