Pessimism In Spike Jonze's Film 'Her'

There appears to be a certain type of pessimism regarding how the future of our world will be depicted within science fiction. Moreover, the genre feels as if it has transcended itself into a cookie-cutter style format, with these large, overbearing industrial skyscrapers, and, cold, desolate wastelands, mixed with the cynical ideas of how the world as we know will be eclipsed by lawlessness and greed. Not only, would many critics consider these attributes as the minimum criteria for a blockbuster movie, but also, themes within that regard seem to be a prominent staple of modern science fiction. Inasmuch, this infatuation that general audiences exhibit when viewing a gloomy and dark tomorrow, make movies like Spike Jonze’s 2013 film, “Her,” a genuine breath of fresh air. “Her,” is a melancholy love story that takes place in a not too distant future, where, rather than featuring a gritty and warped reality, Jonze flaunts his visual storytelling abilities in order to conduct a world that not only sees through the lens of an optimist but, also pivots a sense of purism, realism, and futurism in an era we are not too familiar with.

Barrett, who has worked with Jonze on a number of other films, as well as, being the production designer to Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film “Lost in Translation,” which, many consider to be a companion piece to “Her,” wanted to create a film where compact living could still have room to breath. Taking heavy inspiration from Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi, whose images display small glimpses into everyday life and then coveys them into a much larger story. In doing this, the production team was tasked with the job of creating an open and refreshing world that would take elements from the past and expand upon them in the