A revisionist reading of Lewis Carroll’s, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in context of changing realities of the 21st Century.
When Charles Lutwidge Dodgson AKA Lewis Carroll wrote Alice through the Looking Glass, he intended to showcase a Seussian world where Alice went into an alternative universe where things were so absurd that they could only happen in a strange, mysterious, parallel world. For generations, Carroll’s work has been read and admired by people of all ages. Critics have acclaimed this work for it is fluid descent into the dark world of the subconscious, as well as for it its satire upon the then contemporary scientific advances. Such a criticism can now be taken forward as it can be seen as a reflection of the contemporary experience.
As we journey into the 21st century, we are observing tremendous technological advancements in terms of better health care, cutting-edge tools for education and agriculture, pioneering communication devices and so on. But as we go deeper and deeper into understanding the nitty-gritties of science and nature and its working together, we not only get a peek of the very susceptible human condition under a magnifying glass but we are also aiding in paralyzing it.
The first thing we hear in the morning is the sound of our automated alarm clock which is followed by a religious scrolling through notifications, messages, emails sending the first wave of stress signals to our marginally rested brains. Then, we move on to read only crisp and warranted information on tablets replacing newspapers; finally, getting in our internet-enabled car that guides us through traffic and parking while more anxiety whisks away the mind. We sit in front of our high-end laptops typing out fancy reports while in actuality we are only virtually analyzing everyones lives on Facebook and Instagram. It’s almost as if we don’t need basic human interaction in our lives anymore; living alone in our technologically-enhanced bubbles with radiant, seductive screens that we so lovingly, endlessly gaze upon. But our true reflection is only revealed when the screen really goes — turning it into a mirror of our real selves.
Looking at our present, lets take a glimpse of what is ahead for us on the timeline. Just like Alice, we are all set to step in a world of alternative reality. A reality where people rate each other using phones creating its own pecking order around the world. A dystopian world with post-apocalyptic elements where the government creates devices that do not allow us to see the ‘other’ as human and thus, easily eliminate them from the face of the earth. A world which feeds off of hate and where social media is used as a means to discriminate. Can these be the unanticipated consequences of new technology? Could cyber-bullying and accidents caused by technological failures be a premonition of what is to come? Was Carroll able to foresee the future of the world that was to come ages after her demise?
Maybe we need to take a step back and reflect on the increasing human degeneration where technological revolution is turning into technological servitude. We cannot let machines rule our lives driving us to a point where we all become fat blobs turning into furniture as we sit in front of a screen that will draw us into an illusion where we accept that our survival is dependent on the very same technology we built to simply enhance our lives.
It is imperative for us to disconnect from our systems, our automatic cars, our phones, our digital lives and turn the autopilot mode off — every once in a while. We need to distance ourselves from a tech override by disciplining ourselves into -Reality. We need to let go of devices and hold on to human touch; silence the notifications some mornings and enjoy the sunshine peeking in instead. We need to hang up on that phone call and pay a visit instead. Just so that we can save our life before it becomes a casualty of technology.
Just so that we don’t forget that our real image can only be truly seen when we glance through the Looking-Glass.
