Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985) - Oh Technology, How I Will Miss Thee

[kwallace]

Terry Gilliam’s sadistically black humor destroys all that is most dear to us about technology in the opening ten minutes of his film “Brazil”. His views on the reliance of technology are brutally apparent from the opening scene when there is an ad for the “ducts” that are built to suit even the most chic of houses. These giant cantankerous eyesores set the stage for how Gilliam perceives technology to invade the beauty of the natural world.

The use of dark hues and neo noir create this foreboding feeling of suffocation that is perfectly enticing to its audience. The atmosphere swallows the audience and drops them into the heart of what many people call a “dystopic future”. All colors are deeper shades of desolate gray: except for the beautiful blues of the sky in Lowry’s dreams. This is a deliberate action by the director to create this world of great technological advancement. The only true color we see is that passionate fiery red of the Central Services’ attendants, his mother’s dress, and the warning sirens. In darkness, all we can make out are the clear colors of fear and power; the color red. The truth is that Brazil is a social satire of the world we live in today, where the central focus for humans is technology to make life simpler. Sam Lowry wakes up in the morning assuming that his coffee will be in his cup and toast perfectly jammed and ready to go. But what does he find? A cup with no coffee and coffee riddled toast, all thanks to that great technology. The characters in the film use the machines and the system as a scapegoat for never having to take responsibility for the actions that they inevitably cause. I think the most telling scene in the entire film for Gilliam’s mechanical beliefs are when Jill is trying to get in to speak with Information Retrieval and the robot camera pesters her. She swats it away like a fly buzzing in her ear. All these examples give clear evidence to the beliefs of the director.

How many times do we walk down the street and see people attached to their cell phones with an earbud in the other ear listening to the new hit single on the top forty count down? It would be hypocritical of me to say that I am not guilty of this, but it’s just as irritating to see as all the ducts looming overhead of the Brazil streets. There is becoming less human interaction thanks to the supreme advances in technology. I find it fascinating that the natural world was only welcome in the visions of dreamers. It is a hauntingly telling image to see the cars speeding down the streets in Brazil with billboards flashing green pastures and rolling hills with the true landscape marred and tattered behind them. The only cure for Lowry’s madness is to escape the reality of the scarred technological world and escape to the natural world of his dreams. If we can escape reality and create our own reality, who is it to tell us that this is true reality in itself right here? There are certain underlying elements of solipsism in the conveyance of Lowry “going bonkers”.

[jdefever]

I agree with kwallace’s aforementioned point about this film’s portrayal of technology serving as more of a hindrance than a tool to help humankind. Not only does the excessive technology prove detrimental to humans’ connection with nature, but it also shows a deterioration between human association on a personal level; this film emphasizes the present impersonal association amongst humans as a result of unnecessary technology. In a world where computers hold all the official information, technology must be consulted first before person-to-person transactions (of which there are few in this film) ensue. Even around Christmastime, when people are supposed to have generous and forgiving personalities, human connections are shown as cold, detached, and non-present in “Brazil”. The audience can certainly relate to both the excessive paperwork and the back and forth relaying of signatures and stamps that comes with the territory of most any official transaction in this day and age. This film does a fantastic job in showing the barrier that technology has instilled between human sympathy, and even typical human function. Without being able to sympathize for our own species, how can we define ourselves as human anymore? When we prioritize technological “advancements” over human relationships, we find ourselves devolving, as is demonstrated in “Brazil”.

[coda]

In Terry Gilliam’s film “Brazil” there is clearly a statement being made about the effects of human dependence on technology. The world that is being portrayed in “Brazil” depicts everything that would be unnatural in our world. The technological advances that are in the “Brazil” world have made the characters’ living environment into one that no one should ever have to live in.

Technology skewed the perspectives of the people so that they seem like they were not from this world. The workers in Sam’s office are moving like clockwork with complete efficiency and then the second their boss turns his back, they go back to watching movies. Sam’s mother, who is one of the most outrageous characters in the film, is putting herself through dangerous and unnatural procedures to look unnaturally younger. To emphasize her ridiculousness in the movie, the filmmakers put what looks like an upside-down shoe on her head as a fashion statement. On top of all that, the setting for these characters is so unnatural looking and tarnished by technology it almost doesn’t look inhabitable.

In the beginning, it is because of the mistake of a printer that an innocent man with a family loses his life. In a world where people seem so out of touch from reality, the Buttles’ are one of the best displays of a normal family. Mrs. Buttle is one of the only characters that express what looks like a real human emotion. This is contrasting to other characters like Sam’s mother and her friends that hardly flinch when half of a restaurant is blown up and wounded people lie on the floor screaming in pain. The Buttles’ lives end up being ruined because of the flaws of technology.

