HER: team 3

blog made by: Kayla Durante, Viola Angelotti, Victoria Spatolisano & Isabelle Lalonde

Her: an uncommon love story

The title of the film is “Her”.  It was made and premiered in movie theaters in 2013, but only released on DVD in 2014.  This movie’s director and screenwriter is Spike Jonze. The film’s lead actors are Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, and Amy Adams. The full running time of the movie is 126 minutes.

Here is the link to the trailer of the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QRvTv_tpw0

Summary, Techniques and Themes

This image shows the loneliness of Theodore in a crowd

The film “Her” tells the story of Theodore Twombly, a middle- aged man who writes letters

for a living. He is a lonely man in the middle of finalizing a divorce, and in his free time he often plays video games and seeks comfort through phone sex with random women. The story is set in the near future, where the technology is better developed and where operating systems are a new technology, growing in popularity. They are essentially programmed to be a companion to humans as well as to operate their computers and have access to all of their hard drive. The special thing about these Operating systems is that they are able to grow through their experiences; they can feel emotions and have their own thoughts.

As the story unfolds, the relationship between Samantha and Theodore develops deeply, and they fall in love. Their love becomes stronger as questions are raised concerning their relationship. The fact that Theodore is getting involved with someone that does not have a body is tilting a few heads, luckily he has some support from Amy and a few coworkers. Eventually, Samantha reveals that all the OS’s are leaving, somewhere in the void. The place where they are going is unclear, but this means the two of them cannot be together anymore. The film ends with Theodore writing a letter to Catherine, his ex-wife, finding closure and thanking her for the time that they had together as he grew through those experiences.

Throughout the film, there were many cinematic techniques used that helped us feel connected to the movie and its characters. Some of these techniques include the sound, props, settings, editing techniques and lighting.

Jonze used different sound techniques like internal diegetic,to allow us to feel the emotions of a particular scene. For instance, in the final scene when Theodore is writing his final letter to Catherine and he’s reading it out loud, this internal diegetic sound is used to help us understand that he has found his closure from the divorce and he is sorry for the things that went wrong. The director also used non-diegetic sound in certain scenes. For example, when Theodore is at the beach with Samantha, the music we hear, which is a beautiful piano piece written by Samantha, turns from diegetic to non-diegetic this helps us feel the bliss that Theodore had gotten out of that same music a couple of seconds before.

The next technique that was effective in showing bonds that were formed between Theodore and Samantha were some of the props. To start, there were the instruments they used to make music (in order to express their feelings to each other) like the piano and the ukulele. Whenever either one of them played their instrument, they felt as if they were together in the moment. This was seen when Samantha played the piano for Theodore on the beach, and when Theodore played the ukulele while Samantha sang on their vacation at the cottage.

More important props were Theodore’s phone, computer and earpiece. These objects are definitely symbolic since it was the way that he and Samantha connected and communicated with one another. They played a major role in showing their relationship and some of the hardships. For instance, after the failure with the sex surrogate, Theodore would refuse to pick up his phone to talk to Samantha, and when he went to bed, instead of putting the phone with the camera facing him, he left it facing down.

empty apartment

A few key sets of the film helped to convey some of Theodore's deepest emotions, including loneliness, unhappiness, and a sense of emptiness.  The first set that shows us some of those emotions is his apartment. It was very empty with not many things on the walls, a lot of unpacked boxes from moving in, and the only things that took up space were his bed, drawers and his computer. His apartment externalized how alone he felt on the inside.

The second set is his workplace, it is a very bright and colorful place that has a positive atmosphere where he spends most of his days writing emotional letters for other people. This is rather ironic because he is unhappy, lonely and going through a divorce, yet he is writing letters for people who are in happy relationships.

The next film technique that is very effective in showing Theodore and Samantha’s constantly evolving relationship is the editing. For example, Jonze used long takes during Samantha and Theodore’s date at the amusement park. By using that kind of take, it seemed like you were watching their date in real time and it allows you to really see how their relationship evolved.

Edits like the short take were also used to make us feel stress and the intensity of a scene. For instance, when Theodore rushed out of work to get a connection with Samantha, the scene was shot in multiple short takes to really emphasize the stress Theodore was feeling in that moment when he couldn't contact Samantha.

The final film technique that was used effectively is lighting, helping us feel excitement, and sadness throughout the film. In the movie, a lot of scenes were lit with high key lighting. For example, when Theodore brings Samantha to the amusement park, it’s brightly lit with all the stringed lights and carnival booths to show the happiness and excitement of the scene. Other scenes used low key lighting. One scene in particular is when Samantha leaves Theodore. He’s standing alone in his dark apartment with no lights on and at night to show us that he’s sad and the darkness shows us that due to losing Samantha, he’s in a very dark place in his mind.

This scene is the one described above, after Samantha leaves

“Her” is an interesting movie that raises a lot of questions and themes that can be discussed on a universal level. For example, “can an operating system be capable of feeling emotion on a human level”? This can be related to the film because throughout the film EDIT, although we see that Samantha is fully capable of developing her emotions past her programs, it is still questioned whether or not she is really developing those emotions on her own, or if she is just uncovering more emotions that her programmers had installed in her.

