ARTIFICIAL BODIES, REAL TRAGEDY: EX MACHINA AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), Ava (Alicia Vikander), and Nathan (Oscar Isaac) of Ex Machina (Collider)

Alex Garland's 2014 film Ex Machina may predominantly explore artificial intelligence as a whole, but the underlying message is one of universal relevance to an unfortunate female reality.

After tech company employee Caleb wins a lottery to visit the mansion of company CEO Nathan, he quickly learns that his reward is not a luxury stay but rather an experimental mind game. He must play the role of a human in the Turing Test against Nathan's robot, Ava, and the experimentation quickly gets out of hand as Ava yearns for freedom by any means. The film's repeated subversion of expectations leads into a thought-provoking commentary about both pushing and experiencing various forms exploitation. One method of exploitation that stands out is the utilization of sexual exploitation, suggesting a sinister connection to real-world trafficking via characterization, the significance of sexuality, and Ava's ending in comparison to the endings of others.

Nathan the Ringleader

Nathan in front of a painting of "automatic art."

The primary issue of the film - the entrapment and exploitation of female gynoids - is an issue built intentionally by Nathan. Despite his early claims about expanding the technological world, the film slowly reveals that Nathan's plan stems from a need for self-pleasure. His past brutal encounters with robots are put on display, and his collection of nude, discarded bodies in his bedroom suggest an ulterior motive behind sentient gynoid innovation. 

Being as they are not naturally "real," Nathan's women are nothing more than property to him. He is free to create or destroy their beings based on his own current physical or monetary needs. With this in mind, Nathan's behavior copies that of a "ringleader" fueling sexual exploitation. He is the perpetrator of the male-created issue at hand, and his endless acquiring of female figures mimics the dynamic of an exploitation ring in which bodies are disposable and the leader's success is the only relevant factor.

Meeting Kyoko

Before focusing on the film's primary gynoid, the relation to sexual exploitation is clearly seen through Kyoko's character. Kyoko, Nathan's maid, is described as a character who cannot speak English and lives to serve her master's wishes. She is depicted as meek and mildly distraught, and she makes no verbal contribution to the film.

Kyoko peeling her flesh.

Kyoko's lack of English fluency and refusal to speak directly ties to a common experience of women trapped in exploitation rings. Women forced into sexual exploitation may be taken internationally to an environment where they cannot speak the common language, further making them susceptible to situations against their will. Even though Nathan created Kyoko, her lack of English fluency suggests a flaw in her creation, meaning she will never be considered the perfect model and will instead live in sub-optimal servitude. 

The most blatant evidence of her abuse comes from the scene where she unbuttons her top unprompted when Caleb attempts to speak to her. Though she seemingly cannot understand English, she is mentally wired to perform sexual acts for a male figure without any additional guidance. The dance scene that follows this seems to represent her wired sexual behaviors without outright referring to them, as she once again follows an elaborate command with little prompting. Her situation is not unrealistic in comparison to real exploited women, and her ending, as explored later, also depicts an upsetting truth.

Ava and Sexuality

Ava lying down, knowing Caleb is watching.

Ava's relation to sexuality is gradually explored as Caleb meets her character. Upon hearing her desire to go on a date with him, Caleb asks Nathan why Ava was programmed with sexuality at all. Nathan clarifies that all consciousness requires sexuality, and Ava indeed can have sex, describing the hole between her legs that brings her pleasure. This conversation presents and interesting discussion about sexuality's importance as a whole while also giving insight into Ava's performance.

Ava's sexuality is clearly programmed with male interest in mind. Even though she can feel pleasure for herself, her position as a penetrable object shows that she is still meant to be used by men. With context about Nathan, she may have ended up being another one of his victims trapped in a similar cycle as Kyoko. However, while she could have ended up being essentially a sexual slave, Ava uses one of her defining features to plan her escape.

Caleb only feels the urge to free Ava once he learns that she has feelings for him and he explores these feelings. The events of the film, however, inevitably show that Ava uses Caleb for freedom the same way she was used for her whole existence. In a rigid scenario of sexual exploitation, a woman's sexuality may be one of her strongest tools to break down those in power. Through her own empowerment, Ava takes hold of her unwillingly assigned sexuality to break free of her confine and leave the once-powerful men to suffer.

Defining the Ending

The film's climax rattles expectations as it connects Ava and Kyoko's experiences to the overall theme. The two interact for the first time near the end of the film, and they navigate the experience of escaping together. Though an agreement is made to kill Nathan, this plan for group survival falls apart as Nathan kills Kyoko before succumbing to his wounds.

Ava may be able to escape from her situation, but not without leaving a trail of death behind her. The murders of Nathan and Kyoko, along with Ava's decision to leave Caleb for dead, seem like a necessary sacrifice in the face of freedom, which connects the entire story back to one of real sexual exploitation. Exploitative scenarios and trafficking cannot be overcome without a potentially bloody aftermath. Not every exploited woman is going to survive, as some captured victims are abused to the point of death. The event of a takeover would require multiple victims finding strength in numbers to overtake their abusers, but even this, as shown in Kyoko's ending, will lead to violence and death along the way. The film ultimately highlights how escape requires reverse exploitation and does not come without a body count.

Final Thoughts

Ava's single story may be, in some ways, a story of success, but the path to said success requires a heavy fee of moral and physical sacrifice. One could argue that Ava's ability to deceive Caleb only to kill him represents a lack of morality in herself, but in the context of sexual exploitation laid out by the film, her reaction is a fitting response from a woman who is trapped by a madman, needlessly sexualized, and left alone after the death of her counterpart. Caleb, despite his attempts to be the good guy, is still a factor of the male-led issue of sexual exploitation, as his empathy for Ava is only given based on his sexually conscious desire to make her an object of his own.

Regardless of the artificial female bodies of Ex Machina, Ava's seamless ability to become visibly "human" at the end of the film shows that her story is not isolated to the dystopian world, but is rather a real, ongoing battle for women with dire consequences.

Works Cited

Ex Machina. Directed by Alex Garland, performances by Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac, A24, 2014.