Where to begin…

A few classmates and I sat down at 1:00 today for a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic sci-fi peace, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we stood up three hours later thoroughly confused, not to mention a little exhausted. The film, which is classified as an “epic drama” (in part because of the prominent themes of travel and exploration, in part because of the fact that the narrative spans nearly four million years), is renowned for both its convoluted symbolism and deliberate ambiguity. Frankly, I blinked a few times when the credits rolled, trying to wrap my head around what it was I had just witnessed.

How do you begin to describe 2001? The film opens with the “Dawn of Man”, featuring the gorilla-like inhabitants of Earth in 4,000,000 B.C, who come upon a mysterious, black, singing monolith in the middle of the African Serengeti, and concludes with an ill-fated mission to the moons of Jupiter in the year 2001 C.E. The final sequence of the film is one of the most famous, and least explicable in the history of cinematography, depicting what could be a journey through a worm-hole, an alien abduction, or the wild hallucinations of an oxygen-deprived astronaut. Or pretty much anything else. In the process of posting this, I read an interview with Kubrick concerning the various interpretations of the film, and was befuddled to find that he refused to give viewers any explanation as to what “really” happened in the film, stating instead-

“You’re free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the film—and such speculation is one indication that it has succeeded in gripping the audience at a deep level—but I don’t want to spell out a verbal road map for 2001 that every viewer will feel obligated to pursue or else fear he’s missed the point.”¹

But, to avoid any potential spoilers I’m going to drop any analysis of the plot resolution, and turn instead to an examination of the “science” behind 2001. The film is actually fairly acclaimed for its realistic portrayal of space travel, especially given that it was released in 1968. With special effects unrivaled at the time, Kubrick depicted spaceships and moon-bases that utilized rotational architecture and centripetal force to simulate gravity, and space-suits with magnetic boots that allowed characters to walk even in areas without these features. He also included the use of artificial hibernation, or cryo-sleep, in space travel, as well as the burgeoning science- and questionable ethics- of Artificial Technology, a theme that is still featured heavily in modern science fiction.

Apart from adding to the realism of the setting, Kubrick’s attention to gravity and weightlessness plays on the slow, ethereal narration that characterizes much of the film. The pace of 2001 is remarkably gradual, almost plodding at times, reinforced by the drifting motions of the characters in space, as well as the recurring classical music that likens satellites and space-ships to the floating participants of a waltz. In addition to lulling the audience into an almost jelly-like, metaphysical state of mind (which is all but requirement for the tackling of the final sequence), the pace mimics another prominent theme of the film: human evolution.

From the jump-cut that ties the tossed bone and the spaceship together in the audience’s mind to the survival-instinct-spurred betrayal of HAL, Kubrick draws a clear parallel between mankind’s past and present identities. Throughout the film he makes an interesting comment about evolution as he likens the human’s (or human-like computers) of 2001 to the primitive, ignorant inhabitants of 4,000,000 B.C. The familiar image technique is visible throughout- the astronauts clustered around the Moon obelisk mirror the apes in the Serengeti, the aforementioned spaceship mirrors the bone shard of the victorious Australopithecus, and the conflict between HAL and the crew of the Jupiter-bound vessel mirrors the battle for the African water-hole. Kubrick seems to be indicating that we are essentially the same beasts that roamed the primitive earth, just with fancier tools. The fact that the alien monoliths seem to be guiding human evolution, prompting the critical steps in our development, creates an interesting statement on human nature. Could Kubrick saying that we are incapable of self-guidance? That it requires an external force to push us into the future, in to discovery?

It seems like it to me. The greater implications of that statement however… Anyway, I’m pushing my post limit, so I’m going to leave it here. However, watch for more to come. I’ll be scratching my head over this one for a while.

1)       Norden, Eric. Interview: Stanley Kubrick. Playboy (September 1968). Reprinted in: Phillips, Gene D. (Editor).Stanley Kubrick: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi, 2001. ISBN 1-57806-297-7 pp. 47–48.

