Movie Review: Chappie and the meaning of it all

"Gangsta robot number one son"

It's Easter Sunday and shame on me I did not go worship in a traditional fashion or any fashion at all really. I went to the movies with my boyfriend and his family. I'd not heard of the movie Chapie and could not even recall a slither of a preview but my boyfriend's brother offered a rave review and suddenly I could not wait to see this movie I'd never heard of. Turns out it was a fitting salute to the Easter, the miracle of creation and the burden of the creator. 

The verdict, it was good. It was a pleasant mixture of absurdist comedy, technology, heart pounding action, and above all else a deep exploration of the tragic human condition. Though there are several movies that explore the idea of man playing god in an attempt to bring forth artificial intelligence all past renderings approached the subject with fear. Since Mary Shelly's masterpiece Frankenstein man has looked at certain advances in technology with clear apprehension. This continued with movies like ‘The terminator’ and ‘The matrix’. The message is clear with these masterpieces, beware the self-thinking machine.

Chappie explores the seeming atrocity of artificial intelligence in a different vein. I'm not sure if it was intentional to base this tale in Africa where it is widely theorized all of mankind hailed. Chappie the robot had noble beginnings as a police droid damaged beyond repair in action. And so like the human experience it was this tragedy that enabled the insignificant robot to soar to new and seemingly impossible heights.

His mangled remains were perfect for a forbidden experiment, artificial intelligence. Imagine a being with the infallible computation ability of a machine designed for a singular purpose and the learning ability of a living being. Only in this daring portrayal this entity was not to be feared. Chappie began his life as we all do, with the innocence of a child and the capacity for both good and evil. Then like all intelligent beings he was left to determine the difference based on what he saw in the world around him.

  

But the true significance of this tale was when horror of horrors Chappie discovered his own mortality.  "Why would you create me just to die," Chappie pleaded as he leaned against a wall making every effort at nonchalance. Welcome to the club Chappie for the answer to that question has plagued man kind since the beginning of recorded time. Spoiler alert... though Chappie was did not get an answer to that question he was able to solve the problem and transfer his conscious or all that is he was and ever could be into a computer program. This begs the question, what is immortality. The flesh is temporary this is well known but the nature of the spirit has declared endless by every major religion known to man.

    What if man could leave the flesh and instead of going to the next place transfer his spirit, intelligence and all that he was into some manmade engine of this world. Imagine the mother you were not ready to let go of being an app on your phone. Imagine your loved ones accessible to you forever more. Sure you could not see there smiling face but you could continue to learn from them as they shared your thoughts and advised you. Is this an atrocity or a miracle and without the flesh are we truly alive. Most of all would you submit to this sort of existence. Your thoughts