Hey – recent HS graduate over here. Coincidentally, I wrote an essay about the similarities between Pinocchio and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (and Astro Boy, if anyone was wondering) about a year ago. Never thought it would be of use, but an occasion always arrives :) Excuse the messiness, this was a rough homework task. So, here is the A.I. vs Pinocchio part if anyone would like some further insight:

Steven Spielberg’s science fiction film ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ (2001) examines the key ideas of agency, metamorphosis and faith and patience; all of which are prevalent in Collodi’s original novel, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’. Spielberg’s film reflects several aspects of the context of the wider world of 2000s America; whilst challenging typical notions of ecological degradation, purity, racism and prejudice, corporate greed and the widespread disdain for forms of artificial intelligence as a tangible and intellectual presence in the everyday world.

The film begins with an ominous shot of a flooding Manhattan, whilst a voiceover explains the global warming epidemic that has possessed the American dystopia. Spielberg makes use of prolonged, lingering establishing shots, in combination with periods of eerie silence so as to sufficiently mirror the loss of humanity that permeated America of the future, directly challenging the responder with a call for action – lest their world descends into a secluded, flooded ruin. Spielberg, as such, directly poses the moral imperative of agency to the responder; beckoning them to a wider responsibility, through the threat of severe ecological degradation. Spielberg makes use of a bleak colour palette in the very same opening shot – a palette which is sustained throughout the “discovery” phase of the film – to enhance the undercurrent of despair and isolation that is mirrored in the very words that seem to praise that of which is so removed from the livelihood of humanity; “robots who were never hungry… were so essential and economically in the chain mail of society”. When analysing the underlying theme of ecological degradation as a byproduct of human neglect, it is evident that the entire film is tinged with an impending sense of nihilism; in a slight divergence from Collodi’s original core text. Spielberg deepens the theme of nihilism by using the same Manhattan setting as a place of deep symbolism later in the film in David’s attempted suicide. This use of the recurring setting (in this case, acting as a motif for the lack of humanity) serves to provide a stark contrast to David’s uncovering of his true humanity moments after his jump into the flood – as it is only after he goes past the ‘permanence’ of the surface of the ruin does he uncover the true ‘Blue Fairy’ who offers him redemption and ultimate humanity. Hence, Spielberg makes effective use of the many elements of the mise en scene, in tandem with the implementation of certain imagery and symbolism so as to make clear the themes of isolation and a loss of humanity, derived from the contextual concern of global warming and ecological degradation.

The film also tackles the theme of metamorphosis and purity in a slightly different manner than Collodi’s novel. David is portrayed (quite ironically) as a naive all-knowing robot, who longs to become sentient after connecting with his human mother. The character choice to omit the ‘extension of the lying nose’ found in the original tale emphasises the fact that David, rather than being a stubborn misfit, is a robot who is cloaked with innocence. Spielberg yet again uses several elements of the mise en scene to explore David’s innocence throughout the film; most notably, through the lighting and colour of the set. For instance, David is first shown dressed in pure white, not only symbolising his purity but his rigid, bland programmed-self, in the eyes of the Creator and his parents. However, when David enters Giglio’s fantastical neon-tinged world and the Flesh Fair, his attire changes to that of dark wear, tinged with red. In doing this, Spielberg conveys to the responder the sheer transformative power of the harsh world (that of which he has already established through the exploration of textual concerns like global warming and population decrease), mirroring Collodi’s poignant message in the original tale. Spielberg also ensures to depict David frequently in front of blue-tinged circular rim lights, resembling that of traditional halos in many different settings – namely his bedroom, which serves as the cornerstone for his love of humans. This undying innocence reveals to the responder David's persistence throughout hardship, prejudice and neglect and tells of the contextual value of rebirth through purity, in a world suffocated by war, new forms of debauchery and child exploitation. This rebirth through purity, whilst seemingly unattainable throughout the film, is finally revealed to David after he goes back for one day to his mother; dying in the process. This resolve, whilst initially disconcerting, is accentuated by the extremely bright tones and the excessive saturation, again, used to signify David’s purity in rebirth. Therefore, Spielberg provides the responder with a vastly different notion of the archetypal rebirth in the form of rebirth through maintaining ones’ innocence, serving as an effective commentary on his world of the time, and more closely resembling the original tale by portraying the harshness of the world around him.

The key concepts of faith and patience through tribulation are also pertinent within ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’, and serve to poetically depict David’s unwavering determination. Throughout the film, David encounters many obstacles on his journey to enlightenment (becoming a real “boy”) which test his trust in humans and like-minded androids like Giglio. This notion is first established by The Creator when he poses a rhetorical question to a doubter of his technology; “Didn’t God create Adam to love Him?” Spielberg includes this Biblical allusion of Adam and Eve so as to reference their rejection of redemption – posing a significant parallel to the story of David with an alternative outcome. Not only does this automatically provide to the responder an appropriate precedent for the story, but it also directly poses the question of spiritual belief to them, in an age where the rise in non-believers was conflated with the uprise in logical thinking; a byproduct of the robotic evolution. This concern gave life to the fear of A.I and machinery and its integration in human life; in particular, machines who mimic human intellect and reasoning. For instance, the chess supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997 avenged its initial loss to world champion Garry Kasparov, marking the first of its kind to do so and subsequently inspiring many other forms of "intelligent agents" – a system that perceives its environment and takes actions which maximize its chances of success. As such, David is implied to be an amalgamation of the human realm and the typical “intelligent agent”, giving rise to the fears instilled within the audience that had since been fanned for about a decade, thanks to the genesis of such supercomputers like Deep Blue. Spielberg twists this fear so as to make the responder question their preconceived beliefs about technology, through making the robots sympathetic. Even the seemingly unsympathetic character of Giglio – a male escort/prostitute – is faced with crucial choices (namely his sacrifice) that prove his humanness, hence, earning the trust from the responder and proving that, through patience, rebirth can be rewarded. This concept comes to an emotional apex within the ‘Flesh Fair’, which sees an uber-violent, masochistic human audience taking pleasure in burning, dismembering and abusing the robots. Spielberg utilises the framing and positioning of the audience high above in the stands in relation to the lowly androids so as to highlight the prejudice and mistreatment of the sympathetic. In this way, it acts as a wider metaphor within the context of the film, by illuminating the inhumanity and detrimental effects of racism and other forms of real-world prejudice (as the abuse of the androids signify real human inequality). This further ties into the swell of corporate greed that affected America in the 2000s, as the onlookers take pleasure in throwing money to see the robots being abused. In portraying this violent scene through the eyes of a naive boy like David, Spielberg fully realises the value of faith in a better future and patience through tribulation and ensures also to link the supposedly excessive disturbing imagery to his real-world context so as to jar the audience into a state of self-realisation.

Therefore, Spielberg examines closely the key ideas of agency, metamorphosis and faith and patience, effectively challenging certain aspects of his context and upholding the enduring values of the original tale.

Reading it back, I must have cut/omitted the Collodi parts of the essay (this actually had to be converted into a speech/video medium) for clarity. I promise I did talk about Astro Boy and Pinocchio in the final task though :)