Mini Review #1: Ex Machina (2015)

Ex Machina is a futuristic Netflix movie that invites all that watch to question what consciousness is and ultimately what makes us human. The movie revolves around the developing relationship between Caleb, a blue-collar hottie and programmer, and Ava, an artificial intelligence- also super-hot. All the while, Ava’s “father” Nathan, is observing them for an extra creep-factor. The film takes place over the course of one week and will throw so many plot twists in your face you will not know who to trust and who to absolutely love.

I loved this film. It restored my faith in the magic of movie making. The filmography is spectacular and the cast is beautiful to look at and is equally beautiful in their acting ability. Throughout the course of the film I was able to forget about the obnoxious ones in class playing various things on their various electronic devises, and simply watch. I’m not trying to sound pretentious, but not a lot of movies do that for me.

I was recently reminded of the splendor that is this film when my parents watched it for the first time on the weekend. They both grew up in the era where the future didn’t look like our present what so ever and every problem in the world was solved with the magic of technology!! (Aka, the Jetsons.) But Ex Machina shows the audience almost the exact opposite.

The entire film is set within the near distant future where everything is almost exactly the same- culture, personal appearances, etc, etc- but the technology is much more advanced. Computers scan and analyze people and the ability to create a functional AI is there. Caleb, our blue-collar hottie, “wins” a lottery contest at work (Nathans company, BlueBook) and gets to spend the week at Nathan’s estate. All is not as it seems as Nathan really chose Caleb to test Ava using a method similar to the Turing Test. Long story short, Caleb falls for Ava and as he is helping her escape, Nathan gets stabbed very precisely and Ava in turn ends up locking Caleb into the estate. SAY WHHHAAAAA!!?!?!?!?

From the first time that we meet Ava, we can physically see that she is a robot (one with a very realistic facial and bodily features), and as far as we can tell, she posses a consciousness. But what exactly is a human consciousness, or any consciousness? At what point did Ava develop a conscious? Or like her speech patterns, was she always conscious?

All of these questions bring forth further questions that allow we as an audience to dive deeper and deeper into philosophy.

What makes us human? The age-old question. From a biological stand point, Ava is not human- she does not need to consume food, only sunlight, she doesn’t need to rest and she cannot reproduce- as far as we know. But if you look at humanity from an ethical perspective, you start add things like emotions and emotional perception, intelligence, and sexuality. All things Ava displays. But this is where it gets tricky, did she actually have feelings for Caleb or was she programmed to use his sexual attraction to her against him to fulfill her ultimate goal; escape at any means.

I could probably rant all day and on countless pages and pages of the Internet, but I think you get the main picture here. Well, lets hope so. 

Overall, I recommend this movie to Millennials or people who enjoy good plot-based movies. If you want a pure action movie where you don’t have to think, go watch Batman v. Superman or something.

All in all, I give this movie 9 forced dance scenes out of 5

Video Game Adventures Day 2: Fallout...?

Part A 

Fallout 4 takes place after a nuclear apocalypse and the main goal- from what I understand- is to attempt to rebuild society. Whereas 15 Million Merits takes place during the near future where society is communed into pedaling for fake money, hours at a time. Both versions on the future of society seem equally possible, but I personally believe that the Fallout future is more possible.

From what I can tell, the world of 15 Million Merits contains a whole country within a confined space; possibly the entire population of the world. Even with the technology that we have today, getting the entire population of a country or a world is near impossible. Not to mention the big question of who put them there? What drove that person or group of people to do that. The setting of Fallout is extremely plausible because we've nearly caused a nuclear apocalypse many times through out history. Society is none existent and everyone must compete for supplies and survival. 

Morality seems to be unchanged within 15 Million Merits. The people still have the same values that we have- discrimination, social order and sexuality. If the worlds society was crammed into a non-existent box, you'd expect some rebellion, and not just from one character. The people are completely compliant. If you look at Fallout, society is completely destroyed, forcing people to become a reflection of their true selves. If society was truly destroyed, the morality that we hold so dearly today would not remain. 

Finally, the people within Fallout seem to revert to a simpler form of currency whereas those within 15 Million Merits are constantly aiming to get more digital credits. To me, it's more likely that we will revert rather then continue to move forward. Especially if the nuclear apocalypse was to happen. 

