Technology dependence and the migration of human activity to screens and digital databases are not new themes or topics in film, but this spring, Transcendence may be taking the general idea to a new level.
Typically, themes that revolve around technology dependence choose a particular niche or technological development to focus on. Consider the following examples in recent films:
These are all prominent examples from recent years, but again, 2014’s Transcendence may be upping the ante on technology independence. Here’s the basic synopsis, as noted at Movie Insider:
Essentially, the film follows Will Caster (Johnny Depp), a scientific researcher enamored with the idea of creating total, real, artificial intelligence. He is a controversial figure whose idea is to combine an online database of knowledge from throughout history with human emotion. And ultimately, as friends and adversaries alike try to slow down his efforts, Caster ends up merging his own consciousness with a computer system. Talk about a metaphor for human dependence on the Internet.
Regardless of what’s becoming a slightly familiar underlying theme in modern films, Transcendence is starting to generate some serious buzz. This is largely because it was directed by Wally Pfister. He was a relative no-name on his own, but he has served alongside Christopher Nolan (as director of photography) on some of his most impressive projects. The film does have a bit of a Nolan-esque look to it and even stars a few of his favorite actors in Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall and Cilian Murphy. We’ll find out in April if it lives up to the lofty expectations that a link with Mr. Nolan will undoubtedly cause!
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