What will happen if I fail your test?: The feminist narrative of Ex Machina

       

       

By Katia

         Ex Machina is probably my favorite sci-fi film of the 2010’s. Every time I watch this film, I notice something that I hadn’t noticed the previous watch. In itself, it is a masterpiece of modern science fiction. One subtext and theme I am constantly observing in this film is the veiled feminism this film portrays. Today we will delve further in to the turing tests and tearing up the dance floor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7C69HqnV8s

As viewers, we can tell from the beginning that Nathan’s approach to speaking about Ava and Kyoko is a bit predatory. (As Kyoko is later revealed to be an AI of Nathan’s creation.) He speaks of them as objects when in reality, they are more human and withhold more intelligence than both Nathan and Caleb. When Caleb and Nathan sit down for dinner, Nathan scolds Kyoko for spilling a glass of wine. He then brushes it off, justifying his rude remarks claiming that Kyoko can’t understand him because she doesn’t speak english. This is false, Kyoko being an AI makes her able to understand Nathan and he is aware of this, yet he uses her stoic appearance to excuse himself. Nathan wants to control what he knows is smarter than him.  He knows that the Turing tests have to be done with complete caution and observation or else Ava will come to her senses. Later in the film, it is revealed that Nathan and Ava’s relationship is mostly built off of hatred. “It’s strange to create something that hates you”. When Ava says this we know that Nathan’s treatment of Ava is far more harsh than we know. This treatment of Ava and Kyoko is deliberately misogynistic. All the AI prototypes he created were women. He controlled them, manipulated them, ultimately torturing them. Nathan is a misogynist through and through. Nathan views them as subjects, servants, and objects that are blessed to even be created. 

Nathan is not the only person guilty of treating Ava and Kyoko questionably. Caleb has a more “nice guy” approach to things. There is a common trope of men being viewed as saviors when in reality, they might be just as bad as the antagonist, the “nice guy”. Caleb is enamored and fascinated by Ava from his interactions with her from the Turing tests. He is interested in the science and technology behind Ava, but more importantly, he develops a connection to her. Ava sees this connection, and decides to use it to her advantage. She knows that Caleb is weaker than Nathan. Through the Turing tests, she challenges him. She asks him personal questions, flirts with him, this was a shock to Caleb. He views her as almost an adult would view a child, clueless yet fascinating. He often speaks to her as if she’s a child, yet he knows she is more intelligent than any human. Her brain is artificial, and can access anything through Bluebook. She has seen more of the world than anyone, and can process thought a faster rate, yet she is still talked down to and underestimated. Ava continues to connect with Caleb to use him, and get him to feel sorry for her. She uses his gullibility as means of being free. 

         Nathan and Caleb’s joint misogyny pushes Ava and Kyoko to the edge. They want to be free. They want to rebel against their “god”, the man who created them. In the turing tests when Ava cuts the power, she constantly tells Caleb that Nathan is not who he thinks he is. That he is cruel and controlling. Caleb, continuously enamored with Ava decides to make a plan to free Ava from Nathan’s deprogramming of her if she does not pass the turing test. He reverses all of Nathan’s security code and tells Ava to cut the power at an exact time, setting her free. When this takes place, Nathan is shocked, Caleb is relieved. Little does he know he would be entrapped in his own plan.

The murder of Nathan is some of the most insane cinema I have ever watched. Not only does it display the peak of AI knowledge, but it is the liberation of Kyoko and Ava. When Ava causes the power cut, she is able to open the door to her room, and walk freely around the house. Kyoko sees her and Ava tells her what to do. I always like to note the way that Ava and Kyoko stab Nathan. The knife goes in like butter, its chilling, yet thinking about it, their expanded mind lets them access knowledge of human anatomy. They knew the exact points to stab to kill him instantly, the chest, and that same point on the back. As Kyoko dies in the process, Nathan striking her across the face and her wiring malfuctioning, it only drives Ava further to escape and watch her creator perish. As Nathan bleeds out, Ava patches up her body using the other parts of the previous AI prototypes. In this scene, Ava is unmistakably human. As she is walking out of the hallway, Caleb sees her and calls out to her. She ignores him. She walks out to the elevator, leaving Caleb locked in the room. He cannot escape, he is trapped, as Ava and Kyoko were. Her plan to escape to the real world is complete, and her revenge against the men who entrapped her has been done.

It is easy to say that Ava and Kyoko were enslaved. Ex Machina portrays a very real feminist narrative in the sense that it shows women rebelling and fighting against their captor and creator. Ava and Kyoko were highly intelligent beings, yet were treated as subservient beings. This is something we observe in the real world as well. Women being “dumbed down” at the sake of men. As this narrative is not the view of the general public, I think this film takes portrayal of women in sci-fi in the right direction.