23 February 2014

Review: Her

(Dir: Spike Jonze, 2013)

Technology as panacea for real life relationships. Physicality lost to emotionality. A partner effectively existing solely in ones head is a form of madness. The permanence of artificial intelligence versus the temporality of corporeal existence. The ideology of monogamous relationships transcended by connectivity to digital networks. The slow shift of power as technology rises beyond it's subservient purpose. Redefining existence to account for the displacement of the physical. The actual meaning of 'I love you' when uttered by a sentient operating system. Setting ourselves up for the same disappointment from technology that we receive from humanity. The definition of "shared experiences" which bond two people, when one is living it and one is observing it. Hell is other people - or an AI that bases it's opinion of you on every aspect of your digital profile and communication, a depth of knowledge no person could ever reach. The value of an emotional connection with something considered "real" only in digital terms. Resurrection as a reality, of sorts.

 
Beauty is ragged, real, crystalline. People are dichotomous fuck-ups. The clean, crisp warmth of the entitled side of the Los Angeles of the near future. Beaches with a decidedly retro hue. The skill required to act effectively against a disembodied voice. The satisfyingly simple humour of cute, sweary characters in advanced computer games. The extreme reaction to dealing with overwhelming constant connectedness and communication. And of life as a whole. Print will never truly die. Dead kitty. The hollowness of well-intentioned words farmed off to someone else to compose. A mass of people ceding public communication to continual dialogue with an ear piece. The dysphoria when technology abandons us. Or is it relief?

These are some of the thoughts that arose during and after the beautifully judged Her. Or you could of course see it as just a simple love story.

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