This post also appears at www.designfictiondaily.com

TGI-Sci-Friday. Let’s go to the movies.

Premise

Set in the 2030s where the Vuvv, a benevolent alien species, have asserted dominance over Earth, a young aspiring artist and his girlfriend see an opportunity. They choose to monetize their relationship by broadcasting their dating life, tapping into the Vuvv's curiosity about human connections and love.

I approached this film with limited preconceptions, only aware that it was sci-fi and had an intriguing title. Based on a YA novel of the same name, beneath its surface, the narrative is layered. The alien invasion scenario serves as a metaphor for modern challenges like AI, social media, surveillance capitalism, and the quest for genuine human connection in a digital age. While the film has a playful tone, it offers unexpected depth.

While I found it more compelling than the very average Metacritic rating suggests, I quickly realized it might not appeal to everyone. But for those with an eye for production design in film, this one offers some intriguing visuals, particularly in the first act. This trend of front-loading design fiction details is something I've highlighted in my "Design Fiction in the Act" series.

Let’s Take A Look At What I Found.

The film uses paintings as chapter titles throughout, and from the get-go, it makes short work of establishing this world’s base layer.

Some early evidence comes in a very mundane form, setting the tone for everyday artifacts to come. In this case, nothing on the envelope suggest anything interesting, and I did try to scan the QR codes to no avail. (I really wished they led somewhere)

It doesn’t take long before we start seeing more evidence of the symptoms of this world.

Even though this world is supposed to be an ideal society where everyone is provided for, it’s clear the provisions don’t quite meet the standards that humans are accustomed to. A classic trope, food cubes, makes an appearance and leads to some design fiction artifacts.

One of my favourite things in film production design are written cues. C’mon, Smeat Cubes, Sham & Beans, this is good stuff.

Moving onto some other intriguing finds …

In this world, humans scavenge, this warning sign in this scene hints at the waste an useful debris being discarded from the alien ships above. This reminds be of Alita: Battle Angel and how the rich live in the ships while the poor live on earth, living of the scraps of the elite.

While the art is banal, the title makes it interesting. In our current world of processed and fast food, this painting could easily exist in a very near future with a similar level of poignancy.

I’m not sure of the level on conlang going on here, but the repeated characters suggest that’s it’s just gibberish. Either way, the scratchy letterform is onomatopoeic with the sound of this language.

A close-up look at a contract is always a cause for a pause. This artifact is pretty vanilla and could have gone a little further with details and absurdities, in my opinion.

News headlines in passing are a classic archetype to help build upon the world being presented.

And lastly, the government alien issued “BEER!” makes me think the Vuvv are so fascinated and amused by this quirky human trend of poisoning ourselves for fun.

I'm glad I took the time to watch this film, and I was genuinely impressed by the intricacy of the production design. While there's a clear intersection between production details and design fiction, design fiction offers immense potential. It can not only enhance these details but also serve as a powerful instrument to shape and evolve the narrative itself.