The Script

"Peter: It's probably a man.
Robby: Why is it a man?
Peter: 'Cause everyone just makes stuff up on these things."


This quote from the film illustrates a point that I've been dancing around and that is the concept of "deception". In this film, there is an overlying sense of deception among the characters. In this scene in particular, Peter and Robby are engaging someone, labeled "Untitled", in conversation in a chat room. The irony here is that they are assuming the identity of a man while accusing the person they are talking to of lying. Moreover, when Robby asks why, Peter's response indicates how Miranda July wants to portray the digital world as a hazy uncharted territory where one cannot be sure of another's identity. This places more of an importance on the quality of interaction in the real world as they are portrayed as more fulfilling than those made artificially (either on the internet or as posts on a window). The real world, as seen through this movie, is a place where the interactions made by the characters strengthen the connections made between. This is contrasted by the interactions made through artificial means. The artificial interactions do not end well and weaken, or completely destroy, any connection that the characters may have had.