It does an even better job of holding up a mirror to life in the digital age, right this minute. She longs to be more like a human being, and worries that the fact that she isn't physically manifest in the world (beyond the computers that control her) makes her less-than. This is the brilliance of, Charlotte Ficek - A Diner Series at Boxcar Social →. At the start of the film, Theodore is very depressed and isolated from the rest of the world. Her was chosen the best film of 2013 at the National Board of Review; it earned a total of five Academic Awards. Then, when his relationship with Samantha ends, Theodore is once again in a period of sadness and disenchantment. Relationships and Technology in the Modern World An Analysis of a Spike Jonze Film: Her By: Xiara Rodriguez Sept. 13, 2016 Her, a Spike Jonze film, explores real life issues between a man and an operating system. Theodore takes this to heart, and decides to pursue what makes him happy. Spike Jonze’s Her examines one man’s relationship with just such an electronic device. Her study guide contains a biography of director Spike Jonze, essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. For other people with similar names, see Spike Jones (disambiguation). Thus, a major theme in the film is that of the metaphysical realm: the immaterial, unseeable, and unknowable. It is trend setting in that the world is clean, modern, and very uncharacteristic for a film set in L.A. – which is explained by the fact that the film was partially shot in Shanghai. Throughout this film we experience the blossom and decay of love and relationships. After Samantha leaves, rather than recede into obscurity again, he writes an empathic email to Catherine, and goes to visit his friend Amy for comfort. The main character, Theodore, is in the midst of finalizing his divorce. I want to say “film’s like this” rely on characters like Theodore who are perceptive to human emotions – though flawed in their own personal emotional lives – to progress the narrative forward. There is a certain awkwardness and quirkiness that exists between humans and technology. Part of what was difficult about his relationship with Catherine was the fact that Theodore wasn't willing to open up. As it greatly deals with the relationship between humans and technological advances, the movie provides clear examples of the concepts in N. Katherine Hayles’ How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and informatics. The World Through Your Eyes: On Spike Jonze’s Her Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies Of Bard College By Thatcher Snyder Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Acknowledgments Two years ago, when I began The other important representation of the limits and boundlessness of technology is Samantha, the operating system with which Theodore falls in love. Movie Analysis: “Her”. The main film that comes to my mind where I find this is also achieved is Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster 2006). It is the one thing we as humans and Samantha as a program can experience collectively - and even possibly experience in the same way. Spike Jonze’s Her Is a Piercing Commentary on Our Immediate, Online, Artificial Lives (Non-Spoiler Film Review) December 31, 2013 Her is now playing in New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. Starts everywhere January 10th. We see this theme particularly in the beginning of the film as Theodore plays video games, has phone sex, and refuses to hang out with his friends. Her, c'est Samantha, Her, c'est votre ordinateur dont vous pouvez tomber amoureux dans ce conte de Spike Jonze... A la manière d’un Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze est un réalisateur qui aime nous raconter des histoires., Spike Jonze est un réalisateur qui aime nous raconter des histoires. Copyright © 1999 - 2021 GradeSaver LLC. There is a man who has a job writing letters for people at an office and returns to his condo at night where he hangs out with his friend Amy or plays video games. It feels to me as if the film is one massive confessional, on levels both macro and micro. She tells him, "We are only here briefly, and in this moment I want to allow myself joy." This is why the "song pictures" are so important in creating Samantha's identity and character in the film. We know where he is and what he is doing and when he is doing things throughout the entire film. At the beginning of their relationship, Samantha has a lot of insecurity about the fact that she doesn't have a body. UNKNOWN SPACE Close on THEODORE’S face (30s). Though unable to touch in a conventional sense, we are touched by Samantha’s character even if we can’t see her. Her: Placing a Contemporary Lens on Love in Film, The Illusion of Happiness: Dichotomy of Desires and Needs in “Her”. He’s looking at something off camera, deep in thought. The last step is to sign the papers, but he has yet to do so and he has chosen to isolate himself from the reality that his marriage is over. We instagram photos to show the world what WE are doing. Where we warm up to Samantha as a character - as if she had a physical being and essence - the name remains highly cold and uninviting. After Catherine mocks Theodore for being in a relationship with an operating system, he begins to have doubts and goes to Amy for advice. Seeing Him through Her perspective. Until she stretches across 600 other devices, she is solely HIS OS 1 software companion.