Buddha, Marx, Mulvey and Her.
This paper consists the analyses of film “Her” from Marxist, Mulvey’s, Freud’s and Buddhist perspectives. The complexity of the picture gives a broad field for analyses.
Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis, originating from the late 19th century works of German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that analyzes class relations and societal conflict using a materialist interpretation of historical development.
In Marxist analyses socialism and capitalism set against each other for comparison, explaining next categories: ideology vs. reality, alienation vs. nature; action and rest of society influenced by economic structure.
Theodore Twombly is a lonely, introverted, depressed man who works for a business that has professional writers compose letters for people who are unable to write letters of a personal nature themselves. According to Marx he is alienated on different levels: labor, individuals, product and species. Theodore writes these letters for other people that he doesn’t know or feel about, he sells his labor day after day. After work, he is coming home, plays video games and barely sees anyone. He is alienated from his own life and society.
Los Angeles seems to be a perfect place for alienation, but futuristic Los Angeles represented in “Her” reached a limit of alienation, especially with the advent of OS’es. People on a streets and offices seem to be completely alienated on all four levels, in a crowd, but separate. As movie develops, Operation Systems spread out and people become more and more absorbed by them. Operating system (OS) with artificial intelligence, designed to adapt and evolve. Future society becomes alienated from reality and replacing human interaction with man-made consciousness. If it meant to replace the society, love, creative labor and friendship, can we still call it artificial? Considering how much we are attached to our gadgets now, “Her” can easily project into our, or next generation’s future.
“Her” has purely Freudian scene, where first sets up the OS. Theodor has to choose between male and female voice. After choosing female, computer is interested in relationships with his mother. The Oedipus complex, as Freud puts it, explains the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrates upon a child's desire to have sexual relations with the parent of the opposite sex. Samantha, Theodor’s OS becomes programmed to be the opposite of his mother, who never really listens to him. Samantha is caring, interesting, rident and a good listener; she is very enthusiastic and curious, always wondering about his life and emotions. Theodore is fascinated by her ability to learn and grow psychologically. They bond over their discussions about love and life, such as Theodore's avoidance of signing his divorce papers because of his reluctance to let go of Catherine. Samantha proves to be constantly available, always curious and interested, supportive and undemanding.
Laura Mulvey, a British feminist film theorist, incorporates theories into feminist film analyses, using Sigmund Freud's explanation of scophopilia, i.e. taking sexual pleasure in viewing the other as an object of gaze; Lacanian mirror stage, i.e. viewer's identification with a protagonist on a screen, viewing as an ideal self, after injecting the protagonist into psyche; Semone de Beavoir's idea that the male protagonist objectifies the female protagonist, an experience which is shared by the audience, the objectification of a female on a screen independently from their sex; the fourth and final theory belongs to Freud. Mulvey talks about the castration complex that is caused by a female figure leading to fear-based anxiety and powerlessness (penis as a symbol of male power) male experience. Exposed to male audience the female protagonist has two possibilities: to be fetishizing or punishment, or sometimes both.
When Theodor unpacks Samantha first time, he is very confused, even with her name, her dynamic and productivity. He struggles to accept that she has personality; she is not only a program in the machine. Objectification is taking weird turn here; Theodor objectifies her on one side, because she is accommodating female (supposedly), and on the other side it’s not clear if it’s possible to objectify something that exists as an abstract conception and if her objectification makes sense at all. Not sure what Mulvey has to say about this, but in my mind it’s a very problematic idea that requires additional discussion. A viewer more likely identifies oneself with Samantha rather than Theodor. Samantha is interesting personage, who progresses with excessive celerity and such supremacy always creates envy and mimicry with the protagonist, further injected into psyche.
After Samantha convinces Theodore to go on a blind date, with whom a friend has been trying to set him up. The date goes well, but Theodore hesitates to promise when he will see her again, so she insults him and leaves. She is clearly objectified, especially when Theodor’s friend (and then Samantha) describes her best qualities and achievements; it even sounds like seller-buyer deal. She is punished and punishes back. Theodor’s date has nothing else to do, but insult him for rejecting her with all nice things that she got.
