The Screen Addict Recommends – 𝗛𝗲𝗿 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟯)

Subtle reminder that this film is a freakin’ masterpiece.

It saw the way #AI would take over our lives more than 11 years ago – not to mention the fact that the filmmakers also accurately predicted the ubiquity of wireless earbuds…

Well-deserved original-screenplay Oscar for Spike Jonze. In fact, 𝗛𝗲𝗿 should have won best picture, too. And don’t get me started on the fact that Joaquin Phoenix wasn’t even nominated for his performance…

I can’t prove that Scarlett Johansson’s Samantha was the inspiration for Ana de Armas’ Joi in 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟰𝟵 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳) – we’d have to ask the screenwriters – but the characters sure are eerily similar.

This is not to take away anything from either film, quite the contrary. Both Samantha and Joi’s storylines are deeply moving, despite them not being physically “real”.

Then again – a meta reading of the film would argue that none of the other characters are actually real either, since is a work of fiction (but let’s not go down that rabbit hole right now).

The implications of films like 𝗛𝗲𝗿 and 𝗕𝗥𝟮𝟬𝟰𝟵 are utterly fascinating, to be sure. Is something actually real because it has thoughts? Or, to quote Morpheus in 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘅 (𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟵): “What is real? How do you define ‘real’? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”

Almost four centuries later, we are still pondering René Descartes famous theorem…

When I revisited 𝗛𝗲𝗿 last night, it occurred to me that there is one thing Jonze got wrong about the future. Phoenix’s character works for a company where he writes letters for people who are too lazy (or unimaginative) to do it themselves. This is of course exactly something that #AI would be doing (and is doing) in the actual future.

Either way…

Seek 𝗛𝗲𝗿 out & get your fix.

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