William Herrod-Hempsall, Bee-Keeping new and old: described with pen and camera (London: The British Bee Journal, 1930)
The Beehive Metaphor in Blade Runner 2049 – Article Now Published
Apian (Aladin Borioli) has just published a peer-reviewed article titled The Beehive Metaphor in Blade Runner 2049 – The Advent of Precision Beekeeping, from Clay to Silicone in Anthrovision, a journal of visual anthropology.
For the past four decades, digital sensing technology has slowly and slyly transformed our relationship with planet Earth, extending its synthetic tentacles into the most remote areas of our planet. Recently, it reached beehives and gave birth to Precision Beekeeping (PB). PB uses digital sensors to monitor bees with the aim of transforming beekeeping practices by maximising bee productivity and minimising beekeepers’ effort. However, this comes at the cost of exhausting an already-unbalanced relationship between humans and bees. Using the science-fiction film Blade Runner 2049 as guide, this essay explores Precision Beekeeping’s past, present, and potential futures. Ultimately, this text proposes to use digital sensing technology as a weapon, which if seized correctly could help develop post-capitalist beekeeping practices and socially-engaged relationships with the Earth.
Read the article in full here.