Arctor Film Analysis

Critique of the real relates nicely to the Uncanny, as it is again relevant to the idea of things not always being as they seem. Jean Baudrillard coined this term to explain a disappearance of the real, where multiple images end up obscuring the truth. He describes a “world of hallucinations”, where images, reality, and surface appearance all morph into one. A complete collapse between distinctions of what is true and false, and real and imaginary arises. Three clear visual examples of this in A Scanner Darkly are instances of hallucination and metamorphism and the ‘scramble suit’.
Right at the beginning of the film the viewer is forced to question what is real and what is not. The first scene shows drug addict Charles Freck experiencing a …show more content…
In the film Arctor and a number of other civilians are working undercover to infiltrate Substance D drug supply chains. They are required to wear a scramble suit, which completely conceals their identity from one another with an appearance that changes constantly and is never fixed, resulting in a strong feeling of isolation for the wearer. Nobody knows who the ‘real’ individual is. Arctor goes by the name ‘Fred’ while wearing the suit, and is described in the film as being “like a vague blur and nothing more”. Fred is not able to encounter others with a face that is recognizable or distinct, so is exempt from sociality and truly engaging authentically with others. Jennifer Rhee provides an interesting viewpoint here where she argues that this lack of a recognizable face disassociates himself from ethical consideration. Because he cannot interactive face-to-face, he “is not given entry into the intersubjective relation that opens up the ethical”. Perhaps this address of ethical blockage is best emphasized in the scene where Luckman almost chokes to death in his house. While this is happening, Fred sits watching the live footage through a screen in a police office, without doing anything to help. Barris is also seen to be at the house with Luckman, but he too refuses to give aid, even as Luckman collapses onto the floor appearing to be dead. Fortunately, Luckman manages to recover himself, and while Barris remains unconcerned, Fred-although highly shaken, is frozen by helplessness, and ends up doing nothing at all to help. Fred has become so alienated from himself, those around him, and from ethics, that he is no longer able to function in such a way that allows him to intervene and extend empathy to others. This