10K Posts Movie Club: Her (2013) ft. Seamus Malekafzali
Added 2023-06-13 08:46:35 +0000 UTCThis week, Hussein and Phoebe are joined by friend of the show, Journalist and Writer Seamus Malekafzali, to discuss the premier 'falling in love with an AI girlfriend' movie, 'Her' starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlet Johannsen.
You can find Seamus's Substacks Here for Middle Eastern Politics, and Here for lesser known movies.
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Ten Thousand Posts is a show about how everything is posting. It's hosted by Hussein (@HKesvani), Phoebe (@PRHRoy) and produced by Devon (@Devon_onEarth).
Comments
At the time Her came out there was definitely a wave of tech-nerd fearmongering about AI destroying the world, and in that context it felt refreshing to me that the sexy robots just fuck off to form their own polycule. I'd also argue the film is pretty unambiguous that Samantha really is sentient (and I find it strange how many people assume she isn't) - but if so, why make her a robot? Does she represent the way men use tech/the internet to soothe their loneliness? If so, why end with her leaving Theodore Thwombley, rather than the other way around? The most generous interpretation, as Hussein and Phoebe articulate towards the end, is that Theo is looking for something 'perfect', and the robot girlfriend takes that to its logical conclusion; if this was made in the 50s she might be a genie or an angel with much the same effect. Theo's problems with his ex (who appears much higher status than him) seem to be that he couldn't accept her flaws; so finds Samantha, who literally *can't* have any of the messy human problems Definitely-Not-Sofia Coppola did. But because of that Samantha soon tires of Theo, who remains stuck as a manchild. It's Amy Adams, who he already knows warts and all, who represents the possibility of growth.
Nemo
2023-06-13 10:48:58 +0000 UTC
