Spike Jonze's 2013 science fiction drama, "Her," will be screened at Coastal Carolina University Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m. in the Coastal Theater as part of the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts Modern Narratives Film Series. This event is free and open to the public.

The film explores an unconventional love story in which a man falls in love with a conscious, self-aware computer operating system that constantly updates to fulfill his emotional needs. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and featuring the voice of Scarlett Johansson, "Her" questions our relationship with technology, most notably the relationship we have with our cellphones.

"Her" received five nominations at the 86th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won the award for Best Original Screenplay.

Following the screening, Ryan Shelley, CCU lecturer of English, will lead a discussion on the themes of loneliness and intimacy in the film and to what degree computer companionship might one day take the place of human relationships.

"Spike Jonze's 'Her' is a film that offers a thought-provoking meditation on the problem of human loneliness in the 21st century and explores the lengths to which we will go to avoid it," Shelley said. "It manages to effortlessly merge together two completely different genres, the romantic comedy and science fiction, to tell a quirky yet heartfelt story of what might happen to love and intimacy in the era of artificial intelligence."

"Her" is rated R and contains content that may be inappropriate for children. Parental discretion is advised.

The Coastal Theater is located in the Lib Jackson Student Union at 106 Spadoni Park Circle on the CCU main campus in Conway. Parking is available in lots E and MM; see www.coastal.edu/safety/parking. For more information on the event, contact Shelley at 843-349-4179 or rshelley@coastal.edu; for more on the Edwards College Modern Narratives Film Series, contact Christian Smith, assistant professor of English, at 843-349-6967 or csmith8@coastal.edu.