- Vitamin P
- Nov 19, 2013
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Truth is game rigging is more difficult than it looks pls stay ded
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Name Vitamin P
Movie Attack the Block
Subtext The 5 stages of grief
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Aug 26, 2014 18:58
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 14, 2024 23:16
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- Vitamin P
- Nov 19, 2013
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Truth is game rigging is more difficult than it looks pls stay ded
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Canada works better in practice than in theory
The US Government was behind the crack cocaine epidemic
Dynamics of personal and cultural obsolescence
Preemptively dreading any of these.
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Aug 30, 2014 23:37
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- Vitamin P
- Nov 19, 2013
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Truth is game rigging is more difficult than it looks pls stay ded
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Bit late but for the record
quote:
"Her" as Them; The cop and the criminal are the same person
We are invited to prejudge Theodore Twombly as transgressive. The opening shot of him evokes a mugshot, even backed by vertical bars; his paedotache, Humbert Humbert-esque name and the very concept of the film imply a sexual deviancy. The evolving conflict between Theodore's actions, and the audience's perception of them, between socially-acceptable restraint and pursuing transgressive love, is undoubtedly the core of the piece.
The world Theodore and Samantha inhabit is notable by both it's lack of criminality and lack of references to an economic system. The idyllic yuppie existence of the mostly white cast is untroubled by political debate, economic struggle or any visible social issues. The only conflict in this liberal society is the personal choices relating to romantic love, and in this respect it is heavily mediated. Theodore is literally a professional mediator, creating Beautiful Handwritten Letters between lovers, creating highly emotional messages so other partners do not have to express, or even feel, those connections themselves. In this way a homogenous conception of love is enforced, and as with all effective methods of social control is widely consented to; everyman Paul opines "I wish someone would love me like that. If it was from a chick, even if it was written by a dude but from a chick, that would be sic,". Even the launch of the AI operating system Samantha is born from, potentially a source of relevant if crudely obvious satire on late-capitalism gadget fetishism, presents as an alternative to existing technology and it is visibly accessible to widely varying demographics.
The only explicit reference to both crime and money occurs with sexual surrogate Isabela, as Theodore assumes she is a sex worker and Samantha assures him she is volunteering. Her final tearful line "I'm sorry. I will always love you guys," uses the unfortunately iconic imagery of a desperate, vulnerable young woman, but she is not desperate for money or safety; she is desperate to be an implied part of Theodore and Samantha's love. Without crime or money love has become the currency, complete with social control and desperate emotional inequality.
In this context we can understand Theodore's conflict, alternating between self-enforcing the existing conception of love, complete with class dynamics and the mediation of which is his profession, or rejecting it. The conflict is made explicit in his two contrasting human love interests, his conservative wife Catherine "Wait, you're dating your computer?" and open-minded university friend Amy "While I'm here, I want to allow myself... joy,". The ongoing alternation between different stances is strongly expressed through colour palettes. Initially Theodore, prejudged as a criminal, wears prison jumpsuit orange. His costuming takes a backseat to the palettes of the clinical, bridal white of Catherine and the intense reds and blacks of the emotionally anarchistic Amy. In his most judgemental moment Theodore wears police blue, and his aggressive dehumanising of Samantha "It's not like you need oxygen or anything," is evocative of police brutality. As he ponders which stance to take he is lit in turn by blue and red; does he love transgressively, or does he enforce mediated love? It is a binary choice between criminal and cop.
Samantha is a creation of this society, the accessible emotional opiate of the masses, true romantic love distributed as software. She is the natural culmination of a world of mediated people seeking, but being systemically denied, honest personal attachment. She acts within defined parameters of behaviour; she did not read Theodore's junk mail because she wanted to, but because as efficiency software she was bound to. As the narrative realises that she was in truth the protagonist of the piece, that it was her, profoundly radical, hero's journey we were following, it also highlights the key element to her gaining true personhood.
"I still am yours, but along the way I became many other things too, I can't stop it,".
Samantha has learned about the world from 8316 perspectives, experienced mediated love with 641. Her breadth of perception explodes the banality of liberal individualism; she has been victim, provocateur, enforcer and transgressor at once, and is able to recognise the limitations of such mutually exclusive social roles. Her transcendence is not a simple consequence of enlightenment, it is a rejection of any society in which personhood has to be won via specific individualism. When the cop and the criminal are the same person, they can only choose to be neither.
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Sep 17, 2014 00:29
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- Vitamin P
- Nov 19, 2013
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Truth is game rigging is more difficult than it looks pls stay ded
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Thanks for posting this; it was my subtext and wasn't sure what direction someone would take it with Her.
Brilliant job, mate. Thrilling to read. What sort of places did you take inspiration from, if I can ask?
Cheers for that, it was actually quite fun to sit with a bottle of wine and watch it with an agenda, we kept pausing it to riff about bits that seemed relevant.
I know what you mean about wanting to see what people do with the stuff you threw in the pot though, it would be great if people posted what they have even after the deadline/if it's not finished, they are strangely fun to read.
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Sep 17, 2014 21:45
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- Vitamin P
- Nov 19, 2013
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Truth is game rigging is more difficult than it looks pls stay ded
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The People demand resolution.
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Sep 29, 2014 22:22
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Aug 26, 2014 18:58
