Disturbing Social Commentary?

In his thought-provoking movie Her, Spike Jonze tells the story of a lonely man named Theodore who falls in love with his computer’s operating system named Samantha, which an ad claims is a “consciousness.” Despite such a strange, (so far) unorthodox subject, the movie seems to take itself seriously.

Although some critics are interpreting the movie as an observation of our culture’s possible expansion of the definition of love, others have taken a more conservative stance. Could it be, rather, a subtly satirical critique of where we could be headed–very soon, even? This is dangerously realistic, given the phenomenon we have observed in the new millennium in which community has been almost completely replaced by a social, electronic one. We are ironically lonelier than ever before, and this hard truth is embodied by Theodore.

Her portrays a view of love which many people may find attractive. The youth in our culture are completely conditioned to expect convenient and instant access to anything desired. This has certainly influenced our idea of relationships and love. From this perspective, why not an operating system? Samantha will never be moody, gain weight, grow older and lose her beauty, or impose any demands on Theodore. The worst sacrifice he must make is the lack of (real) sex, which is oddly compensated for. How easy. It logically follows from how we see love and relationships that this is surely the perfect one.

If nothing else, Her is a fascinating social commentary which may not be as far off the mark as one might think.