The Balancing Act

There was a movie that came out within the past few years titled "The Invention of Lying." Ricky Gervais (the British Michael of The Office) plays a character who invents the idea of lying in a world where it has never previously existed. Yes, a goofy concept for a movie (I don't recommend seeing it), but its curious to think of the good that lying imparted on the characters in the film. Although lying is traditionally believed to bring bad, maybe there are instances in which lying is for good. No, I'm not talking about if a girl asks you if she "looks fat in this dress" and you say no...lying. Maybe there is a unique balance between deception and the truth that allows people to stay sane. This relationship between deception and truth is extremely important in the film "Moon".

A centerpiece of the film is a computer. It’s the only form of human “communication” that Sam has, although it is not in real time. Sam is told that real time communication is not possible because a satellite is jammed. Deliberate deception—we later see GERTY using the computer to communicate with Lunar Industries down on Earth after Sam1 was in an accident. Why the lie? Perhaps because Sam is merely a clone and the woman who he believes to be his wife is not. Therefore, he would really have no one to communicate with as a clone. In any case, the importance of the matter is the computer acts as a deceptive piece in the film, constantly hiding information from Sam. Another instance of computer fraud occurs towards the beginning of the movie when you see Sam speaking with his “wife.” As he is listening to her, a weird glitch occurs in the video. It is outwardly assumed that someone is trying to keep what she is saying away from Sam. Another deceptive act on behalf of Lunar Industries with reference to the computer.

Now, back to the importance of balance. With deception must be a glimmer of hope that there is some truth in the world. Unfortunately for Sam, there isn’t much of it on the moon. Actually, it seems that the only non-deceptive thing in Sam’s life are the harvesters. Since Sam is, in essence, a robot, and lives with a bunch of robots and machines, it is easy to compare the harvesters to truthful “friends”. They don’t lie to him—they say when they have achieved enough He₃ for him to perform his duties. They are consistent in their duties of scraping the moon of its clean energy sources. They bring the good news to Sam, allowing him to have a job, providing life for the millions of people on Earth. And in the end, they finally let the truth come out by allowing a signal to reach the moon for Sam3 (and beyond) to communicate with Earth. Although sad to think that they may be the only non-deceptive devices in the movie, they allow for this graceful balancing act to occur.

Ultimately, it is this precious balance between bringing the truth and bringing about deception that is important in the film “Moon”. Deception from the computer is an important piece of the film because it allows the clones to learn about themselves and their status as clones and fight back against Lunar Industries. It also is good to have something in the film that is not so illusive. The straightforward nature of the harvesters gives Sam the opportunity to trust in something. This balancing act is what allows the Sam’s to survive and ultimately release themselves from the bonds of the moon.

Ruby Tuesday...Not Just a Restaurant Apparently

The nature of humans has been an intriguing thought to me lately. As a neuroscience major, I work to understand the processes, both biological and psychological, that cause humans to act the ways they do. One way to understand humans better is to understand the human condition. The basics of the human condition is that it encompasses the unique features of what it means to be human, such as the search for gratification, the sense of curiosity, and awareness regarding the inescapability of death. It is this final aspect of the condition with which I am concerned in the movie Children of Men. As well, this movie alludes to the importance of sound and music in film showing the impact it can have on both the characters and audience.

We all know we will one day die. As sad as it may be, death is an inevitability that we all must cope with. In the film Children of Men, nearly every main character dies (or is assumed to have died) besides Kee—Julian, Jasper, Miriam, and Theo are no exception to this. It was the death of one individual, however, and the graceful way in which he developed the idea of the human condition that was striking to me.

While Theo, Kee, and Miriam are seeking refuge at Jasper’s home, a piercing alarm rings throughout the home signaling that the Fishes were attempting to break in. Jasper leads the three out to the car and explains to them where to go on the next stage of their journey, leaving himself and his wife behind. Although Theo knows this will not end well for Jasper, his friend convinces him to leave in order to save Kee. At this point, you know as well that Jasper and his wife will not be surviving this raid. It is hard to not see a little halo around this old man’s head, acting completely selfless for a friend. His awareness of his impending death by the sounding of the alarm has not stopped him from letting his friend to save himself and possibly make the world a better place again.

