Tomorrow marks the release of Nerve, from the co-directors of the documentary Catfish. The film features a premise that has gotten some attention thanks to its unique take on augmented reality. In what is basically a virtual Truth or Dare, users dare contestants to do crazy stunts for money. Since this takes place in the modern era, this is done largely by phones in public and has some making early comparisons to the recent Pokemon Go craze. It's definitely a perplexing topic, though not the first to imagine a world riddled with technology that blends the fact with fiction. Many films, like The Social Network and The DUFF, have used it more directly to discuss how it impacts our social status. Some, like Westworld or Gamer, choose to have more liberal fun with the results, producing something as exciting as it is informative. However, this exploration of virtual reality in reality is something that has been popping up more, and it's easy to see why the trend is something that may only get worse before it goes away.
There are many great things that come with the advancement of technology. It unites societies that are continents apart through Skype. It helps to raise awareness of important causes at ridiculous rates. It benefits how we spread information and discover news within seconds of it happening. Technology is great in a lot of respects, and it's easy to argue that there's no better time than now to have internet connection. After all, the world has never been more connected and the access to information is at an all time high. Yet this seems like a premature and optimistic view of an issue with bleak ramifications. Cyber bullying has run rampant thanks to being able to hide identity. Many important files have been leaked due to faulty servers. Also, the most connected device on the planet may be making us lazy and fat. There's a ton of contradictions in technology advancing, and it's always been present. Just ask WALL-E.
So, why would cinema choose to tackle how technology impacts society? Easy, it's neither great nor as evil as we make it out to be. It's also interesting that something that once seemed like an Orwellian concept has become a reality and may in fact be killing us. It's an uncertain time as sci-fi becomes merely fi and the world has to wonder what it left to mine for subject matter. Had Nerve been made in the 90's, it still would qualify as some strange fantasy film. In 2016, it comes across as something that is very much of the time. Speaking as Pokemon Go users take to the streets at all hours to find Pokemon, it only makes sense that those starved for fame and fortune will take it to a darker, almost prostitution-like level.
While I have yet to see Nerve, the one thing that is apparent is that technology has always had a mixed relationship with cinema. James Cameron famously made cinema like The Terminator that implicitly was about the fear of computers taking over. The 90's was riled with technophobia, often featuring hackers and machinery bringing some sort of downfall. It seems silly in hindsight, especially in a post-Steve Jobs era where Apple has reinvented how we listen to music and various services have made long distance calling less essential. Considering that technology is also being released at a fast, obsolescent speed, it's hard to keep up with anything and the desire for privacy has faded in favor of using new apps that "connect" users by replacing human contact as the need for approval. Dumb actions are rewarded as much as actual talent on YouTube, largely because of a pay model that rewards popular videos.
Somewhere between Cameron and Nerve, technology went from the enemy to sustenance. Yes, even by the early millennium, films were using text messaging as a form of communication and showing that cell phones were almost essential to a teenager's life. Social media took it further, and now it's so ingrained in society to have the newest phone while joining the latest social media service that it's dizzying to keep up. Considering that classic sci-fi like Metropolis initially had robots causing uprisings, it's weird to think that they're almost like some people's best buddies, filling in for manual labor while making life easier.
Who wouldn't want an easier life, especially in a moment where times are tough and The Big Short reflects a recent economic blunder. Still, there is something engaging about the idea of virtual reality becoming reality as in Nerve, or even Gamer from a few years back. Thanks to the openness of public lives, voyeurism is almost accepted if it benefits our enjoyment. It can be like The Running Man or The Hunger Games: something created to invoke happiness in us despite the misery of others. It is this type of logic that fuels Nerve. The only catch is that while most of these examples exist in some sort of a dystopian context, Nerve is present in the current age, in a time where films like Unfriended reflect the future of cinema as a means to tell stories through chat windows. It's not common, but it could become its own genre in time.
It is probably an even more interesting time to create fiction around this because, honestly, we're only evolving faster and faster. While there's a lot of obsolescent evolution with it, there are those advancements that make the world a different place. For all we know, Pokemon Go could only be a predecessor to a Nerve-esque game that will make parents fear for children's safety - and which then will make this seemingly quaint late-summer release seem more cautionary. It is all uncertain, but more possible than it has ever been before.
As much as technology has improved the world, it is important to find a balance of its use to keep it from having a negative impact. Nothing is for certain, though it is easy to see why cinema is so in love with exploring it. There's convenience in such a way that nobody 100 years ago could've imagined. Even people 50 years ago couldn't imagine that we'd have cell phones (well, some writers did). But what is the future of technology on film? Not behind the camera, but on camera. Will we be seeing a change akin to how The Matrix changed Neo into a demigod? Will we be as connected as we think, or more divided like how James Cameron once predicted? Who knows. It's part of the fun of watching these films and discovering which hold the answers to the future.
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