Having been made in 1985 to give viewers a window into what our world is leading to, it is scary to think what kind of a difference twenty-four years has made and how much closer we are to this becoming a reality. Women are currently putting themselves through scary procedures to fit a mold that is constantly changing, our environment is suffering from technology that is supposed to be making our lives easier, and people are becoming dependent on technology to the point that it has become our main goal to do nothing. Because our reality is now similar to this hyperbolic world, it made understanding the context of the movie difficult.

[L Rosenfield]

In a world where the opportunity to appreciate the natural world is completely worked against by the development society of the film “Brazil” (1985), it is hard for its inhabitants to ground themselves. I concur with kwallace’s statement that “[t]he only cure for Lowry’s madness is to escape the reality of the scarred technological world and escape to the natural world of his dreams.” But I noticed that even his dreams are tinted by technology. For example, Lowry’s wings in his dream sequence are attached to his body to help him soar above technologically infected world he comes from. In this dreamland, there is grass - which I’m betting he’s never actually seen or felt first hand - and all he cares for is his love. Ironically, the wings themselves are, though simple, a technological additive nonetheless. It seems that Lowry cannot escape technology, and for that matter, neither can anyone else.

As the world develops, humans are “supposed” to advance more and more. With each step forward, it can be argued that we are taking another step back in humanity. How much of this stuff do we really need? It is our need to want more and improve ourselves, as the laws of society plainly state, but how better can we make ourselves if we concurrently destruct our culture, society, and well being. Furthermore, nature has provided us with all of the tools and knowledge we have used and at times abused to make all of these technological advancements, so is it nature that brought us to where we are today? Was the world fated to create so much that it destroyed itself? Anyone who is pondering this… I suggest you read “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman.

[A. Dickinson]

Anyone who tells you they arnt shackled by technology is a liar. Technology consumes us in our reality just as much as it does in Lowry's. Everything in their live's seems to be so inconvenient. One example is of the phones they used; instead of just being able to press a button and be on with the conversation, they had to place different jacks in different holes, a very complex and pointless process. And yet the film seems to suggest a Catch-22 in this idea: although there is inconvenience in that act, just having to need that piece of technology is almost bad in itself. Personally I felt Guilliam was trying to say that technology, although it does help us in many cases, is used irresponsibly by society. Its used in a way that allows for us to aspire to do nothing, to have even the simplest desire of waking up in the morning and making our own coffee. But in this world that desire is flushed out completely and only shallow consumerism is left.

Unfortunately that is not far from our own society. I completely agreed with Brence when he was making the point that our society had a goal of finding a way to aspire to nothing, to have the dream of not having a dream. We have succeed in finding such a dream and Brazil makes a point to say that that is what will be humanity's down fall. We essentially become bags of meat, wanting nothing more than the next and thinest apple computer that can fit inside a Manilan envelope. I would of course be hypocritical in saying that technology does not consume my life, I mean im writing this response on a computer I asked for for my birthday. But I dont think Guilliam is making a point as to where we need to disband all technology; there is a certain extent to where we need technology for practical reasons vs. to where we need it just have the next big "thing". One needs a way to screen films, via a television or a screen, but must one work their hands to the bones for a 50' plasma tv? Of course not, but we have free will so of course some will, I personally believe however that the over saturation for this desire in our lives is what Guilliam is criticizing. Our culture should not be based around having the next big thing and working as hard as we can to get and not ask questions as to why we have this drive. Rather I personally believe we should live in a society where intelligence and substance inhabit our lives and not shallow consumer items that give no meaning to our lives.

[tdiamond]

I see the Dystopian technology in the film as a means of conveying the utter helplessness and inefficiency of the society that Sam lives in. Cities are no longer spread out, instead the have spread up as the environment around them has gone sour. The symbolism and importance of the ducts shows the ebb and flow of material through the cities. As wind once did for us in this city the air is wafted through by the awesome power of ducts.

We must understand that this view of the world according to Gilliam takes place during the 20th century. Robots, ducts, fedoras and terrorist air conditioner repair man Robert De Niro could not have existed in the same time period. This film takes place in a n alternate reality, one where the atomic age might not have ever happened, result in the use of ducts and the downfall of suburban living. By not giving us a set time period Gilliam is allowed to create the world that he wants to make to convey the darkness of a red tape run society.