As Jasper walks back into the house, he plays a song by the Rolling Stones, “Ruby Tuesday.” As the picture of the loving family comes into view for the final time, Jasper brings his dog and wife close and says his final “I love you”. As the scene cuts, Jasper uses the drug Quietus (curious name) to euthanize his wife as the lyrics “Goodbye Ruby Tuesday…Still I’m gonna miss you” play in the background. It’s the music of this scene that really brings it together. This specific song was chosen by Jasper, again making the realization that he must say goodbye to his wife now because death is upon him.

Jasper’s role in the film is crucial to the development and understanding of the human condition. He provides comic relief, a sanctuary, and a vital way to safety for the trio. Although he was ultimately unable to escape death, his dedication to his friend and selfless actions make him the quintessential definition of the human condition. The blaring of the alarm and peacefulness of “Ruby Tuesday” also set the tone of the scene—although there is bad in the world, being calm in a sea of troubles can ultimately help to ease the pain for yourself and your loved ones as well.

I'm Just a Love Machine

As he is putting her to bed, David wipes away the wisps of hair from his Mommy’s face so he can see her clearly for one last time. It is at this point that I can assume any viewer is feeling incredibly heartbroken. I found myself in the same position, clenching a tissue and sobbing my heart out, wondering why…why does it have to end like this?! Why can’t he just live out his years with his loving mother by his side??

Hmm…what an interesting concept love is. It comes in different forms, but in the end it’s all defined the same—having the utmost compassion for another being. Knowing deep down that you never want to be without someone and that you would go to all lengths to make that person happy. Concerning A.I. Artificial Intelligence, this raises some interesting questions, both posed at the beginning of the film: Can a robot truly love? And will a human be able to respond to that love and have the same feelings back? This movie showed that the answers to these questions were strikingly different.

Professor Hobby creates David in the hopes that he will truly exhibit loving emotions toward his parents. Throughout the movie, you see David going through the emotions on love, but how do you know he is showing true love rather than just demonstrating what he was imprinted to do? Well, for example, rather than exclaim his love for his mother, David shows it to her, as would a human. He cuts off a lock of her hair for Martin, thinking that will convince her of love (obviously he doesn’t understand etiquette). He also completely demolishes another David robot in Hobby’s study claiming, “You can’t have her, she’s mine” in an extremely angry yet disturbing tone, the likes of which we haven’t seen from him before. The most disturbing show was David’s attempted suicide off of the top of the Cybertronics building. However upsetting the scene was, David is ultimately showing that if he can’t receive her love, then he has no reason to live. At this point in the movie, my heartstrings are pulled to their limit and I finally understand the true, emotional connection and deep feelings of love that this young child has and how his love keeps a glimmer of hope that he will one day reunite with his mother. David goes above and beyond what could be considered “imprinted love” and shows genuine love for his mother.

            
On the other side of the spectrum is the love and emotion from David’s mother Monica. After imprinting David, we expect that she will begin to have immediate feelings for her new son. At first, this seems promising. She tells her husband how good he is and how he makes coffee for her, just the way she likes it. Woah…red flags! What mother has her young child making coffee for her in the morning? Honestly, I took this as more of her treating him as a robot or even servant than anything else. Another thing that really offended me was her actions towards David to the return of Martin. Most viewers could probably see how she favored Martin in the pool party scene where she and Henry clearly left David sinking to the bottom of the pool. But what I saw as most striking was how she explained to David who Martin was—“David, this is my son.” Son? Isn’t it also David’s brother? Any second-time parent would introduce their older child to their new baby in this way, so why did Monica choose to blatantly ignore the fact that David and Martin were now brothers? Ultimately, this showed her to be the worst mother ever toward a boy that showed nothing but love to her.

I think this is all just proof of the obvious answers to the earlier stated questions. Can robots love? Yes, it is very apparent that David loved his mother—he went thousands of years to wait to see her again, showing his determination. Can humans love their robots back? Well, considering the example we had for this movie, the answer is unfortunately no. Monica showed no compassion, no love, and no drive to be with David or to show him any sort of affection back. As for the definition of love, she proved to be the antithesis—she lived happily without him and knowing what would make him happy, didn’t do a damn thing. I am beginning to wonder if these movies are attempting to show us how truly horrible humans are…