REVIEW: The Imitation Game

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The imitation game, the namesake of the movie, is the ability for a robot to imitate human thought.  It isn’t a question of whether artificial intelligence can one day come to think as humans do but whether or not humans can create artificial intelligence that can output thought that is indistinguishable from a human.
Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician and professor living in early 20th century England.  He had a strong interest in cryptology and began working on the case of cracking the Nazi code machine in the early 1900s.  Turing, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, was a prideful person and preferred working on solving the problem of Enigma on his own, making few friends amongst the other cryptologists working in the service of the Allies.  He realized that in order to solve the encoded messages the Nazis sent, more than man power would be required.  A machine is needed to fight a machine.  So he set about designing a machine that would be able to crack the Nazi code.
As much a biography as well as a dramatic and revealing portrait of a once clandestine operation undertaken by the British during the war, the project of solving Enigma is treated as more of a story on who Turing was and how his mind worked.  The mind is the closed off part of ourselves that no one else can access.  There are psychological, physical, and numerous other named and unnamed methods of determining what goes on in the mind, but the truth remains a mystery.  Our ability to communicate thoughts between one another is dependent on output.  One form this output takes is through language.  The language used by Turing’s character was careful and calculated and his highly logical method of communicating made reference to his idea of a machines capable of thought, in actuality, the imitation of thought.
This imitation of thought, of language being another level realizing a person’s mind, can be seen in the way the government handled the control of Nazi decryption.  The process of decoding having been solved, the issue now was for how to use the information.  Keeping the Allied movements limited so that the Nazi’s would not realize that they had solved Enigma was a hard task.  There were lives that could be saved with the knowledge they had gained but choices had to be made as to which lives could be saved.  In the same way that the knowledge the British now held was not revealed to the public at large, just as on the scale of the individual, knowledge is not publicly available.  In this imitation game the secret nature of the mind is a key element to the success of the Allies’ operations.
Sometimes the normal way of communicating is not the ideal way in a given situation.  In terms of the British intelligence, they limited the knowledge they shared with the public in order to save more lives.  The way Turing communicated was limited socially compared to others but a lot of his limits were brought about by society and resulted in his medical castration and later contested suicide in the mid 20th century.  The movie did not go into this specific detail but still, the weight of Alan Turing’s contributions to the war effort and the academic field we now know today as computer science are immense, and his final years and death hold the weight of injustice that is only now being recognized.

PREVIEW: Selma

As the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is coming up, Selma is a very suitable movie to watch. This award-winning movie features a story about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march from Selma to Montgomery, in the hopes to gain equal voting rights. This march ended up with President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is considered to be one of the biggest victories in the civil rights movements. Directed by Ava DuVernay, Selma stars many fantastic actors, such as David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Wilkinson, and Carmen Ejogo.

Showtimes for Selma at the State Theater can be found here. As always, students are eligible for discounted price of $8 with their student ID.

REVIEW: Lightworks Fall 2014

In case you haven’t heard of this wonderful (and free) 2 day event, Lightworks is the biannual film fest that showcases student films made through the Screen Arts and Cultures (SAC) department.

That being said, the norm for student film fests goes something like: most films are not immaculate, and the quality can range from good to pretty awful. Fortunately for us, U of M students consistently churn out films that are at worst watchable, and at best better than many Hollywood films (that means you, Mike Bay).

You can’t have a film event without popcorn, and the hosting Film and Video Student Association (FVSA) was happy to oblige. I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the popcorn free, but it had just the right amount of flavoring to enjoy the array of films in the Natural Science Auditorium.

This year was Nicolas Cage themed, with his image, quotes, and movies in every nook and cranny. I thought it was a step in the right direction, as it provided comic relief to the festival and helped group the films into categories roughly based on the titles of Cage films.

Last semester was a particular good stretch of Lightworks films and this semester was able to keep up the pace. I was extremely happy to see that a couple of the 300 level films (intermediate production level) were able to keep up with the higher level films. In fact one of them, Jessie Micallef’s “Between the Lines” was runner-up for best drama.

Furthermore, the independent projects truly showcased what students can do with autonomy. The winner for best drama, and my personal favorite of the festival, was Anthony Khalil’s “Old Stones.” A fictional tale about a son trying to win his father’s favor by playing shuffleboard at a retirement home, it was quirky enough to be a fresh take on the banal sports film genre.

I think the best part about “Old Stones” however, was that it never tried to be some esoteric analysis of the human condition. Unlike a lot of the upper-level projects, “Old Stones” didn’t attempt to go unnecessarily deep in the father-son relationship, nor did it waste time exploring the lead character’s fall from grace as an Olympic curler. Oh, and did I mention the gorgeous color throughout the film? Check it out.

