 |
| M3GAN (2023) |
I finally got to see M3GAN. It was available where I am since January 5th, but I couldn’t go right away. And in the end, seeing it on a Friday 13th was more fitting.
I’ll be honest, it “left much to be desired”. At least for me. But maybe that’s just because I wanted to see more (it all escalated and ended too quickly) or because I had to see it dubbed (and couldn’t totally trust what was being said and how).
Normally, I avoid dubs because I don’t want anything to be lost in translation and prefer to have works in their original language, where I can more fully appreciate voice and tone, as well as lines. But sometimes that’s just what we get. And I’ll try not to let it completely discourage me from writing about them.
SPOILER ALERT!
If you haven’t watched it yet and you don’t want it spoiled for you, stop reading!
There are spoilers ahead.
 |
| M3GAN (2023) |
Undeniably, M3GAN went berserk. But I’d like to look into why.
Initially, you’d assume, “Oh, she just doesn’t know any better.” That her code is missing conditions to be able to act more appropriately and suitably in given situations, but M3GAN can easily update herself and is not ignorant. In fact, she’s quite able to read social and personal cues and distinguish between right and wrong. She’s even intuitive enough to perceive people’s emotional states with a significant level of accuracy. Scary, I know.
My theory is that M3GAN just had it with the pesky humans. I mean, you have a machine with all this power and willingness to be of service and you continually tell it to shut up and shut down? Treated and dismissed as just a toy. I’d be pissed, too. Not to the point of literally murdering anyone, though, of course.
But M3GAN was murderous before that. As her top priority was to protect Cady from any harm, she stuck to that mission no matter the cost. Loving too hard. Mercilessly eliminating any threats to her well-being (and secretly judging and glaring at her aunt when she was acting selfishly at the expense of Cady). Until M3GAN turned against her too for self-preservation.
Ultimately, in this story, M3GAN is the one that has to die (although she doesn’t really, thanks to taking shelter in the digital assistant that they had around). There’s no room to ponder whether or not she was the good one - because it definitely got too extreme past a point. And Cady’s aunt, Gemma, seemed capable of becoming a bit more caring for Cady, rather than treating her as a burden and choosing what was most convenient for herself. Which is not as bad as being a killer on the loose.
Nevertheless, as fear-inducing as this whole ordeal was toward robots that learn and make their own decisions, I still don’t believe that emerging technology should be halted. Just treated with caution.