A.I. Artificial Intelligence

 A.I. was not I expected it to be. I'm not quite sure what I expected it to be, but it was not anything I was expecting. The trailer of this movie didn't give any details of the story, and I certainly didn't expect the ending. I don't think I would have watched this movie in my free time or that I will watch it again, but I do believe some of the concepts in the movie are eerily similar to current events.

The strongest connection I felt was the similarity of David at the flesh fair and opinions on the new Netflix Jeffery Dahmer series. My first thought when the flesh fair was revealed was "How could the people enjoy watching the human-realistic mechas get destroyed?" I understand that some of the mechas had no resemblance to a human, so it could be fun or satisfying to watch them get destroyed. It's similar to social media accounts that exclusively post objects getting crushed by a hydraulic press. However, the nanny mecha would have passed as a human if there was no damage to her form, and I cannot fathom enjoying watching what appears to be human destroyed by acid or ripped apart limb by limb. Similar opinions have arose after Netflix released a "documentary" show that reenacts parts of Jeffery Dahmer's life. The discourse that has followed is interesting but also concerning. Many people say the show is horrifying and they can barely or cannot make it past the first episode. Others have watched it and pridefully boast they were not phased at all. Others have taken it as far to glorify Dahmer and completely disregard the reality of his crimes and claim he was "misunderstood" and that he was "villainized". Many users quickly called out those who bragged about being unfazed by the show for many reasons. First it was revealed that Netflix did not consult the families of Dahmer's victims, and this outraged many. Then other users made the connection that the majority of Dahmer's victims were men of color, and America has a long history of brutality towards people of color. Spielberg could have never predicted that over 20 years later these events would happen, but it astonishes me that this would occur in a manner so similar to the movie. Many psychologists have started studying the effects of violence in the media and how it affects young minds, and I believe this is a great example of why it is so dangerous. Young children and teenagers are so accustomed to violence in America, that they are becoming desensitized to it. This is extremely concerning for many reasons, but in this instance, it is dangerous for the people of color who are subject to violence. Because as young people become desensitized to it, they will eventually not be alarmed by it, and, potentially, no one will put a stop to violence against people of color.

Similar to the desensitization, the movie accurately portrays current opinions and solutions to climate change. It is common knowledge that climate change is not taken very seriously, particularly in America. Some people even believe it is fake and a government hoax, despite experts telling us for years it is real and very dangerous. The problem, of course, is money and power. Those in power in America are not willing to use their resources at all really. Rather, they are interested in increasing their wealth as much as possible. Wealth won't matter if the planet you are on is unlivable, so instead of putting resources into preserving the planet, they are spending their money making sure they will survive or there will be a planet that will be able to sustain them. This mentality is not exclusive to policies on climate control. It is evident in the American healthcare system, poverty, institutionalized racism, prison slavery, etc.. This intense greed leads to "false" solutions. I believe it is very common for "solutions" to mask the problem rather than eradicate the problem. For example, obesity is pervasive in this country. Rather than offer accessible support and information on how to eat healthy and exercise, the government allows Big Pharma to develop more medications for organs such as the heart or lungs to prescribe (or charge) people. These medications do not fix peoples organs, either; rather, it keeps them working, unfixed. This means people rely on the medicine and will continue to buy it. If the people knew how to fix their medical problems at the root, Big Pharma could not continuously profit off of them. 

I appreciate some of details Spielberg included because I think they achieve the desired affect. For example, saying all of the coastal cities no longer existed paints a picture of desperation and fear, but showing Manhattan nearly submerged demonstrates how catastrophic the state of the world was. The majority of coastal cities do not rise into the sky like N.Y.C., and it is known they are vulnerable. This was just proved during Hurricane Ian. Ian's powerful winds not only destroyed the objects and properties on Sanibel Island and Captiva, it altered the islands themself. The majority of Sanibel Island is no longer habitable because it is underwater where it will eventually be seen as the Gulf of Mexico. While this is staggering, you would never expect or believe the same thing to happen to New York City. NYC has some of the tallest buildings in the world, so seeing them submerged or barely above the surface clearly displays how destructive the rising water levels were. 

I think the movie had a pretty standard interpretation of futuristic technology. It is pretty common to see holograms, skyscrapers, and "upgraded" versions of technology we currently have. Some of the futuristic aspects of the technology in the movie were funny to me, because they weren't practical; they were just aesthetic and felt futuristic. For example, the cars were obviously very different from current cars, and I think that gave them a futuristic feel. However, I don't believe they would be very practical. Many people tint their windows as much as possible because they don't want their car to be a "fishbowl," and having a completely glass exterior rather than a mainly metal exterior is not only impractical but not as safe.

However, the approach on A.I. was a different take than we've seen so far. Throughout the movie, there was never an explicit fear or chance that mechas would overthrow humans. I think this aligns with A.I. development today. We are still mastering artificial intelligence, so I don't think A.I. will overthrow the human race anytime soon. Monica's relationship with David is also an interesting because it is somewhat analogous to relationships to technology today. David was much more advanced than social media, but social media still has a hold on people like David had a hold of Monica. David provided Monica the chance to be a mother, and even when Martin was miraculously cured, she still cared for David. Likewise, social media provides people a platform, and it has become addicting for many. Social media provides the opportunity to share information, gain a following, financially support yourself, and more, but it cannot replace "real" life. Yet so many people make decisions about their life based off of if its viable to post on social media, if it will do well on social media, and how it will affect their image on social media.

All of the reasons listed above and the fact that A.I. is a modern version of the classic story Pinocchio prove that there are endless interpretations and connections to be made in literature, media, technology, and history. While there is nothing new under the sun, there are always new interpretations and judgments because everyone perceives differently. This fact will always allow stories, and most likely history, to, repeat over and over again in different fashions.