The Uncanny In Media: "That's Just Not Right"

In life, we all experience the uncanny valley. Just last week when my father was in town, he and I were watching my brother play an NBA console game and we all three immediately pointed out the creepy movements of the CGI player in free throw mode, which was a much closer camera shot than the majority of other angles in the game up to that point.

NBA 2K17 for Xbox One, developer Visual Concepts

It was as if we felt that not pointing it out would make it seem like we were "fooled" by the video game. The feeling didn't seem to make sense. There was no reason for us to believe that these characters were actual human beings captured on film. Video games are rarely live-action, aside from a select group of indie developed games.

Portal: No Escape, developer Valve Software

Yet something inside me pushed me to spurt out, "that looks weird and creepy," "the movements are too jerky," or "that's so unrealistic." Though these particular thoughts never reached my tongue, there came a point where my father and I both looked at each other and I finally said that I found the graphics un-lifelike.

What is it that makes us want to point out these disturbing elements of CGI? One article by the list site Cracked points out that CGI is not meant to formulate the entirety of what's on our screens, but a small percentage of it; films made today treat the animation technique as a "main course" rather than a "side dish" meant to garnish live-action or other forms of animation.

Years ago, an anime-obsessed Erin decided to research animation techniques for a presentation. During that time, I not only learned about cel animation, but clay-mation and CGI, to name some styles.

Cel animation is a classic anime style in which every frame is hand-drawn, although this can be done on a digital platform. Clay-mation is a meld of the reality of 3D and the cartoon of hand-drawn work, as it can make cast shadows and characters can be molded to express more complex emotions. Neither of these forms typically seek to appear realistic.

Anime often strives to exaggerate human features, not only to create "beautiful" people but also as a way of separating anime from real life. Some anime, such as Shugo Chara, use techniques like "chibi" (small) to illustrate endearing creatures. Others, like One Piece, emphasize a character's traits and assets by drawing their body parts or faces with a particular quirk.

Shugo Chara, artists Peach-Pit 

One Piece, author Eiichiro Oda

Clay-mation is typically used for less determinable forms, like the awkward silhouette of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, or the spooky figures dancing across the screen in the numbers of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

 Wallace and Gromit, creator Nick Park

The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton

CGI was originally meant to create realistic imagery where budgets and safety measures prevented an actor from doing the work him or herself. Being 3D, CGI melded well with the live-action it was surrounded by, especially as the technology developed. The tech also opened up new possibilities for directors who had struggled with how to portray certain characters, such as Benjamin Button.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, director David Fincher

Perhaps the advancement of CGI is why ideas about androids are being explored in the way they are in "Be Right Back." If these pseudo-humans can exist on our screens, then there is a thin veil of digital coding dividing us from them.

There are other advancements confirming the possibility of androids someday walking among us, including the Geminoid projects and highly advanced prosthetics. Media has long explored the possibilities and implications of android presence; there are many animated shows which include android populations (Ergo Proxy, Chobits), as well as dystopian television shows (Almost Human, "Be Right Back"). Each of them tackles androids and how they may impact the future with a unique spin.

In Ergo Proxy, the susceptibility of computers is exploited to incite murder in previously peaceful androids, thus highlighting the dangers of rampant technology.

Ergo Proxy, author Dai Soto

Chobits openly speaks about the relationship between humans and androids as a major part of its plot, but depicts AI as adorable and capable of human states such as helplessness.

Chobits, creator Clamp

Only on the air for 13 episodes, Almost Human took an extremely dystopian view of androids. Dorian (DRN-0167) demonstrates an androidian resentment for treatment as disposable creatures. As a bonus, the series also explored the implications of cyborgs and genetic engineering, as John Kennex has a syntheti prosthesis and his boss has been genetically engineered for optimized beauty.

Almost Human, producer Fox

Finally, the most recent example of androids in the media is "Be Right Back," the episode of Black Mirror we watched in class on Wednesday.

"Be Right Back" (Black Mirror), producer Netflix

"Be Right Back" focuses on the uncanniness of androids and how this can entangle human emotions. Martha is creeped out by Ash's bot, and continually points out the inconsistencies. Her doing so makes him correct these mistakes, which only further increases the uncanny nature of him.

However, Martha decided to keep Ash around. She hid him in the attic with the rest of the family's memories, symbolically pushing him aside after death just as his own mother had done with his father and brother. Something made her do this. I believe it's because he was beginning to crawl up the mountain on the other side of the valley.

Should we be aiming for the other side of the valley? I do believe we should in certain fields. Prosthetics can only benefit from gaining a more flesh-like appearance. Kennex from Almost Human can resume work in a normal capacity because of his synthetic prosthetic leg. If such technology were to ever hit the market today, groups such as children and veterans might be able to experience life without certain stigma.

However, I draw the line personally with androids and other robotics. While experimenting with one's ability to create androids as realistically human as possible is one thing, as with the Geminoid project, if we pulled a "Be Right Back" then some of the most basic ideas of human society would be inverted. 

Death would no longer mean anything if anyone who could afford it could order an android. Also, if we were to have such an option made available only to those who have the funds to do so, larger class distinctions would begin to occur as the wealthy obtain androids of deceased loved ones, and those suffering in poverty may be limited to texting or speaking with theirs.