Last Thursday a few of our A2 Media class were invited to visit the BFI Southbank London Film Festival, and were given the opportunity to watch a early-release screening of Andy Serkis' Breathe. Far from the rushed nightmare of a journey I'd expected of the travel up to Waterloo, we arrived at the centre relatively unscathed and with the same number of students we'd left with. This success stayed with us for the rest of the trip, creating a relaxed atmosphere for the day that was a relief after the bustle of the college week.
Breathe is the heart-wrenching tale of Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield), an upper-middle-class man who meets the woman of his dreams as she waves him on during a cricket game. The well-spoken, clean-cut couple venture to Kenya, where Cavendish starts up a tea-broking business and his wife Diana (Claire Foy) becomes pregnant. Before the baby is born, however, Cavendish falls ill and is diagnosed with polio, given only three months to live.
The plot follows the family's struggle to cope with the diagnosis, the symptoms and Cavendish's forecast untimely death. Through the lows (when the disease robs him of the use of any muscles from the neck down, Cavendish begs to be left to die) and the highs (the family and their friends become a celebrated group into the development of modern disability aids) the audience are held captive by the tension, the love and the intense emotion that threatens to tear the family apart but ultimately brings them stronger together. Though I didn't cry during the film, I may or may not have reached for a tissue as the credits rolled.
The most remarkable thing about this film, however, is not the wondrous script by William Nicholson. It's not Andrew Garfield's Oscar-worthy portrayal of Cavendish, and his ability to convey so complex a character with nothing but his speech and facial expressions. It's not the gorgeous lighting that enhances warm and touching moments with soft yellows and oranges, nor the understated yet powerful soundtrack. This film was based on a true story, and produced by the real-life Robin and Diana's son Jonathan Cavendish.
We were privileged enough to attend a Q&A with the producer afterwards, and his devotion to his family was clear in how passionately he talked about every aspect of the film. Garfield and Foy's performances, he said, were like seeing his parents on-screen, reliving their past in such a romantic and touching way. The premiere was also attended by a representative of Rotary GBI, a non-profit organisation which has made huge contributions to the research and prevention of polio. The disease has reduced by 99% over the last 30 years, from approximately 350,000 cases to only 37 reported cases in 2016.
The film has also caught the attention of others, giving audiences an emotional insight into the lives of the disabled rather than just statistics (which, on their own, often mean very little). Garfield has voiced his own thoughts on the issue, saying "it's a crime the world isn't more accessible to disabled people". Films like this, with controversial or unusual topics, get people talking, and this can help raise awareness and support for the issues raised (in this case, disability and its effects) through discussion and film promotion alone.
The plot follows the family's struggle to cope with the diagnosis, the symptoms and Cavendish's forecast untimely death. Through the lows (when the disease robs him of the use of any muscles from the neck down, Cavendish begs to be left to die) and the highs (the family and their friends become a celebrated group into the development of modern disability aids) the audience are held captive by the tension, the love and the intense emotion that threatens to tear the family apart but ultimately brings them stronger together. Though I didn't cry during the film, I may or may not have reached for a tissue as the credits rolled.
The most remarkable thing about this film, however, is not the wondrous script by William Nicholson. It's not Andrew Garfield's Oscar-worthy portrayal of Cavendish, and his ability to convey so complex a character with nothing but his speech and facial expressions. It's not the gorgeous lighting that enhances warm and touching moments with soft yellows and oranges, nor the understated yet powerful soundtrack. This film was based on a true story, and produced by the real-life Robin and Diana's son Jonathan Cavendish.
We were privileged enough to attend a Q&A with the producer afterwards, and his devotion to his family was clear in how passionately he talked about every aspect of the film. Garfield and Foy's performances, he said, were like seeing his parents on-screen, reliving their past in such a romantic and touching way. The premiere was also attended by a representative of Rotary GBI, a non-profit organisation which has made huge contributions to the research and prevention of polio. The disease has reduced by 99% over the last 30 years, from approximately 350,000 cases to only 37 reported cases in 2016.
The film has also caught the attention of others, giving audiences an emotional insight into the lives of the disabled rather than just statistics (which, on their own, often mean very little). Garfield has voiced his own thoughts on the issue, saying "it's a crime the world isn't more accessible to disabled people". Films like this, with controversial or unusual topics, get people talking, and this can help raise awareness and support for the issues raised (in this case, disability and its effects) through discussion and film promotion alone.
Wading through all of the news stories about sexual assault, toxic masculinity and Las Vegas shootings, though all are very relevant topics, I thought I'd search for something a little different. A little more upbeat, perhaps. Well, sorry guys, but I didn't find it.
