Free Will It

In "Free Will It", the two central characters - Mr. D and Mr. F - directly represent the opposing viewpoints at the heart of the film's exploration of free will. Mr. D, whose name abbreviates "determinism," argues for a fatalistic, cause-and-effect view of the universe. Meanwhile, Mr. F advocates for a more open-ended, free will-oriented conception of human agency, in contrast to Mr. D's deterministic perspective. Their tennis match-turned-philosophical debate is overseen by the character Alan Smithee, a nod to the famous pseudonym used by disgruntled film directors. Just as the Alan Smithee alias represents a surrender of creative control, the character serves as a detached, skeptical arbiter of the arguments presented by Mr. D and Mr. F. The arrival of the character Heather further complicates the intellectual clash, as her more holistic, intuitive understanding of consciousness challenges the rigid positions of the two male protagonists.