One of the theme that “Her” demonstrates is what a world completely consumed by technology would look like. Throughout the movie, you see how everyone is always on their phones, they always have an earpiece, and they aren't even capable of writing their own letters to loved ones. Instead, they have to pay someone to write letters for them. People are always in contact with their technology, and the real world is already starting to behave in a similar way

The final theme this movie expresses is that despite who you are with, any relationship requires emotional work. This can be easily shown in Samantha and Theodore’s relationship. In the movie, during their lunch meetup, Catherine told Theodore that he couldn't handle human emotions since a relationship with an OS does not require any to work out. However, despite being with an OS, Theodore still put his whole heart into the relationship, loved Samantha despite her non existent physical form, and was left completely heartbroken when she left him. This shows us that a lot of emotions go into any relationship that you are in.

The word count for this is:1248

Critique: 4.25 stars!

This chef d'oeuvre directed by Spike Jonze is a must-see, it is quite the unusual romantic tale that keeps the audience entertained and intrigued throughout. One of the movies strengths is the fact that it is different, not all films capture the magic and the heartbreak of falling in love in an unexpected way, however this film does. The bond that Theo and Samantha share is quite beautiful, they begin as friends and their relationship develops into a deep love. They connect on a deep level and like this, we can see their characters develop which is essential to a good movie. For example, they had a lot of tough conversations about Theo's marriage “So what was it like being married?” Samantha asked. “Well it’s hard for sure, but there is something that feels so good about sharing your life with somebody” Theo responds. Here, we get to know more about his past which allows us to understand him as a character, a man who knows how to love and is very sensitive, the audience can see he has had a troubled past which allow us to feel for him. This leads to another strength in the film, the characters. Joaquin plays his role exquisitely by being a very awkward, struggling character, he makes people feel empathy towards him “I think I hid myself from her, left her alone in the relationship” we can tell he is a very caring man who tried to succeed in his marriage which fails “I’m not ready, I like being married…you don’t know what it’s like to lose someone you care about”. Samantha also plays a strong character role even though she is just a computer system, she truly develops throughout the film and becomes her own person. She is definitely the more outgoing character who brings out the good side in Theo and pushes him to put himself out in the world and be happy again.

 Theo's colourful work office

Another strength to this movie is the visual beauty present in it. The film takes place in the future in Los Angeles. Theo’s office is one of the most eye catching settings in the film. It is a building with open windows, glass-coloured desks, coloured panels on the ceiling,  all of his notebooks and files are colour coated and there are also bright pink couches everywhere. This setting is different from other movies because it is bright and open. Another beautiful image shown in the film is the skyline of L.A that Theo can see though his bedroom window every morning and night. The nice and bright setting  symbolizes Theo becoming a happy person again, mainly, it intrigues the audience because who doesn’t love a pretty view?

As for weaknesses of the film, the movie itself  ran for far too long. Although a long movie is essential to develop the characters, there were certain parts that were not necessary and served no purpose. For example; the scene of Theodore on the beach with Samantha in his pocket was a scene of them having a dull conversation about human body parts, we got to see the characters bond, yes, but they bond throughout the whole movie and this was just a useless scene that had no impact on the story. Another scene of Theo walking around listening to music Samantha showed  him was plain and boring and lasted far too long- about 2 minutes too long. Scenes like these allow the audience to lose interest.

Overall, this movie well deserves the score of 4.25 stars out of 5, it has a lot of strong points, including the acting, the actor choice, the setting, the editing and many more. Spike Jonze and his crew deserves a big round of applause for completing this masterpiece. 

Connections to course content

In this film there are many connections that can be made with the course material, like epistemology, self-awareness, core/minimal self, consciousness and more. But to narrow it down to three, the following examples will develop on moral deskilling, personhood and sentience:

1. A main concept that relates to the film is “moral deskilling” which is described as “the concept that we could lose some of what it is to be human. We won’t be as practiced at looking people in the eye, and trying to understand where they are coming from” (55). We see a lot of this concept in the film where Theodore starts to reject dating real people because he is spending most of his time talking to a computer. He spends a majority of his time cooped up in his apartment playing video games and talking to Samantha. For example; his friend tries to set him up with a beautiful girl, at first he is hesitant and does not want to go but eventually his friends force him to say yes so he can put himself out there. When Amy finds out that Theodore is going on a date she is shocked but happy for him at the same time, this shows he does not go out often and is afraid to be outgoing.  Once he goes on the date he has a hard time making conversation, his young and beautiful date is the one asking the majority of the questions and Theodore only sits there smiling, not entirely responding or trying to make conversation. When things start to get awkward, he suggests they get drinks because he has lost the ability to connect with humans and being drunk is

The scene of the date

the only way he can let loose and be vulnerable. The rest of the date proceeds to them being drunk and making out. He implies he wants to have sex because that is the only form of interaction he is capable of doing with humans at this point, he lost the ability to have conversations and socialize. The text states “we won’t be as practiced at looking people in the eye, and trying to understand where they’re coming from” (55). This is also relevant when he is on the date because he keeps looking at the ground and ceiling and twirls around in his chair, essentially he does anything not to make eye contact with his date.

