Gamer

Name:

Lecturer:

Course:

Date:

Gamer

            Gamer is a science fiction thriller film, which was directed and written by Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine. After its production, it was released in 2009 with United Kingdom having a view of it in September 16, while it was released in September 4, 2009 in North America. The film is about a man who was used as a participant against his will in a game in which the players could control the minds of the human participants (Gamer, 2009). The movie is set in the near future New York where self-replicating nanites have been invented through the revolutionalizing of the gaming industry by Ken Castle, such that they can control the brain giving birth to the mind-control technology. In this case, the nanites replace the brain cells enabling the control of the mind by a third party. The technology is applied initially in a case where the players or gamers are allowed to control a living person living in the pseudo community.

Castle has also created Slayers, a game in which third parties can control death row inmates who, if they survive 30 matches of the mass scale death matches, will acquire full pardon for their crimes and Society, which comprises of all participants who can be used in the game. The popularity of the game gains Ken a lot of wealth, branding him the richest man on earth. During an interview, Human hijacks allege that Castle intends to use this technology to subdue human kind. The Human hijacks decide the best option to take is by releasing Kable, the participant being controlled by Simon the gamer in the game Slayers such that they could expose the deviousness of the nanite technology. The leader of Humanz helps Kable to release his wife from the society (Gamer, 2009). Kable invades Castles mansion to release his daughter but Castle controls him to the extent of forcing him to kill his daughter a feet that he overcomes and through the help of Simon, he manages to kill Castle and later drives away to happiness with his family.

The science fiction film is a genre film that puts emphasis on extrapolative, speculative science and empirical or actual method, which interact under a social context with the least emphasized by the present transcendentalism of religion and magic, which attempts to re-unite the unknown world of science fiction films with human beings. This brings out some scientific aspects that are not acceptable by the mainstream science due to the different futuristic phenomenon used (Telotte, 20001). The Gamer is one of those films whose plot consists of science fiction to the extent of it being unrealistic. The movie does not uphold any form of scientific plausibility as the plot is only based on fictious science in contrast to real science that is based on scientific inventions and investigations. Though most of the science fiction films usually focus on the social, economic or political issues, this film focuses on the philosophical exploration of the human condition.

The film is set in the 21^st century where many scientific and technology inventions have been made such that the setting of the film is in the future New York thus giving it more relevance as it reflects on the vast changes that have taken place in science and technology at a very fast pace. The type of scientific innovations reflected by the movie is that of replacing the brain cells with the nanites, which function as brain cells but can enable the controlling of a person by a third party (Neveldine, & Taylor, 2009). The film imparts knowledge about how the working of the brain cells can be replaced by scientific technology, which can lead to the dominance of science over the world, a feat that would lead to human loss of power to science. From the movie, people can learn that scientist have a form of dominating power through the innovations they make. If Castle could come up with an invention that can replace the human brain cells, then it means that scientists can take over the world very easily through such scientific inventions as the nanite technology, which they would use to control all human kind for their selfish benefits.

Science geeks are known as the people who are interested with science. Though the type of science utilized in the film is science fiction, it can stimulate interest in science on all people who are curious as it aids in the understanding of this subject that can lead to the invention of such advanced technologies as the nanite technology. The film is based on scientific fiction, which is very different from the real science (Sanders, 2008). This is because it does not follow scientific plausibility thus when most people watch the film, they will believe that science should only be based on fiction not on the real thing. When they encounter real scientific innovations, they will not believe in it due to the notion of fiction that was created in their minds by scientific fiction. The film contains stereotyping and phobias in their highest degree. Although the movie tries to bring out the ills of the commercialization of violence by the media, it also engages in the same violence bringing out stereotyping.

