Atlas

In the Christian faith and specifically what is referred to as the born again spirit filled life, there is a belief in what is called a walk in the spirit. The encounter with the maker through salvation is followed by an embrace of the Sprirt of God who serves as a comforter and whose role it is to guide the new believer and to provide strength as well as access and protection in the supernatural world. 

The person who walks in the faith believes and has a knowledge of power to perform miracles but this is not an end in itself. He is also ‘connected’ through this same Spirit to the Vine (Jesus Christ) who enables him to walk in the Spirit. This is an ability to show forth fruits that reflect his new life. These are summed up in love which exoresses itself in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfullness and self control. 

This belief in the Triune God is what makes the Christian Faith Unique and forms part of his faith confession. 

So why this discussion in a movie review? 

Well, there are three major movie trends that i will address in the future which are at the heart of the Faith but that those who have had limited exposure will have little or no knowldege of. 

They are reflected or mentioned in about three movie presentations: The Twilight Series, The Dracula Story, The Walking Dead, The Thriller Music Video, The Trend Around Reality Television and the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Push. 

Today i will mention just one. 

The Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Push

I think Jeniffer Lopez’s character does an amazing job depicting a smart lady in a complex world trying to make her presence felt while being despised by a predominantly male dominated work force. In an age where an interface between men and machines has been created, a bug arises that pushes these super-machines into a rebellion that causes them to launch an attack against their creator (sounds like war in heaven)? Also reminds you of the problem that scripture talks about when man is ‘asked’ to leave the garden. Later on in the book of Daniel, the prophet sees an image of a statue made up of a combination of metals. At its bottom is a mix of clay and metal (my interpretation of this is a combination of man (made of clay) and metal (robots). The end of this prophecy though is told about how rock crushes the mixture and heaven triumphs. There is an interesting story about Joshua (often seen as a reference to Christ-the anointed one) and how he leads his people in s battle against AI! Hmm

Could this historical conversation also have an effect on the future. 

Anyhow, Ms. Lopez’s character finds herself having a conversation with a machine as she attempts to find the rebel chief (now taking refuge on another planet). The thing that makes this Android so powerful is the idea that it has managed to download all the best that men have in terms of information and weaponry as well as intelligence. 

To battle this being she has to make a choice about how to approach the attack. She has a machine assigned to her but has hurts and memories in the past that are hindering her from making the connection. 

She is fine with working alongside the robot but not okay with syncing with it and becoming one with it. 

This feels a lot like what happens when we accept the Son of God as a personal savior. Before that, we fight and engage the world with all sorts of weapons. We game the system, use everything within our power to ward off the adversary until His love overcomes all. My suggestion is that you fight with what you hwve until He overcomes you. 

Like the character in the movie, her connection with the powerful device was impossible until she accepted the pain that she had gone through. Then Creator and Creature become on and ultimately too powerful to defeat.

I imagine those want to see the agenda of Humanoids succeed have funds as do those who do not think it is viable. I notice one thing though, the use of the word ‘neural link’. 

Better than Us

I like the idea that different countires can contribute to the entertainment culture of the world by providing their takes on subjects such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The first film i watched regarding this subject was with Will Smith-I Robot. It was on that fateful flight back from the US of A. In the show, there is a slight glitch in the system of an already well integrated Robot culture where these machines have taken their place in the hierarchy of developing as active assistance and companions. The glitch causes them to rebel and thw character of Will Smith is forced to go on the offensive. 

There have been quite a number of writers who have been responsible for the pursuit of these forms of development and good number of them are Russian…but many of you are more equipped to identify them than i am. 

Let me show you a few books from a champion of science education in Uganda and Africa (soon)-Solomon Benge of Fundibots. 

We have the same idea in areas such as space and the pursuit of new territories. For that we have Star Trek and Star Wars to thank. 

Whether those who have developed technologies after watching these shows are guilty of some sort of “theft” is an idea for another day. But the questions they raise and the ideas presented are worth exploring. 

This show is set in Russia in a time when it is profitable to create robots which help humans. Everything does not go as planned when this lucrative industry is overtaken by a new automaton with unexpected abilities. 

On one side you have activists who wish to restore order on another you have a company that wants to keep things as they are. Then you have a family caught in between and the robot they are starting to like (which is also dealing with complex questions of its own). There laws that are supposed to govern all robots-as created by Isaac Asimov (A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law) also come into play as the ‘device’ begins to ask troubling questions about its own reality and being. 

There is an interesting conversation is the show when the lady of the owners of the robot try to convince it to dress in a more appropriate manner. The robot is designed to please those whom it is programed to meet and those with whom it makes first contact (which reminds me of what happens when some animals such as ducks and spiders are hatched and immediately ‘bond’ with humans or whatever creature they come across. The lady is slightly intimidated by the robot because it appears more attractive and has many more skills and abilities than she has. She is not really trying to help the robot but using its willingness to learn as a trap to confuse it. 

The Robot called Arisa then approaches the man (Georgy) and asks a very poignant quesiton What must a woman dress like to be loved? 

Do you know how many people are stuck and struggling with this question? How many so called humans depend on the words and affections of others? Do you know hoe many men are in gyms doing weights and women in Salons having their hair done out of a hope that they can be loved a little more. 

Even if the path towards the creation of humanoids is still fraught with a number of difficulties, how many of us are living in this robotic reality? I think this show explores this and many other subjects. But that’s just me. 

Here is a review of two other interesting shows you might enjoy 

https://intersectionawards.blogspot.com/2024/05/dune-i-and-ii.html

https://intersectionawards.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-peripheral.html