Prince Ea, "Can We Autocorrect Humanity?"



For today's class, I am excited to share with you my favorite videos of all time: spoken-word artist, Prince Ea's, "Can We Autocorrect Humanity?"

On first watch, please take notes on anything you find important, interesting, or want to discuss.

On second watch, please use the lyrics I've handed out to you and annotate the script as you watch.

After we have watched the video twice, please break into groups of three and discuss your notes and annotations.

For Homework:
Complete the reading sheets on Prince Ea I gave you. Make sure to reference the student sample. This is an A++ student sample!

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. I feel like the most depressing part of the video was the lack of a substantial argument.

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  2. This makes me appreciate living at MSSM, because I get to see all my friends everyday.

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  3. It really bothers me that he is trying to rap this.

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  4. I have mixed feelings about this video. Just because one may be constantly talking to friends on their phone doesn't mean that we wouldn't prefer to meet up face to face. Some of my favorite people live as much as 9 hours away, and if we could meet face to face, we would. However, it isn't always an option

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  5. People see themselves as singular beings not communities anymore.

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  6. Connection is what we make of it. If someone is more invested in their phone than you, than thats their fault.

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  7. SOPHIA: Its interesting how he talks about how we have less self worth and measure our success in followers and likes

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  8. It is nice that I can see those that I want to talk to face to face.

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  9. I do think that a face to face conversation is necessary however. If I have any chance to, I will always ask people to talk face to face, and I will almost always refuse to talk about something important unless we are face to face. Some people always ask why, but it doesn't seem real otherwise

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  10. The only thing about this that I agree with is not judging self worth by likes

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  11. His claims have no backing. While much of what he said can be shown frequently, I don't believe that an adult has an attention span lower than a goldfish. It would make him more believable if he had sources for his claims.

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  12. As someone who comes from an environment where phones and tech are not a large part of life, I find that I am happier and more stress free when I put my phone away and don't have to worry about it. While I do believe that technology is a very useful tool, it has become too much a part of daily life. With the rise of low attention spans and phone anxiety it is pretty apparent that society is addicted to devices.

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  13. He has a way with words that is very persuasive. He uses such common words like selfie to impact us.

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  14. I disagree with almost every single thing he said in that entire video. Texting is a way to talk to people when you wouldn't be able to otherwise. If I have to do homework but still want to talk to my friends it enables me to do that. And while it might reduce connection on a standing a foot in front of each other level, it allows for me to talk to people all across the world, forming and sustaining friendships and connections that never would have been possible otherwise. Facebook is not supposed to replace friends and anybody who uses it that way is foolish. It is a way to share with people and to open yourself up to them a little bit and let them into your life some more.

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  15. I disagree, with all the technology, people are brought closer together. Facebook in particular is the reason that people in tyrannical dictatorships are able to share information to stage protests and battle against dictators. Before facebook, it would be much more difficult to do this.

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  16. I like the phrase "Pageantry of Vanity". Did he make it or get it from somewhere?

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  17. Without technology, this school would not be #1 in the state.

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  18. I agree with what he is saying. I notice that sometimes when I'm hanging out with friends from home that I haven't seen in a while we just sit on our phones. I think that people would rather just text then hang out in person, and this makes things more awkward when we do have to see each other in person. However, I do like to take pictures of special or beautiful moments because it's nice to keep them to remember. I think we are all guilty of being on our phones too much at some point, so I agree with him when he says that we all need to start to try to use our phones less and focus more on human connection.

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  19. We also don't actually know what the average attention span of a goldfish is. There are a few studies showing that the attention span of humans is around 8 seconds, down from 12 in 2000, but that is still debated.

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    1. Agreed. If you are going to make a point, make a point with evidence.

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  20. Lovin' the repetition, rhyme, and irony. Also the rhetoric in this video seems really powerful. The facts (ADD on the rise, attention spans lower than goldfish, etc) appear to be logos, while the clips of people on smartphones while they could be interacting socially contain a lot of pathos.

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  21. There are upsides and downsides to technology but for some that is the only way some have to talk to their own family or old friends.

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  22. Four years of life looking down at a cell phone is an example of logos. Despite the format, he manages to integrate facts into his speech like when he talks about the average adult attention span. Another example is when he talks about how ADD is on the rise. He appeals to pathos when he talks about wishing that people were happy when they had low phone battery. Although that seems weird because if they had low phone battery that probably means that they were on their phone a lot.

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  23. I feel that this is mainly coming from a person that is ignorant about what he is trying to say. It seems like he is reaching to far to make a point that, for the most part, isn't there.

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  24. While there is a message here I agree with about technology and a lack of true human contact, but I find a lot of the content to be relatively empty and more anti-technology instead of pro-contact.

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