The first thought that pops into my mind after watching “The Mitchells vs the Machines” engulfs the entire entertainment industry. Let’s go back for a moment, to 2017; Katy Perry’s single “Swish Swish” was released together with a 6 minute videoclip. It was apparent that the objective behind the production of this video, was to include as many memes and/or elements related to trending topics from pop cultural media as possible. And so, the video stars Katy Perry alongside cast members from “Glow”, “Stranger Things”, “Game of Thrones” as well as Terry Crews, Molly Shannon and also famous athletes, internet celebrities like “Doug the Pug”, Backpack-kid and even added memes like the shooting star meme. This was a strong demonstration that the entertainment industry in general wasn’t able to understand or replicate the meme culture that had emerged by that time. As time went by, there were other attempts (none as grotesque or bold as “Swish Swish”) to incorporate this cultural phenomenon of neo-human communication into media with no signs of success. It is now May of 2021, that with the release of “The Mitchells vs the Machines” we have finally found a group of creatives that were able to understand and communicate through the modern language of memes without sacrificing the quality of the animation or the narrative structure of a well told story.
The film follows Katie, a teenager that loves producing videos and that doesn’t always feel comfortable with her family and current acquaintances. Katie decides to enroll in film university which accepts her with open arms. As she prepares to leave, her father decides that the best way to say goodbye is to embark on a family road trip to drop her off one last time.
