Enthiran, Sci fi movie from India addresses Postmodern memes
V.R. Manoj
2013-05-06 00:00:00
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Enthiran, a sci fi movie from Tamilnadu, India is one such movie.In a nutshell, it is the story of an android made to look like it's maker. The Android initially is a rudimentary programmed machine which follows logical reasoning based on the instructions fed into it. To make it fit in to society, the Android is programmed to develop human emotions which it does much to the aggravation of it's maker; since it goes after his lover.


 


So to cut the end bluntly, the good android turns evil and crashes it's makers wedding to kidnap his lover. The android then replicates itself and goes rogue on everybody from cops to copters until it is rectified,shut down, dismantled and stored in a museum for posterity.However, there are many interesting instances which addresses important postmodern questions :



 


1. The Android develops human feelings and is outraged when his maker's lover refuses to accept him since he would be incapable of ever being with a biological being. He is convinced that he is much better than the organic humans since he can go on forever.


 


2. The Android suggests it's own generated fantasy of bringing forth a mix of the synthetic and organic being; the first offspring between a human and a machine ! Actually it does not seem so absurd given the rapidity with which BIOMEMS is developing.


 


3. What is most interesting during the end of the movie is how easy it is for a rogue android to self-replicate and surpass all control factors (shown in the movie as law enforcement).


 


4. It addresses the important question of whether emotions can indeed be programmed into an android and in retrospect; if we would indeed accept and accord the same respect in return.


 





I personally think a lot of futuristic ideas have been properly researched into making this movie. I especially find the final sequence heart rendering when the now rectified android is declared as too advanced for the current society and ordered to be dismantled. Interestingly, the Android dismantles itself while trying to cheer up everybody around it, or him.

This speaks volumes on whether our current society and culture is truly ready for the technological shocks cropping up around us. Perhaps the movie also hints at the need to escape the restrictions of our emotions and transcend to a state where it may indeed be possible for a man and a machine get married and rear children. This reminds me of another movie, Bicentennial Man where the Android had to wait several lifetimes to be recognized as human, and that happened only after becoming a mortal ! I had written about this movie and its Postmodern trysts way back in 2007. Hmmm, the filmmakers are really telling us to wake up and transcend.