Directed by Stanley Kubrik, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a suspenseful sci-fi movie about the contact between humans and extraterrestrial life.  Although no form of poor CGI or foam-rubber suit are used to represent the aliens, a black monolithic object is used to represent the extraterrestrial life.

DIvided into four distinct sections, the film begins by showing the purpose of the monoliths, as a group of early primates are influenced by it’s presence.  From there, the movie skips forward to modern times, wherein a business type man must deal with the discovery of another monolith on the moon.  The third sequence follows two astronauts onboard a ship to Jupiter, in search of a strange signal emanating from somewhere around the planet.  Becoming the villain of the film, the ships ominous and monotone computer attempts to take the lives of the crew, only just being stopped in time by one of the scientists.  The final act plays out in a way that can only be truly described as psychedelic, as the scientist from the last sequence, Dr. Bowman, is thrust through space and time, and forced to interact with future versions of himself.

Slow paced to the point of boredom sometimes, 2001: A Space Odyssey relies heavily upon its creeping and ominous soundtrack to illicit a reaction from the viewers.  With symbolism apparent throughout, including a quick transition shot of a bone-tool being thrown in the air to a cylindrical space craft, the film is mesmerizing in its portrayal of man’s rise, and first contact with alien life.  

Topped off with a long sequence of bright lights and moving colors, the visuals and special effects of the movie work beautifully, especially when put in context of when it was made.  The soundtrack and place settings set the tone of the atmosphere, however, with every scene tense and seemingly endless.

As for the believability of the entire movie, very few things seem out of place, when put in context with the rest of the film.  The space station and ships are plausible in how they present they’re inner workings, while the presence of the mechanical villain, the sinister HAL 9000, add a chilling sense of realism to the bulk of the film.

Personally, I believe the most interesting facet of the film is in how the extraterrestrial beings are portrayed.  Or, actually, not portrayed.  By using large, black stone monoliths as the only representation of the aliens, how they actually look is left up to the viewer.  Besides that, the alien aren’t portrayed as evil or villains, but to better mankind, and expedite it’s evolution.  In the most absent way possible, the aliens are responsible for the plot of the film without ever making an appearance on camera.

District 9 is not your average take on a sci-fi film. Instead of focusing on the aliens in the movie the main character is actually a human who quickly becomes one of the most wanted men in South Africa. Let me take a step back. The film starts out with a man named Wikus van de Merwe going into the slums of Johannesburg where an alien mother ship hovers overhead. The area referred to as District 9, below the ship, is inhabited by the aliens who made an emergency landing there over twenty years ago. The aliens are disliked by humans and derogatorily deemed ‘prawns’ because of their appearance.

Wikus’ works for a private military company, which has been tasked with the job of relocating the prawns to a more interment camp like area out side of the city. During his trip in District 9 he releases an unknown substance onto himself and is infected with an alien virus of sorts and subsequently begins to transform into one of the aliens. The transformation is grotesque and involves his fingernails and teeth falling out, while his left hand turns into a claw. He is taken into custody by the company he works for because only aliens(and now Wikus) can operate the highly advanced alien weaponry. While in holding he is tortured and forced to shoot many of the weapons at live targets. He eventually escapes, seeking shelter in the trash ridden slums of District 9. I won’t ruin the rest of the movie, but he ends up finding one of the extraterrestrials named Christopher who promises Wikus a cure and the possibility of being human again. In turn Wikus must help him to reach the mother ship and leave for their home planet.

Now onto some science. The alien technology showcased in the movie is impressive, but there are certainly aspects that are not believable. While the mechanized suits or the many weapons used are much more reasonable, the virus which completely mutates Wikus or the tractor beam used are less realistic. Obviously the alien ship is also something far beyond our current powers of engineering and science, but maybe in the future will too will be able to construct massive space faring vessels.

Even though the film could be simply viewed as an action movie with an alien twist it absolutely has clear themes commenting on the human condition. The awful conditions in which the aliens are living are taken directly from the actual slums in South Africa. According to Richard Corliss of Time, District 9 is loosely modeled after District 6 where more than 60,000 non-white people were forced to leave in the 1966. The discrimination of the aliens can also be viewed as a reflection on the racism towards people of different races in the real world. These aspects of the film coupled with an action packed story line made it particularly interesting to me.

