Are you one of the millions of people who learned to type from Mavis Beacon? Do you spend time thinking about how computer systems have been so tied to our learning in the modern age? A new film asks us to investigate artificial intelligence and the programs we’ve come to accept as our norm.
That movie is Seeking Mavis Beacon. For an idea of what we’re getting ourselves into, the movie’s official website has as part of its marketing the original typing game launched in 1987. Yes, I played it and yes, my score is still advanced. That’s what comes from years of Mavis Beacon teaching me how to type and my competitive nature making it a game for me. I needed to be the best!
But in guiding us to remember back to our earliest memories working with computer technology, Seeking Mavis Beacon makes us realize that we didn’t really know who this computer program icon was or why we were letting her teach us typing.
The film’s official synopsis reads: “The most recognizable woman in technology lives in our collective imagination. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions globally, but the software’s Haitian-born cover model vanished decades ago. Two DIY detectives search for the model while posing questions about identity and artificial intelligence.”
Directed by Jazmin Jones, the film explores Jones and Olivia McKayla Ross becoming detectives to unpack the truth about Mavis Beacon and honestly, this is the kind of detective story I want to see!
The Mary Sue has been granted an exclusive clip from the film featuring both Jones and Ross investigating. “What do we know to be true?” Jones says in the clip and it is really fascinating to see how the two unpack the information they get to figure out the truth about this program.
You can see an exclusive clip from the film here!
Seeking Mavis Beacon is in theaters now.
Published: Sep 6, 2024 04:41 pm