Instead I opened this article to read about Noel Conway, a 67-year-old retired lecturer who suffers from motor neurone disease and has been told he is unlikely to live beyond the next 12 months.
Motor neurone disease is a condition which affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Gradually signals from the nerves stop reaching the muscles, leading to weakness and wasting. Other symptoms can include muscle cramps and spasms, pain and discomfort, speech problems and breathing difficulties. There is no cure, and the disease is ultimately terminal. Because the US are difficult and like to confuse everyone, their term for motor neurone disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS (remember that ice bucket challenge circling Facebook in 2014?) but both are synonymous conditions. Although it is considered a relatively rare disease (with up to 5,000 adults affected in the UK at any one time) it is still debilitating and can lead to an abominable quality of life.
Conway appealed to the high court for the law on assisted dying to be changed to allow him a 'peaceful and dignified' death. He was ruled against by three judges, though his case was supported by Humanists UK.
“I am told the only option I currently have is to effectively suffocate to death by choosing to remove my ventilator, which I am now dependent on to breathe for up to 22 hours a day. There is no way of knowing how long it would take me to die if I did this, or whether my suffering could be fully relieved. To me, this is not choice – this is cruelty.”
Assisted dying is legal in Switzerland, Canada, Columbia and various states in the US, but in the UK it is treated as a criminal offence to aid in someone's attempt to end their life. Though Conway's illness is terminal, and will only get worse over the coming year, the law forbids him from choosing when to end his life, and passing peacefully and safely rather than suffering in a 'zombie-like condition'.
One of the topics I am studying in Sociology is crime and deviance, so this story was immediately relevant to my interests as it posed an interesting question on whether acts deemed as 'criminal' are always evil and condemnable, and whether perhaps the terms of the law needs to be revisited in order to aid in cases like this, where a man so obviously suffering is being denied a dignified death. However, I ultimately decided to write about this story as it relates strongly to the upcoming film Breathe which I was given an opportunity to watch at the BFI last week. Both stories revolve around men with debilitating diseases (Conway with MND, Andrew Garfield's depiction of Robin Cavendish with polio) and their struggles to cope with their diagnoses. Both men consider suicide, and Cavendish only succeeded in an assisted suicide because a physician saw how much suffering he was enduring and broke the law to end his pain.
Assisted suicide is a bit of a grey area in my opinion, and I'm not sure where I stand on it. On one hand, cases like Conway's should be handled gently and empathetically, and I believe he should have the chance to pass away while still mentally sound in order that not only he is spared the pain of the progression of his illness but his family are spared the sight of a loved one's suffering. On the other hand, I think if assisted suicide was legalised across the board, I'm a bit too cynical to not consider the possibility that a handful of medical professionals might abuse their position of power, or adopt an 'angel of death' role which does more harm than good. I've been having this debate with myself for a couple of days now, and I still can't decide how I feel.
Religion and artificial intelligence. Two fascinating topics of conversation, two equally terrifying realities. This article from the Independent, written by technology editor Andrew Griffin, combines the two in an article written about the recent advances in AI technology.
My coursework this year centres around technology, science and the future, and this article seemed like a perfect introduction to this year's blogging analysis (and a possible source to be quoted in my research investigation). The quote in question is from Elon Musk, a pioneer in groundbreaking technology worth $21.3 billion dollars as of August 2017, whose current projects include building a hundred-megawatt lithium ion battery, developing an 'underground hyperloop' connecting Washington DC to New York and distributing clean-energy Tesla cars (some of which are self-driving) across the US. For a man who has given his life and soul to technology, his words are unsettling.
I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with artificial intelligence. I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence we’re summoning the demon.
To balance out the sensible words of Mr Musk, the article announces the founding of an organisation called Way of the Future. Led by Anthony Levandowski, the man responsible for Google's first self-driving car, the non-profit religious organisation 'appears to be something like a church devoted to the worship of artificial intelligence'. Griffin writes a sardonic account of the announcement with what little details have been released to the public - we're not even sure if the 'robot God' even exists yet - using a mocking tone and the stark contrast between Levandowski and Musk to express his cynicism of the new organisation. Though the details of the article are mostly factual, the simple introduction to the piece - 'Silicon Valley engineers are worshipping robots as gods' - sets up a narration just as ridiculous as its opening sentence.
This article intrigued me due to its title - since the late 19th century the key concepts of science and religion have been at war with each other (thanks, vague Sociology knowledge) so to see them together, along with the recognisable company name, was of immediate interest. Personally, although I know AI is, and will continue to be, a valuable development in our society, I can't help agreeing with Musk as to the dangers of artificial intelligence - especially not when robots are creating their own language to communicate, sex robots are in development and films like I, Robot keep being released and fuelling my nightmares.