After watching the an hour and a half long film twice, I have to say 343 Industries did a great job producing this Forward Unto Dawn. the aesthetics, designs, mechanics and storyline were all very engaging. The environment and building structures definitely put the Halo universe into scope. The visuals were pleasing, yet not distracting. So a little introduction about Forward Unto Dawn, it is based in our universe, in the year 2525. On the planet Circinius IV, United Nations Space Command (UNSC) holds the Corbulo Academy of Military Science. It is a military institution named after Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, a Roman General who died in 67 AD. Corbulo was ordered to commit suicide by his emperor, which he did so loyally in the name of the Empire, yelling “Axios!” as he took his own life. “Axios.” Greek for “I am worthy,” is fittingly the motto of the Corbulo Academy of Military Science. The academy is a training ground for young soldiers mainly to fend off the insurrectionists (rebels) from taking over the outer space colonies. The protagonist Thomas Lasky is a part of the Hastati Squad at the academy. The night before Lasky’s medical leave, the academy were hit by the Covenant, a unified alien force with over 8 races. They unite under common worship of the Forerunners, an ancient, super advanced race. In the final moments of the Forerunners’ civilization, they named humanity as its successor, just as the ones who came before did. As a result, in 2525, Covenant began a campaign to eliminate humanity, since humans are an insult to the Forerunners in our very own existence. Forward Unto Dawn captures the events of this alien invasion on Circinius IV.

Forward Unto Dawn has a rather different take on aliens then some movies have, though there is still a vast number of similarities. For one, they are much more advanced than humanity, they are barbaric, and they have come to wipe out humanity. The difference is the possibility that alien races could unite under the same cause as countries do. Even though most of Covenant races have a face and four limbs, they are not necessarily humanoids.  343 Industries said that they design the Covenant to look like animals, drawing features from birds, worms, bears, monkeys and reptiles. Moreover, as advanced as the Covenant are, they still believe in religion. It certainly demonstrates that religion can bring people (races) together, but can also start wars. Overall, I would certainly recommend this film to anyone, it has great potential for a sequel or even a TV show.

When discussing a topic like life in the universe, it is impossible to neglect the impact that science fiction has had on popular culture’s views of extraterrestrial life. Movies and books such as Dune, Slaughterhouse 5, Men in Black, Alien, and Star Wars dominate the television screens and hearts of the public. Today I decided to take a look at a popular science fiction film and see how it stacked up to the real world.

2001: A Space Odyssey, more like 2001: What were the Directors On? If you could not already tell, I did not enjoy this “epic drama.” Too many things rub one the wrong way.

To start off with, the film takes at least an hour too long to get through the storyline. During half the scenes, one cannot help feeling like the painstakingly slow cinematography resembles nails on a chalkboard (the soundtrack does not help either). There are also quite a few scenes that could be lopped off entirely.

Although the premise is good, a controlling, murderous supercomputer AND mysterious extraterrestrial life that interferes with human evolution overwhelms the film with too wide an array of science fiction topics, which makes the plotline seem improbable. Although one may say a secret government agency that protects the world from evil aliens may seem improbable as well (MIB reference), at least they are not also battling robots.

Part 4 of the movie, Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite, pulls the final straw. A strange wormhole scene lasts for 7 minutes, 5 minutes longer than necessary. By strange, I mean the cinematographer must have been tripping on acid. Then again, it was the 60’s. Then Bowman, the astronaut “taken” by the aliens, experiences the progression of his life on this alien world by seeing himself at progressively older states, changing perspectives each time. I get it; he is in a strange place being held by aliens. It should be weird. However, the next piece takes the cake. As he lies on his deathbed, the bizarre monolith (a creation of this alien species that influences human beings) reappears and HE TURNS INTO A FETUS. ORBITING EARTH. What!? And the movie ends. Again, WHAT!?!?

