Plot
Set in the near future, Gwen sells cosmetic procedures for the Center for Advanced Health and Living. Despite her relatively affluent position, she has difficulty sustaining a lifestyle that will ensure her daughter, Jules, a solid education and future. When she is abruptly fired from her job, Gwen's optimism quickly dissolves as she realizes that the only offer she has for employment is anCast and characters
Production
A Good Neighbors Media production in association with D.K. Entertainment and I Ain't Playin' Films. Produced by Robert Chang, Jennifer Phang, Jacqueline Kim, Theresa Navarro, Moon Molson, and Ken Jeong. Co-producers, James Y. Shih, Qi Luo, Sean Gillane, Liz Ortiz-Mackes, Bogdan George Apetri, Clifton Lewis. Crew: Directed by Jennifer Phang. Screenplay, Jacqueline Kim, Phang. Camera (colour, HD), Richard Wong; editor, Sean Gillane, Phang; music, Timo Chen; production designer, Dara Wishingrad; costume designer, Stacey Jordan; conceptual designer, Aiyana Trotter; sound Tyson Dai; sound designer, Tyler Straub; re-recording mixer, James LeBrecht; visual effects supervisors, Catherine Tate, Ricardo Marmolejo, Jason Patnode; assistant director, Yasmine Gomez; casting, Liz Ortiz-Mackes.Pre-production
''Advantageous'' in its feature form debuted at Sundance 2015. The foundation of the film was originally shot by Phang and Kim as a 23-minute short film, with ITVS for Futurestates. Phang is known to be heavily involved with the filmmaking process, she directed and co-wrote the film as well as achieved a shared editing credit. Kim began as the star of the short film until Phang asked her to co-write the short into a feature. Pre-production lasted about a year while Kim and Phang took turns writing the short. The casting process was not too difficult because most of the cast were re-casts from the short. The film was influenced by Age of Innocence, Mad Men, Battlestar Galactica, and Ghost in the Shell. Phang was connected with most of her VFX artists from her previous film Half Life, in 2008. Phang wanted to create a city that was not recognizable, so they filmed in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Since the budget was so low, they also could not create a city from scratch, so having many different cities for locations was ideal for Phang.Filming
Filming began in 2012 in New York City, New York when Phang was making ''Advantageous'' as a short. The foundation grew throughout 2013-2014, when they expanded locations to Los Angeles and San Francisco, to then be released as a feature, in 2015. The Cinematographer, Richard Wong worked closely with Phang during production. He was able to find incredible masters on small sets. Lighting was created by Wong and Seng Chen. Much of the footage was also shot by Ming Kai Leung, when in Los Angeles.Post-production
Sean Gillane and Phang worked together using Premiere Pro and After Effects. They traded the cutback and forth until the end. Sean produced supplemental motion graphics and comps while editing. Phang and Sean used Dynamic Link to jump easily from Premiere Pro to After Effects when creating VFX with the VFX team. Phang needed an additional editor and met Gena Bleier, through one of her producers Moon Molson, and hired her. Bleier previously cut The Bravest, The Boldest, which then went to the Sundance and Clermont Ferrand. Phang worked with VFX Art Director, Jean Elston, and a design team to create a concept for buildings. In the script, there are two buildings, the Cryer and the Orator. The Cryer is a mannequin-shaped building with water spilling down its neck, mimicking crying. The Orator has smoke coming from its mouth to express the struggle women have when they speak their minds to the world and dissipate into the sky. The buildings were designed by Elston and Phang and executed by Catherine Tate, Ricardo Marmolejo, and Jason Patnode, working with experienced groups of VFX and CG artists.Soundtrack
Song list *1. Opening 3:31 *2. I Like It 0:30 *3. Les Femmes 1:33 *4. Center for Advanced Health and Living 1:46 *5. Both 0:36 *6. Cryer Building 1:18 *7. You've Been Pursued 1:50 *8. Drake 2:00 *9. Let's Get You Something to Eat 0:49 *10. Luncheon 2:06 *11. Asians 0:49 *12. End Call 0:34 *13. Jar 0:45 *14. Photos 2:34 *15. Gwen Signs 3:56 *16. The Quiet Rooms 2:02 *17. The Experience 6:30 *18. Tunnel 0:34 *19. What Happened 0:41 *20. Pier 4:06 *21. Jules Plots 0:31 *22. Becoming Gwen 1:42 *23. Becoming Jules 1:34 * You can find the album on iTunes or Amazon. Timo Chen is the composer of the soundtrack. He is a pianist, virtuoso guitarist, versatile composer, arranger songwriter, and music producer. Chen studied at the USC Community School of Performing Arts and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The lead, Jacqueline Kim, is a pianist, so Phang wanted to incorporate the piano in most of the soundtrack so Kim could play in the film. Phang intentionally chose most of the songs for being about Jesus Christ to focus on the theme of patriarchy and following the leadership of men in the world. Phang started brainstorming ideas for sound, with Timo Chen during pre-production. Phang was looking for sounds that are organic and technological at the same time. Chen used a variety of different mechanisms to achieve Phang's sound goals, including a toothbrush, vibrator, and a professional violinist. Phang also worked with sound designer Tyler Straub to create sounds that could be familiar to the audience, like Apple products.Release
