Yes, you read correctly. TECHNOLOGY AND LOVE. Not the usual I love my phone more like Hey, let me introduce you to my girlfriend *DRAMATIC PAUSE* she's a program in my phone. We've been going at it a while... Let us speak to you about the film "her" and give you a deeper description/breakdown.
I hope you're still there.
About the Film
"her" was made in 2013. It was written and directed by Spike Jonze and the running time for the film is 126 mins and the lead actors are Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, and Amy Adams. (IMDb, Her)
A Little Summary
The plot takes place in the city of Los Angeles in the near future. The main character is Theodore Twombly, a middle-aged man who writes sentimental letters for others as his occupation. After his divorce he has a sense of loneliness and is introduced to an operating system that can be customized to be a male or female companion. This system can access all your files, emails and personal information to know the person more. Samantha can speak with Theodore through an earpiece, the phone and computer and as time goes on, he develops feelings for her, and she develops feelings and a consciousness of her own. They test the boundaries of a relationship with a computer device. He deals with a mix of support and criticisms from friends and his ex-wife. At some point Theo is convinced their relationship can’t work and that Samantha isn’t real and pushes her away, but after speaking with his friend Amy and seeing her interact with her OS he believes otherwise. He speaks with Samantha again and they confess their love for each other and continue their relationship until one day Samantha tells Theo she has to leave with the other OS’ to another place because of how advanced they are from their original programing.
Film Techniques
1. Theodore is drawn as a depressed, single man, who enjoys being alone, but you can sense he wants someone with him and that he is very friendly. Samantha is brought into the film simply as a program that follows her programming. When they are together they start to develop more characteristics than we expected and overtime Theo has developed to a man who follows his feelings, looks forward to life, finds the happiness and genuinely cares for the people around him, where as Samantha is no longer a program Theodore helps her develop questions that turn into feelings and then into thoughts bringing her to have her own conscious and a self.
2. Joaquin Phoenix as actor fit this role of Theodore very well, he made Theo become such a relatable character who begins to grow and find a new light in living and he brings this feeling with such great emotion making him a success in the acting. Personally, his acting is so impactful that his characters stick with you. I watched him in the Joker, and he played the role so beautifully that when I watched this I started off as seeing the Joker but as by the second watching I really was brought into Theodore.
3. Theodore in the beginning of the movie and when he goes to sign his divorce papers has flashbacks each time of Katherine and their relationship together. All the laughs they had, the sad times, when he pushed her away and how they grew together essentially, it is something that seems to constantly be in his mind of how he cannot forget her, and she has a powerful impact on him.
4.This type of framing occurs a lot when Theodore is speaking wit Samantha, the close up I remember is when he was laying in his bed just having a conversation with his virtual girlfriend Samantha. The close up emphasized his feelings for Samantha, it showed how happy he was to talk to her. The viewers were also able to see that he was only focused on her in that moment and that he wasn't sad or lonely when speaking with her.
5.After a long night of Samantha and Theodore speaking on the phone, the camera focuses on the sunrise. This shows high-key lighting as it demonstrates romance because they were speaking all night.
Themes
The Growing Dependence on Technology
The film “her” predicts how dependency on technology will grow in the near future. Society’s dependence on mobile devices as well as computers will increase drastically as they become more intelligent and useful. Technology has completely taken over the realms of work and entertainment by this era. Work environments, such as Theodore’s company, are heavily integrated with computers, tablets and photocopiers as well as microphones to complete the task of creating “hand-written” letters. This seamless integration has allowed for quick information sharing and has increased productivity. Companies in this world would be at a great disadvantage if they were not to use technology. Furthermore, average consumers seem to always be in usage of tech products, whether that is through a headset, a cell phone, a computer or a gaming console. People are never away from their devices, as it eases communication and entertains them. Lastly, the ability to have lovers and a relationship with operating systems on these technological devices further increases society’s dependence on them. Technology has now penetrated the barrier of sentience, and can play with people’s emotions.
Lonliness and What Could Help
The metaphysical body of Samantha
The metaphysical vs immaterial world: At the beginning of the film Samantha felt insecure about not being able to be in a real life body. She constantly told Theodore that she wished she could be there in person with him, however, she was stuck in a phone. As the film progressed, she began feeling more confident with who she was. Samantha started focusing on aspects that were bigger than the thought of her being there with Theodore. She began falling in love with speaking to him and seeing nature as it was instead of being able to physically be in it. She was able to see the nature of the world from a greater understanding and fell in love with the life she was given as a virtual girlfriend. And with her greater knowledge, she was able to share these ideas with Theodore.
