Who is Watching You II
It was brought to my attention today that there are a number of films which play with the idea of an ambulatory logography device of sorts. The first, Omar Naim's Final Cut (2004) starring Robin Williams and Mira Sorvino, is taglined, "Every moment of your life recorded. Would you live it differently?" In the near future, implanted microchips record every second of an individual's life, and are then removed upon death so that professional cutters can edit that life into a highlight reel--a "rememory"--for the families of the deceased. Cutters cannot have implants for liability reasons as their memories consist not only of their past experiences but also the past experiences of those whom the cutter has edited. The second film: Albert Brooks's Defending Your Life (1991) starring Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep, taglined, "The first true story of what happens after you die." Again, all of your life has been recorded, and after death, while in Judgement City, your defense attorney and a prosecutor review episodes as they respectively argue that you either made the most of your life by overcoming fear or did not. Those who do not make it through the life and review successfully must try again until they get it right.
I still cannot think, however, of any films which play with the idea from the previous post of a simultaneous performance, review, and critique of daily life within the limits of a totalizing account, of looking for your glaring inconsistencies and subtle coherence daily, although Final Cut apparently also asks the question of how your daily performance might change were you to be informed that it was being continuously recorded for review; and Defending Your Life also makes much of both interpretive problems (arguments coming from the prosecution and the defense regarding the same episodes) and the process of learning from this trial and giving it a better go the next time around. Any other films we might include here? One day, I might have time to see these movies. And perhaps a cutter can enjoy them too.