People in the modern day world are paying homage to the latest technologies, which bring out the mindless mass servitude to it without thinking about the end-point implications. If people continue to embrace technology without a second thought, then it would lead to their extinction due to such technologies such as nanite technology, which would lead to the replacement of the brain cells thus culminating to the dominance of science over the world. The film contains some inconsistencies that necessitate its reviewing (Byrne, 2007). The amount of violence utilized in the movie should be reduced to bring out the relevance of the criticism of the commercialization of violence by the media, which is found in the film. The reliance on video games should have been reduced in the movie to bring out the scientific inventions at a better perspective in the movie. Instead of using the game like controls used to control thee mind of a person, computers should be utilized because they bring out more scientific significance in the film.

Interest might be stimulated towards science by this movie; the high bread criminals will be willing to pay scientists to make such scientific innovations that will help them to dominate the earth increasing the degree of crime in the world (Stableford, 2006). This means that the interest sparked by the movie will not have any positive effects but it will have negative effects, which would lead to increased moral decay in the society, as every person will be interested in science for their own selfish gains. The political domination of the developed countries over the developing countries can be brought out by the science depicted in the movie. The developed countries have exerted economic or political power over the developing countries due to the financial help that they provide for them thus they can have any political control over them. This is similar to the control that a third party can have over a participant in Slayer due to the nanites that have replaced the brain cells. The nanite technology represents the financial help provided to the developing countries. Most critics believe that this is the worst produced movie of its time due to the inconsistencies found throughout the plot of the movie.

In the movie there is a scene in which Kable’s urine and vodka are used to run cars which is not possible in the modern world and the movie does not bring out where that vodka came from thus the movie should have brought out this part in a good manner (Gamer, 2009). The ending of the film looks misplaced though it is a good ending because the culmination to the ending was so low. A lot of violence is brought out in the film though the film also criticizes the commercialization of violence by the media. If the film was to take this stand seriously, then it should have reduced on the amount of violence utilized in the film. The film is based on a plot that has been used in other movies such as Death race in which the main actor who is in prison manages to break out of prison and save his family. The originality of the film should have been enhanced through the adoption of an original plot. The movie could stimulate new scientific research based on the use of urine and vodka to run the engine of a car as depicted in the movie where a car was run on urine and vodka.

There are no scientists listed in the credits as advisors to the production of the movie, which means that the movie is based on ideas that are borrowed from other science fiction movies. The role of scientists as advisors during the productions of the science fiction films vary depending on the perception of the public towards advanced technology and science. The scientific advisors provide advice on certain issues such as space travel if the movie is going to be based on space travel such that the directors can be able to formulate their own fiction about space travel to make it less abstract as explained by the scientists (Gamer, 2009). Thus the scientist in this case provide abstract information to the directors while the directors build on this abstract scientific information to bring out the fiction side of the scientific phenomena in question creating quality science fiction movies that contain some scientific truth. Scientists who work on such inventions as robots could have been used as advisors in the movies as they would have provided more information about how to articulate the nanite technology into the movie sufficiently. There are no supplementary materials found on the DVD (Stableford, 2006).

Movies based on science have taken the world by storm since the early 20^th century. Though these movies are based on science fiction, they do not uphold scientific plausibility thus they are normally criticized by scientists because some may end up earning the science profession a bad name due to the fiction nature that does not bring out the abstractness of science. The movie Gamer is one of the films, which brings out the use of science fiction, which is one genre that has been used widely in the modern day film production (Gamer, 2009). The significance of the science used in the movie can be used to reflect the political dominance of the developing countries by their developed counterparts. The movie could be used to educate people on the ills of naively embracing scientific technologies developed today as they may end up being harmful to them in future. The movie can be utilized in the enhancement of new scientific research on the use of urine and vodka to run a car. The movie should be improved to ensure that whatever it is advocating for is articulated in the movie. This movie can be said to be educative because provides a lot of knowledge on science.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Byrne, P. Computer Game and Film Graphics. Chicago,IL: Heinemann Library, 2007. Print.

Neveldine, Mark & Taylor, Brian, dir. Gamer.  Lionsgate, 2009. Film.

Sanders, Steven. The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2008. Print.

Stableford, Brian. Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2006. Print.

Telotte, J., P. Science Fiction Film. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print.