The movie does have its good qualities. The acting was good and the special effects were fantastic for the period it was made in. It also emphasizes facets of the human condition, like loneliness, curiosity, innovation, ambition, and the need for human control over situations and the helplessness when it is lost. A solid use of symbolism (like the pen floating away representing a loss of human control over the tools which they evolved to use) is prevalent throughout as well.

Who knows, maybe someone should have warned me it was scary (I hate horror films, even their commercials). This science fiction movie was just a little too far out for my tastes. I should have stuck with Star Wars.

The movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was made with the sole purpose of making its audience extremely aware of the passage of time. Without actually sitting in on the millions of years of human evolution,  or a journey through the vast nothingness of space, we still get to experience the full affect of such a lapse in time within the two and a half torturous hours that comprise the god awful film. The plot, if you would be so inclined to assume that the movie even has one, starts with a look into the evolution of apes, then goes on to follow an astronaut as he journeys to Jupiter in response to something found on the moon. The astronaut is faced with a dysfunctional computer, named Hal, that kills off his colleagues and is left alone to defeat it.  After successfully shutting off Hal’s intelligence, the astronaut travels through a world of colors to arrive on Jupiter, where within a minute or two of screen time, he ages completely and then turns into an infant. The end.

If you had not walked out of the theatre halfway through one of the seemingly endless scenes of the protagonist breathing heavily, you may have been carried out on a stretcher in response to the scene where the astronaut lands on Jupiter. Regardless of which point in the Odyssey you leave off, you leave the film feeling quiet literally mind blown.

Despite the completely mentally violating experience imagined by Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubrick does a phenomenal job of delivering these twisted ideas on screen. Clearly, the movie is quiet the experience (I hope that you will take my word on it, as I would not wish such an experience on anybody.) Though, what does this experience tell us about the generation that proposed the idea? The year was 1968 when the book was published, shortly after the first human was sent to space (1961). Clearly, our knowledge of space and time had reached new heights, as seen in the very accurate depiction of space travel in the movie. The 60s seemed to predict a future where traveling throughout the solar system would be as common a commute as a quick flight across the country. It was a time where the opportunities in science seemed boundless and were the compass of the generation. No wonder they imagined the year 2001 to be as depicted in the film.

So then what was that creepy feeling you had the entire time? That would probably be the fear of the uncertain. Now that we had a general idea of the vastness of the cosmos and a means by which to explore it, what would we find? The answer is as equally terrifying as it is exciting. Throughout the movie, we feel a sense of loneliness, as did the generation that realized what a tiny spec we were on the fabric of space. The excitement of new technology also accompanied the fear of technology taking over, as demonstrated by HAL. Basically, you cannot have yin without the yang. The film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, shows us the deepest insecurities of the generation of the space race.

This video was shown to me today by my professor. The universe is awe-inspiring. We are awe-inspiring. We should be reminded of that sometimes.

“Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, ‘What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?’ This is his answer.” -Max Schlickenmeyer

I hope it brings tears to your eyes, as it did to mine.

(I suggest watching in at least 720p for best effect.)

The idea of science fiction, coupled with space travel and alien life, remains an ever-popular hit with the general public. With hundreds of action-packed blockbusters created over the last century, society has maintained a long affair with films about life, love, and adventure outside of this Earth. Perhaps one of the greatest and most well-regarded examples of this idea can be seen through the hit movie, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. This revolutionary space opera opened up an entirely new universe in front of our eyes, and brought about a new wave of science fiction to pop culture.

1977 North American theatrical poster of Star Wars: Episode IV

The story of Episode IV is centered around the constant war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. In the beginning, the movie focuses on the journey of a simple man by the name of Luke Skywalker, who then goes on an intergalactic mission after his aunt and uncle are killed by the Empire. Skywalker meets many allies along the way, and eventually joins the Rebel Alliance in order to destroy the Death Star, a huge space station belonging to the Empire. After overcoming various obstacles, Luke eventually destroys the Death Star, and saves the day.

Darth Vader, the lead antagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy, is not too happy

While the special effects were impressive, even by today’s standards, the science behind it all seemed out of this world; maybe that was the point. But with our current scientific discoveries, we are light years away from harnessing the power of tractor beams, hyper-drives, light-sabers, and laser pistols. Also, the ability to harness the force and use it choke other people seemed like a scientific inaccuracy. But then again, this story took place in an entirely different universe, maybe even a different dimension, so the details aren’t too important.

