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A peer-reviewed electronic journal published by the Institute for Ethics
and ISSN 1541-0099 27(1) – February 2017 |
Film Review: Advantageous
Sky Marsen
School of
Humanities and Creative Arts
Flinders
University, South Australia
Journal of Evolution and Technology - Vol. 27
Issue 1 – February 2017 - pgs 1-3
What is the relationship
between technological progress and personal happiness? How does physical
identity, such as age, gender and race, affect one’s relationship with
technology? Advantageous (directed by
Jennifer Phang, 2015) brings an intelligent and original standpoint to such
questions. This independent film is about women of different ages, races, and
statuses, and their experiences within familial and professional contexts in a
technologically advanced future society. It confronts issues of age, gender and
race in more depth than any other science fiction film I know of, and is
reminiscent of the thought-provoking fiction of Ursula Le Guin.
In contrast to much
other popular science fiction, Advantageous
is intelligent enough to be neither a utopia nor a dystopia. Instead it is a balanced
reflection of possible experiences of existence in a scientifically
sophisticated society where many infrastructural factors are the same as those
in our own society: gender and income inequality, market competition, and a
nuclear family structure.
The story, in brief: Gwen
Koh (Jacqueline Kim and Freya Adams) has a senior public relations position in
a health facility that specializes in advanced medical procedures, including the
transfer of consciousness to other bodies. Her role, as the “face of the
company” is to promote these technologies. Since the company is diversifying to
a different demographic, her own appearance is becoming unappealing, and she is
considered too old for the target demographic. Hints are also given of her
Asian ethnicity. Without the monetary reward of the position, Gwen will not be
able to send her daughter, Jules (Samantha Kim), to the private school that
will support her social success in this highly competitive and stratified
society. Gwen is therefore forced by circumstances to undergo the consciousness
transfer procedure in order to embody an image that is more aligned with the
company’s ideal – a “more universal” image, as the company director puts it.
The film explores two topics
that are relevant to transhumanism: a) the role of physicality or the body in
an era where technology has made it possible to overcome its importance; and b)
the effect on identity of a transfer of consciousness from one body to another.
It deals with the first topic
by representing a world with ubiquitous technology which, however, maintains
many of the same values as our own. Characters are constantly talking on
invisible phones and connected by holographic projection; yet they still live
in recognisable homes, celebrate Christmas, and have picnics. As in our own
society, happiness is reached through access (to resources, knowledge, people,
and objects). Also, as in our society, “access costs money,” making it a
competitive commodity. A message that can be drawn from this situation is that,
unless we specifically target inequalities and prejudices, technological
progress alone will do nothing to mitigate the unhappiness that comes from them,
and it may, in fact, amplify them. For example, Gwen and Jules’ neighbors cry
routinely. “Upstairs woman or downstairs woman?” asks Gwen when she hears their
sobs. “Both” replies Jules. Progress does not equal happiness in the world of
the film.
In this society,
identity is still defined in terms of the “primitive” criteria of gender, age,
and race, and therefore all the problems associated with these restricted
categories are present. Significantly, all the “transfer subjects” (those who
chose to have their consciousness transferred) shown are women, suggesting that
pressures to do with physical appearance are stronger for women in the film’s
world, as indeed they are in our own. Also, Gwen is a mother and defines much
of her identity in relation to this role. She eventually sacrifices herself for
her daughter’s future: “There is nothing fiercer than a mother’s love,” says one
of the company directors.
The narrative revolves
around problems created by the nuclear family structure: Gwen does not speak to
her father and does not allow him to see her daughter, indicating a history of
abuse. Also, Gwen has an affair with her sister’s husband, introducing a
further element of familial conflict. This way, gender is a pivotal element in
the story. Gwen’s Asian ethnicity also brings race into picture. In the narrative,
gender and race are not overcome by technology but are woven into it.
Technology has not changed their reification and commodification; they are
still used as signs of otherness and exclusion.
The film’s handling of
the second topic, that of consciousness transfer and embodiment, reminds us of
the phenomenological precept that consciousness is, in many ways, equal to
embodiment. The events in the story underline that consciousness is not a
substance that can be removed intact and placed in another “container.” Gwen
undergoes the transfer procedure in a well-designed and aesthetically impactful
sequence of scenes: electric impulses are transferred from her brain to the
other body, which then assumes awareness in a dramatic coming to being.
Gwen 2.0 carries Gwen’s
memories, but she is not the same person. The body’s instincts clash with the memories
and create a different perception of the world – a new consciousness. Her
relationship with her daughter, warm and affectionate before, becomes more
distant and hesitant, reminding us that the body has its own memories and that
affection is a physical reaction. Gwen 2.0 is a new creature rather than a
continuation of the old one. The film, intelligently, does not judge or
belittle this new creature.
Advantageous is a
cerebral film which deals with difficult concepts in a thoughtful way without
shortcuts. There are no stupid people (in contrast to much other popular
science fiction). Gwen is creative (a musician), multilingual and skilled, and
Jules is a gifted child. Similarly there are no villains. All the characters
respond rationally to the opportunities and constraints created by their social
system. This narrative strategy takes away the emphasis from individual
intention to the relationship developed through interaction in a technologically
infused social structure. It reminds us that power, happiness, and fulfilment
are not intentional acts but reactions to relational contexts.
Advantageous is a sad
film and perhaps its saddest element is that it shows no way to fight against
the status quo. In its world, freedom has no role. However, rather than seeing
this as a flaw in the narrative we could see it as a warning of how technologically
controlled order can lead to a form of totalitarianism which can stifle even
the possibility of seeing things differently (this is the film’s dystopian
aspect). Gwen basically has no choice but to change her body or lose all status
and power. In contrast to other consciousness transfer narratives, she does not
carry out the procedure happily or with great hopes of fulfilment, but as a
rational response to circumstances.
So, where does this lead
us? The final scenes are ambivalent. There is a glimmer of hope in that all who
were in a conflicted situation have now come together in cooperation – Gwen 2.0,
Jules, Jules’s school friends, and Gwen’s estranged sister and brother in law. However,
there is also a bittersweet element in that this cooperation is more a coming to
terms and acceptance of a Foucauldian “order of things” than a wholehearted or
enthusiastic embrace of a new way of life.