Transcendence was another movie that I had
wanted to write about when it had been on the screens in March this year, but I hadn’t been able
to sort of my thoughts about it then though I was moved by it. Even though the movie wasn't fantastic (yes, Johnny Depp practically does most of his performance in a manner as if via Skype), the themes present in the movie are quite worth discussing. Now, I’ve
finally been able to sift through it properly to write in a manner as coherent
as I can.
A brief synopsis of it would be that scientist Dr
Will Caster and his wife (a fellow scientist who also stands in to help
him on PR duties), have been trying to invent this computer which is able to
process human conscious, but at super human speed. They believe in the
unlimited potential of the human consciousness, and how it can be used to do
good. However, opponents of this idea, feel that they are literally trying to “play God”, and Will Caster gets
assassinated by them during a presentation when he’s pitching the idea to both
the scientific community as well as potential corporate sponsors. His grieving
wife, out of an inability to accept his death, transplants his consciousness
into the machine and then mayhem slowly ensues. Unfortunately no matter how
hard I try to talk about this film, I’ll eventually spoiler the plot, so here
goes…
The two main themes that struck me
in this film, are the concept of “playing God”, and the concept of “being
human”. Let’s start with “playing God”. “Playing God” suggests that the party
in question, firstly over-estimated his or her abilities to handle something
(the layman phrase for it is “you don’t know what you’re in store for” in the
negative sense), and is acting out of sheer self-interest and nothing else.
During the film, after Will Caster’s death, his wife impulsively uploads his
consciousness in the computer system, in a way “resurrecting” him. Through the
film, the resurrected Will Caster does increasingly astounding yet disturbing
things, unsettling former colleagues, friends and eventually even his own wife.
Both acts on surface may seem to be
“playing God” in a sense, but eventually as the plot unfolds, we see that only
one act is “playing God” in the strict sense. Will Caster’s wife’s actions are
the confirmed act of playing God. Her choice of “resurrecting” him to life, is solely
out of her grief of losing him forever. She had not contemplated whether it was
in accordance to Will’s wishes, or of anyone else’s, as well as the consequences
of this action, apart from the fact that she’d be able to “keep him with her
forever” in a sense. This is evidenced in the scene where she and a common
friend were grieving and going to shut down the machine and leave. The friend
encourages her to end the “experiment” and she is about to. However when the
grief gets the better of her, she abruptly changes her mind and decides to
persist.
Meanwhile, for the case of the
resurrected Will Caster, his decisions and “actions” (if they can be deemed as
such, since he is merely a “machine” in the strict sense) increasingly defy the
understanding of everyone, thus scaring them. However through his final act of
choosing to die, he proved himself to be who he was and is all along, merely
that his abilities have been heightened and expanded beyond what anyone else in
the film can grasp. So in an oxymoronic way, he resurrects the love and trust
between him and his wife through dying. Dying is inevitable for human beings.
However, it is through the very act of willingness to die, that Will Caster
proves he is no longer “God” in the cruel sense of that of a mere machine, but
is a human being who has the ability to love, made in the image of God.
On the movie poster, the
advertisement line for the film reads “Yesterday, Dr. Will Caster was only
human”. It is actually true, but not just in the conventional train of logic.
Without having watched the film, just based on what we think we know of the
film from the trailer, we tend to hastily jump into conclusion that that the
“transcendence” of Will Caster is of his superhuman abilities. However the other
“transcendence” of Will Caster, is of the grand vision he has for the future
and the love for his wife, such that eventually when everyone else loses faith
in him, he is willing to die again, in order to keep that vision and love
alive. Hmm, I’d play with the movie poster line a bit. “Yesterday Dr. Will
Caster was only human, he still is human, and yet he is not just human!”
Before I end this blog entry, I’d
like to bring up this dear Bible verse which is my current motto in my walk
with God, as well as the two famous new covenant commandments which appear in
as many as three of the four Gospels of Christ. It is of no sheer coincidence
that all these four verses are quoted directly from the mouth of Jesus Christ
himself.
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and
whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:39 (NIV)
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in
the Law?”
Jesus
replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour
as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments.”
Matthew
22:36-40 (NIV)
One of the teachers
of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a
good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most
important?”
“The most important
one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all
your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as
yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark
10:28-31 (NIV)
On one
occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked,
“what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is
written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He
answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered
correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Luke 10:25-38 (NIV)
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