Memory Trigger


This semester, I'm enrolled in a seminar that focuses on speech and dialogue. It’s interesting how reading some information from the material assigned, triggered a memory This excerpt is from a novel titled You which is also a series. It’s about a narrator stalking a woman who visits his store. The term ‘you’ elicits a creepy feeling in the reader, giving them the feeling of being the person stalked. However, there are certain lines and passages that makes the reader feel the narrator is stating nothing but the truth. 

 

In the above passage, the narrator talks about the absence of DVD stores and the reduced communication levels between humans. Having grown up in an era where I’ve rented DVDs, this statement struck a chord.  Back then, I’d have some wonderful conversations with the DVD rental shop owner, who later became a very dear friend. There were times I’d be confused on what movie to watch next, and he’d come up with several recommendations and reviews. I remember how I would end up discussing the movie in detail while returning the DVD.  This was back in 2009. Years elapsed and one fine day I got to know; he was no more. Died in an accident. There was no one to take over his shop and it eventually shut down forever. This was in 2015. 

 

Later, I moved to California and the Amazon, Netflix era took over. No doubt, there are numerous options, and we are spoilt for choice. The other day, I was sitting on my couch, surfing Netflix, checking IMDB reviews simultaneously. It was a moment when I missed my dear friend and his reviews. Technology, no doubt has brought a lot of convenience. Unfortunately, it’s also minimized human interaction to a large level. 

 

While the above narrator is no way likeable by any terms, I couldn’t help feeling there was an element of truth in his statement. A sense of loneliness that is growing within us. There is a longingness to hear another human’s voice, and no, the voices of the characters on Netflix series and movies do not count. As I turned the page over, that passage stuck with me for a while. I dwelled on the bittersweet memories before I realized I had no choice but to resign myself to reality. To a world where there are talks of AI taking over.  That brings me back to speech and dialogue. Will there be any, going forward? 

 

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