CraveOnline: The real thrust is the movie is yes, this procedure could be a great benefit but what if people are forced into taking it unwillingly?
Jacqueline Kim: Yes, exactly.
Which is the cautionary tale I think of any science fiction story.
Jacqueline Kim: Thank you. Great word, cautionary tale. That’s how I see it.
I thought of some other tangents. What if there’s a married couple and they each start having this rejuvenation at different points and then their age difference gets wildly different? How would people deal with that?
Jacqueline Kim: That’s so interesting. It sounds like you’re almost speaking about in a world where everything becomes controllable, then what will become attractive is what’s not controllable. So maybe that contrast would become desirable.
God, I hope so. Also, things never work as they’re advertised. Yet people are always surprised when tech doesn’t turn out like it was supposed to. After so much of a technological age, why don’t people remember nothing quite delivers what it’s promised?
Jennifer Phang: What was exciting for me was to portray a woman who really believed in what she was selling. You kind of have to believe in what you’re selling to sell it. I guess what will be interesting is if people think about when is a good time to look at your own work and be self-aware.
I’m just thinking, if they still can’t make a movie play all the way through online, we’re going to trust technology with our brains?
Jennifer Phang: The marketing is so strong. I think marketing is one of the strongest things in the United States. We’re the best at it, and in times of desperation, we are looking for answers in anything and a little bit vulnerable. If someone shows that they understand where you’re coming from, you’re more willing to accept what they have to say as a solution. That’s what Gwen is being used for. She’s an extremely convincing spokesperson because she’s so sympathetic and that’s what the company she works for values and that’s what they want to hold onto.
Jacqueline Kim: In reference to your question, I was hearing this morning that they’re actually creating for blind people a way for them to see. They’re doing virtual reality in the brain now. And then I was hearing also for quadriplegics, they’re also doing the same kind of wiring that leads to these limbs that they can control through their brain. You think about it and it’s like oh my God, that sounds so invasive, but I was hearing that the look on one of their faces when they can actually command their body again kind of makes it all worth it. At least, that was the perception of the person who shared it with me. So I do think there are new frontiers to technology that are exciting and useful, helpful at least to that consumer who needs it.
I also see a science fiction movie in that too. What if they gave a quadriplegic his body back and then said, “Well, we paid for that so now we own you?” That’s Robocop.
Jennifer Phang: Exactly.
Jacqueline Kim: I think what Jen is saying, we’re all kind of a hand of companies’ marketing now. That Apple symbol is so strong.
Jennifer Phang: To me what’s exciting about the film is the moment when Gwen becomes self-aware. What I wanted to do at least was to start Gwen off as someone who believes she’s self-aware, but then finds that she isn’t.
