A couple of innocent remarks on the film A.I. to start with:

I am discussing issues raised by the plot of A.I. from here onwards so if you have not seen it you may not understand. Anyway, this is a SPOILER.


I agree to most of the criticism expressed here. However, some points have not been made:
For instance, that the whole film is filled with challenging ideas but explores none fully. In that respect, this film should have either lasted 30 minutes only or been split in 9 separate movies. I won't go through each and every inconsistency either. I will just say that it is strange that "Dr Know" is dumb enough to believe that if you raise your voice at the end of a sentence it makes it a question although mecas do not seem to have any difficulty to tell the difference... At one point during the flesh fair mecas are described as not being able to plead for their life because of their lack of emotion. So why can we see them fleeing in an earlier scene in order to escape capture?

But this is not my point.

This film disturbed me during the first part because it looked so much like a frightening outlook of our consumerist culture.

For a start, David scared the hell out of me before he was "imprinted" but that is what we should expect from robots. The problem is the reason this robot is there for. "He" is there to give affection, love, to fulfil a biological need. Never ill, never mischievous, always the same age, no teenager rebellion.
The whole psychological implication is huge. Your child is ill, you miss him, do you replace him by a "toy for adult" to satisfy your need for affection? The point is not addressed in the film (as many many others, sadly) but it is considering children, love and affection as a convenience. A product, a social status marker that can be bought and sold, which has a quality, a limited warranty attached even. I assume that Monica went to the hospital each and every day before the delivery of David. And after David's arrival? It is not said. It is as if adults in those days couldn't cope with life and accept what befalls on them.
It's like all those children and teenagers in the U.S.A. who are on medication because of an alleged syndrome. They are on drugs for their parent's convenience. Or those 5 years old I saw here in England who are harnessed like dogs and trailed in the same way.
That makes me mad and very afraid. This is definitely NOT the future I want.

I know, this is just a film.

However, the final scene made me cry, this perfect day between David and his mum. The first time while watching a movie since I was 8. That was just one day, never to be repeated, but he wanted to spend it anyway. It made me remember of my own perfect day with this special person, not so long ago in august, never to be repeated because of my immaturity and foolishness. Even now, as I write this, I can feel the lump in my throat.


 
  In case you wondered, A.I. was released in Great Britain only a couple of weeks ago.