Final Film Paper- Mara

For my final paper I am going to analyze the film "Enigma" (2001) directed by Michael Apted, screenplay by Tom Stoppard. This film is about breaking the Nazi Shark Enigma code in WWII that led to one of the greatest breakthroughs in the war. This movie relates to the changing of technology through time and how humans adapted and integrated it into their lives. New forms of communication, ways of conducting war and espionage caused a shift in thinking. Technology made everything close and became a battle between man and machine. I will use Virilio's "optics on a grand scale" which discusses the loss of journey and the ever present now. I will also incorporate Sobchack's ideas on expressive technology that "Chan[ge] not only our expression of the world and ourselves, these perceptive technologies also change our sense of ourselves in radical ways that have now become naturalized and transparent". Jericho is the main character who lives codes and has a close relationship with the new technology that is a part of him because of his ability to be on par with the machine. The machine becomes the eyes of the Allies in the war. Also, time becomes irrelevant as space becomes smaller.
There is also an aspect of memory that can be gleened from the film as well. Throughout the film Jericho experiences poignant memories by physically being in places that evoke memories. With the growing of instant communication, there will be less need to have a physical presence and when that happens, what will create our memories if we do not experience people in the flesh.