Part B 

Fallout is another story game that heavily relays on knowing what you are doing- we did not. The majority of the time, like Batman, we spent running around and almost dying, like twice. As much as I was confused, I really enjoyed the inversion factor of the game. As soon as you create the character, you are launched into world where you have to figure things out as you go and fly by the seat of your pants. For games like this where you create a world around you, I think the main source of appeal is being able to escape your world and go into another, much like books or movies or fanfiction or any other immersive worlds. 

Video Game Adventures Day 1: Lets Run Around With Batman!!

Part A 

Each medium that Batman is portrayed in, the character is different. The essential story is still there, like his back story and the villains that he fights, but there are some differences between all of them. 

The Batman movies tend to focus more on the character development of Batman and finding the reasons for why he does what he does. The also tend to have flashier fight scenes within them because they can afford to make elaborate fights with special effects. I was introduced to the movie version of Batman first, so that is what I am drawn to the most. Before I began to learn more about Batman and actually read some of the comics, I thought that the movies had the better portrayal of the character because that is all I knew about the character. But know I think differently. 

To me, the video game tends to focus less on the character of Batman and more on his ability to fight, similar to the movies. In the little time that we had to play the movie, all Bruce did was walk around and fight people in orange suits. Because I am not a video game person, I don't prefer this portrayal. I think maybe if I knew more about Batman or I played the game for longer and was good at it, I would like this medium the best. But I don't. 

This leaves only the comic books. Being the person that I am, I prefer mediums and stories to stay within their original mediums. I think because Batman existed solely as a comic book character, it's the best way to express the character of Batman. Coming from the perspective of knowing next to nothing about Batman at the beginning of the semester, I found that reading comics was the easiest way to learn about the character and what he stands for. I think both the games and the movies relay so much on the comics for story ideas and theme, you have to read the comics to get a feel of the character and to get to know them. Without reading the comics, and just watching the movies or playing the games, you would really have no idea whats going on

Part B 

I was never raised with video games in my life and as far as I know, it's something that other people do and not me. I have never felt any draw to play video games or to learn how to play them. Arkham City is a pretty heavy story game and if you don't pay attention you will be completely lost. The majority of the time, my group and I spent laughing at the people getting beaten up by Bruce Wayne or breast physics. We didn't care how well we did or how well we were following the story, and that made it more enjoyable. For Arkham City and games similar to it, I think the appeal is getting to know a famed or favourite character, but from a different perspective and see them in a different light. 

The Green: A Future Assignment

The Green: A Black Mirror Story. (Based of the episode 15 Million Merits)

They lie. They always lie. They have turned our lives into an endless cycle of cycling. Pedal for the greater good, as if that’s all we’re capable of. They like to pretend like this metal box that we were shoved into is a society; that this is living. But everything you see is a lie. And yet, they believe the truth that is spoon fed to them and shoved down their throats till they are satisfied.

They lie. This is not life. This is not what living- truly living is like.

Green. My only memories that remain are of green. Green everything. Green and blue, the colours of the real world. The real world that I destroyed.

There is a feeling, flickering somewhere in the back of my existence. The air above is blue, so blue. The Blue seems to last forever, expanding past the realm of thought itself, pushing further and further into the Endless Black. The Black that now controls us, controls them. Below, The Green reaches up to you like little hairs. As if it could somehow climb your body only to reach further towards the Expanding Blue. 

The Green is tangible, taking the form of small blades, each with its own distinction. But The Green is varied, unlike The Endless Black, which has nothing, and nothing ever grows.

Growth. Everything grows in this memory; even I grew for a short time. More than physically, my conscious grew and grew until it felt like I could shut out the Endless Black from me, from everyone. It felt as if I could somehow end the Black. Like a weed I could kill it at its very heart.

In my former life, I did not possess the Endless Black my vision was always red. Red like the hearts of men, the same red we all possessed. I never cared much for The Black; never saw any gain from it. The only concern I had been for the red of humanity that was being tainted with the constant Black. Greed, they used to call it. But I changed that; I changed all of it.

I had set out to end greed, but instead I expanded it in the eyes of the men whose hearts were only black.

During the prime years of my growth, I came to learn about a man who also saw what I did. He made a red square that contained his ideas, his manifesto. In it, I saw the way to end greed. To end the Black hearts of men, I had to make them all the same. I had to commune them.

The men. I thought they were similar to me. I saw them as red and willing to help me. But they lied. The red they possessed was a costume, a cloak used to conceal the Black. They took me, tricked me into creating this, The Metal Box. They tainted the box, the haven I imaged for their own good. Making it so that only they could control us, instead of us controlling ourselves- the way it was meant to be.

