No Maps For These Territories [1]
- Original content [3]
- Contains explicit material
[6]An independent documentary by Mark Neale, No Maps [7] puts William Gibson in the back of a limo and provides an informal interview while riding around North America, Ireland, and the UK. Most of the content is Gibson's responses to unheard questions with the presentation coming off as a stream of consciousness.
Covering a range of topics, Gibson provides his views on culture, the current technology revolution, and his writing process. It's a rare and interesting opportunity to hear thoughts from a winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards (both for his novel Neuromancer) and worth the time to enjoy.
Why you should watch it
Gibson is a wonder to watch and hear. This is one of the most influential science fiction writers of the last forty years and the author who coined the term "Cyberspace." He shares too many ideas to put in this review, but here are a few clips to wet your appetite.
- How technology invades our lives
- "What makes you anxious these days?" with comments on his writing
(There is a muted portion on the front end)
- That Spooky Post-Geographical Feeling and the Non-Mediated World
This is one of my favorite documentaries and I pull it out every year or so, just to listen to Gibson. His quote on the "non-mediated world" is one of my favorites and something I keep in mind to help me understand the blitz that is today's technology and futurist newsfeed. I find it reassuring that I'm not alone in that feeling and that someone of Gibson's stature feels the same.
I won't link to them, but the full documentary is available online in many places. However, I'm linking to the Amazon page for the DVD [7] in hopes you'll buy a copy ($16 new and $5 used at the time I publish this) to watch. It's well worth the money.
Topics covered
Futurists will enjoy the topics explored in the movie, including:
- The impact of nanotechnology
- How much technology is an inseparable part of the human experience
- Gibson's views on his own writing process
- The development of 'cyberspace' as an element of his writing
- Some historical insight into how media has influenced our culture
If you enjoyed this review and intend to buy this documentary, please consider buying through this link [7].
Your overall rating:
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Story tags (elements of how we live):
Location of story:
- On Earth [10]
Years into the future:
Interested in the social impact of our future advancements, Daryl developed and built Regarding Tomorrow as a platform to share and discuss our collective hopes and fears of the future. Daryl's background is in education, including graduate studies in special needs and a masters in instructional technology [12] from UVA's Curry School of Education [13]. He has worked as a high school teacher and has over 10 years of university experience in the US and Canada.