Rejecting Modernity

Leaving without notice to live in the wild alone may not sound appealing to most but Chris McCandless did just that. His rejection of modernity and his return to nature made into a film celebrating his life.

This environmentalist film is largely submerged in the wilderness except for the beginning where Chris is graduating. Here the use of jarring jumps in volume followed by quietness depict an uncertainty and anxiety-inducing quality. Perhaps allowing the viewer an insight into his own muddied emotions. It is clear Chris wants to be unchained from his ‘duties’ as a son and the general shackles of society. Thus his narration as he abandons these obligations comes across poetically to the reader when juxtaposed the explosions of sound, his thought-provoking narration provides stillness and peace much like the peace he himself is searching for in the wild.

Another directorial decision that shines in this film is the use of compositing where one image is overlaid another to create this blend of aesthetic. As the film ends Chris McCandless’ life is ending too and this use of compositing and collaging re-enacts his last moments to the audience, where against the memories of his life and loved ones shines the sun and the trees.

Inescapable

 

Ready Player One’s idea of inescapable advertisements reminds me strongly of the episode Fifteen Million Merits in Black Mirror where there is also this concept of being unable to, without the funds, escape advertisements.

Whilst Ready Player One is optimistic and allows the hero to win and come to a healthy compromise of the Oasis being available 5 days of the week – this is not the case for Black Mirror. Black Mirror takes a far more pessimistic approach where the character passions are exploited and life until the very end remains only a simulation of reality. This foreboding imagery serving as a warning regarding the capitalist structure of our society.

Additionally, Ready Player One exhibits aspects of escapism where the characters enter this world to go on adventures. The intertextuality of the novel also lends itself to this idea of escapism as the many pop culture references to mostly other science fiction works creates this universe of fiction removed from reality. However, this is not the case for Black Mirror where the characters are unable to escape their simulated reality nor the advertisements.

Whilst the two share this theme of wanting to escape forced advertisements the differing approaches and tones to the works create this juxtaposition where there is either hope or forfeit.

Creating Alienation and Dissonance

 

“It was a cool and lonely breezy afternoon. How does it feel when you got no food”

 

Steve McQueen creates an atmosphere of alienation in the beginning of the film through the abundance of static shots where Alex is placed centre of the shots creating this sense of a lone young man. The film also cleverly uses erratic jumps from past to present that further exacerbate this feeling of loneliness from Alex whilst also providing essential context. Along with these jumps in time there is also delayed sound at times that presents the past as if it were haunting Alex into the present. It is clear the intent here is to emulate the dissonance and alienation felt by Alex as a commonwealth citizen in Britain.

These directorial decisions create this atmosphere of alienation and dissonance both for the audience to observe but also to reflect the emotional state of Alex.

Reflecting on the song linked above, Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth, music is also integral to the feelings of dissonance between the scenes. Caribbean music is used to transition between scenes which is effective in pushing this image of alienation further as Alex is far uprooted from his home country and finds solace in the music sparingly in those moments.

 

Framing Horror in the Digital World

 

Host is a horror movie that uses the parameters of technology, particularly the app Zoom to create a digital monster. The film quite literally frames itself within the digital space via a Zoom call. The audience is therefore not privy to what occurs beyond the frame of Zoom and what the characters feel like displaying. This limiting framing adds to the unsettling nature of the film and induces a creeping anxiety from the audience.

The characters also often make direct eye contact with the watcher which adds to the unsettling nature of the film as the audience inadvertently becomes the silent observer – a figure unable to help those staring directly at them. This voyeuristic quality along with the framing allow the film to create an atmosphere of helplessness from the audience and successfully communicates the horror of being limited by the digital world whilst remaining captivated by this fresh approach to horror.

A theoretical approach would suggest that there is a postmodern lens applied to this film. Isabel Pinedo suggests postmodern horror relies on violating boundaries and where the “outcome of the struggle is at best ambiguous” (Pinedo 22). Both applicable to Hosta and its open ending as well as the voyeuristic quality of the film feeling like boundary violation itself.

