You are here:

i-Lived

Name: i-Lived
Director: Franck Khalfoun
Released: 2015
Duration: 97 min

Representation Score

6.2/10

Good

2015

Director

Franck Khalfoun

Runtime

97 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

i-Lived is a psychological thriller that uses horror to examine the intersection of technology and personal ethics. It finds its strength in a cynical deconstruction of capitalist incentives, suggesting that modern tools for success are fundamentally predatory and morally corrosive. However, the film struggles with identity-based representation. The narrative relies on traditional romantic clichés and gendered hierarchies, often positioning women as rewards for the male protagonist's progress rather than independent agents. While the film provides a sharp critique of systemic influence and the hollow nature of modern meritocracy, it lacks depth in exploring multi-layered complexities, neurodivergence, or non-straight or non-cisgender identities.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does i-Lived have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The story focuses on Josh Fosse and his pursuit of a conventional romantic ideal. There is no explicit evidence of non-straight or non-cisgender identities or narratives that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does i-Lived portray gender?

Fair

The film centers on a male protagonist navigating a crisis of competence. Female characters act primarily as catalysts or stabilizers within his trajectory, adhering to traditional gender roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is i-Lived?

Fair

The cast includes multi-ethnic inclusion, notably with Jeremiah Watkins in the lead. However, the narrative does not use race as a central theme or tool for systemic critique.

How does i-Lived represent religion and culture?

Good

The film offers a critique of capitalist structures and predatory technology. It portrays the pursuit of digital-age status as a deceptive and potentially soul-destroying endeavor.

Does i-Lived include disability representation?

Limited

There is no evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities being portrayed with ability to act. The protagonist's distress is framed through psychological and situational lenses.

Present on Screen

Provides a sharp critique of capitalist structures and the predatory nature of modern technology.
Challenges the traditional success story cliché by framing material gain as morally corrosive.
Features multi-ethnic inclusion in the lead role.

Limited or Absent

Relies on traditional gendered roles where female characters serve as stabilizers for the male lead.
Lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or narratives that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.
Fails to include characters with visible or invisible disabilities portrayed with ability to act.

Official Synopsis

Josh Fosse is a 20-something guy whose life is going nowhere. His girl left him, his rent is late, and he lacks a real job. He is trying to make it as an app reviewer online and decides to review a self-help app called i-Lived for fun. He signs on and immediately his life turns around. He meets the girl of his dreams and he gets a job offer he can't refuse. Convinced it's him and not the app, he signs out... and loses everything. He signs on again but this time the terms are different, the app is asking him to do things that are out of his moral comfort zone, but which are essential to becoming the success the app tells him he can be.

How are these scores produced? →