Her

Featuring: 
Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson
Film director: 
Spike Jonze
Event date: 
Mon, 17/02/2014

In the not so distant future Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely writer purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user’s every needs. To Theodore’s surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.

The discussion following the screening looked at issues of love, human-computer interaction, social isolation and emotional responses to sound. 

Watch the trailer.

Articles on this film:

'Her' and Artificial Intelligence

‘Her’ presents us with a near-future world in which the way we interact with computers has moved on. In this world, we are beyond the era of the mouse and keyboard. Instead, the voice is the primary controller of technology, mid-air gestures are the norm for controlling games and touch is almost an afterthought, used only on occasion. This presents a more natural world than the one we currently inhabit. Many of us spend our days hunched over a keyboard, and our evenings fondling a tablet, which does not seem to be a natural environment for us.

Burgers, Baileys and Pugs in Denim Jackets: The Role of Social Isolation in “Her”

When you first heard the storyline for “Her”, you might have thought, “A guy falling in love with his OS sounds quite weird. I did have that teenage phase where I thought social interaction was too much effort and spent 12 hours a day playing World of Warcraft, but I don’t think I’d ever have taken it that far”. Hence, part of the success of this film rests on how believable or understandable the story is to us, the audience.

Music and emotional manipulation at the movies

The use of music in films is the secret weapon that producers use to manipulate our emotions and shape our responses to the story. The same footage may appear romantic, sad or even sinister through the choice of music and within these broad confines, more subtle gradations of emotion can also be engendered. A little personal reflection will confirm that a piece of music can change how we feel within seconds which is quite remarkable for a stimulus which is not found in the natural world.