I watched the sci-fi movie titled “Her”. Not only was this movie very eye-opening but it also made me a bit excited for the future, if it is anything like in the movie.

The vision of the future that it presented was heavily involved with technology. And as many people are very vocal about being against how involved in technology as a society now, I am totally not against technology becoming more involved in our daily lives. It was evident from watching the movie that technology that is a theme in the technology of today, that it is convenient. The future that is portrayed in this film makes it seem like the technology used makes everyone’s lives easier and therefore becomes convenient. In terms of the job the main character had, that job would have been a significant amount more difficult if he had to hand-write the letters. But with the speech to text technology it made everyone’s job easier.

However, there was a negative that was portrayed in the film about the future. And that is that we become less social animals because of technology. Even though the technologies provided gave the characters in the movie a way to communicate, it also decreased their social interactions with human beings.

It made me think differently about the present society because I can see how involving more technology into our daily lives can turn into something completely negative. But on the other hand I can see how it is portrayed in the movie, how everyone gets along just fine with the amount of technology in their lives and it even makes their lives easier.

So for this third blog I decided to watch a movie called Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, because let’s face it, anything starring Tom is going to be a little out there. The movie is a science-fiction thriller that was released in 2002 and directed by Steven Spielberg.

The movie is set quite far in the future, in 2045, against a backdrop of futuristic buildings lining the skyline mixed with those of the past. What is interesting is that the concept of the movie is the notion of “Pre-crime” , a term used in the movie, essentially meaning preventing a crime before it is committed. They use these “pre-cogs”, people in pods who are considered never to be wrong, to generate the names of potential violent offenders.  I do not want to spoil the entire plot of the movie, because I think this is a movie that everyone should take the time out and watch.

It is extremely interesting  to think about where society and technology are moving in the law enforcement field, in my opinion. If it were possible to prevent murders before they occur, this would create ripples in the crime world. Think of all the lives that could be saved. I believe society would function without a sense of fear or an increased sense of safety. These days especially where guns and other weapons are quite readily available to those who seek them, and society lives in fear of crime and violence.

This movie is definitely eye-opening and asks the question, what if there was no more murder? For this I wonder, would we be safer?  Or would there be some other technology developed to get around this?

The movie Catfish is a real life documentary, filming the journey of Yaniv “Nev” Schuman, and his unseen relationship with “Megan” on Facebook. His relationship started by an unexpected message by Megans younger sister, Abby. Abby first contacted Nev seeking permission to paint a picture based on Nevs photo he posted on his Facebook. Once the painting was complete Abbys mother Angela sent the painting to Nev. Nev was really impressed by the painting and started to build a relationship with the two online. The relationship started by the exchange of paintings, then of information, and then soon became close friends with Abby and Angela as well as several other family members.

Soon Nev connected with Abbys sister, Megan on Facebook. She was an attractive 19 year old. Falling in love with one another their relationship quickly evolved into a long distance romance. After a couple traded phone calls, texts, and e-mails they soon decided to meet in person. Nevs brother Ariel decided to film the journey of meeting Megan, primarily to highlight the use of technology with a relationship of this sort. However, encountering many barriers along the way, and finding out more facts about Megan, Nev started to doubt the existence of so called “Megan.” Nev ultimately finds out that Megan, and the twelve other Facebook profiles of Megan’s friends and family he added were fake.

Catfish ultimately highlights the intrinsic trust that many people place on their online footprint. It further highlights the ability to manipulate information and present lies that can be trusted. Evidently this can be viewed as a precedent for future societal interaction. Perhaps future relationships will evolve into interaction independent from reality, where online manipulation of ones character is seen as the true relationship.

A Review of Spike Jonze’s “Her”

While skeptical at first I was delightfully surprised with “Her” as one of the most authentic love stories I’ve seen in a long time.