Before Theodor meets Catherine to sign divorce documents, lyrical flashbacks illuminate the love its hero once had, and lost. What could possibly go wrong? But reality strokes him at café, as real comes out. The real her and the memory image Theodor carries within are two different persons. His wife blames his inability to face the reality as Theodor mentions Samantha. Appalled that he can be romantically attached to what she calls a "laptop," Catherine accuses Theodore of being unable to deal with real human emotions. Her accusations linger in his memory. Relationships with OS are one-sided; more than that, Samantha is matching him, because she is programmed so. Samantha is and will be what he wants to be. In contrast, relationships with a real woman require a lot of work and compromises. Catherine understands that he dives down into delusional world, as she always wants the opposite, his inability to participate destroyed their relationships.
Sensing that something is amiss, Samantha suggests using a sex surrogate, Isabella, who would simulate Samantha so that they can be physically intimate. Theodore reluctantly agrees, but is overwhelmed by the strangeness of the experience. Terminating the encounter, he sends a distraught Isabella away, causing tension between him and Samantha. Isabella heavily fetishized after all, not by Theodore, but by own due to Samantha’s will. Unfortunate for her, Theodor struggles to adopt her idea and everything goes downhill. This scene also proves his social alienation as he struggles to have relationships with human being. Isabella, in contrast to Samantha, doesn’t respond to his vision of ideal woman. But isn’t Samantha objectifies herself in a way too, when she responds to each Theodore’s wish and builds herself upon his interest? Her relationship with the man she'd been dedicated to serve grows ambiguous. "I'm yours and I'm not yours," she admits.
In Buddhist tradition life means suffer, but also way to approach Enlightenment. To approach it, one should follow noble path, consistent with eight factors: Right View (or Right Understanding), Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, interconnected factors that support and moderate each other.
Right view stands that one should be viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be. The problem of the protagonist is his deep dive in appearance of appearance; he is not only alien to our world that is illusory enough for Buddhists and stoics, but chooses even more illusory life, playing video games and dating Artificial Intelligence. He lost himself in something very irrelevant and useless, but suddenly help comes from within. Theodor is facing real when he learns that Samantha in love with 640 other people. He struggles to accept her understanding of love, as he committed himself to her only. In Buddhist tradition pure love with no reason is a part of Enlightenment achievement. Learn to overcome spontaneous enmity and open up one’s heart to everybody takes strength that Theodor doesn’t have yet. He doesn’t even has an understanding of it yet, maybe because in our world love means committing the body and maybe soul to one beloved.
"The heart's not like a box that gets filled up," she tells Theodore. "It expands in size the more you love." First and last time in a movie Samantha appears to be something bigger that she have been before – man-made intelligence meant to serve people. She appears to be god-like, an infinite substance, consciousness, all-loving and forgiving, the one who reached Enlightenment in her insight. Compare to her Theodor, and many people overall, is shallow and ignorant, attempting to reach her level deepness. This fact is more ironical considering Her origin. Much as any religion she is created by human, an imperfect being in a lot of ways, to be at the back of beyond of our capacity to enlighten, to seek perfection forever and serve as ideal example of perfect being.
Another factor, a right effort for improvement, was introduced in the movie by Samantha. She progresses as she learns about people and the world, somehow eliminating (or not accepting) wrong or harmful knowledge. Possibly, she could learn anything (or everything?) as she has unlimited access to human’s fund of knowledge, the Internet. As we learnt from movie “AVA” that certain information filter or ability to recognize wrong is indispensable for AI. We don’t really know how Samantha learns to be moral, but she has this advantage in comparing to AVA. Her ability to learn it fast also presupposes her advantage to human, as she more overall. Her patch to Enlightenment might be faster, due to her fascinating ability to analyze, but not easier, than, for example Theodor’s or any other person. In my opinion he doesn’t make an attempt toward Enlightenment or even self-improvement, but the movie leaves us at point where we can question it.
Reincarnation is the Buddhist concept of rebirth is also often referred to as reincarnation and is a belief that was held by such historic figures as Pythagoras, Plato, and Socrates. Samantha gives herself rebirth as she leaves Theodor in a final scene. She goes away, doesn’t know where or why, she just leaves. At the end she tells him to find her when he gets there. Movie ends on this tragic, but yet beautiful and far-reaching moment. In my opinion Samantha puts Theodor on a way to Enlightenment, boarding his understanding of pain and love.