While this film shows human reliance on technology, it is not complete. The technology in the film is broken, inefficient and old. So what happens when the things that do stuff for us, wont? While a visit from Robert De Niro would be nice, the movie shows us that the dystopia has resorted to complicated bureaucratic paper work. So in this society once the easy things break down, it becomes even harder to get them fixed. With this in mind, people may not even bother to try and fix them because of the complications it brings. This in turn can explain why the society and the technology therein has become a decrepit, run down, sick, rusty inefficient mess.

[K.Duncan]

For our sake, I hope the current Trend (I doubt I need to explain the Trend to you all, as you must have observed it on your own) diminishes sometime soon or we may be looking at a world that is the same in many aspects, yet not quite as comical as the world of Brazil. While it is possible that this world is hundreds of years off, we are seeing the makings of it right now. The members of the Trend are in the minority as of now, but you needn’t travel far to speak with one of them. They are helping create a world of ease, of peace, and of overriding technological advancements. How far would you like to see Twitter go? How invasive will you allow technology to grow? How many songs do you need at the ready really? We are in the midst of the transformation; the inorganic products are taking over and beginning to suffocate us. Many folks care more about acquiring a next generation color iPod nano or whatever rather than investing time in mental enrichment and good old manual labor. Our world is vast, but continually being choked and stamped out by the encroaching presence of higher technology.

[tdiamond]

While it is possible that this world is hundreds of years off, we are seeing the makings of it right now.

its isn't. its SOMEWHERE IN THE 20th CENTURY

[jelzie]

Brazil's satirical use of information technology and bureaucracy highlights that humans cannot become too reliant on technology or bureaucracy because they too can make mistakes. The movie plot spurs from a person killing a bug which falls into a printer and mistypes one letter of a name. Without reasonable thinking, because of their consumption in technology and following bureaucratic methods, they effectively killed a man on accident yet nothing more than a refund check was sent in return. When confronting the “doctor” he replies simply that since there was a mistake on the arrest form there was no information about Mr. Buttle’s heart condition, therefore it was not his fault he died.

What I think is sad is the underlying truth behind bureaucracy, a price being put on the lives of humans. As seen in American courts, there are cases where one is sued for the wrongful death of another. Money could never replace a living being, nor justify it. Yes compensation is due, but being able to pay off a problem like death is wrong, yet no one in the movie feels this way except for the widow and kids. Lowry wants to deliver the refund check without consideration that her husband is now dead and her kids are fatherless, mainly due to the problem being in a different department. It is not his job to find out what happened to the Mr. Buttle, in fact he implies he is doing Mrs. Buttle a favor by bringing the check to her in person "something that is highly unorthodox".
With this reliance on a flawed system, humans too become flawed and less humane toward others.

The world portrayed in Brazil is a dark and scary place, where dreams turn into nightmares. Lowry eventually goes insane from the lack of life in that system. He wants love but cannot hold on to it for long before the system takes him away. His intentions were to help another human by clearing up an obvious mistake, but because he skipped the paper work he was arrested and trapped in the system he wanted to fly away from, as seen in his nightmares where buildings grow out of the ground and block him in a fight for his love. The message of not being too reliant on technology and bureaucracy comes out in the end when Lowry loses the fight against the system and goes insane.

[K Doherty]

Brazil calls to attention that technology has be a necessary evil in society. We’ve become dependent on it and addicted to it. Technology is a great convenience; in the movie Sam has gadgets that automatically make him coffee, toast his bread, draw his bath. But Sam completely relies on technology to start his morning. Can Sam actually make a cup of coffee? The world may never know. Technology masks our problems but we believe it is solving them. Brazil focuses on illusions we create to avoid our problems. Having the setting during Christmastime automatically makes it a joyous time even though it is not a happy film. Our personal, professional, and financial issues don’t disappear because it is late December, but something about the holiday create a false sense of joy in our lives that lasts through part of January and ends when we fail at fallowing through with a new years resolution. But the list of façades which cover up problems extends beyond Christmas in the movie: instead of addressing the issue pollution in the air, ducts just pump fresh air; instead of aging, surgical procedures are endured to the point of death (die young, stay beautiful); and advertisements featuring nature scenes are substitutes for the dilapidated environment they shield drivers from seeing as they journey down the road. Technology makes life impersonal. Instead of talking to someone face-to-face we text; instead of asking how someone’s day was, you can just check his or her twitter page. In the end of Brazil Sam leaves the city for nature. So is nature the only thing that is real in our world? And if so, is technology its greatest threat.

