The gods we create… ‘The universe is infinite and chaotic and cold!’ That is Miss Grouse aka Root (Sarah Shahi), the obsessed computer hacker who fell in love with the super computer that Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) created and is the supreme Deux ex Machina that controls the demesne within the scintillating TV series ‘Person of Interest’. Harold Finch’s God-Machine is a subject of much discussion back and forth on the old Orwellian subject of Big Brother watching over humanity. George Orwell couldn’t possibly have realized how far ahead of his time he was with the release of 1984. Edward Snowden, anyone? The Big Brother in the Orwellian trope is an agent of totalitarian control. Harold Finch’s Machine (Root thinks of it as she) is not an instrument of control but that of benevolent protection. Problem is those who want to control or are in control of it do not think of it as such. The Machine inspires awe as well as manic fear in equal measure. There is Vigilance, a pseudo-pragmatic domestic terror group mouthing molted nostrums hinged on the purist ideals of the American Revolution era that wants to disable the machine for they consider it an agent that stands against all constitutional freedoms that the American people enjoy. Led by Peter Collier they are on the rampage always one step ahead of their detractors in their quest to disable the machine. There is also Control, the head of the government agency tasked with ensuring that The Machine fulfills its obligations in the Post-911 paranoia in stopping terrorists and all threats to America’s security on their track. James Greer, leads another shadowy pack of pretenders to this throne of God cloning their version of The Machine known as The Samaritan which has far much enhanced capacity - genetically programmed and fully targetable, whatever that means (ask Root please) - than its forebear. John Reese (Jim Caviezel) who is in his other movie roles certainly must know about saving the world; he was Jesus in Mel Gibsons ‘The Passion of Christ’- leads a band of desperados comprising Miss Shaw (Amy Acker), who is possessed of emotional quotient of a traffic interchange, an all day dirty cop, Detective Fuscoe (Kevin Chapman) and Detective Joss Carter (Nataraji P. Henson) - who is no more however, in trying to save the world. Or should we say New York? Truth, some wise crack once said, is stranger than fiction because man has created fiction to suit himself. And the ramp up Person of Interest’s ‘finite, chaotic and cold world’ of fiction is truly dicey looked at from whichever angle. Oh, the presumption of men! That we could create some god. That we could argue some finer form metaphysical determinism in order to bring about ‘a plan’ that could ultimately preempt man’s consistent enmity against his own good! And that, precisely, is what ‘Person of Interest’ is all about. A god created and fashioned after our own intimate fears and the need for self-preservation. You could create a god, yes; but you gotta learn how to control him. Harold Finch is progressively losing control of his god – The Machine. Threatened from all points by myriad competitors as well as an improved version of itself The Machine is bracing itself up for a final assault. The end, whatever trajectory the story arc takes, is something I dare to imagine will be predictable. That man can never create a viable God. Go out and get the series and enjoy it folks. It is worth a lookie, trust me.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:58:35 +0000
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