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New Escapist Column! On “Black Mirror” as a Movie About the Limits of the Empathy Machine…

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Darren

We’re launching a new column at The Escapist, called Out of Focus. With the sixth season of Black Mirror releasing on Netflix last week, it seemed like a good opportunity to delve into one of the defining shows of the modern moment.

Black Mirror is often framed as a technophobic show, asking, “what if phones… but too much?” However, this is an inherently reductive way of looking at the series, which is much more about humanity than it is about people. In many ways, the show is about how technology reflects humanity’s worst impulses back at them, and the fear that cinema and television – along with other forms of media – serve as barriers to empathy rather than windows to it.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Black Mirror, charlie brooker, empathy, humanity, media, phones, science fiction, Technology | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “Poker Face” as a Show About Empathy and Action…

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Darren

I published a new piece at The Escapist during the week. With the recent release of the first four episodes of Poker Face on Peacock, it seemed like a good opportunity to discuss the show’s central thematic and narrative preoccupations: the importance of both empathy and action in response to injustice.

Poker Face exists as part of Rian Johnson’s filmography, and is an obvious companion piece to Knives Out and Glass Onion. However, it fits alongside those stories in more than just its genre. Johnson is a filmmaker fascinated by the power of empathy, and the importance of understanding other human beings on a personal level. Poker Face is the story of a character so good at listening that she can instinctively spot a lie. However, in this world, empathy is not enough of itself. Poker Face is a show about the need for action in support of empathy.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: action, empathy, glass onion, knives out, phones, poker face, Rian Johnson, social media, the escapist | Leave a comment »

A Despicable iPhone Gimmick…

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Darren

Animated film Despicable Me was released Stateside at the weekend and it had a rather wonderful gimmick. An iPhone app. It was basically an app which translated what the adorable little yellow minions were saying, so that they could be understood by the audience. I’m on the fence about the idea, but you have to give credit where credit is due – it’s an absolutely ingenious idea, and one I can see slowly catching on.

These yellow guys are (i)phoning it in...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: despicable me, film, gimmick, immersion, immersive, interactive, iphone, iphone app, iphones, Movies, phone, phones, universal | 2 Comments »

Going Mobile…

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Darren

Ah, mobile phones. Or cellular telephones to our overseas readers. How did we ever get by without them. Can you imagine a time when you were actually able to have a legitimate excuse for ignoring people trying to get into contact with you? When you were unreachable, save at home or at work? I reached my teenage years just as mobile phones became truly moble – I came of age as they became standard accessories for everyone. So I’ve never really lived in a world without them. So I’ve never really had a chance to stop and think about how they’ve influenced movie-making and the like. While they’ve undoubedly made it easier to write genres like dramas or romances where you no longer have to worry about characters sharing a geographic location to have a conversation, I think their biggest area of influence has been on horrors or thrillers, movies which took great pride in isolating individuals and having them face threats or challenges on their own. How has this changed?