The film premiered at theReception
Awards
Advantageous took home editing, score, and directing awards at the LA Asian Pacific Film Fest in 2015. The lead, Jacqueline Kim, also won a jury award for her Renaissance Artist accomplishments for co-writing and starring in the feature. VC FilmFest - Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2015 *Winnings (Special Jury Prize) *Best Director - Narrative Feature *Best Editing - Narrative Feature *Shared with: Sean Gillane *Nominee (Grand Jury Prize) *Best Narrative Feature *Winner (Golden Reel Award)Themes
Ageism & Workplace Discrimination
Ageism and workplace discrimination are both conveyed throughout ''Advantageous''. In the film, Gwen has experienced discrimination in the workplace due to her age. In one scene of the film, it was established that Gwen was more competent in terms of experience and intellect with her age being the primary reason of her abrupt discharge. The scene overall portrayed unethical practice of Center for Advanced Health And Living of laying off Gwen for her age, which is illegal to do in the real world by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. It have shown parallel examples of companies that laid off older employees. The film therefore has drawn attention to the issues and reinforced how it is problematic in the current society.Racism
Elements of racism are embodied in ''Advantageous''. After Gwen's transfer into a new host body, not only does she become a younger woman, she also changes her race. None of the provided host bodies Gwen got to choose from was of the Asian race, Gwen's race. The scene suggested that Asians do not fit the criteria of being the face of the company. Jennifer Phang did this intentionally to serve as an example of discrimination against Asians in our society and the lack of Asian representation in the media. The example had been an issue in the United States for many years. There has been "historic trend in the under-representation of minorities in U.S. media, especially in the case of Asian Americans" which the film have highlighted.Income Gap
Gwen experiences the effects of gendered pay. At the Center for Advanced Health And Living, Gwen has "been working below the rate for a while." That served as a reflection of the unequal pay between men and women in 2015. The median annual income of females then was "$40,742 compared with $51,212 for men." These statistics suggested that women were being paid on average, 20% less than men. That presented a significant feminist issue that ''Advantageous'' embodies. Not only income gaps between men and women was showcased in the movie, but the income gap between the rich and poor has also been implied. US unemployment in the film is at 45% and "success is by no means guaranteed for a growing number of families.""Liu, L. A.-Y. (2021). The dubious logic of sacrifice: motherhood, crisis, and social reproduction in Advantageous (2015). New Review of Film and Television Studies, 19(2), 145–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2021.1875725 In a 2015 interview, Phang explained how she had always perceived homelessness in science fiction as "unfair and really sad."Ivie, E. (2020, March 19). Q&A with SF Filmmaker Jennifer Phang. 7x7 Bay Area. https://www.7x7.com/q-a-with-sf-filmmaker-jennifer-phang-1787064621.html. The film showed the audience a future where the aforementioned issue is prevalent.Parental Sacrifices
In a social climate where the competition is fierce, Gwen has to make great sacrifices as a single mother to provide Jules with a good life. Being able to provide for Jules is the primary motive for Gwen to undergo Fisher's dangerous procedure. ''Advantageous'' dived into "how much a mother is willing to do to give her child a leg up in a precarious world." It was shown throughout the film that mothers often feel pressure to participate in status safeguarding which refers to "'mothers' urgent, sacrificial, protective work in the goal of reproducing or improving class status for their children." Jennifer Phang witnessed the pattern with her mother. In an interview, Phang explained how her mother served as a great inspiration to her as she "worked three jobs as once" so that she could ensure Phang had "as many opportunities as possible." Like Gwen in the film, Phang's mother did this while "practically being a single mom" as her father was abroad.References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 3090670, Advantageous 2015 films 2010s science fiction drama films Films about Chinese Americans Films about Korean Americans Asian-American drama films American science fiction drama films Body swapping in films Films about brain transplants 2015 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films