"Ms. July proposes a delicate, beguiling idea of community and advances it in full awareness of the peculiar obstacles that modern life presents.[...] One of these is the tendency of city dwellers [...] to live hermetically sealed inside their own minds and habits. Individuality itself makes communication difficult, but the drive to be yourself does not dispel the longing to find (and maybe also to become) somebody else." (Scott 2005).
This quote is interesting because of Scott's interpretation of the film. The interpretation Scott provides is that the meaning behind the film is that though we like to think of ourselves as autonomous, we still have a drive to connect to more people. I agree with this interpretation. But I also think that is goes deeper than that. I think that this film not only stresses the importance of connections but more so the importance of real life connections. In the film, the relationship that works out in the end is that exists in the real world, Christine and Richard. Christine and Richard are the characters whose relationship starts, builds, and matures face to face. They interact with each other in person and in the end they discover that they should be more than just casual. This contrasts the relationship that Robby has with "Untitled" as their relationship only exists online as Robby deceives "Untitled" into thinking he's a man as opposed to a child. In the end, the woman revealed to be "Untitled" realizes that their relationship only existed online.
*that though we like to think of ourselves as autonomous, we still have a drive to connect to more people. I agree with this interpretation. But I also think that is goes deeper than that. I think that this film not only stresses the importance of connections but more so the importance of real life connections.
ReplyDeleteSo, there's a sense in which the digital is not enough? Or, is it that the digital is the beginning of something---rather than just a barrier?