:2012 - University of
Utah - Intro to Film Class - Daytime:
Teacher: ‘Ok, so who can give me a theme to Blade Runner?
:A self important, smug, know-it-all Julie Hofer juts her hand up:
Julie: ‘Having the ability to change one’s nature is what
makes one human.”
Teacher: ‘……I’d buy that for a dollar.’
I anticipated this show so much I literally dreamed about
telling my mom about it. I’m a nut, I know, and I have no life. So when a
one-in-a-million show like this taunts and teases for months, apparently I
dream about it. Hashtagthisismylifenow. I wanted to write about it immediately
but heeded the wise words of my blog advisor, my watching partner, my husband,
and refrained until I saw three episodes. (He literally just told me “you
should still wait.” No, now is the time.) This was a good choice. Lemme explain
why.
Westworld is an HBO show based off of the Michael Crichton
1973 film. Westworld is an old-west themed amusement park completely inhabited
by androids so technologically advanced visitors and viewers are never entirely
sure which ones they are. For a pricey entrance fee, guests can immerse
themselves in a real live gun-slinging, whore-laying, ale guzzling, butte laden
Wild West fantasy. Visitors also have the option to choose between a white hat
or a black one….becoming a goodie or a baddie. The time on the show is divided
between happenings in the park and the behind the scenes workings and mechanics
of it all.
As the Westworld gets reset every night, androids are
brought in and stripped nude in the glassy blackened research and repair
section of the park. Surely the setting is a visual metaphor of feigned
transparency with simultaneous shrouded mystery. This creates some beautiful
imagery. They are questioned and analyzed by the lead programmer to determine
their intelligence, thought process, and need in tweaks in their mental coding.
This creates some incredible performances. It’s all very slick and sexy. As the
series was first introduced, it was clear we would witness an evolution in the
once obedient robots. As their intelligence receive delicate altars and
changes, unwelcomed memories gradually get created, unpredictable behavior
starts to manifest, sentient beings start to form. The androids begin to create
a life that was never intended for them. They begin to push their subordinate nature
away, thus creating human tendencies……It is honestly THRILLING. Damn Crichton,
amirite??
When I saw the first two episodes I was eager to start
writing about it, but I couldn’t, because I wasn’t seeing anything unexpected
yet. I kept wondering aloud why there wasn’t enough meat on it yet, but now I
know why. The show was being set up and basic questions were being answered.
There was nothing really of note that I could write about without really
spoiling anything. After the third episode, I got GIDDY. It dives into the
psychology of the androids and the surprising actions they make.
Remember back in the time of floppy disks, when we couldn’t
binge watch any and every show on earth?? Well HBO, the sadists, still live by
this antiquated way of life. They still release a single episode a week. And
for that I am grateful. Do you remember what anticipation feels like? Cliffhangers
at the end of an episode? No, you don’t, you TV glutton. But wait – it’s HBO,
“it’s not TV.” We have forgotten what delay of gratification is. HBO has built
tension and curiosity in keeping with the archaic tradition of making us wait,
while other television has done the opposite, making binge-watching the new
normal. So, I guess, it really isn’t
TV…..
We have reached a point now where the show builds more
questions than answers. What is the robot skin made of, exactly? Where does
this park reside, and how much does it cost to get in? How many gallons of
blood do they have on stand-by? How sleep deprived are the graveyard shift park
re-setters? Who precisely of the workers at the park are actually also droids?
(DEFINITELY SOME.) How do bullets not work on guests but are only effective on
hosts? Why isn’t it obvious to them that keeping a horde of cyborgs in the
basement is building an army practically begging for an uprising?
Have YOU been watching Westworld? What kind of existential
questions has it raised in yourself? Do you feel differently watching a show that comes out once a week instead of being able to binge it? Do you find yourself pondering it more poignantly?
Sunday is now Funday. Because it’s Westworld day. Thank you,
HBO.
