Set in the not-so-distant future, Jennifer Phang's Advantageous is an indie-scifi film telling to story of Gwen, an independent woman, who is growing more concerned by the day about her daughter Jules' future. The current climate of society is focused on the needs of the priveleged, with the remaining population scraping among themselves for the same opportunities. While her daughter is an incredibly gifted student, she struggles to get into the top schools, due to the overwhelming amount of applicants. When Gwen loses her job, she becomes desperate to protect her daughter's future, contemplating an evasive new procedure that will effectively strip her of her own identity and consciousness. Jennifer Phang's Advantageous is a strong piece of science fiction filmmaking, which uses a futurisitic world to comment on current societies flaws. At its core this is a film commenting on ageism and sexism in society, as Gwen loses her job due to her age, with the marketing company needing a young candidate who "appeals" to the masses. This is what leads Gwen to agree to a groundbreaking procedure that involves her transporting her consciousness into a younger body, sacrificing her own identity in an effort to protect her daughters' future. The heart of Advantageous is focused on how far a mother is willing to go for her daughter, with Gwen effectively sacrificing her own life for the betterment of her child. I partcularly liked the subtle commentary about this world being a male-dominated soceity, with Gwen being a single mother who seems to be written off by society, viewed as a failure due to not having the support and care of a man. While Advantageous commentary on the sexualization of woman and ageism is a core aspect of the film, I also found its ability to capture humanities growing disconnect at the hands of technology a subtle, but effective thematic element. An ambitious film, given the budget, Advantageous effectively creates a world around these characters, doing what good science fiction is capable of, providing a heartfelt story about a mother and child that simulateniously uses science fiction as an allegoric device to comment on socitie ageism and sexism problems.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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