It is 1998 and you are sitting at your computer waiting for user NY152 to come online. You can step away from your computer at any moment but choose to stay and wait.

You Got Mail is a sweet romance where the internet is integrated into the plot. However, as time moves forward the excitement of the internet wears off and the dangers loom over the head of the everyday person. You can no longer leave the internet but carry it with you as an essential tool in life.

I’m a Fan depicts this much darker and obsessive use of the internet in a romantic relationship. The title of the novel alone alludes to this idea of fan culture and deeply parasocial relationship the main character is experiencing. Now the internet shapes itself as a much more intense entity. The repetition of the phrase “the woman I am obsessed with” (Patel 266) illustrates a sense of self-awareness from the protagonist whilst narratively showing the extent of her obsession. She may be aware of it however; it controls and consumes her mind.

 

Video explaining fan-culture

Looking at the use of the internet as a tool for romance in this manner allows you to explore the real life changes in the understanding of the internet.

Is Samantha Conscious and Does It Really Matter?

 

 

With AI chatbots such as Replika exploding in popularity in recent years Her seems all the more applicable to our current cultural climate where people are seeking companionship and romantic partnerships by any means necessary. Her takes these insecurities of being alone and allows the protagonist, Theodore, to escape into the comfort of technology. Whilst the likes of the app Replika are for less realistic than Samantha in Her it seems that regardless there is a need for this companionship and that there is a willing audience.

Perhaps this context can allow us to reframe the question of whether Samantha’s consciousness matters in this movie. Perhaps we could argue that it is not what Samantha presents as but rather what she is capable of doing for you. It is clear Samantha is filling a void in Theodore’s heart as he just recently experienced a divorce. There is thus already an expectation from Theodore as the consumer of a product in this sense. Though the autonomy of Samantha’s actions lead the audience to question her consciousness ultimately she is the product of this exchange. Until at least the end of the film where she initiates the break-up of their relationship.

By reframing in this manner we can accept the nature of Theodore and Samantha’s relationship being a consumer and a product respectively.

Sun

 

 

Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun undoubtedly features ideas of paganism and environmentalism – both working in tandem. Klara, an ‘Artificial Friend’, is seen worshipping the sun in the novel Ishiguro seen in the beginning of the novel where it states, “we would see the sun on his journey […] I’d lean my face forward to take in […] his nourishment” (Ishiguro 14). This is interesting to note as Klara as an artificial being recreates and brings her own philosophy to “one of the earliest forms of idolatry [being] the worship of the sun” (Ffrench 46).

Ishiguro, however, goes beyond this simple understanding of some vague imagery of paganism as Klara’s devotion to the Sun grows in intensity as the novel continues. This is where one can observe how Klara’s pagan ideas and the environment interact as she grows to hate ‘Pollution’. Klara fixates on not only the Sun but how Pollution is causing ‘harm’ to the Sun and as result makes herself a mission to destroy the machine.

Ishiguro thus uses this analogy of the sun to not only approach ideas of religion or paganism but also environmentalism and how religion operates in that sense. The class discussion on this text delved into this idea of paganism; however, I find that the way this worship interacted with ideas of environmentalism was particularly insightful.

“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 43)

 

 

The dystopian cult fiction novel 1984 by George Orwell is a renowned text that puts forth the notion of a reality where nothing is as it seems, and everything is manipulated. Particularly, Orwell’s use of language whether that is the creation as seen in Newspeak or the destruction evident in the manipulation of historical records. This post discusses the effect of language in 1984 and its destructive capabilities when put in the wrong hands.

Repurposing language to fit a narrative is not new to literature; however, the blaring juxtaposition of the ministries names against their roles allow the reader to understand how this society works particularly as this is introduced early in the novel. The Ministry of Truth manipulating and destroying language, culture and historical records whilst simultaneously creating and enforcing Newspeak – a condensed new language sets precedent for what to expect in this dystopian reality the characters are set in. Love means war, Truth is a lie and Plenty means little.

Interestingly enough whilst this novel has integrated itself into popular media such as reality television (Big Brother UK) it seems comical that it has been watered down simply to an all-seeing eye. The imagery of the eye being more powerful than language.