Comparative Essay Sample: A.I. Artificial Intelligence by Steven Speilberg and Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Have you ever seen artificial intelligence directed by Steven Speilberg (June 29, 2001) or read Pinocchio? (Written by Italian author Carlo Collodi) There are many similar aspects between A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) and Pinocchio. In both, there is a desire to be a human. Analogous points can be found when examined in detail. It gives remarkable messages from the point of view of two different characters who are not human beings, who lived with people and want to be human beings. They contain characters who make observations on how to become a real boy. Certain characteristics of people are criticized. The reasons why they want to be human beings are diverse, but the main reason and goal are the same. Hence, similarities can be analyzed between them.

Based on the character of Pinocchio in the book and the character of David in the film, these unique aspects can be examined. First, in the movie, there are plenty of figures related to Pinocchio. So, the film covers Pinocchio. When David hears the end of the fairy tale, that is, when he hears that the blue fairy made Pinocchio a real boy, he hopes for his own. He wants to find the blue fairy. Because he believed that if he became a real boy, his mother would love him as much as Martin. That's why he wants to find the blue fairy and ask her to make him a real boy. And when his mother abandons David, this hope is the only thing that connects David to life. He intends to find the blue fairy because of his pure love for her mother. He asks many people to find it and stops by many places. When he loses his last hope and is disappointed and tries to kill himself, he finds the blue fairy under the water. He asks her to make himself a real human. And when he was found by aliens under the ice 2000 years later, he goes to the same goal with the same passion again. At the end of the movie, it is ambiguous whether he becomes a real person or not, but in the scene where he falls asleep with his mother, the narrator says. ‘’and for the first time in his life, he went to that place where dreams are born’’ It can be concluded that David's wish came true. As another similarity, their unconditional love for their parents can be given as an example. Pinocchio loves Geppetto very much and tries to do everything he can for him. When the shark swallows the Geppetto, Pinocchio tickles the fish's stomach and makes it puke, and saves his father’s life. And then, he takes very good care of him when Geppetto gets older. In the same way in the film, David can do anything for his mother because he loves her. And because Martin is aware of this, he makes him do dangerous things. Even if David knows he's wrong, he intends to do it because he loves his mother so much, and he wants her to love him back. But they also have the same source. Because they are different beings from people, the feeling of exclusion mixed with pure love brings out these similar events. They act in a particular manner because of the love they feel, and they know that their parents will love them and treat them like others when they become human beings. As a result, they take risks. Since Monica and Henry's son Martin is in danger of life, there is a very low chance that he will live. They decide to bring another child home because they are used to him and because they will feel lonely without him. In the book, because Geppetto is an old and lonely man, he makes a wooden puppet for himself. In other words, both in the book and in the film, people create them because of their loneliness. Another similar aspect is that these children envy real humans, and their goal is to be one. They both want to be real humans for similar reasons, and they try whatever they must do. Pinocchio does whatever it takes to be like other children. That is also what David does. When Martin ate, he ate and broke his system even though he knew he should not have eaten. Bad things happened to Pinocchio in different ways. They are both being hurt in the way they are being human. Sometimes, they harm other people. But the main thing that underlies this behavior is their pure love.