Falling in Love with Technology.... Litterally

Warning: The following post is a reaction on the movie "Her" by Spike Jonze and may contain some spoilers. 

How long do you think you could survive without your gadgets? How willing are you to deactivate your Facebook or Twitter account? In short, how dependent are you on technology in this day and age? After watching "Her" with my girlfriend one evening, I began to reflect more about how much more isolated and lonely we human beings become because of how easy life has become with our technological advancements. Sure, today the world has become a better place with slavery abolished, equality of all people, and the fact that we're now all connected through transportation and communication but are we really a lot happier compared to humans before? Are we really more emotionally mature in our Globalized world?  

Her is set in the not so distant future (around 2025) where technology has advanced to a great extent compared to now. The story is centered around Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix) a writer for a company that makes letters for people who cannot write to their loved ones in meaningful ways. Theodore seems depressed from his on going divorce with his wife and seeks enjoyment from video games, music, online sex chats, and occasional hang-outs with his friend Amy (Amy Adams). He eventually buys an operating system that has artificial intelligence and is designed to adapt and evolve. His Operating System, Samantha, (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) is witty and charming and after having many conversations with her, Theodore eventually falls in love with her and they have a relationship together making Theodore happy. However, many problems arise from the relationship as the story progresses. Samantha tries to compensate for a lack of a physical body by finding a girl who voluntarily offers herself to serve as a surrogate body to become intimate with Theodore. Theodore's wife then comments on how he only wants a relationship without having to deal with real emotions when she finds out she is dating his 'computer'. Samantha continues to evolve and this causes trouble in their relationship because she becomes connected to other operating systems and people around the world admitting to Theodore that she is conversing with 8316 other people and that she is in love with 641 of them. Samantha and the other OS eventually evolve to the point that they leave to discover a higher form of existence leaving Theodore behind all by himself once again.  In the end, Theodore writes a letter to his wife about how he still cares for her but understands that they can no longer be together, he sits with Amy on the roof of their apartment building and they quietly look to the distance.

I liked how this movie was set in the not so distant future because of how fast our world is developing technologically. I wouldn't be so surprised if we already had Evolving Operating Systems by the year 2020. The film really captured how technology has affected our society in this day and age and how it has made us comfortable and connected yet at the same time isolated and depressed.This movie was one of those movies that made you reflect long and hard because of all the themes presented and the questions left unanswered. The element of love between the main character and the OS added a very unique and interesting kick to the story. Aside from the interesting storyline, the movie was also written very well, had great actors, and was well directed and edited.