WEEK 11: FRAGMENTS OF A HOLOGRAM ROSE

For this week, I read the story “Fragments of a Hologram Rose” by William Gibson. This short story was quite an interesting read for me. At first I didn’t fully grasp what was happening because of the style of the narrative/ POV switch, but as I read it again it seemed to click a little more for me. I’m not sure if I totally got the message, but what I got from this reading was a very powerful and thought-provoking story about a man who is. Parker is written as a lonely and somber man who drifts through life as he recollects his memories through the ASP device. I wonder if ASP is something similar to VR and this was kind of Gibson’s opinion on it; that it would die out eventually by becoming the norm. It kind of reminded me of the Joi device brought up in Blade Runner 2049, since the short story mentioned the woman’s tapes and being able to project images of the opposite sex.

The overall tone and mood made me fall in love with this story, mainly because it gave me the exact vibes of cyberpunk that I have always envisioned (moody, dark, somewhat eerie and quiet). I found it pretty cool that this reality that the character lived in felt so futuristic and distant, but also not too unfamiliar. I felt like this is the kind of world that Gibson believes is coming in the near future. As technology keeps advancing the way that it is now, there is no telling what might actually be possible in 100 years. It kind of scares me in a sense, because the world that is portrayed through this story is not only advanced, but abandoned. This abandonment of “old technology” and even love says a lot about the future society. It’s as if Gibson is commenting on how people tend to tire and throw away things too easily, until there is nothing left. Parker is a relatable character because of his way of moving with the flow and just going through life almost pointlessly. I’m sure many people have felt that way in their life at one point.

- ☽Stacy Moon☾