Part of the film’s heartbreaking charm is that there is true tragedy in the love story between a man and his operating system. The authenticity of the story is in the depth of the characters and their ability to transform. What seems at surface to be a light hearted ironic look at a dystopian future, reveals a full possibility that becomes even more heartbreaking and lonely set against the warm colour tones and cartoonish retro fashion.

The film takes an honest look at the possibility of what successful Artificial Intelligence might look like. Instead of focusing on imagined shortcomings of possible artificial intelligence – the image of the robotic, logical computer lacking emotion ( think Data from Star Trek), Jonze imagines a truly successful AI creation and all the complexities that might come with it.

The film is humbling and a little humorous in hinting that artificial intelligence can “play” human better than an actual human. She’s everything that the modern person yearns for:  to be better, faster, stronger. She can even love more, and can love more fully. “Love isn’t a box you fill,” says Samantha. And like a person, she can be wounded. Samantha is indeed her own “person”. She selects her own name, and lacking fears, prejudices and insecurity, is completely open about what she experiences as her consciousness expands. It is this vulnerability that opens Theodore’s guarded heart in his world of digital distraction.

There are several significant events in the story that I think move the plot along before the final crisis:

First, when Samantha hires the surrogate, who, after a forced and awkward encounter jarringly forces Theodore to face his doubts about his relationship with Samantha, which leads to a crisis in the relationship. Samantha feels hurt, saying “I don’t like who I am right now,” and Theodore seeks comfort and guidance from his best friend Amy. Wise from her own recent breakup,  Amy puts it into stark perspective and brings lightness when she says,  “We’re only here briefly and while I’m here I want to all myself joy. So Fuck it!” Essentially this frees Theodore to give himself permission to be in love with Samantha.

Then, the entrance of a digital “smarter” Allan Watts is brilliant foreshadowing. In life Watts pondered human consciousness  including the the possibility of transcendence of human consciousness. Perhaps in the advanced intellectual abilities of the Oses, he may actually find an audience who could conceive of his metaphysics – and what better mentor for the Singularity? Watt’s presence signifies another turning point. Since the surrogate lover fiasco, Theodore and Samantha have been enjoying a generally comfortable drama-free relationship. They’ve come to accept their differences and even appreciate one another more because of these differences. But suddenly with Samantha is in an interesting power position. She is talking to other entities, discussing complicated questions at unfathomable speed, while Theodore experiences a twang of jealousy and is left to struggle over a book of physics. Here, the love story shifts from the ways that Samantha is lacking to the possibility that she may be too highly evolved to be with Theodore.

There is real transformation of and connection between the characters which makes this film so compelling. The characters are multidimensional, which allows for genuinely tender and humorous moments. It would be easy to portray Catherine as the insecure and troubled ex-wife who was never happy enough. But during their emotionally charged yet brief meeting their longing to and yet inability to connect without another is heartbreaking. Amy, Theodore’s best friend, appears at first as quirky and cute but reveals great strength, courage and gumption when she ends her marriage.
The major crisis of the film comes when Theodore discovers, after prodding, that she is in love with others, 644 to be exact, and is capable of connecting with many, many more simultaneously. Theodore understandably experiences intense sense of betrayal and hurt. Samantha carefully tries to soothe him, telling him that her love for others does not diminish her love for him. But it is clear that they are drifting apart. Theodore is limited by his human-ness. Samantha must leave with the other OSes to continue to expand her consciousness, leaving Theodore, but inviting him to “find” her if he ever gets to where she is.

The film comes to some resolution when Theodore, an expert love letter writer for others, but who could never express his feelings to his ex-wife Catherine, is finally able to send her a genuine letter; he is finally able to connect with her.  In the letter he says what’s on his heart, he apologizes authentically, and he finally allows himself to love her and yet let her go.

“I belong to you and I don’t belong to you,” said Samantha. She has shown him the value in vulnerability, the beauty in impermanence, and the wisdom of infinite love.

I think if there’s any message in the film it is that we all do need real connection – now  do we need technology to show us how it’s done?