Paranoia 1.0

Work Title: Paranoia 1.0
Medium: Film
Episode Title:
Year: 2004
Writer(s): Jeff Renfroe
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): Marteinn Thorsson
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

(copied from http://imdb.com/title/tt0317042/usercomments) In an undefined society, the computer analyst Simon J. (Jeremy Sisto) has a paranoid behavior, compulsively buying milk and receiving mysterious empty packages in his apartment. Although having surveillance everywhere inside the building, there are some dwellers mysteriously dying. His next-door neighbors are Trish (Deborah Kara Unger), a nurse in a cancer hospital that practices kinky sex to feel alive; Derrick (Udo Kier), an inventor living alone with the company of an eerie robot head; and a producer of S&M videos and games (Bruce Payne). The janitor of the building, Howard (Lance Henriksen) seems to be a friend of Simon. There is also the administrator of the building and Nile (Eugene Byrd), who brings deliveries with his motorcycle to his clients. Simon tries to figure out what is happening with him.

Era/Year of Portrayal: near_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

It's not clear exactly when the story takes place, but it all happens within a dreary apartment building in a futuristic dystopia-like society. Security cameras are everywhere, and paranoia about viruses - computer or biological - is rampant. Viruses are passed via empty parcels delivered to people; they enter their brains and compel them to purchase certain groceries compulsively (e.g. Simon consumes nothing but a certain brand of milk).

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: The robot head is called "Adam", the S&M game is called "The Game"
  • Description of the technology: Adam is a robot head mounted on a desk and hooked up to a computer. It has a creepy plastic face that its creator patched together from doll faces. It has no facial expressions to speak of, and its speech is broken and garbled. It occasionally calls Simon on the phone and tries to get him to come down to Derrick's apartment to talk with it. The Game is a contraption of a viewfinder mounted on a stool with hand-controls. When Simon sits on the stool and looks through it, he sees the same room but with a nude woman on the bed, other women elsewhere. The picture seems somewhat broken and disjointed, like an unclear cable signal. He sees his neighbor, the game's creator, interact sexually with the woman on the bed. He then sees himself enter the room and do the same thing. It is clearly a multi-player game, as he encounters a neighbor from the building while "in" the Game.
  • Nature of task or activity: Derrick uses Adam the robot head for companionship and technological experimentation. The Game's creator seems to use it for sexual satisfaction.
  • Performance of the Technology: The plot of the film is a bit hazy, but it seems that Adam takes on a bit of life on his own, making phone calls to Simon that his creator Derrick doesn't know about. Adam also seems to know something about the virus Simon has. The Game seems to do what it's supposed to do - engage the user in a sado-masochistic sexual fantasy.
  • Description of creator(s): Derrick is an eccentric inventor, a single man in his 50s or 60s who dabbles in small robots, nanotechnology and androids. His accent sounds German or perhaps Austrian. The Game's creator is a macho young man in his 30s or 40s. He frequents a cl
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): Derrick says he invented Adam because he wanted children of his own. The Game's creator clearly enjoys sex, particularly of the S&M variety, and so uses the Game to satisfy that urge.
  • Description of users of technology: Adam and the Game are both used by their creators (see descriptions above), and by Simon on one or two occasions. Simon is a young single man in his 20s, a computer programmer and somewhat of a recluse. The Game is also used by Trish, a young nurse who is Simon's neighbor.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: Simon's interactions with both technologies frighten him. He is already paranoid to begin with, and Adam's phone calls to him make him even more suspicious of the robot and its creator. He is frightened by the depiction of sexual violence in the Game, and by the fact that he appears to be "locked into it" at one point. When he emerges, he finds the Game's creator dead on the floor.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: All users are aware of the technology, though the users of the Game talk about it as if it's a physical space or an event they actually experienced (e.g. "But I saw you in the Game.")
  • Valence of experience: The creators of the technology find it pleasant, but Simon's experiences with both leave him more paranoid and frightened.
  • Specific responses: Derrick shouts at Adam as if he's a misbehaving child, and unplugs him when his behavior becomes out of control. Simon appears sickly throughout the film, but looks especially shaken and upset after he wrenches himself free of the Game's user interface. Of course, that has a great deal to do with the fact that the first thing he sees is the Game's creator is lying dead on the floor next to him.
Long-term consequences:

It's a strange film, and the resolution, motivations of characters, and indeed storyline are not entirely clear. Overall, the presence technology doesn't have a good effect on the main character; it serves to worsen his already unstable psychological state.

Other:

Coder name: Tina Peterson
Coder email: tina.peterson@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University