Breaking the Familial Dynamic in Ex Machina
"What would it take to break the familial dynamic and does the movie, Ex Machina offer that?"
Within the reading, we were offered a few different ways to break the familial dynamic from a few different perspectives. The familial dynamic is defined, to me, as a Mother and Father figure with two child figures, a Older Brother and a Younger Sister. Within Ex Machina, Nathan can represent the Father figure (a full beard, dad bod, and a domineering personality), Kyoko (
In the Subjectivity reading (chapter 8), Freud suggestion of "polymorphous bisexuality" seemed a liable way to destroy the familial dynamic. By opening every characters sexuality, they can morph and mold the dynamic into whatever form they deem fit. But by Foucault's suggestion, the only way to erase the familial dynamic was to erase the notion of sexuality in general. By discarding our subjectivity to individualize ourselves with titles of sexuality, we are no longer subject to our compulsory heterosexuality.
In the movie, Ava, the Younger Sister, kills Nathan, the Father figure, but by doing this, Ava doesn't choose to free herself of her role. She doesn't shed any of the roles as she comes out emerging as Mother figure (wedding dress, more adult-like performance). So the movie doesn't offer a break of the familial dynamic but merely a remolding of it. The characters neither break from it and open themselves to a polymorphous bisexuality and nor do they shed sexuality altogether.
Interesting ideas here, Skye! You're completely right re: Ava's reproduction of this dynamic; she's at least positioned to take on the 'mother' role eventually, though of course the film doesn't go there (would be interesting to see a sequel?). Killing the father is an old, old story, but it's usually not done by the daughter – rather, it's the son in the old Freudian version of the Oedipal dynamic (not literally killing him but symbolically, of course). The family dynamic is the logical extension of the autonomous individual of humanism, and the foundation of the idea of the nation which provides rights to the individual. It's always going to structure sexuality in a way that will reproduce that nuclear – and patriarchal – family, whether its AI sexuality or human (or Ina – think of how Butler challenges the nuclear family, humanism and the idea of the nation by changing sexuality and the family structure – and thus there's no 'Oedipal struggle' and perhaps, an end to patriarchy).
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