Screenwriters' Perspectives, Vol. 2

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God(dess) in the Machine; Sexuality as Manipulation in Ex Machina A film analysis of Ex Machina (2014) Written by Cailin Ball1 First year undergraduate of New College, University of Toronto

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For a film helmed by a mostly male crew, it is surprising that Alex Garland’s 2014 film Ex Machina deals with gender and sexuality in such a nuanced way. Garland, through his carefully developed plot and relationships between characters, explores Ava’s strange role, not a true human woman, but subjected to the societal constraints of one nonetheless. However, she experiences these constraints in a unique way. In such a technologically advanced world, and as a technologically advanced being, Ava experiences gender, intelligence, and sexuality in a different way than a human does. This difference lies in her programming – specifically, the influence the internet has had on her. By collecting information and learning about human life and behaviour, Ava has determined how best to use these human traits against those who oppress her, and manipulates them to their very demise.

Ava: Session 1 Even in Ava’s very introduction, Garland makes her a mysterious figure. From the moment Caleb meets her, both he and the audience are transfixed. Alongside Caleb, the audience curiously awaits the result of the Turing test he performs; we want to know if Ava is “human”. Ava and Caleb have startlingly human-like interactions and she gains his trust quickly. She even makes explicit reference to the idea of being human, remarking how strange it is that she never learned how to speak, since “language is something that people acquire” (Ex Machina 00:14:57-00:15:00) Language was programmed into her, so she is not human. However, since Ava’s technology and intelligence is based off of human behaviour, she is able to have intimate and ultimately human-like interactions with Caleb. At the end of their conversation, she asks if he will come back tomorrow, with “a strong sense of something very human” (Garland 24). Upon a first viewing, it may seem that Ava is just mimicking human behaviour. However, in reality, her manipulation has already begun. In gaining Caleb’s trust, Ava reinforces Nathan’s inflated ego, making both men easier targets.

“What imperative does a grey box have to interact with another grey box?” Caleb voices the audience’s own question when he asks Nathan why Ava was given sexuality, or even gender. Under Nathan’s implications, he simply wants to know if she has artificial intelligence; sex should have nothing to do with it. Nathan disagrees, asking “what imperative does a grey box have to interact with another grey box?” (Ex Machina 00:46:3900:46:43). Perhaps he is right, but from this conversation and many others, it becomes clear how Nathan views his creations; not simply as AI, with a reason to interact, but as women who fit into a patriarchal view of femininity and sexuality. He reassures Caleb shortly after that she is capable of sex, because “sexuality is fun”, but is sexuality fun for his AI, or for him? He assures Caleb he does not have sex with his creations - “I’m like [their] dad, right?” - but soon after we see him doing just that with Kyoko (Ex Machina 00:50:34-00:50:36). Kyoko serves only a subservient function for Nathan; a morbid reflection of a traditional housewife. Ava, though never explicitly sexual, makes clear advances towards Caleb. Again, this is due to her programming, based off of human interaction and flirtation. However, since Ava still is not human, she cannot use sexuality as a human would. Screenwriters’ Perspectives Vol. 2 No. 1 2021

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