In “Be right back” the viewer witnesses the story of a couple who's physical relationship is quickly torn apart by what can be assumed as a car accident. The death of the man in the relationship (who goes by the name of Ash) leaves a sizeable gap in Martha’s (his girlfriend) life. Just based off of what I inferred from what was given in the film, it seemed the two did almost everything together. With his passing away being so abrupt, Martha needed a way to seamlessly close the gap to keep living her once balanced life and it needed to happen quickly.
In my opinion, Martha had at least two options to choose from to get through her grieving. One she could've just opened up to the friends and family around her to build a stronger relationship during a struggling point in her life. Or the option she decided to pursue, which was communicating to an artificial form of Ash that created responses based on his online identity. Both options could successfully fill the gap that Martha was facing in her life but they both had potential
personal conflicts or issues for Martha . For example being closer with her friends and family would be great for moral support and strength, but she still wouldn't be able to get the same type of support or satisfaction she would receive from Ash. And being with the artificial form of Ash was good for filling time but because he lacked qualities that made him a rational human being such as rationality and moral qualities such as empathy.
With the right balance of both (excluding the whole robot thing) I feel like both options could've worked hand in hand. With the right amount of support from her family and friends, she could've eventually weaned herself away from the Ash replacement.
Kayla, good post. I'm wondering though, do you think that Ash 2 (robot Ash) was not 'rational'? It seems like he had most (if not all) of the cognitive abilities of a 'normal' human being. Perhaps he was lacking something emotional? Or perhaps something else?
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