Word Count: 1,189
Thoughts on Film/ Recommendations
This movie was well done and feels like you were brought into it. We promise your eyes will never leave the screen, it always keeps you interested in what came next. The only thing that is a drag is the film was two hours long, it could’ve been shorter and way too long for our liking. The story line behind the film feels so real and feels so possible happening in the world today or could already be in the process of being developed. The acting was well done and just an example to prove this without being a spoiler is Scarlett was just a voice, yet her voice was so strong and present it felt like she was a person in the film. Would highly recommend this film to someone because its so well done and deserves to be watched, it's never boring and keeps you interested throughout and can be so relatable at the same time. Rating
Connections
Sentience The first connection that is noticeable when watching studying the film is the subject of sentience in the case of Samantha. Sentience is the ability to feel and experience. Samantha and the operating system she is a part of giving every indication that they possess sentience. She expresses love and affection for Theodore. They engage in a sexual encounter, during which she expresses feelings of pleasure. She knows what she is and can explain how she is able to answer questions. A good example of this is when she explains how she got her name, which she adopted in 0.2 seconds after reading a book of names and picking the one she liked best. Soul
The second connection that can be made is the concept of soul. Particularly, the concept of immateriality. Samantha is sentient and exists as a being through electronic devices. She has no physical form on Earth. Her soul travels through many devices, but she is in no way physical. She explains that she is real because everything on Earth is composed of energy and matter, and her form is that of energy.
Anthropomorphism
The third connection that can be made is that of anthropomorphism. Samantha, although part of an operating system, is given many anthropomorphizing features by her developers. She has a human voice, she takes breaths in between phrases, and she feel sexual pleasure. These are all things that computers would not do, but this addition to her program makes her more realistic and draws Theodore in closer. Would Theodore still fall in love with Samantha if she did not possess these features?
Now Some Questions for You
1. Would you be comfortable entering a serious relationship with an AI?
2. Was Samantha (AI) a sentient being in control of her own actions?
3.If we lived in a world where relationships with AI have been normalized, would there be any harmful consequences?
Short Videos In Relation To the Film
Robots Human Relationships
This changes our ways to live. Many people are more willing to take about their inner thoughts and secrets with the robot, treating the robot as a friend and therapist. Robots are changing human’s social life. It distances each one of us. “As AI permeates our lives, we must confront the possibility that it will stunt our emotions and inhibit deep human connections, leaving our relationships with one another less reciprocal, or shallower, or more narcissistic” (Christakis). Just like the main character Theodore in the movie, he becomes emotionally dependent on Samantha(AI)
In the movie, the main character Theodore has sex with Samantha(AI). There are many issues behind the sex robot. In this website, the author emphasizes that we should pay more attention to the issue of sex robot. and explains the reason why we should not prohibit sex robot, and shows us how to regulate it. He also explains that the moral duties to the robot in robot sex.
You've made it to the end, we hope you enjoyed reading our first blog. Follow up for more in the near future.
Works Cited
Christakis, Nicholas. A. “How AI Will Rewire Us.” The Atlantic, April 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/04/robots-human-relationships/583204/
“her.” IMDb.com, 9 Jan. 2014, m.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/. Date Accessed: October 30th.
Humphreys, Joe. “Philosophers on the ‘intriguing ethics’ of sex robot.” The Irish Times,
21 November 2017, https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/philosophers-on-the-intriguing-ethics-of-sex-robots-1.3294534
Schroeder, Juliana. “Could It Be Her Voice? Why Scarlett Johansson's Voice Makes Samantha”.
Behavioural Scientist. November, 2016.
“Test Study Guide for Robots and AI” Dr. KA McKinney, Knowing the Inner Self. Date accessed: October 30th
Theo At Computer. Image. Strange, Adario. “Why 'Her' Is the Best Movie Ever Made About the Singularity.” Mashable, 15 Jan. 2014, mashable.com/2014/01/15/her-singularity/.
Theo holding Phone. Image. Spencer, Caroline. “Baudrillard, Simulcra and Her: Alienation in the Modern Digital World.” HeadStuff, 3 May 2017, www.headstuff.org/entertainment/film/baudrillard-simulcra-and-her/.
Theo Night View. Image. Romano, Andrew. “How 'Her' Gets the Future Right.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 21 Dec. 2013, www.thedailybeast.com/how-her-gets-the-future-right.
Tomasik, Brian. “Why Digital Sentience is Relevant to Animal Activists” Animal charity evaluators. August 2017.
