Literally my face at the ending of the film, Possessor, like what!!! Possessor really was a very intriguing film that really explored empathy. I mean Tasya Vos really has such a transformative journey throughout the film.
The butterfly really represents this journey she takes. I mean usually when I think of a butterfly, I think of it escaping its cocoon finally being able to shed its skin and live freely, beautifully. I feel like this is what Vos did however she shedded her emotions, her empathy and everything else that kept her trapped in her “cocoon”, like her family. I mean she literally killed her family and lost all empathy she had. First of all I did not see that coming and I know Colin didn’t either. I mean Colin wanted her to cave and her thought he understood her weakness, I mean hey didn’t we all. Theory Theory really explains why Colin thought Vos would cave when it came to her family because I mean she was trying so hard to hide those feelings. I think at some point Colin’s theory about Vos was right but also I feel for Vos it was a perfect opportunity to destroy all attachments that cause her to feel empathy. It was a choice she had to make, and oh did she choose…
Honestly it was just so sad to see Vos murder her own family. Then when she revisited the butterfly again at the end she didn’t feel any guilt for killing it which is how I knew she lacked any empathy anymore. It really does show that once you get rid of your attachments, things or people you value most, you can really lose all feeling and understanding for everything else.
OKAY TIME FOR SOMETHING LESS SAD….
and a little funny.
I feel like anything written by Matt Groening can always change a mood. Now in Futurama I feel like Bender has always lacked empathy but in the episode, “I Second That Emotion”, we see that change.. or at least an attempt at it. Bender gets this empathy chip placed in him and he is actual able to feel Leela’s emotions. When he gets the chip placed in him he is ale to feel how sad Leela that Nibbler got flushed down the toilet. However at the end of the episode when the chip is removed Bender is back to being well Bender. I feel like Bender is really unable to empathize without the chip because he’s a robot. There is no really connection with mind and body because he’s a machine and they don’t really feel with sensation. I mean it really touches back to this idea of embodied cognition because Bender doesn’t have all these sensorimotor capabilities therefore he doesn’t really feel anything. Without being capable of making an actually connection with his body he can’t really even begin to understand feelings. So really how could he possibly empathize with anyone at all? It really just shows how the mind and body coexist to understand not only our self but others. Without that there really is no feelings.
I hope I never get to that point where I say , “I’m at a loss for feelings.”
5 thoughts on “At a Loss for Feelings…”
Hi Alesha,
When Vos was linked to the young woman at the beginning of the movie, she struggled to take her life (or the host’s). I initially thought she was mirroring the host’s neurons, but maybe her empathy mixed with the host’s fear caused her to miss that opportunity to end the host’s life. To play devil’s advocate, the fact that she killed her family, especially her child, one could assume she already lacked empathy and a moral compass, and the assassination of her family was so Vos did not have guilt about her life career, or she would not have to answer to anyone or be slowed down. However, I could not imagine taking my family’s life so I could be an effective assassin. The possessor was a trippy movie.
cstiglianese
Hi Alesha,
Wow! Your analysis of what the butterfly represents is pretty grim. I really like it. The butterfly represents her loss of empathy in the film, but I love your reading of it as shedding a cocoon. Obviously, the ending of the film is pretty dark, but this reading of it feels especially so, probably because of the positive connotation that we often associate with butterflies.
I also really like your discussion of Theory of Mind and how it relates to Colin’s miscalculation at the end of the film. As you note, he assumed that going to her house and menacing her child and husband would hurt her. That’s because, although he pulled that information from it, he didn’t fully understand her mind. The death of her son and child didn’t hurt her, it “freed” her.
In your discussion of Futurama, you make a great point about how Bender’s lack of a body infringes on his ability to empathize. As you note, if we don’t have a body, how can we have an embodied experience of others emotions. To that end, how can we have emotions at all?
Jessica Hautsch
I love your analysis on the butterfly, which something I missed. I didn’t expect her to kill her family either, but it makes sense why she would so that she can continue being a vigilant assassin. Your connection to theory theory is really clever and I understand as to why Colin assumed her family would be her weakness as well. Maybe that is why she killed them so that she wouldn’t have a weakness. Pretty cold stuff. I agree Bender is unable to feel any human feelings, yet it’s curious how he is able to feel frustration and anger. I think he took on the pretty stereotypical robot role and personality and embedding the empathy chip in him was a twist that the creators put in, allowing the question of what if machines or robots had emotions?
April Myint
Hi April,
Yes, I think this is right. Vos’s family was her last link to her empathy. By killing them, she eliminates that which, certainly in her line of work, might be perceived as a weakness.
Jessica Hautsch
I love your analysis on the butterfly, which something I missed. I didn’t expect her to kill her family either, but it makes sense why she would so that she can continue being a vigilant assassin. Your connection to theory theory is really clever and I understand as to why Colin assumed her family would be her weakness as well. Maybe that is why she killed them so that she wouldn’t have a weakness. Pretty cold stuff. I agree Bender is unable to feel any human feelings, yet it’s curious how he is able to feel frustration and anger. I think he took on the pretty stereotypical robot role and personality and embedding the empathy chip in him was a twist that the creators put in, allowing the question of what if machines or robots had emotions?
amyint