The Military Industrial Light & Magic Complex
Julian Bleecker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Interactive Media Division, School of Cinema-TV
Research Fellow
Annenberg Center for Communication
University of Southern California

Avoiding Ender’s Folly

Technology, Culture & Entertainment
How are they drawn together?
What makes technology cultural?
What makes a relationship between
entertainment and technology?

1. War, Entertainment & Hollywood

Hollywood Film Rallies A Nation To War

Film Stars Take Up The Cause of War

2. Post War — An Immense Military
Establishment

Eisenhower Farewell Address

\"This conjunction of an immense military establishment
and a large arms industry is new in the American
experience. The total influence-economic, political, even
spiritual-is felt in every city, every state house, every
office of the Federal government...In the councils of
government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by
the military-industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will
persist.\"
Eisenhower Farewell Address

3. Forty Years Later:
The Military Industrial Complex?

What is the “complex” today?

Ivan Sutherland
Computer Graphics Comes Into Its Own

Ivan Sutherland
Head Mounted Display

Dave Evans & Ivan Sutherland
University of Utah, Computer Science

Dave Evans & Ivan Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation

Evans & Sutherland Solutions

Evans & Sutherland Digistar

E&S Network
Alan Kay ~ PARC/Disney Imagineering
John Warnock ~ Adobe/Macromedia
Nolan Bushnell ~ Atari
Ed Catmull ~ Pixar/Academy Award
Jim Clark ~ SGI/Netscape
SGI -> Industrial Light & Magic

Military Industrial Light & Magic Complex

4. Why Is The Military In Show Business?
Shocking & Awe-Inspiring Performance
Simulation = Rehearsal

Embedded Algorithms To
Blowing Things Up
Knock Things Down

5. Playful Translations Between 2nd Life Into
1st Life: Avoiding Ender’s Folly

How To Couple
2nd Life Worlds & 1st Life Worlds
In A Life Affirming Way?

This is weird

Dance Dance Revolution

Feeding Yoshi

Pet Rock Star

Vis-a-Vis Games

Speculation
Suppose 1st Life Was
Connected To 2nd Life
Directly..And We Knew It?
Would That Be An Advancement in
Computer Entertainment?

Supppose SimCity Translated From 2nd Life to
1st Life?

thx to tiaragirl, callmestream & rom23 for the flickr images.
bruce sterling & tim lenoir for inspiration
Thank You