'Re-entry'
Genre: Sci-fi, Drama, Mystery
When astronaut Molly Woods returns to Earth after a thirteen month solo mission she must re-adjust to family life, made more difficult when she discovers she is pregnant.
Extant is an Amazon prime original series, created by Mickey Fisher and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. It stars Halle Berry as Molly Woods and comprises of 26 episodes over two episodes running from 2014-2015.
Analysis:
Virtualism
Virtualism is the simulation of 'the real' through digital construct and manipulation, creating an aesthetic tension between the physical and the digital, which can be attributed to the uncanny valley. It is the uncanny valley of the human.
The uncanny valley is 'the point at which the degree of human resemblance tips humans' positive affinity into eeriness or uncanniness' (Rhee, 2013:303), because it bridges the gap between that which is seen as 'real' and that which is 'almost real'.
Virtualism is seen in this show primarily through Molly's and her husband, John's android son, Ethan.
This is achieved through the use of a human actor, who is then made-up so that his skin and hair seem too perfect, creating an excess of perfection which is eerie because it would be abnormal for a human child to look so perfect all the time. Therefore, this marks him as 'the Other', that which is not human, but is feared because of this.
As said by John, 'it turns out the true, uncanny value isn't visual at all. It's the value of genuine connection' (Extant, Re-entry, 2014). This is why he has created robots like Ethan, called Humanics, because he believes that they can help people who are lonely. Therefore, Ethan appears to feel emotions like love and anger, as shown through his relationship with his parents where it is seen that he cares for them, but he is seen more often to exhibit anger.
This is shown through his actions and the actor's performance. During the first episode Ethan is seen hurting another young boy because he won't give him the football whilst they are playing, as well as it later being implied that he has killed a crow because he was angry he was not allowed more ice cream. He is also seen practicing facial expressions in the mirror, showing that although he can express what seem like emotions, he maybe does not understand them or their consequences.
His father, John, believes and treats him as if he is real, although Ethan knows he is not. The uncanny valley occurs because he looks like and is treated like a normal child, but his actions are often exaggerated and violent. The way he connects with humans shows him to want to exhibit his power through violence, which is abnormal for a child so can cause fear due to the contrast between how he looks so innocent and how he seems to act with intent to harm.
The most interesting thing about Extant was for me the way it portrayed a future which is so dependent on technology. This was shown through Ethan but also through the screens every character seemed to be almost attached to at times, the light switches which turned the lights on and off with a swipe, and the phone which announced who the call was for and who it was from instead of ringing. Although I enjoyed this, I found that the main story was a bit slow in places, even though there were some twists and turns. The flashbacks to Molly's time in space fitted in well and offered more context which I found helped me to decipher some of the character's strange behaviours. However, the cliffhanger at the end of the episode didn't grip me because of the show's slow pace as I think it could have been more ambitious if other parts of the show's world were focused on more, such as the technological developments and population problems which are spoken about in a throwaway manner. Overall, I probably wouldn't watch more of this show, just because it was slow which made it boring, even though it could much better.
The uncanny valley is 'the point at which the degree of human resemblance tips humans' positive affinity into eeriness or uncanniness' (Rhee, 2013:303), because it bridges the gap between that which is seen as 'real' and that which is 'almost real'.
This is achieved through the use of a human actor, who is then made-up so that his skin and hair seem too perfect, creating an excess of perfection which is eerie because it would be abnormal for a human child to look so perfect all the time. Therefore, this marks him as 'the Other', that which is not human, but is feared because of this.
As said by John, 'it turns out the true, uncanny value isn't visual at all. It's the value of genuine connection' (Extant, Re-entry, 2014). This is why he has created robots like Ethan, called Humanics, because he believes that they can help people who are lonely. Therefore, Ethan appears to feel emotions like love and anger, as shown through his relationship with his parents where it is seen that he cares for them, but he is seen more often to exhibit anger.
His father, John, believes and treats him as if he is real, although Ethan knows he is not. The uncanny valley occurs because he looks like and is treated like a normal child, but his actions are often exaggerated and violent. The way he connects with humans shows him to want to exhibit his power through violence, which is abnormal for a child so can cause fear due to the contrast between how he looks so innocent and how he seems to act with intent to harm.
Review:
References:
Extant, Re-entry (2014) [television programme online] Amazon Prime. At: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B00LICMPA2/ref=atv_hm_hom_1_c_pbwan_2_1?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_i=home&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=869993807&pf_rd_r=JBPQADGCMDR58GEF17K6&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=12401 (Accessed on 24 March 2018)
Rhee, J. (2013) 'Beyond the Uncanny Valley: Masahiro Mori and Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' In: Configurations 21 (3) [online] At: https://myuca.ucreative.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-902740-dt-content-rid-936177_1/courses/RTVP4008_17/Do%20androids%20dream%20of%20electric%20sheep%20.pdf (Accessed on 24 March 2018)
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