We already live in a world where there’s no need to leave your home to buy food, clothes, books, music, or, well, anything really. Social media saves us from the horror of actually being in the same room as our friends and internet dating means we don’t even need to go to a public place to find a mate (more on this in the future). And when we do bother to leave the house we don’t need to ask strangers for directions to our destination because we’ve got a smart phone with GPS.
And now we have contactless payment. Because on those rare times people do venture out to our ailing high street heaven forbid they actually touch anything.
Now don’t get me wrong, I realise contactless payment is not about the spread of germs or removal of human contact, it’s about keeping us safe from identity theft and card cloning, but I can’t help but feel like it’s just the next step towards a world of physical isolation, not unlike that portrayed in Demolition Man. (Surely no one can forget Sylvester Stallone being handed a towel and offered virtual sex by Sandra Bullock?)
In fact, such physical isolation is not uncommon in dystopian stories of technologically advanced societies (1984, Equilibrium, even the cute WALL-E). Sure, they’re works of fiction, but no matter how much the bottom line is at stake there’s no denying the argument that we strive for better technology in a bid to improve our lives and search for new ways to protect us from the dangers of living – dangers that in many ways make our lives fuller, more enjoyable experiences.
Instead we have the potential to get up in the morning, fire up the computer (still in pyjamas) for a spot of remote work – only speaking to the boss through a web chat or e-mail, none of that telephone malarkey. When it’s time for a break we might leave the computer for a cup of tea, but we’re soon back there to order our food shopping delivery, or choose some new pyjamas from a clothes shop’s website – while listening to our downloaded music.
Then we could jump in our cars to pick up a drive thru meal, paying with good old contactless technology and eating in our cars, before heading home for a quick spot of liking and poking on social media. If we’re feeling really adventurous we might move to the sofa to watch a film while playing with our new tablet – how about checking the app to see what constellations are overhead?
Yes, I’m pleased with many of the advances the modern world has brought us (running water and electricity are pretty great) and I’m probably sounding a little extreme, but sometimes I can’t help but think it would be nice to turn out the lights, walk outside and see the stars.
Not too long ago, a renegade Aussie (via New Zealand) director named Andrew Dominik made a film that was inexplicably inspired, yet dull, when he cast Brad Pitt as Jesse James in the horribly titled The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It was “an authentic western” — complete with rotting teeth and wet boots — and in some ways, Dominik takes another kick at that can with Killing Them Softly, another story set on a rather different frontier. Set in post-diluvial Louisiana, Pitt reappears in the form of a modern outlaw — a hitman — sent to rub out Ray Liotta’s character after a card game goes bad. The whole vengeance, gangland thing feels a little tuckered, but thanks to Dominik’s ability to capture vast chunks of the American ethos through his lens, the movie is an emotionally bleak but artistically rewarding success. James Gandolfini offers a courageous performance as a tough guy slowly rotting on the inside and brings depth to what could have been a cardboard character. Special features include DVD, Blu-ray combo pack.
Sex, intrigue, plagues — it’s all here, and it’s all true, though it wasn’t until the last decade that historians began to celebrate the bizarre story of Johann Friedrich Struensee, an 18th century physician who eventually usurped the Danish throne and instituted several progressive policies before being punished by a vengeful church and court. Enlisted to help King Christian overcome his bouts of psychosis, Struensee (played elegantly by Mads Mikkelsen) becomes the king’s friend and confidante. He also becomes the queen’s manly lover, which complicates all of his good intentions. Expertly crafted in every sense, this Danish nominee for best foreign film contains all the elements of a classic Shakespearean drama — only communicated through believably human characters with a contemporary touch. Struensee’s democratic accomplishments predated the French Revolution, all of which makes this factual story even more riveting than it is since it reminds us how far we’ve come as a species, and a civilization, in a relatively short time. Special features include widescreen, subtitles and more.
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