The Pod Generation focuses on the fact that our phones control just about everything in our lives right now, so why not do that one day before giving birth? Writer/director Sophie Barthes’ film has a clever vision of what our future could look like as screen time creeps ever faster. But rather than being a terrifying horror movie, it’s an endearing and satirical approach to its subject matter, and takes audiences all the way through its concept.
The world of the movie envisions the world’s Siris and Alexas being built into our homes and planning all of our lives. Because the world is so overrun with technology, Rachel, the protagonist of Emilia Clarke, works for a technology company and has scheduled time to be in nature with a “nature pod” visit, where she sits in a chair and captures scenes and sounds of natural life. Meanwhile, her husband, Alvy van Chiwetel Ejiofor, is a botany teacher who works all day around living plants. So when they get off the waiting list to have an egg baby, Rachel is nervous to tell her husband she doesn’t want to have their child the old-fashioned way.
The Pod Generation is the kind of movie that can spark some interesting discussions about the importance of pregnancy for having a baby. In a world where couples can have a child and put the womb on their shelf as a household object until it’s done, this especially speaks to the increasingly isolating world we find ourselves in when we can easily have so many things on our phones. For example, when we send a text message or have every number within reach, a piece of human connection is lost there. This movie takes it to the next level considering what we lose if pregnancy had the same access. The scary part that underpins all of this is the idea that technology companies control the lives of the next generations.
There are positives to this too as we see Rachel being able to work, drink and enjoy her life relatively as she has a baby in the oven in their plastic pod. But what happens is Alvy is desperate to bond with it and takes on the role of a pregnant mother, spending day and night with the pod. Many intriguing ideas are explored here, and the film has already been awarded the Feature Film Prize from the Sundance Institute Science-in-Film initiative with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Per deadlinethe award was given for the film’s “bold” portrayal of the world, along with “a female artist’s exploration of shifting gender roles apart from biology”.
The Pod Generation has no place on the Movie release schedule for 2023 not yet, but we will keep you posted. As Emilia Clarke continues Game of Thrones, the franchise, of course, has continued House of the Dragon and others expectant Game of Thrones shows.