Even the droids maintain humanistic qualities

An interesting theme in this movie is that humans seem to be the ones dominating the galaxy, even with countless other species inhabiting the same universe. The Empire appears to be mostly human, and so does the Rebel Alliance. Except for the occasional hero or antagonist, alien races seem to mostly sit on the sidelines, appearing submissive. At least, this seems to be the case in Episode IV. But this theme is not exclusive to the Star Wars universe; it has also infiltrated many other sci-fi films, such as the Star Trek and Men in Black. In these movies, the humans are always the heroes, saving the galaxy from some terrible alien race. It seems to be a reflection of past and current ideologies, signifying the idea of supremacy of the human race as a species. In society, humanity tends to view itself as sort of the top of the evolutionary chain, leading the way in knowledge and understanding, much more-so than any simple alien race ever could. What this could convey about the mindset of humans on a psychological level?

Image sources:

http://www.icollector.com/Star-Wars-Episode-IV-A-New-Hope-original-U-S-six-sheet-poster_i10658412

http://www.lazygamer.net/general-news/star-wars-battlefront-3-was-99-done-before-it-canned/

http://www.78p.tv/friday-funnies-6-nerdy-memes/

Prometheus, in its most basic form, is a film about a group of scientists who go to a distant moon in search of their creators, in search of the origin of human life. While they do find this, it doesn’t quite stop there. They discover that their creators (called “the Engineers“) had planned to destroy humans for reasons unknown, but had fallen victim to their own weapon/ creation before they could do so. While this may sound like a typical science- fiction movie, there is much, much more at play which has led to incredible amounts of debate upon the messages, themes, and occasionally, science, in a film which seems to ask lots of cultural and philosophical questions without giving much of an answer.

As this is a science course, I’ll start with the scientific aspects of the film and their implications. For the most part, the science in Prometheus is very accurate. That being said, it is based in the 2090′s, so naturally there is technology present that is beyond what we currently have. But the planetary science, such as finding traces of life on a moon orbiting a large, gaseous planet, or finding conditions similar, but not identical, to those on Earth, is believable. One of the largest scientific debates is over the “black liquid” that appears throughout the film and appears to be the rudimentary weapon that the Engineers had planned to use to eliminate humans.

During the course of the film, we see this liquid in many different settings, and the effects that it has on people, or other organisms, seems to vary. There are many hypotheses for the nature of this liquid, but two that make sense in my opinion. The first is that it takes on the traits of whatever organism it comes into contact with by infecting and mutating the DNA of that organism. At the start, it is just a mysterious liquid that begins to bubble out of the above canisters when the scientists enter the room, suggesting possible instability that could have led to the overrunning of the Engineers. As the movie goes on, the form that the liquid and its creations take on are of an increasingly evolved state. I could go on forever describing each evolutionary instance and thoughts on the nature of the liquid, but for now I think it will suffice to say that the two main ideas are that 1) the liquid uses the genetic material and traits of whatever host it infects to create a more evolved offspring, and 2) the liquid mirrors the emotions and intentions of whatever host it affects and creates an evolved offspring that embodies those emotions. One example of this is the opening scene, in which we see an Engineer on a desolate planet (presumably early Earth) voluntarily drink this liquid, in apparent self- sacrifice. The liquid breaks down his DNA into the building blocks of human life. When one of the scientists later in the film also ingests the liquid, he turns into a murderous creature somewhat resembling himself. Another strong example of this idea is in the very last scene, when we see the body of an infected Engineer who was trying to kill Shaw, his intentions and emotions extremely malevolent. A creature very closely resembling the modern Alien xenomorph then bursts from his chest. Anyone who has seen the Alien movies knows these creatures to be extremely malevolent and bloodthirsty, so this lends credence to the mirrored- emotion hypothesis.

