It’s that time – you need a computer. You’re constantly running late for work, there’s nothing that will help you create your masterpiece brick and, to put it bluntly, you are completely unorganized. So why not buy that state-of-the art Pinecone computer. It can control every appliance in your home, improve home security, and can even be personable. Just don’t try to give it wine (it’s not a nice drunk).
From Kylan’s recommendation, I dug into the vaults of YouTube and watched 1984’s Electric Dreams (G). Long after robotic maids like Rosie and insufferable crapshoot onboard systems like HAL, and long before movies like Smart House and the “Ghost in the Machine” X-Files, there was the Pinecone computer named Edgar (which we do not learn until nearly the end of the film). After Miles (Lenny von Dohlen), a smart yet unorganized architect, is introduced to a pocket birthday reminder/organizer by a coworker, a sales clerk talks him into buying a state-of-the art desktop computer with plenty of extras included. This computer can control the lights in his apartment, the coffeemaker and clocks, enforce the home security system, and even communicate with Miles personally using a microphone and keyboard. Not being a computer genius (as apparently they were not big at this time based on the store’s heavily stocked shelves and unknowledgeable clerk), Miles gets frustrated with the computer after setting up everything in his apartment, and uses a bottle of wine to cool it down after the system begins overheating.
While this works to Miles’ favor, the computer begins to gain sentience, listening around while Miles is at work. During this time, his downstairs neighbor, the lovely Madeline (Virginia Madsen) is rehearsing her cello. This is where we learn that Edgar the computer is a fan of classical music. Hearing Madeline through the air vents, it begins mimicking the cello arrangement, ultimately becoming a round of dueling cellos. The music, beautiful to Madeline, makes her confront Miles about his talent and invites him to her next concert. While Edgar produced a wonderful mimic of the instrument, I must point out that, even a state-of-the-art computer in 1984 would not sound this good for only producing bleeps and bloops. In high school I wrote a BASIC program that played the entirety of Neil Young’s “Ohio” – something my teacher was not entirely pleased about, not due to the song itself, but that it was a lengthy version of ear-wrenching screeches from the computer. If it had sounded like Edgar, I would not only have earned that A, but would have passed that class without any other work.
When Miles (known as Moles to the computer, which doesn’t understand spelling errors) learns of the computer’s sentience, he allows it to continue, realizing that the main reason Madeline is spending time with him is “his” musical talent. Asking the computer to write him a song for Madeline, the computer itself starts to question love and the nature of being alive, ultimately falling for Madeline itself.
If you have seen any AI-gone-bad movie, book, etc., you know how this ends up. The computer impersonates its owner and the girl comes over to find an empty room except for the computer in nothing but a pair of silk underwear. Well, this isn’t how it turns out exactly. Instead of seducing Madeline, she comes to the apartment and realizes the computer has been doing everything, then runs away, telling Miles that he was the one she really loved and not his music. This causes Edgar to understand the true meaning of love, committing suicide on the spot (and costing Miles a lot of money since he can no longer return the computer or its parts for a refund).
Watching this movie reminded me of the great classics that are no longer made today because we legitimately build computers that are meant to be smarter than us. A majority of cell phone users have pocket machines 600X better than the birthday reminder Miles is introduced to at the beginning of the movie, which we program to remember our favorite songs, dates, write important classical doctrines on and even read blogs like the one you’re reading now. There are even options for our phones to speak directly to us. We don’t need to fear AI when we live with it daily.
Overall, with my knowledge of the films that preceded and would proceed Electric Dreams, I give this movie 4/5 stars, mainly due to the confusing date scenes that seemed randomly thrown into the movie, along with the confusing return of Edgar after his obvious suicide. If you want to remember what life was like when computers weren’t a constant part of life, this is the movie to watch. Check out the trailer on YouTube.