I know it’s not ordinary. But who ever loved ordinary?

The Imitation Game

Alan Turing is anything but ordinary. A pioneer in the fields of computer science, artificial intelligence, and cryptology, Turing also works for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Britain’s codebreaking center. There, Turing is placed on a team whose secret project is to break the “unbreakable” secret code behind the Nazis’ communications machine,  Enigma.

A few takeaways I had from watching the film:

Not Your Typical Sci-Fi Film

This movie is so much more than just a science-fiction piece. It explores the deep-rooted issues of discrimination that impacted Turing and many others during the time period. Filmmakers revealed Turing’s homosexuality later on in the film, making for a very sad ending after the triumph from the war. In addition, Joan Clarke, the only female on the team, faced incredible adversity for her gender despite her intelligence and programming ability. Also subtly depicted in the film was discrimination against Turing’s mild form of Asperger’s Syndrome, for which he received taunting from his teammates.

The Title Means Something

The title of the film comes from Turing’s idea that computers have the potential to imitate human thoughts or actions. He understands that in order to defeat the German army, he will need to create a machine that will defeat a human ‘machine.’ In the end, even though Turing is successful in his mission with the British army, his demise as a homosexual male during the time period proved that he was way ahead of his time, and nonetheless fell victim to society’s woes.

Perseverance is Important

Positive messages in this movie include the importance of perseverance when projects face difficulties. The movie portrays Turing as a socially-awkward introvert whose technological ideas seem fanatical at first to his teammates. Early on, there is tension and lack of cooperation between him and his team, but he gets on better terms with them later, which, at one point, saves his project.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. It was praised for its historical accuracy, casting, and directing.