Max Headroom is a computer generated “avatar” for the purpose of entertainment. What makes Max Headroom entertaining is his sense of humor. His personality makes him realistic yet, he is still not quite human. His voice glitches revealing his computer generated aspects but in a sense this also leaves him somewhat humanlike. To me his glitching voice sounds like a stutter, a human trait that you wouldn’t expect to see in a generated model. Although this stutter is probably not intentionally added to Max’s the human error also makes him more lifelike.
During the interview Max is constantly in motion. The lines in the background are also in constant motion. These aspects again make the computer model seem more alive. The fact that a computer generated model can seem alive enough to be interviewed on a TV show is very strange. People are fascinated by the fact that something based solely on code and animation possess a sense of humor, facial expressions, and a sarcastic attitude.
This interview really explores the concept of intertwining computer generated life with human life. This computer represents a human using the voice of a human and likeness of a human to represent a computer. The interview connects this human/computer separation through the avatar being interviewed as if he was human. What makes this strange is that despite some glitches the artificial character looks almost too close to real.
In the notes I took while watching the video I wrote down that Max Headroom avoids directly answering questions. He replaces the things he doesn’t know the answer to with humor. To me, avoiding answers, reminds me of his true purpose to be an entertainer and not an actual being.
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