Decay. Decay is all that awaits for me. Bodily decay came first and when my muscles in my legs stopped working, they made me pedal like all of the others. Endlessly; day in and day out. They said it would elongate my growth, but I knew what they were doing. Next, decay of the conscious. Physically, all I see is the Endless Black stretching out beforeme like a void. Next came the wires, forcing my psyche into The Metal Box.

I am The Metal Box.

They lie. They always lie. My life is an endless cycle of cycling. Pedal for the greater good because that is all I am capable of.

Answer Key for Newwwwbbbs:

 The Expanding Blue = the sky

The Green = grass/ anything that grows

The Endless Black = financial gain/ the world they live in, everything that is wrong with the world

Red = financial loss/ humanity

The Red Square = the Communist Manifesto by Carl Marx 

A Bad Attempt at Fan Art

When given the choice between writing and researching about my personal favourite Batman topic or recreate some memes out of perfectly edible dry pasta, the macaroni arts wins hands down.

That Dank Meme

                             

The first masterpiece that I decided to recreate was the “Goddamn Batman” meme. Is it considered a meme? Or because its from a comic panel, it’s it just a quote then? But then again, what defines a meme? Oh, sorry, back to the Bats.

I chose this meme not only because we talked about it in class, but also because going into it I thought it was going to be easy to recreate. And boy wonder was I wrong. Looking back, I should have painted the backdrop before gluing in noodles on because that would have been the sensible and logical thing to do. But who has time for that?! I only had the room to horribly glue on the words “He’s the Goddamn Batman” and even then you can’t really even read it properly. The paint job it kind of (more like really) sad, so I think generally, this fan art turned our really poorly.

Kind of like that. 

I think I really picked this meme because today, everyone knows who Batman is because he is so engrained into our popular culture. Recently there has been a serge of newly edited comics, replacing the ex-text with something humorous. But for this particular comic/art, it seems to be the original text. So I think it’s kind of making fun of the ridiculousness of Batman, but at the same time loving everything that he is.

The Surfing Bowtie

The second fanart that I made, I think is probably the best one and my favourite. I attempted to make a noodle version of Adam West as Batman whilst surfing, but that didn’t work out. So eventually, I settled on just the surfboard. But instead of adding the bat symbol, I used a bow tie noodle. I think that it adds to the overall weirdness that is my creation. This piece was also easier to make because I had more of an understanding of generally how to make macaroni art gracefully.

 

I decided on the surf board because looking back and leaning more about Batman’s history, I now see Adam West’s Batman as this ultimate version of Batman that every recent movie, TV show, or portrayal tries to live up to. So this is my paying homage to the work of Adam West.

Childhood Noodle Redemption

As a kid, I never watched the animated Batman series. I wasn’t allowed to watch that many cartoons and Batman was on the list of “moms-no-go’s.” So to make up for that, I attempted to recreate the bat signal used in the animated series. I personally don’t think it’s identical, but that’s what the power of imagination is for kids!!

This piece was by far the easiest to make. By the time I made it, I knew what to do and how to do it effectively. Besides waiting for the paint backdrop to dry, gluing everything on maybe took 20 minutes, in comparison to the hour that it took to spell of “Goddamn Batman.”

Overall, this was a really fun project. I was able to be creative in a silly way that helped channel my organic chemistry stress onto something expressive and productive.

Final Face Off: Harry vs Voldemort

Every character and their villains must undergo a final confrontation, the big final battle, the point of the summer action blockbuster that everyone pays to see; the part of the movie/book/comic/video game/fanfic/ any form of media that we all wait for at the edge of our hypothetical seats for. Being born in the apparent "Harry Potter age," my favourite, personal confrontation comes from the final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which Harry and Voldy have their final face off. Only one can live while the other must die. Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts... BE THERE!!!!!!

It’s the final smack down that millennials have been waiting for; the Boy Wonder from down under the stairs and the man who never grew out of his emo phase; Harry James Potter and Tom “the Dark Lord” Riddle.

The stage has been set, the beloved Hogwarts has been invaded and Wizarding World is holding its breath to see who will live, while the other survives. Harry; recently back from the “dead” (as he was a Horcrux himself and therefore must be destroyed), and Voldemort whom is now mortal and weaker than ever, face off with one last duel with a destroyed Hogwarts as the backdrop.

