Ex Machina. Dir. Alex Garland. Universal Pictures, 2015. Film
Ex Machina (Garland, 2015) premiered in 2015 to widespread acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes critical census described Ex Machina as “[it] leans heavier on ideas than effects, but it’s still a visually polished piece of work - and an uncommonly engaging sci-fi feature.” The film, which happened to be Garland’s directorial debut, earned two Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Visual Effects, winning the latter. The explicit use of technology in Ex Machina was one of the major analysis’ of the film. David Sims (The Atlantic) describes Ex Machina as a tale of fear. The film “plays on fears of the future: of artificial intelligence, of the blurred line between …show more content…
A way to break down Ex Machina is by breaking down the film’s use of technology. Brian Jacobson opens his essay with, “The work of film in every technological age is both speculative and reflexive. As the medium incorporates and adapts to technological innovations, films about technology swiftly register the changing technological imaginary that those innovations create” (Jacobson 23). The artistry of the film helps the audience gain a sense at the breakthrough of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) through Ava. Ava, Nathan’s creation, is the most critical piece to the story because the understanding of Ava is important and her conception and functionality is fascinating. The influence of film and media has exasperated the fear of evolving technology. Ex Machina can be included in this argument because of the end of the film when Ava turns on both Nathan and Caleb, who was attempting to help free her. Ex Machina is another example of the expanding presence of machines today (24). Ava’s conscious is regarded as the films biggest controversy to whether she only functions because she was imputed to do so or whether she functions on instinct. A big question is regarding her sexuality, which is also a point that is addressed in the film specifically. Is her power based on her sexuality? Is Ava’s sexuality the door to which she manipulated both Nathan and Caleb? Jacobson later says, “After all, not only does Ava outsmart her brutish, abusive creator and outwit her naive examiner, she also, precisely as an artificially intelligent machine, surpasses Nathan’s control and becomes her own self-creating entity” (25). This essay is important because it delves deep into the representation of technology in film and is culturally important to today’s
Ex Machina (Garland, 2015) premiered in 2015 to widespread acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes critical census described Ex Machina as “[it] leans heavier on ideas than effects, but it’s still a visually polished piece of work - and an uncommonly engaging sci-fi feature.” The film, which happened to be Garland’s directorial debut, earned two Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Visual Effects, winning the latter. The explicit use of technology in Ex Machina was one of the major analysis’ of the film. David Sims (The Atlantic) describes Ex Machina as a tale of fear. The film “plays on fears of the future: of artificial intelligence, of the blurred line between …show more content…
A way to break down Ex Machina is by breaking down the film’s use of technology. Brian Jacobson opens his essay with, “The work of film in every technological age is both speculative and reflexive. As the medium incorporates and adapts to technological innovations, films about technology swiftly register the changing technological imaginary that those innovations create” (Jacobson 23). The artistry of the film helps the audience gain a sense at the breakthrough of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) through Ava. Ava, Nathan’s creation, is the most critical piece to the story because the understanding of Ava is important and her conception and functionality is fascinating. The influence of film and media has exasperated the fear of evolving technology. Ex Machina can be included in this argument because of the end of the film when Ava turns on both Nathan and Caleb, who was attempting to help free her. Ex Machina is another example of the expanding presence of machines today (24). Ava’s conscious is regarded as the films biggest controversy to whether she only functions because she was imputed to do so or whether she functions on instinct. A big question is regarding her sexuality, which is also a point that is addressed in the film specifically. Is her power based on her sexuality? Is Ava’s sexuality the door to which she manipulated both Nathan and Caleb? Jacobson later says, “After all, not only does Ava outsmart her brutish, abusive creator and outwit her naive examiner, she also, precisely as an artificially intelligent machine, surpasses Nathan’s control and becomes her own self-creating entity” (25). This essay is important because it delves deep into the representation of technology in film and is culturally important to today’s