15 Years Later, This Bruce Willis' Forgotten Sci-Fi Flick Is as Relevant as Ever
In 2022, Bruce Willis ended his career and Surrogates became one of the last bright action movies in his filmography.
Written by Jonathan Mostow, the creator of Terminator 3, Surrogates tells the story of a utopian world without violence and murder, where people sit at home and remotely control surrogates – their artificial copies.
But the safety of the cities of the future is threatened by the emergence of high-tech weapons capable of destroying not only the surrogate, but also its operator.
September 24 marks 15 years since Surrogates was released in theaters, and while the film received a mixed response from critics and audiences at the time, its message is becoming increasingly relevant today.
Surrogates Was Inspired by the Invention of The Internet
The creators of Surrogates were inspired by the history of the Internet, which began in 1969 with the ARPANET network, designed for military purposes, and has been an integral part of people's daily lives for three decades. The benefits of the Internet are obvious, but it also has a downside. As obvious as it may sound, people who spend too much time online sometimes lose live communication.
There is a big difference between the plastic world of surrogates and reality – the surrogate is beautiful and strong. People are deliberately made to look weak and tired – in dressing gowns and with pale skin. They do not leave the house and spend almost all their time in virtual reality.
Dr. Canter's good intentions and desire to help the disabled eventually turned the cities into doll worlds. Surrogates go to work, hang out in clubs, meet people, and even have intimate relationships. The company that makes the surrogates advertises the devices as perfect copies of people.
Now there is no need to strive to look good or win the favor of society. With the help of surrogates, a person has created an artificial ideal world that is appealing in that he can make up his own rules. However, people do not really live, they only perceive the reality outside the door of the house through the sensors of the surrogate.
One of Surrogates' Main Topics Is Family and Its Value
Family plays an important, if not key, role in Surrogates. Family problems explain the behavior of the characters. The main character, Greer, began to think about the harm of surrogates because of his longing for his wife, Maggie, who does not leave her room.
After the death of their son, she prefers to communicate with the world through a telepresence device, citing psychological comfort as the reason for her choice. Maggie is puzzled: what is Greer missing? After all, the surrogate speaks with her voice and does not look much different. But a mechanical imitation of a person cannot replace live communication.
The director presents the dystopian topic of the movie through the private lives of the characters – each viewer can put themselves in Greer's place. It is unlikely that anyone would want to constantly communicate with their loved ones through telepresence devices.
At the same time, trying to turn back time, as the Dreads and Dr. Canter do, does not produce the desired results. Technological progress is inevitable. Jonathan Mostow is careful to remind us that we should not be cavalier about high technology and fall for the illusion of comfort it offers.