A glimpse into the Orwellian double speak Utopia of syrupy pseudo friends and perpetually smiling catfish, enforcing immersion into the ubiquitous data grid . . .
An interesting glimpse into the super syrupy world of pseudo friends and perpetually smiling catfish, hovering overhead at every conceivable nook and cranny of one's existence, delivering precision microtargeted influencing upon anyone in their purview.
I've spent some time in the inner echelons of Silicon Valley, have seen the harbingers of this rigorously enforced, "voluntary" group think mindset.
For some, this production might seem a bit far fetched, and maybe for many, this just seems like some weird quasi sci-fi tangent, but actually, it's closer to an emergent reality than many may want to recognize. There is the inner echelon, the techno "in crowd" of a certain social status and its practitioners, and then there's the vast majority of the ordinary population, the "out crowd" who's existence management is perpetually woven into the ever evolving ubiquitous data grid.
In that context, this production does deliver . . . It's not really meant to have a standard beginning, middle, and then "end", more like a periscope into this potential emergent world. Many will become involuntary participants in, but are sold into this paradigm for convenience, cost savings, security, health and financial management and so on.
What is most interesting, perhaps, is not so much the tech, which is already here for the most part, but the character studies of the people within this inner "circle", the passive aggressive pressure that they exert upon those around them to conform to their Orwellian double speak workers paradise, extending into every aspect of private lives, hovering 24/7 in a tech "Utopia" to continuously exert covert pressure to conform to the group think "Circle" paradigm.
Some viewers may find this a bit frustrating, complaining that it's not really a standard beginning, middle and "end" (well, there is an ending of sorts, but of course no spoilers here), that's not really the focus of this production. The ending itself, such as it is, is momentarily clever in its own way, but not really plausible . . . The concept of the entire story, however, is already in various stages of implementation, here in the real world.
Is it perfect? No, far from it, more plot holes than well aged Swiss cheese in some places, but overall, it does make its point via this dramatic vehicle.
It is well acted, Emma Watson delivers her character well, good production quality, the editing does weave together an eventstream that fits well with the intended context . . . I can can see going with 8 stars.
I've spent some time in the inner echelons of Silicon Valley, have seen the harbingers of this rigorously enforced, "voluntary" group think mindset.
For some, this production might seem a bit far fetched, and maybe for many, this just seems like some weird quasi sci-fi tangent, but actually, it's closer to an emergent reality than many may want to recognize. There is the inner echelon, the techno "in crowd" of a certain social status and its practitioners, and then there's the vast majority of the ordinary population, the "out crowd" who's existence management is perpetually woven into the ever evolving ubiquitous data grid.
In that context, this production does deliver . . . It's not really meant to have a standard beginning, middle, and then "end", more like a periscope into this potential emergent world. Many will become involuntary participants in, but are sold into this paradigm for convenience, cost savings, security, health and financial management and so on.
What is most interesting, perhaps, is not so much the tech, which is already here for the most part, but the character studies of the people within this inner "circle", the passive aggressive pressure that they exert upon those around them to conform to their Orwellian double speak workers paradise, extending into every aspect of private lives, hovering 24/7 in a tech "Utopia" to continuously exert covert pressure to conform to the group think "Circle" paradigm.
Some viewers may find this a bit frustrating, complaining that it's not really a standard beginning, middle and "end" (well, there is an ending of sorts, but of course no spoilers here), that's not really the focus of this production. The ending itself, such as it is, is momentarily clever in its own way, but not really plausible . . . The concept of the entire story, however, is already in various stages of implementation, here in the real world.
Is it perfect? No, far from it, more plot holes than well aged Swiss cheese in some places, but overall, it does make its point via this dramatic vehicle.
It is well acted, Emma Watson delivers her character well, good production quality, the editing does weave together an eventstream that fits well with the intended context . . . I can can see going with 8 stars.
- charles000
- May 25, 2024