(This is part 3 in a series - part one can be found in the archives over there (->) in November of 2010, and part 2 in January 2011.)
Kevin deserves special mention, largely due to the contributions made to the anti-tech argument made by his girlfriend Vicky. Kevin manages to win his girlfriend over with sexual techniques learned in the “Book of Love”, and there can seldom be a more non-modern tool than a paper book. Vicky on the other hand, has the hardest time losing her virginity – she is the only character who must be “talked into it” - and no surprise here, she is the one seen using the most technology. She is the only person in the first film seen driving (though early in “Pie”, Finch attempts a dramatic exit on a yellow Vespa, saying “Gentlemen, destiny awaits”, only to have his vehicle sputter underneath him. Clearly, he will travel to destiny on motorized transportation), and minutes later is seen using a vending machine, and a few scenes later again, is discussing manual stimulation with Jessica referring to it as “double clicking the mouse” - a direct reference to what is arguably the most powerful piece of technology today. Jessica even refers to Vicky's statement that her first time must be “the right time, the right place, the right moment”, by telling her it's just sex, and not a “space shuttle launch” - real modern rocket science! And her eventual realization that she wants to lose her virginity comes while she is doing homework with Jessica in a library, again paying homage to the power of the written academic word (and also possibly tying into the place where Kevin found the Book of Love, perhaps representing the purity of their previous physical interaction). Kevin does however benefit slightly from a modern staple – a phone call connects him with his brother in both “Pie” and “2”, and receives useful advice: the Book of Love in the former, and the idea to get a summer house in the latter. Why then does these phone calls actually result in success? Well the answer is that, while the phone calls do provide Kevin with useful information, it is incomplete. The Book does not get him laid, that honor falls to his being able to tell Vicky he loves her, and the lake house does not settle his concerns about his fading friendships, it is only a third act revelation about the friendship he has. Even at its best and most helpful, it would seem technology is still incomplete – it can only open the door, it is up to us to walk through it.
It would seem that technology is out to get anybody anywhere – Stifler's hotel reservation in Wedding is canceled by phone (in actuality at the hands of Finch off-screen, but only made possible by the lack of personal, face to face communication that a phone call provides). Additionally, his decimation of the flowers for Jim and Michelle's wedding in the same film is as a result of his incompetence in using technology as simple as a light switch (his flipping of random switches accidentally switches off the cooler keeping the flowers fresh). Stifler would seem to deserve special attention, however – he is three times embarrassed, none of which seem to have an underlying tech behind them: by drinking a cup of beer that Kevin has ejaculated into following fellatio with Vicky in the first film, by being peed on while wooing a freshman in the second film, and by being caught covered in cake and being licked in the crotch by dogs in the third film. This continual humiliation which does not come as a result of tech would seem to fly against my theory of the trilogy. But Stifler, if you will recall, is always presented as an outsider. He is popular, in that he hosts parties that are seemingly very popular, is capable of getting laid, however, he is always presented as being outside the primary group of friends of Jim, Kevin, Oz, and Finch (indeed at the end of the second act in “Pie”, Finch asks: “We were friends with Stifler?” Even these four do not see themselves as his friends, merely acquaintances.). Instead, Stifler has a number of people who watch his antics – he is seen entertaining the lacrosse team about Heather's possible sexual noises, gathering a crowd to make fun of Finch as he leaves the girl's restroom after putting laxative in his coffee, and uniting his football team in “Wedding” to make fun of Jim, but all of his bluster with these large groups of friends are largely one way – him telling jokes and other people watching and laughing. In this respect, Stifler is more like a blogger, tweeter, or message boarder. He has no real friends, only “followers”, in today's parlance. He is punished because he actually is technology, in a metaphorical sense. He chases after the kind of instant, self-gratification that has become so common in our interconnected society, and he is punished for it, until he begins to make real friends in “2”, and finally a worthy mate in “Wedding”. The first two films both feature a tracking shot following Stifler from room to room as he says hello to the respective party-goers, but he has no meaningful conversations with anyone he talks to, instead just resorting to witty, snippy, and snide comments – a sort of wiki-walk/commment hybrid.
If anything, the films make the statement that modern technology stands in the way of real intimacy and real relationships – though at the time the internet was limited, today it is possible to have an entire life on-line with seldom having to venture into the real world. “Pie” seems to take the stance that real life is better – for example, even though Jim is a stammering idiot around Nadia, she still has a thing for him. The films tell us one simple thing – people who use technology are made the worse for it, and those that choose a simpler, more social experience are made the better for it. In order to grow up, you gotta unplug, go out, and live a little.
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