Sunday, October 11, 2015

Episode 7 - The Haters v Ex Machina




In this episode of the Haters, we want to talk about artificial intelligence, but actually all there is to talk about is misogyny and racism. That's right! We went to see the critically acclaimed and supposedly smart artsy technology thriller, Ex Machina.

Plus we brought in a guest who (unlike us) went to the movie with the intention of loving it, but instead hated it even more passionately than we did.

References:

- Interview with writer/director Alex Garland
How Ex Machina Abuses Women of Color and Nobody Cares Because Its Smart

0-5:37 This is what it sounds like to be running late for a movie
-1:05 flatulence 1
-2:25 Firehawk, figgering out the plot while parking the car, like a pro.
-4:24 if you only listen to the trailer and don't watch it, it looks like this movie is going to have the same themes as Her. But if you look at it, there is clearly some gross other stuff going on.



5:47-27:57 Let loose the hate!
-5:48 groaning right out the gate
-7:11 jump cuts thanks to the fact that this was recorded back when Ben and Firehawk would bicker all the time
-7:32 this movie is about google, right?
-8:08 this movie is about retreading classic sci-fi themes without adding anyting?
-10:09 what is the deal with AI?
-10:55 Ben is REALLY confused about why we as a society are walking eyes wide open into the ethical disaster that is artificial intelligence.
-11:54 Ex Machina v Beavis and Butthead: Beavis and Butthead wins, at least it is self-aware of it's stupidity.
-12:13 artificial intelligence as the next booster of mass incarceration
-13:18 Firehawk explains
-14:26 Ex Machina v Her: Her wins, for treating a disembodied voice with more respect
-15:59 Ex Machina v The Circle: The Circle wins, for having a more savvy (if equally heavy-handed) critique of google.
-16:39 all this fucking movie adds to the conversation about AI is a ton of misogyny
-16:56 Ex Machina v Metropolis: oh, wait, Fritz Lang covered misogyny in the first AI movie ever
-19:28 Ben, mining his obscure feminist philosophy classes from 2001
-26:10 human-computer equivalence will not be a process of making artificial brains more human, it is already a process of making human brains more artificial. Gross.
-26:53 Ex Machina is so smart it doesn't need to justify or explain it's evil genius's infinite wealth

28:05-33:06 Ratings time
-30:21 hatred for this films overbearing aesthetics
-31:35 Ex Machina v Pitch Perfect 2 goes to PP2, for at least being entertaining
-32:27 Ex Machina v 28 Day Later: 28 Days Later, for not letting its terrible bad writer direct
-32:56 more flatulence

33:11-1:11:00 Oh, you thought we were finished?
-33:51 ben's talkin bout an ocean
-35:47 Ex Machina fans pass off critics as "not smart enough" except, wait... the movie is actually REALLY NOT SMART
-36:48 Ex Machina is a film about artificial intelligence which doesn't understand touring tests
-37:45 Ex Machina is a science fiction film that fundamentally misunderstands science
-38:21 You think the movie knows that it is doing bad Touring tests and bad science, just the protagonist doesn't understand? Well, then: Ex Machina doesn't understand how to write realistic characters
-39:58 Caleb, how we despise thee, let us count the ways... you are too stupid to realistically belong in this movie.
-38:21 Caleb, you are so pathetic that these people's devious plan to seduce you was totally unnecessary.
-39:44 Jess wanted to like this movie, and would have forgiven all of it's writing flubs and inanities, if only it wasn't also terrible.
-40:21 wait a sec... months ago at 12:13 we drew the link between AI, surplus population and mass incarceration... the evil Phillip K Dick robot doesn't need to put people in human zoos, we already put each other in cages for it!
-42:09 Caleb, you're a fucking villian
-43:34 Ex Machina v Player Piano: Kurt Vonnegut wins because he cares about humanity more
-44:21 just in case you thought we didn't give this film a fair chance because we just didn't like how it looks
-46:22 Ex Machina is so smart its evil genius can't account for the possibility that someone might lose their keys
-47:34 Caleb? fuck that dude
-48:48Caleb, you're so racist!
-50:09 Alex Garland couldn't possibly center whiteness harder
-52:36 sad pathetic lonesome dudes who fall in love, get betrayed, starve to death in a weird compound are patriarchal shit-bags too
-53:41 Ex Machina is so smart it doesn't realize that its hero is wholly unsympathetic
-54:14 "my film isn't racist, cuz they're robots" Alex Garland: http://www.cinematicessential.com/interview-with-alex-garland-writerdirector-of-ex-machina/
-54:20 Article referenced: http://multiasianfamilies.blogspot.com/2015/05/how-ex-machina-abuses-women-of-color.html
-54:30 being racist/sexist towards racialized/sexualized objects is still misogyny/white supremacy
-55:10 Jess, energized by rage!
-55:54 pervasive anti-asian racism in hollywood
-57:42 particular anti-black racism in this movie
-57:59 Alex Garland has to have no sense of responsibility to the world
-59:11 who is this movie for? Those dudes, those white film school dudes, who suck
-59:56 the dearth of criticism for this film is mind-boggling
-1:05:26 Ex Machina v Short Circuit: Short Circuit for understanding the most fundamental thing about AI better than Ex Machina even though it was made decades previous
-1:06:21 Ex Machina v Lars and the Real Girl: Real Girl, for treating a blow up doll with more compassion
-1:07:33 and this is why anarchist need to oppose AI
-1:08:57 Jess v Alex Garland: Jess wins
-1:11:16 ben's talkin bout hegemany?

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