Her

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Cheif

January 23, 2014

On Friday, January 10, the highly anticipated authentic film, Her, was finally premiered in theaters. Her captures the idea of how close society becomes with technology and the effects of it on people.

This futuristic film centers around Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely, divorced writer who succumbs to crafting love letters for a living. Twombly purchases an operating system called OS1 to keep him company. This operating system is personalized to each buyer by asking what sex they would like the voice to be and then a few more personal questions. Twombly’s OS1 soon develops into a dynamic character as she gives herself a name, Samantha (voice of Scarlett Johansson), and starts to reveal a complex personality. As the film progresses Twombly and Samantha develop an intimate relationship that results in multiple problems and the plot begins to thicken.

Spike Jonez’s film approached a love story never done before with the half-human, half-computer relationship. Behind the love story of the movie lays a deeper meaning—that society is becoming so attached to technology that it will soon be falling in love with it. Not only was the audience drawn in by the unusual relationship of Twombly and Samantha but they were also drawn in by Jonez’s idea concerning the relationship between people and technology.

Having already been recognized by film festivals such as the Rome and New York Film Festivals, Her has gained a large audience that only continues to grow. Her has already grossed over eight million dollars in the box office in its first week. This eccentric love story is gaining recognition for Jonez’s unique concept and perception on love, society, and technology.

About the Contributor

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Cheif

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Downey Legend, stepped into the world of journalism 3 years ago as a sophomore. After a great deal of persuasion from her two best friends, who were on staff at the time, Dixon-Slaughter submitted her application at the semester and was welcomed shortly after. “I love writing and always have,” Slaughter said, “but I’ve always stuck strictly to literature so branching out into a different style and type of writing has helped me develop as a writer.” Although writing essays and covering stories can be polar opposites, the writer adjusted without much trouble. During her time at The Downey Legend, she has covered numerous stories, fiddled with the camera, and established the newspaper’s credibility on social media. She is competent enough to know what it takes to have efficient deadlines; all Slaughter has to do now is to guide her staff in that direction. If the writer is not covering stories happening around school, she is still somehow always somewhere on campus. Juggling AP classes, an ASB position, and her role in newspaper, Slaughter often finds herself with a hectic schedule. This being said, when genuine free time presents itself, she takes full advantage of it. “I love getting lost or ending up in places spontaneously because it feels so great to not have an agenda sometimes,” Dixon-Slaughter said. While the senior is busy getting ready for college and balancing out the rest of her responsibilities, she hopes to provide the staff with an exemplary example of the amount of greatness that can rise from commitment.