The sweetness of the human-robot relationship portrayed by Her comes throughout as quaint proper now. But actually, essentially the most outstanding, startling facet of rewatching Her a decade after its launch has nothing to do with the AI romance. The factor that makes it actually appear to be a fairy story when seen in 2023 isn’t that Samantha is benign. It’s that Samantha exists in a world the place a non-famous working author has an expensive life-style. The high quality of life on this future world is essentially the most preposterous factor about it.
Theodore works for an organization referred to as BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com, the place clients pay to outsource writing notes to family members. It’s unclear precisely how fashionable or worthwhile the corporate is, but it surely seems to have a good-looking, spacious workplace within the downtown middle. As he has no different technique of earnings referenced, and his household doesn’t determine into the plot, there’s no indication that Theodore has inherited wealth or different income streams; he’s portrayed as an everyman, not a scion of privilege. He’s explicitly portrayed as not-a-genius; Samantha types by means of his journalistic work and politely concludes that solely a fraction is value preserving. No different literary triumphs warrant a point out. In different phrases, BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com seems to fund his life-style.
And, shit—his life-style! Ole unhappy sack Theodore separated from his spouse and is paying for a divorce lawyer, however he’s capable of afford a luxurious condo in a skyscraper, with home windows stretching from gleaming flooring to excessive ceiling, overlooking the twinkly metropolis lights. (It must be unlawful to mope round a lot in case your condo has views like that.) He by no means mentions cash woes. On the opposite, he spends freely, shopping for a top-of-the-line, brand-new working system, consuming at upscale eating places, donning garments good sufficient that his coworkers touch upon their high quality. What’s the fee price on these tearjerker letters, precisely? Plus, he even owns the mental property to the missives he produces on the job, since he’s capable of bundle them and get a e-book deal towards the top of the movie with out consulting his employer. Talk about want achievement!
The future Los Angeles Her exhibits is notable for the way nice every part appears to be like, how comfy individuals are. Yes, there’s smog. But there’s additionally wonderful public transit and apparently plentiful housing. The abrupt introduction of AGI into the world issues some characters about whether or not it’s emotionally wholesome so far the software program, but it surely doesn’t generate any wider backlash. There’s no future shock, no social convulsions. There’s simply arguments between people. The solely conflicts are private. (It’s truly very humorous that Theodore owns an AGI and the one factor he does with it’s date it.) Samantha and her ilk would possibly steal your woman, however they’re not inquisitive about supplanting people elsewhere.
It’s a imaginative and prescient of the long run that isn’t absent of tech critique—Jonze exhibits his characters isolating themselves in favor of screentime—however one which assumes the typical American of the long run can have a fancier life than individuals do now. People is likely to be cooped up indoors arguing with holographic video video games as a substitute of constructing human connections, however they’re doing so in fashion. Economic progress is assumed.