“Cold Cut Comedy Shorts” was basically a live-action Robot Chicken. It was a delightfully incomprehensible collection of random shorts that drew laughs from the audience. The only fault with this project is that, like Robot Chicken, I was left wanting more.

Below is the list of winners from the festival. I recommend the winners from each category. However, one that didn’t even make it onto the list was Brian Collins’ horror flick “Closet,” which I was shocked to see did not even make honorable mention.

Ligthworks Winners
Drama: Old Stones, Anthony Khalil
Runner-Up: Between the Lines, Jessie Micallef
Honorable Mention: Nonna, Sam Gioia
Comedy: Cold Cuts Comedy Shorts, Joe Biglin
Runner-Up: You Can’t Sit With Us, Emily Browning & Jamie Dean
Honorable Mention: A Little Time Away, David Olonoff
Experimental: Easy, Alex Holmes
Runner-Up: The Golden Apple, Andrea Rivera
Honorable Mention: Time Space, Yunzhi Ou
Alternative Narrative: I’m a Wicked Child, Jingru Yang
Runner-Up: Pace of Life, Yihong Chen
Honorable Mention: A Flower to Pick, Jeremy Borison
Animation: Little People, James Reslier-Wells
Runner-Up: Living on the Earth, Layne Austin Simescu
Honorable Mention: Copy Cat, Sam Barnett
Documentary: Cooley Reuse Project Teaser, Jennifer Larson
Runner-Up: SALT, Phillip Wachowiak
Mary Lou Honorable Mention: Unsocial Media, Al Smith
Feroz Honorable Mention: Meta, Charlotte Lichtman
Josh Honorable Mention: Candy Ball, Yunzhi Ou

PREVIEW: LIGHTWORKS FALL 2014

Have you ever wondered what Screen Arts and Cultures students do each semester? Interested in seeing the next generation of filmmakers? Looking for a relief from studying?

Cage Poster - PS

 

Come to Lightworks!

Where: Natural Science Auditorium

When: December 12 & 13 at 7-10:30 PM

This is a two day event with a ton of student films. If you are strapped for time, at least check out the upper level projects at the end, as they are the best of the best the SAC department has to offer.

REVIEW: FUSION OF CULTURES

Although it got off to a bit of a slow start, Fusion of Cultures soon picked up and jumped around quickly from one act to another. In an effort to keep people around until the end, the schedule of events was hidden from the audience, but I kind of liked the uncertainty, especially since I didn’t gain anything by knowing who was up next.

First of all, the food. There was a range of Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and African cuisine, and let’s just make it clear that all of it was absolutely delicious. There may be a variety of finals breakfasts and meals around campus, but this kind of food is rare and should be cherished. I drank a sweet Mango Lassi while munching on fried plantains, refried beans and hummus, to name a few of the dishes that I can remember.

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Pictured: Not Dining Hall Food

The best part about the food was that it was not even the best part. We (the audience) watched a number of dance routines juxtaposed with poetry readings, videos, and even a fashion show.

Translated Poetry Reading
Translated Poetry Reading

As I’m sure we were supposed to see, the variety of cultures that we saw were surprisingly similar. Yes the exact dance moves differed, but all of them had an invigorating, sophisticated quality that one does not normally see at a frat party.

Pictured: A typical frat party
Pictured: A typical frat party

 

Furthermore, the poetry read was heated, especially in the weak of recent national tragedies. It is a sad fact that much of what we heard was characterized by oppression and discrimination, but that is the truth of our world for people other than white heterosexual males.

Best of all, I think, the room was packed. This season has been especially filled with protests and anger in our society, and Fusion of Cultures was a reminder of why we want and need to celebrate diversity in the United States. Throughout the night I watched dozens of talented individuals perform for a packed room and everyone was enjoying their evening. To me, that fit perfectly with the name of the event.

Peace
Peace

PREVIEW: The Theory of Everything

Eddie Redmayne stars as Stephen Hawking.
Eddie Redmayne stars as Stephen Hawking.

What: The Theory of Everything
Where: Michigan Theater
When: Various times until 12/11 (click here for showtimes)
Price: $8 for students with a valid MCard, $10 for adults

The Theory of everything is about the love story of Jane and Stephen hawking. If the nature of this movie doesn’t already entice you to watch it, then the indie-classic quality of the movie should. The film stars Eddie Redmayne (Marius from Les Miserables) as Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones as Jane Hawking. Under the direction of James Marsh, The Theory of everything delves into an interesting world of philosophy, science, and love, all while being set in beautiful locations such as the University of Cambridge.