“I open at the close,” the 5 words the confused first time readers till the very end of the book when everything suddenly became clear. The year of the Battle of Hogwarts occurs in May1998, the year the first novel originally came out. The first snitch that Harry ever caught was engraved with those 5 words when it was given back to him after Dumbledore’s death. The snitch opened as Harry was facing his first death to reveal the Resurrection Stone so that Harry may be reunited with his parents one last time. Catching on?

The theme of endings is prevalent throughout the entire last book. It is the last year at Hogwarts (even though they don’t go, meaning that they don’t graduate…?) for all of our beloved heroes, many of which fall either during the battle or during the events of the book. The ending of the Golden Trios childhood is also shown through the death of Harry’s owl Hedwig at the beginning of the novel.

Everything has been leading up to this battle. Everything since Harry’s parents where murdered and the final Horcrux (Harry) up until the moment the heroes returned to Hogwarts for the last time, leads to this battle. And after a spectacular battle between the two, all is resolved as Voldy dies a MORTAL death, not the creepy paper-effect thing in the movie. Seriously.

“Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality”

But damn, doesn't it look good. 

This final confrontation between polar characters that are either so good or so bad, demonstrates to children of all ages that everything must end, but it is the choices that we make and the morality that we maintain, the determines the success of our endings

Until the next book/movie comes out a couple years later!

See if you would survive the Battle of Hogwarts! I don't- I died laughing about a Chocolate Frog card.

Guess who's back, back again: Oldman Batman!

Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns brings a satirical and conclusive end to the otherwise chaotic and very loud examination of the masked vigilantly of Gotham City, The Batman. Like the third and final instalment of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, this thrilling (and at times very confusing) comic sees the return of the beloved Batman some time after his retirement. While the movie is arguably more visually appealing, I’m not going to spend my last 200 words or so talking about that, instead, I have to speak exclusively about the comic and it’s deep moral and ethical questions. 

(But really, the book is way better anyways).

10 years after the B-man takes his final bow after Jason, Robin 2.0, was killed Gotham is a city that has seen better days. Crime is ramped through out the city, instead of doing typical rebellious teenager things like drinking and staying out past the time that the street lights come one, the teens of Gotham are joining the dreadful Mutant Gang. The gang, like everything in the artwork of this comic, looks like an 80’s dream, filled with Clockwork Orange-esk slang and techno-colour clothing. But besides having incredibly colourful outfits the gang is plaguing Gotham, filling the citizens with fear and dread. 

All because the Batman is gone, a myth, a tall tale parents tell their children to scare them into obedience. Add that to that fact that Harvey Dent has been “rehabilitated” at Batma- I mean Bruce’s expense, and that it’s hot, you’ve got the perfect recipe for a moody, alcoholic, and very lonely Bruce Wayne.

 

As exciting as it would be to base an entire comic around an angst-y Bruce, the Batman eventually comes out of retirement in a spectacular array in which he complains about his sore body and gets beaten up, a lot. “But why?” you ask Mr. Edwards. Well, you see, that whole rehabilitation thing that happened to Harvey, yeah, it didn’t really work. You can fix his face all you want, but he’ll still be the same two-faced jerk who threatens the bomb the whole city. So much for that big, brainy idea Bruce.

So what do we know kids? The city is in shambles, Dent is still a loony even with a pretty face, teenage rebellion is more colourful (and more dangerous), the police still suck at doing their job, and it’s hot! This looks like a job for the Batman!!

 

Or is it?

As much as Gotham needs the Bat more then ever, could the real reason for him ending his retirement be more selfish? I mean, as much as Gotham needs the Bat more then ever, through his years of isolation Bruce and the Bat have become more selfish. In his prime, Batman and his villains meant something. Harvey, both of his sides, visually showed audiences the duality that Bruce himself has. And even after all of those years of rehabilitation and isolation and he still can’t resist or even attempt to control that dark side, isn’t that motivation enough? Dent is truly Bruce’s last chance at attempting to fit into society after years of being so involved in a life a crime. And no matter who may surgeries or bottle of wine the characters go through, they will always be their true identity, because he's the goddamn Batman 

Besides, who cannot love this panel symmetry?!

 But perhaps that’s the beauty of literature, the true motivation of characters is always up for different interpretation, leaving us, the willing consumer to devour more and more in hopes of understanding a world that we see so much of in our own.