[jwong]

Brazil, as kwallace makes note, serves to depict – albeit through dark humor and over exaggerated means – man kind’s dependence on technology. The film makes clear that technological advances centered around convenience and user-ease have progressed so far that their necessity can readily be questioned and their purposes dismissed with little to no argument. The questioning of convenience and the consumer oriented life style that pervade the film is a commentary on the consumer driven, mass consumption culture that dominates much of the Western World. A prime example in the film depicting technological advances of a convenience-based nature having progressed “too” far and also having seriously gone awry in the process is the “morning/wake-up” scene in which Sam Lowry’s apartment automatically runs a bath, turns on the television, makes toast, and pours a cup of coffee. The catch is that it didn’t work; the coffee got poured on the toast and breakfast was ruined. Lowry’s reaction to the situation makes it seem as if problems similar in nature to that of soggy toast are an everyday endeavor.

In a sense I agree with Brazil’s bleak picture of humanity and how it has chosen to intertwine itself with technology. Yet at the same time technological advancements seem synonymous with progress, development, and the future. I would be much quicker to say I agree with the film’s politically driven aspects that portray mass consumerism in a negative light.

[PHarrison]

I liked the artistic way that technology was depicted in Brazil. It is apparent that Terry Gilliam was trying to create a time period that included the current world, however, he could have created phones that looked modern and even uniquely current, or computers that appeared state of the art with just a hint of 80's trendiness, or cars and trucks that though not futuristic, could be blandly relevent (Gremlins, or Pacers). Yet, instead, Gilliam's artistic renditions of technology were designed to provide a futuristic look to old technology. For example, the telephones: The handsets were typically the thick heavy black dumbell type, with a cord connecting it to the boxy receiver. Instead of buttons to be pushed, there was a mini switchboard of 3/ 4" headphone jacks that connected one to the incoming line. The computers used old mechanical keyboards and the screens were incredibly small, so small that they used large screen magnifiers awkwardly clamped, various cables looped in and out of the mainframe. And the cars, especially the small futuristic car he drives to deliver the death check, is a classic antique Messerschmitt.

I believe that by displaying modern technology as remarketed, or re-engineered, is symbolic to the idea that technology is not everything that it is cracked up to be. Anyone who has recently purchased a new cell phone will have to admit that they are a little more complicated that phones used to be, but all in all, they accomplish the same feat, allowing us to talk with eachother when distanced apart. Anyone who has worked in a job staring at a computer screen can attest that no matter how fancy of a screen you may be staring at, it is still hard on your eyes and can be the cause of recurring headaches.

Through depicting these technologies, and many others within the film, Gilliam succeeds in creating an uneasiness and perhaps, even a disdain for the technology in this film. In doing so, Gilliam is able to acentuate the disconnectedness that Sam Lowry feels in a world where one is expected to not only rely on this technology, but pretend to love it as well.

[cwhite]

The technology in "Brazil" irritates me because it's so distracting, since it's nothing like our technology. Everything is too over exaggerated and not probable to happen, even if they thought maybe it would end up like this twenty years ago. Sam battles the technology all throughout the film, pulling his office desk back and forth through the wall, his air conditioning breaking then having difficulties with the phone, trapping his arm in the transporter door and so on and so forth. He sort of represents how I feel about the ridiculous technology in this movie. Sam also battles with paperwork restrictions and computer restrictions, taking the promotion just to find someone and the whole ordeal with the air conditioning. The movie also the whole "1984" effect going on, including the "Big Brother" deal, the crazy security, and an air conditioner tech having to carry a gun around because everybody is hostile in a place that is supposed to be more safe. Overall I couldn't handle this movie, the only thing I enjoyed was the dry humor element.

[NBerry]

I think your read of the air ducts is interesting in how its show the bothersome of technology. When Jill is trying to get in to speak with Information Retrieval and the robot camera pesters her and she swats at it is a good example of this. You see numerous times in the movie when someone is walking through a room and make that “get out of my face” motion. I think the film is a satire on technology in our culture. Technology is always advertised at us as something that we need because its going to make our life easier and better. Except with all this breakfast equipment he still walks out of the house with breakfast or coffee.


We see these people you talk about everywhere, walking around with multiple devices running at once. This is a serious concern my mine. I think it does something to a person when you’re talking to someone while listening to music in the other ear meanwhile updating your twitter account. I don’t know what it does but when you see these people in this ‘auto-pilot’ mode it concerns me. How much are you letting technology run you’re your life instead of helping it? Are the air ducts really bringing in better air than outside or are they just another thing we have been sold and told we need?