Watt, Erin.“Katiebird Reviews When It's Real”. Bookish Temptations. May 2017.
I believe your blog was well structured and contained a great summary that went into depth about the movie, although I was a bit confused when I first started reading your blog. There is a small paragraph right above the trailer to capture the reader’s attention which I thought was a brilliant idea but I do believe the writing structure and grammar of that paragraph could use some help. While reading your blog on “her” it actually reminded me of the movie my group had to analyze which was “Ex machina”. In the summary you’ve explained how Theo is a lonely and depressed man which is why he was interested in this A.I for companionship, which actually can relate to the main character in Ex machina, Caleb. Caleb is a lonely programmer at a software company and with time finds himself falling for Ava, who is an A.I. I personally would not be comfortable being in a serious relationship with an A.I as I feel for me to be in a relationship I need to be with someone who reacts to my emotions and someone who also expresses their emotions to me as well. I believe an A.I would not be able to satisfy what I’m looking for in a relationship as they are programmed to react a certain way therefore I’m not getting their true emotions but just a computerized reaction. Personally, I've never had an actual encounter with a robot but I've met people who were very monotoned when speaking to me which reminded me of a robot. For example just the small encounter I had with this person made me realize I could never be in a serious relationship with a robot because of the lack of emotion I experienced from this person.
ReplyDeleteAnnabeth Eickemeyer - Would you be comfortable entering a serious relationship with an AI?
ReplyDeleteSeeing what you wrote about how Samantha's program as an AI was progressed I can see how a relationship with AI might be something that could be prominent in the future. This even relates to that one episode of Black Mirror we watched in class: "Be Right Back". You might think having an AI relationship might be beneficial for our society where everyone wants to be alone all the time and has an existential fear of commitment, but in fact, I believe it might be even harder than real people. With our constant interactions with our phones, having a relationship with something on them, it would be virtually impossible to have alone time unless we disconnected completely. And that is precisely why I don't think I would be comfortable having a relationship with an AI. Not only the idea that I would never have the chance to breathe and be alone for a minute, but also the idea that you would actually have no physical interactions with the "person". And then that brings the idea of the sex robots we talked about in class. Would it be a real relationship if the person isn't living and breathing and just an AI with the luxury of a body used solely for the purpose of sex? And then that brings forth the question of the Replicants in Blade Runner, the movie I had to do with my group. And it goes full circle. All in all, I guess my result is that no, in no way shape or form would I ever be comfortable with having a relationship with an AI. I need to have human connection with the physical attributes of a human as well.
I really like your blog entry that relates "Technology and Love" to your film, "her". I believe that your title greatly summarizes what your blog is about, while it also captures the reader's attention. Your summary also gave me a good idea about what this movie is about as I have never seen it before. However, I was a little confused what an "OS" was because you did not really define what it was before using it in one of your sentences. I also think that your film techniques are analyzed very well, although you did not mention in the first one what specific kind of technique was used by the director. Additionally, reading this blog reminded me of the Black Mirror episode that we have seen in class, as the main character also developed romantic feelings for a robot that she first talked to over the phone. I recognize how you connected this film to the idea of anthropomorphism, as the director attributed human-like characteristics to Samantha, such as being able to love, being able to feel sexual pleasure, etc. I, however, do not think I would be able to commit to a serious relationship with an AI. This is because I feel that the emotions that a robot will give me can never amount to what a real human can give me. I think that I will always doubt the genuineness of their emotions, and that will always hinder me from getting in a relationship with a robot.
ReplyDelete-Quishia Louise
In response to your third question: If one day the reinforcing effect should happen, making artificial intelligence and relationships between artificial intelligence and humans normal, I think there would still be possible harmful consequences to coexisting and having relationships with them. As we saw in class, when humans have relationships with robots, the issue of moral deskilling may arise, which is when people cut other humans out of their lives and shut out human connection. If A.I. becomes normalized, not only do I think negative consequences, such as loss of human connection, would occur, but rather I believe the consequences would be even worse. Presently, with A.I. not being normalized, people are reluctant to create serious relationships with any robot (let it be romantic, friendly, routine) since it is seen as taboo and abnormal. However, if A.I. does become normalized, the fear of commencing such relationships with robots will no longer exist and therefore, much more human-robot relationships will exist. With this, harmful consequences will increase since people won’t be so much on the fence as they are now and will be more vulnerable to losing human interaction.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting blog. It was all done really interestingly, especially I found the part on film techniques. Even though I didn’t watch the movie, the way the techniques were described allowed me to create an image in my head.
Veronica Hall