Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Werner Herzog. In it, Herzog ponders the existential impact of the Internet, robotics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and more on human life.[2] The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival,[3][4] and was sponsored by the company NetScout.[5] The film contains interviews with Bob Kahn, Elon Musk, Sebastian Thrun, Ted Nelson, and other leaders of the technology world.[6][7]

Lo and Behold,
Reveries of the Connected World
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWerner Herzog
Produced by
  • Werner Herzog
  • Rupert Maconick
Written byWerner Herzog
Music by
CinematographyPeter Zeitlinger
Edited byMarco Capalbo
Production
companies
  • NetScout
  • Pereira & O'Dell Entertainment
  • Saville Productions
  • Skellig Rock
Distributed byMagnolia Pictures
Release date
  • January 23, 2016 (2016-01-23) (Sundance)
Running time
98 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Chapters
  • I. The Early Days
  • II. The Glory of the Net
  • III. The Dark Side
  • IV. Life Without the Net
  • V. The End of the Net
  • VI. Earthly Invaders
  • VII. Internet on Mars
  • VIII. Artificial Intelligence
  • IX. The Internet of Me
  • X. The Future

Synopsis

Herzog narrates over footage of the University of California at Los Angeles, "the birthplace of the Internet," then comes to the first piece of Internet equipment ever to be installed. From here, the film explores the beneficial opportunities the Internet has afforded humans. Herzog interviews a family that has been harassed online after the death of their daughter. They express their grief. An institute where no electronic equipment is allowed within a 3-mile radius is examined and the society of people living in this area expresses their experience. Eventually, the film comes to a group of people that are afflicted with an electromagnetism sensitivity condition who begrudgingly have to live in this area. Then the film comes to Elon Musk and his quest to send humans to Mars. Artificial intelligence is touched upon and the film comes to focus on how robots could become replacements for human interaction in the future.

At the end of the film, Herzog poses the question to multiple interviewees, "Can the Internet dream of itself?"

Interviews

Reception

Lo and Behold has received generally favorable reviews from critics.[8] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 94% approval rating based on 61 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5 out of 10.[9] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

References
  1. "Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  2. "Computer love: watch the first trailers for Werner Herzog's documentary about our relationship to machines", The Guardian, January 19, 2016
  3. "Watch the trailer for Werner Herzog's new documentary about the internet", The Verge, January 4, 2016
  4. "Werner Herzog laments the internet in the Lo And Behold, Reveries Of The Connected World trailer", The A.V. Club, January 4, 2016
  5. "Sundance: Werner Herzog's 'Lo and Behold' plumbs the Internet's impact", Mashable, January 21, 2016
  6. "The Legendary Filmmaker Werner Herzog Has Made A Documentary about Robotics and A.I.", io9, January 20, 2016
  7. "New Game in Town", TheTedNelson YouTube
  8. "Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  9. "Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World". rottentomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.