Technophobia at the cinema
In Confessions of a Technophobe, Joe Queenan asks: Why are so many dramas and thrillers now set in the past? Is it because, in a world of mobile phones, satnav and Google, suspense is impossible?
Good point: The sight of an actor sitting before a computer googling his enemy doesn’t really raise the tension. However I can think of at least four movies in which technology is thrilling: Infernal Affairs (covert texting), and the Bourne movies.
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January 8th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
That Rupert Holmes song with the answering machines wouldnt have worked either. Technology ruins everything. Even great pop songs.
(Crimson Tide was thrilling. It asks the question, What happens when the technology we depend on goes kaput in the middle of an impending nuclear holocaust? )
January 9th, 2008 at 6:57 am
J-Horror Films seem to address those matters as well. Classics would include Ringu’s use of the cursed VHS tape or One Missed Call’s own curse with the messages left on voicemail. Even the cult hit Battle Royale indirectly addresses reality TV in the age of satellite transmission.