So that’s the science. And it’s only the tip of the iceberg. As we begin to turn towards cultural and religious themes, we start to see the real debates unfold. Among many others, a few of the main themes are the idea of God and belief and the importance of humans in the universe. There are many details in the film that lead us to question where, and if, God comes into the picture. Obviously there is strong symbolism in that the Engineers created humans just as God did. Also, it is mentioned that the Engineers intended to destroy humans after some event about 2000 years ago, implying the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This hints that Jesus was an emissary sent by the Engineers in an attempt to turn civilization around. But humans instead killed this emissary, thus leading the Engineers to decide it was time for humans to be no longer. So while there is the symbolism for God in the Engineers there is also the thought of who created the Engineers (as Shaw asks when David, the android, asks if their discovery makes her doubt her beliefs), leading the viewer to question where the line between religion and science lies and whether it needs to be so clear cut. Obviously we live in a highly scientific world, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for religion and philosophy.  Then comes one of the biggest questions. Why did the Engineers create us? And why did they want to destroy us? What is the significance of our life and existence? One of the most striking scenes in relation to this idea is when David asks Holloway, another main character who is disappointed not to have found a live Engineer, why he thought humans created him, an android. This raises the question of whether human life really has any point at all, whether there is any significance to our existence or whether it is rather common, one of the main questions in the current search for life in the universe. (Also, although I didn’t mention it here, follow the link to the page on the myth of Prometheus and look at the connections there to the ideas presented in the film.)

While I have touched on a few points here, there is so much more out there. I encourage anyone reading this to watch the movie and think, read, and talk about its implications and messages. Many of the points it brings up are issues on the forefront of our scientific world that each and every one of us should be aware of.

I had the chance to watch Ridley Scott’s classic film, Alien, tonight. This is not the first time I have had the pleasure of watching this movie, but it never fails to put me on the edge of my seat. Each time I watch Ripley creep carefully around the lower levels of the ship searching for her escape pod, forcing herself to ignore the warnings in the background shouting, “T-Minus 60 seconds until ship self-destructs,” it’s almost like I can feel the shear dread that she is experiencing. That’s how well Ridley Scott did on this movie, and it is likely one of the reasons why this movie won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1979.

The alien in the movie is extremely eerie looking, but it really does not look like what we consider an “archetypal alien.” Source: http://khpbooks.com/cinemaknifefight/tag/the-thing/

Anyways, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, I am going to continue to do my best to convince you to watch it. The film starts out with the crew of the towing spaceship Nostromo on their way back to Earth, carrying loads of mineral ore that had been gathered in a distant corner of space. The crew is awakened from their stasis by SOS signals coming from a spaceship on a nearby planet. When they go to explore and potentially give aid to the source of these signals, the crew encounters something slightly unexpected (I don’t want to ruin it for you) that completely alters the nature of their voyage.

For me, the most captivating aspect of the film has to be its uncanny ability to bring some legitimacy to what it must feel like to encounter intelligent, extraterrestrial beings. Humans are naturally terrified of the unknown, and that is precisely the reason so many people oppose astronomy and its goals. These people simply believe that we are not doing ourselves any favors by sticking our head out there for the cosmos to see. There is no doubt that if we ever do have the fortune (although many people might not call it a fortune) of encountering aliens, there is absolutely a chance of them being hostile. This is a pretty terrifying thought, and must be multitudes more terrifying when it is brought to life in front of you, as it is in Alien. Combining the excellent performances of the actors with an incredible script and director, Alien turned out to be a pretty awesome movie. Taking all this into mind, now consider that this movie was created in 1979, about 34 years ago. Clearly the technology that the filmmakers had available to them then was not anything like it is now, and yet they still managed to make a phenomenal film. Seriously, go see this movie!

If I somehow still haven’t convinced you that you should take a few hours out of your day to watch Alien, then don’t take it from me… Take it from the real critics – Alien has an 8.5 rating on IMDB, making it the 40th greatest movie of all time. Moreover, 97% of people who reviewed the movie on Rotten Tomatoes said it was “fresh.” The bottom line is, most people, myself included, agree that Alien is a classic movie that is a must-see for all sci-fi fans.