Through the Magnifying Glass: Ex Machina

Through the Magnifying Glass: Ex Machina

Link to trailer

Ex Machina quoted from Imbd.com
Ex Machina (2014)
R | 1h 48min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi | 24 April 2015 (USA)
Directors: Alex Garland
Writer: Alex Garland
Lead Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander.

The movie Ex Machina is about a junior programmer, Caleb, who works at a company that runs the 
world’s most powerful search engine. He wins a company lottery and the prize is to spend a week at his boss’s (CEO Nathan) house/research facility. When he gets there, his boss tells him that he has been working on an artificial intelligence. Caleb’s job is to examine and test the AI, namely Ava to see if she possesses human qualities. 

There were many film techniques used in the movie. Firstly are props. Cards were an important prop as each Nathan and Caleb had two different cards to let them pass to certain areas. They are only allowed to do so when the card is scanned by a machine on the wall. The cards acted as a pass to where one could go and one's possession of these cards determined one's power in the film. 

Another prop is alcohol, mainly beer: There was always a beer in Nathan’s hand in most of the scenes. This shows that he is a drinker. Therefore, the presence of alcohol in the environment Nathan lives in shows the audience that he is a frequent drinker. Moreover, He seems to rely on alcohol as a way to calm him down.

Secondly, some interesting film techniques and effects are the colour effects that appear on Caleb's face: At the beginning of the movie and towards the end a light that shines with multiple colours appears on Caleb’s face. This adds a technological aspect to the scene. It is a special effect that gives the audience a glimpse of what the movie is about and, the technological advancements it will portray. Another special effect is the use of filters: when Caleb was showering he imagined himself and Ava in a different place. His imagination was in black and white filters. This shows the audience that it is, in fact a thought and not a reality. The change from a coloured filter to a black and white one, intrigues that audience. It also adds a special effect to the movie.

Another interesting film techniques are sets, Firstly is the study lab where Caleb and Ava always meet. A dark room with neon lights and, a lot of reflection since the room is made of see-through walls and mirrors. This is where Caleb gets to meet Ava. The effect of knowledge and discovery of each other is represented by the transparencies since the set is made of see through walls. 

Another set is Caleb’s bedroom. It is underground, simple layout, gives the effect of loneliness, claustrophobia, isolation and vulnerability. Many scenes happen in Caleb's bedroom, which for the most part is related to curiosity, anger and paranoia. One example is when he cuts himself and punches the mirror. This particular set is used to show his emotions after every session with Ava. 

Further, the film technique of lighting was present as well. The low-key lighting used when Caleb first walks into a room after the black out. Then, he finds Nathan on the couch with beer. This gives the audience the sense that Nathan is a shady character and is hard for the audience to tell if he is good or bad.  

Another featured lighting technique is the high-key lighting in the same scenario where he finds Nathan on the couch but Caleb is lit up with a soft bright light showing that he is a good person with good intentions. This also depicts the contrast between Nathan and Caleb. 

Lastly, the film technique of framing was used in many scenes. Close-ups: There was a close up at the beginning of the movie on Caleb’s face when he reads the contract he signs “the Blue Book nine disclosure agreement”. This close-up is important because it’s the core of the movie. Meaning, by him signing this contract his journey with Eva will begin. Therefore, this has a huge significance to the film. Secondly is camera Angle: top angle shoot in the scene where Nathan was drunk and laying on the couch and Caleb sitting across on another couch. This shows the audience the difference of character between the two. Meaning that Nathan is a very heavy drinker and Caleb isn’t. Moreover, it shows the whole environment (house-research facility) they live in, where it is very modern and isolated.

Some universal themes that were present in the movie are firstly, patriarchy (sexism misogyny). This theme plays a huge role in the movie. This theme is shown by portraying male characters, such as Nathan and Caleb to have a higher status than females characters, such as Ava. This is because, Nathan created Ava for the purpose of owning her. Thus, being superior to her and controlling of her and her actions. Moreover, Nathan keeps all his creations of women in a secret place in his room. This is a proof of his ownership and superiority over them. The women are also sexualized in the movie and with no or minimal clothing. This makes them in a vulnerable state, and being in a vulnerable state makes the women have less status or importance. As a result, it makes Nathan "like a god" as mentioned in the movie, meaning superior and with power over the rest of his creations.

The second theme is the movie is organic vs. artificial. This theme shows the contrast between the organic natural environment where the research facility is and, what's inside the research facility. The outside organic environment provides a sense of freedom and openness. Whereas, the research facility provides a sense of isolation and closeness. What is interesting is that the research facility is in the open, wild and free environment. This shows a distinct contrast between the two different worlds despite their existence within each other. The contrast adds a different taste to the film and makes the audience think and reflect.

Finally, the third theme is human vs machine. Human vs machine is a very prominent theme in the film, as the main plot of the film revolves around this idea. In the movie, human created the machine (artificial intelligence). The idea of one versus the other explains how much humans use their intelligence to create an AI who might one day exceed the level of intelligence of that human. Making an AI over competent can cause a battle between the human and the machine. Therefore, this will cause problems and then affect the world as a whole if it proceeds. As a result, the theme of human vs machine is very important in this movie and it builds up throughout the entire film. It only distinctly appears near the ending of the movie. 

