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Filmmaker Decries Social Media's Grip on Humanity
25 Apr
Summary
- Director Anthony Chen critiques social media's harm to humanity.
- He warns AI could lead to self-erasure and loss of existence.
- His film explores livestreaming and the search for connection.
Filmmaker Anthony Chen has issued a stark warning about the pervasive influence of social media and artificial intelligence on human existence and culture. Speaking at the Far East Film Festival, Chen expressed alarm over how short-form content erodes attention spans, impacting not only cinema but also core human experiences.
Chen detailed his personal disciplines, such as disabling airplane mode during film screenings, as a deliberate countermeasure to constant digital distraction. He also relayed concerns from a fellow filmmaker about artificial intelligence potentially leading to self-erasure, urging individuals not to outsource critical decisions to tools like ChatGPT.
His new film, "We Are All Strangers," the final part of his Singapore trilogy, directly addresses these themes. It features a character who becomes a livestreaming personality, reflecting the societal shift Chen observes. The film's narrative also explores the complex, evolving relationships between actors over their decade-plus collaboration.
The trilogy, spanning Chen's own journey from his 20s to his 40s, also captures personal milestones like becoming a husband and father. "We Are All Strangers" specifically focuses on finding beauty in everyday Singaporean life, challenging the notion that working-class experiences are solely defined by grimness, and asserting a belief in enduring human hope and strength.
