Ex Machina Film Analysis

Analytical Thesis: Get Out is a psychological thriller that analyzes the racial issues in modern America through the use of visual rhetoric: such as film noir, symbolism and metaphors.

So you understand what is happening in there head, you know what they are thinking. It has multiple points of view, and has multiple narrators.

Turing, a physicalist, believed that artificial intelligence could be achieved in the future. Turing argued that the mind was merely due to the physical aspects of the brain and so a machine could one day be created that has a mind of its own, i.e. artificial intelligence. He created a test called the Turing Test to determine whether a machine has artificial intelligence. In the Turing Test, an interrogator asks two subjects a series of questions. One of the subjects is a person, the other is the computer. The goal is for the person to imitate a computer and the computer to imitate the person. If the interrogator is fooled into thinking that the computer is the human then the computer, according to Turing, is concluded to have the ability to think and thus, have a mind. Turing argued that machines passing the Turing Test were sufficient for ascribing thought.

the ability to pass tests without understanding the material and, I contend, this is what a machine

Ex Machina goes above and beyond when it comes to science fiction and philosophy, if anything the movie leaves us with more question than answers. In the movie we are introduced to Caleb, a person we think has won the lottery only to find out he was chosen to be a participant for a Turing Test against AI, Ava, to see if she can pass as human. We are also introduced to Nathan who is the AI’s father of some sorts, he is wild, crazy genius that throughout the movie we are never sure if he is trustable or not. Nathan represents humanity at its darkest state; he is a self-destructive drunk who seeks his own demise. When he talks about the future and how the robots he created will take over the world, he talks about with awe like he can’t wait for

Some of these issues can also be seen with The Stanley Parable. It is an interactive one-player game where one needs to either follow the instructions given by the narrator or not follow them and play through the nineteen different endings. Although this game delves into very existential topics like freedom, bravery, and power, its purpose is also very definite, which is to entertain the audience by playing through the game. The game is able to employ specialized language by using the narrator’s voice. For example, in the Freedom ending one can hear the narrator saying, “Now the monitors jump to life. Their true nature revealed… The lives of so many individuals reduced to images on a screen and Stanley one of them … where freedom meant nothing.”

Breaking the fourth wall is a postmodernist term used when the character directly interacts with the audience in some way. The term "breaking the fourth wall" is used to display the breaking of the barrier between the movie and the audience. It is the reality within a character where they understand that they in fact are a character in the movie. Fight Club displays this characteristic of postmodernism as the whole film is narrated by the protagonist, Edward Norton. In one scene where Edward introduces his friend Tyler Derby, "Let me tell you a little bit about Tyler Derby..."(Fight Club), he draws his attention to the screen while speaking directly to the audience. Also in the same scene, both Edward and Tyler interact with the audience together. When explaining what Tyler does as a part time job, Edward says, "If you look for it, you can see these little dots coming in at the upper right corner of the screen"(Fight Club). After he says this, an oval shape appears on the right upper corner of the screen. Tyler then replies with, "In the industry we call them cigarette

Gladiator tells the story of a Roman General, Maximus. Maximus has close ties with the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. When the emperor's son Commodus strangles his aging father and names himself the new emperor, he figures that one of his main opponents will be Maximus, his father's favourite. He tries to have Maximus executed, but the plan goes sour when Maximus escapes from his executioners, is sold into slavery and made into a gladiator. Gladiator also explores the argument of power, in the film power is seen through the people of Rome. So, who they follow is the one who has the power and in this film, we see the power being taken away form an emperor by a gladiator slave. The sequence I have chosen is the last ten minutes of the film

I remember watching this film for the first time back in 2001 when it was released and having not watched it in over a decade, I feel I can say that this film is still solid. The Others holds up so well due to the film relying on storytelling, atmosphere and sense of impending doom to create its tension. The Others is one of the rare big budget, well cast horror films that seem to pop up every couple of years and I love it when they do. I feel horror often gets the short end of the stick when it comes to Hollywood.

When it comes to the film industry, entertainment is the tool used to acquire what is desired, money. The main goal for filmmakers when they create a film is to attain money in addition to the money spent to make the movie. Therefore, in some films that they like to base off of true accounts, it is somewhat necessary to dramatize or embellish the story to really tug at the heartstrings of the films audience. They achieve this goal by the use of dramatic music, ambient lighting, and a small amount of tweaked diction. The Fighter is an excellent example of this dramatization in action because throughout the film the characters are faced with a multitude of decisions that must be made. The choices they make require the characters to choose

As a computer science major, it is only natural that I would have an affinity to science fiction films. However, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina is not just any science fiction film, it is a view into the human psyche and society’s subconscious fear of being replaced by something we perceive to be greater than ourselves. Ex Machina is a morally ambiguous story that is Promethean in nature, because “fire” or intelligence has been given to machines. Many of the characters in Ex Machina exhibit Jungian archetypes such as Ava being the dreamer, Caleb Smith as a positive animus, Nathan Bateman as a negative animus, and Kyoko as a positive shadow. However, some may have different perspectives on who would

“If a million people see my movies, I hope they see a million different movies.” (Quentin Tarantino) Quentin Tarantino is notorious for creating in depth films that captivate audiences’ imaginations and establishes dialogue about the deeper message behind ideas. In Inglourious Basterds (2009), Tarantino’s story generated a great story with a remarkably bravado ending, which can hold in one’s memory long after seeing this film, while still maintaining the story’s true meaning in the moment. Inglourious Basterds is presumably fitting to the Aristotelian structure of film because as the film goes on it is clearly becoming more and more intense with each scene. Tarantino utilizes this structure to keep his audience aware of the danger that is taking place in the film while still keeping the real action behind closed doors appropriately. His choice of cast also helped to solidify the themes within: danger is just around the corner, fighting for a cause greater than yourself, and that no one can be trusted.

The film “The Prestige” is one of many masterful Nolan films that walks the line between being a meta film about the film industry, and being focused on immersing the audience in the actual content of the film. At a close inspection, comparisons to the film industry can be seen, but they are not so obvious to distract the audience from the central conflicts that are at the forefront of the film. The subject of the film could most easily be defined as surrounding the topics of obsession or fame. More specifically, the obsession of fame, and the illusion of happiness that fame projects. The main characters of the movie both urn for the fame of being the world’s most successful entertainer, even if for different reasons.

“The Imitation Game” is a powerful film full which is full of different artistic aspects. There are two specific elements which greatly contribute to the beauty of the film; structure and personal/emotional connection. This film concentrates on the legendary life of mathematician and cryptanalyst, Alan Turing. It brings us through the story of how he was able to succeed in breaking enigma (a near impossible to crack) Nazi code. This inspiring film follows a rather unique structure when compared to other films. It goes through three different time periods; when Turing was in boarding school, when he was working on breaking the enigma, and when he was arrested and convicted of indecency. This provides a great sense of variety and acts as a puzzle. There was also a large presence of personal and emotional connections; through all three stages of his life. Through all three, Turing struggled with his sexual identity. Times where immensely different back then, and countless men were tortured and killed for their own sexual orientation. “Coming out” was a life threatening option for individuals, unlike it is today. He also struggles with the loss of a dear friend and Turing also goes through a valley of emotions through his building of the machine; which all contributes to the beauty of the film. There was never a dull moment.

The theme I am getting across is the affect of trauma and how it changes the way the individual acts. The films I will be discussing are Shutter Island ( 2010) , The Others (2001) , Black Swan (2010) and Gone Girl ( 2014). Another idea I would like to explore is the relationship between the characters and how it changes throughout the film.