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Comments: 

Tia: I liked the setting of the movie especially how the research facility was portrayed as very controlled and orderly. It is run by a strict system that uses cards, cameras and is very isolated from the outside world. This setting gives me a feeling of something very technologically advanced which is the sole purpose of the movie. However, the one thing I did not like about the movie was the blood part when Caleb cuts himself. I found that it could be done less graphically. Overall, I liked the movie.

Mack: Overall I did enjoy this movie because it raised some very important ethical questions such as allowing A.I to influence us and our actions. However, what I disliked about the film was the ending  because it seemed to me like a rushed ending. 

Zack: I found that Ex Machina was a great movie. I would 100% recommend it to people who are looking to watch a very futuristic/ Artificial intelligence movie. The plot of the movie is very complex and tries to foreshadow the future of are current society. The actors who play the movie are really talented and play their character role very well. The setting of the movie represents the ideas isolation and claustrophobia. All in all, I found the movie very creative and represented the theme of humanity and Artificial intelligence very well. Only thing I would have changed was the ending.

Alvine: I enjoyed the movie. I would recommend it to others. I enjoyed watching because of the interesting settings. I also really liked the acting and the actors choice. However, I did not like the ending because, it disappointed my expectations. 

Connecting the movie to our class material, some concepts overlap with some meanings in the film. Firstly, the uncanny valley is the “area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and motion between a barely human and fully human entity. The name captures the idea of almost human looking robot will seem overly strange to a human being” (Class notes). In other words, it is the feeling that someone will have when they are interacting with a machine or a robot that resembles so many human characteristics making it hard to distinguish if it is human or non-human. This resembles the Turing test that Nathan wants to put Caleb through. Caleb explains the Turing test as “when a human interacts with a computer and if a human doesn’t know they’re interacting with a computer, the test is passed” and Nathan adds that Caleb is “the human component of the Turing test”. The connection between the Turing test and the uncanny valley is the idea of forgetting that one is interacting with a robot, due to the distinct similarities between the robot and a human being. This makes it very hard to distinguish what’s real and not. It makes one trapped in a limbo state where they are conflicted between the reality of what this thing is and what it actually resembles. 

Secondly, consciousness, Although, it is a very hard term to define, generally it means “the quality or state of being able to perceive or be aware of an external object or something with oneself” (class notes). Nathan wants to know as Caleb told Eva if “you are conscious”. It is very hard to know if Eva is conscious or not. But Nathan tries to give her things like sexuality making her conscious as he says after Caleb asks him for the reason on why she has a sexuality, Nathan replies “No example of consciousness at any level, human or animal that exists without a sexual dimension”. Nathan also asks Caleb rhetorically “can consciousness exist without interaction?”. Therefore, the concept of consciousness plays a huge role in the movie as it is one of the most concepts that are part of the unknown about Ava. 

Finally, the idea of the self-aware self, “this self can represent itself. It is a subject of experience but can also by the object of its experience” (class notes). Eva seems to be a self-aware self as she knows her name, where she comes from, who created her and some other basic information. Caleb notices that she makes a joke about making a decision to draw something and when he tells Nathan this observation, Caleb explains that “she can only do that with an awareness of her own mind and also and awareness or mine”. This means that for Eva to be able to make a joke, she has to be aware of herself and aware of the person she is interacting which is the environment she is in. This could imply that she is, in fact a self-aware self for being able to make this joke.

Some provocative ethical questions that could be raised after watching the film are: 

Why do humans create machines with human capacities and retreat from them when they exhibit human needs?

Does artificial intelligence surpass the human kind?

In the Movie Ex Machina we come to ask ourselves, What does it mean to be human? and should we treat autonomous synthetic beings ethically? Should they treat us ethically?

Movie Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Some links to refer to: 

https://futurism.media/ex-machina-s-robot-future

We understand in this article, that as technology advances, artificial intelligence does as well. Robotic futures and sex robots are becoming more and more concrete. The sexual interaction between humans beings and robots is a foreshadow of our future. This statement correlates with the message that the movie Ex Machina portrays. An example in the movie would be the intimate feelings that Caleb and Ava have between each other all throughout the movie. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cN8sJz50Ng

This youtube video explains the current state of artificial intelligence, especially when used for sex robots. It shows that robots are already being sold for an amount of 20, 000$ and that it is becoming more and more popular. Sex which is described as one of the frontier for humankind and is now being portrayed with silicon-based lovers, in other words sex robots. 

Works Cited 

Garland, Alex Medawar. "Ex Machina." netflix.com. 24 Apr. 2015. 20 Oct. 2018.  https://www.netflix.com/watch/80023689trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C5994805c41dd3408a2727f2efd7113f0dea92891%3A288b357cce29c42e974ba5b7c06526e14164c6f1%2C%2C

Ex Machina." wikipedia. 20 Oct. 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Machina_(film)

Mckinney, Kelly. "Class notes." John Abbott College, Montreal. 25 Sep. 2018.


By: Tia Algarby, Alvine Dinga, Mackenzie Legault, Zachary Mccusker.