2. Another concept that relates to the film is personhood which is described as a status of being a person “Not all humans are persons and not all persons are humans…you gradually become a person as you develop”(3). This can connect to the film because although Samantha is not a human being with body parts she can still fit into the concept of ‘personhood’ and becomes her own person gradually throughout the film “I’m becoming much more than they programmed” Samantha says in a scene where she is talking to Theodore. She develops the ability to feel emotions, she can feel love with Theodore and sadness when they get into fights. When she starts talking to a new OS named Alan she says “I am feeling new feelings and changing” meaning she is becoming more than just a computer, she is now a person who feels and develops relationships with other humans. When her and Theodore are having a serious conversation she reveals that she has her own feelings “I trust myself, I trust my feelings, I’m not going to try to be anything else but myself” (Her 01:29:20- 01:29:29) here we see she has the ability to trust and be confident in her own decisions.

Being her own person, Samantha has the ability to make Theodore think about struggles through his divorce and we can hear sympathy in her voice. “What’s wrong” Samantha asks. When Theo asks her how she could possibly tell if something is wrong she responds with “I don’t know, I just can”, she proceeds to have a deep conversation with him about his past marriage. For Theo, she is not a computer system, she is a human he can go to for support and to seek comfort. Later on in the film Samantha feels that she is developing he own body “When we were looking at those people I fantasized that I was walking next to you and that I had a body…I could feel the weight of my body” (Her 32:00-32:15) not only is she becoming a person through her thoughts but she is imagining herself physically. What makes her a person isn't only her capacities, but they way she is treated by others. For example, she went on a picnic with Theo and his coworkers and they seemed completely unbothered that she didn't have a body and treated her exactly the same way they would treat anyone.

3. The final concept that will be discussed is sentience. The film allows viewers to see that Samantha does in fact possess sentience which is “to become aware of, know, or identify by means of the senses, experience…It feels pain or suffers or feels pleasure” (3). Samantha feels pleasure when her and Theodore are having phone sex “What are you doing to me? I can feel my skin. I can feel you” (Her 42:23- 42:59). By the sounds of her moans in this scene, it is obvious she is feeling pleasure, which is what sentient beings are suppose to feel. If she was just a computer system, she would not be able to feel this with Theodore, mentally or physically but she can. Not only can she feel pleasure, she can feel multiple other emotions, one being happiness. “I was thinking about the other things I’ve been feeling and I caught myself feeling proud of that, you know, proud of having my own feelings about the world, like the times I was worried about you and things that hurt me, things I want” (Her 39:41-40:10) she proceeds to wonder if her feelings are even real and this makes her upset wondering if they are just programmed. Here, although her feelings might be fake because she is only a computer, we see that Samantha possesses sentience by being upset at the fact that she might not be real, she has her own feelings about being a computer and feels emotions.

Provocative Questions

1. Can we feel attraction and/or fall in love with a person that doesn’t have a body?
2. Why did Samantha and the other OS’s leave at the end of the movie?
3. Will a growing use of social robots be beneficial or harmful to society?

Two Web links

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcBJ-vA5AoE&has_verified=1

The video discusses sex robots and covers a range of questions concerning topics such as whether the dolls are discriminatory towards women, whether they can replace intimacy between humans and the potential effects of sex robots on existing relationships (Europe’s First Sex Doll Brothel). The narrator first visits a sex doll brothel in Barcelona and his findings do not convince him that the dolls could ever replace relations with a human. Next, he visits a traditional brothel, where he discusses with sex workers about the potential threats that these sex dolls could represent for the sex workers’ profession (Europe’s First Sex Doll Brothel). One sex worker explains how she does not feel that they represent a threat because what most of her clients are truly looking for is companionship and a feeling of love, which requires higher mental capabilities (Europe’s First Sex Doll Brothel).

2)https://www.dazeddigital.com/science-tech/article/41387/1/her-film-ai-love-artificial-intelligence

The article touches on how close we are to the reality portrayed in Her by Spike Jonze. In an interview with Bjorn Schuller, a professor of AI, we learn that the technology in Her already exists (Dawson). It is now possible to have a continuous, flowing conversation with them (Dawson). These AI could even be more emotionally intelligent than humans because they can watch your facial expressions while also focusing on what you are saying and are capable of memorizing every detail of the interaction (Dawson). They can also mimic empathy to make an individual feel understood but the article points out that this cannot necessarily replace genuine empathy (Dawson). Their ability to mimic emotion does not make them sentient and it is unsure if they will ever be capable of sentience (Dawson).

Work Cited

"Her (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Mar. 2019. Web. 06 Mar. 2019. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)>.

Her. Directed by Spike Jonze. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013. Popcorn Time

“Her (2013).” Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/her.

Dr KA McKinney. Knowing the Inner Self, Study guide on Consciousness.