{"id":4917,"date":"2019-05-10T06:47:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T01:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=4917"},"modified":"2019-05-10T17:41:46","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T12:11:46","slug":"space-and-time-in-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/space-and-time-in-films\/","title":{"rendered":"Space and Time in Films"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the second half of 20th<\/sup> century, as space missions gained popularity and frequency, science fiction too changed form. They have increasingly become techno-oriented, with greater use of graphics and animation and digital imaging. Often scientific exploration is merely the trigger point \u2013 primarily the films still probe the journey of the human mind.<\/p>\n

\"forbidden

Forbidden Planet<\/em> (Pic courtesy: IMDb)<\/p><\/div>\n

MGM\u2019s The Forbidden Planet <\/em>(1956), shot in Eastmancolour and Cinemascope, is considered the first of the films that now comprise Science Fiction Cinema. The futuristic plot set in the 23rd<\/sup> century revolves around Starship C-57D that reaches the distant planet Altair IV to determine the fate of a 20-year-expedition. The characters, the plot, the isolated setting all bring to mind Shakespeare\u2019s The Tempest,<\/em> but that is not why it entered \u2013 in 2013 \u2013 the Library of Congress\u2019 National Film Registry as \u201cculturally, historically or aesthetically significant\u201d.<\/p>\n

The reasons are:<\/p>\n

1) It was the first sci-fi film to depict humans travelling in a faster-than-light starship of their own creation.<\/p>\n

2) It is the first to be set on another planet in interstellar space away from Earth.<\/p>\n

3) It was the first film of any genre to use entirely electronic musical score (courtesy Bebe and Louis Barron).<\/p>\n

4) It was the first film to have a robot that was a character with a distinct personality, not a mere \u2019tin-can on legs\u2019.<\/p>\n

5) At the 29th<\/sup> Academy Awards it was nominated for the Best Visual Effects.<\/p>\n

\"2001

2001 A Space Odyssey<\/em> (Pic Courtesy: IMDb\/ Everett Collection)<\/p><\/div>\n

Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em> (1968) follows a voyage to Jupiter with the sentient computer Hal after the discovery of a mysterious black monolith affecting human evolution. And in doing so, the film raises questions about technology, artificial intelligence and extra-terrestrial life. Its scientifically accurate depiction of space flight, pioneering special effects, and use of classical music to minimise dialogue have combined to win the film an entry in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.<\/p>\n

\"Solaris\"

Solaris<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The Polish novel Solaris<\/em> (1961) by Stanislaw Lem revolves around a psychologist who is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet to discover what has caused the crew to go insane. The novel has been twice adapted for the screen. In 1972, Andrei Tarkovsky of USSR brought an emotional and intellectual depth to the genre that won him the Palm d\u2019Or at Cannes. Thirty years later, in 2002, Steven Soderbergh of USA revisits the site to show ultimately how little we, flawed beings, can fathom the Universe.<\/p>\n

Close Encounter of the Third Kind<\/em> (1977) emanated from Steven Spielberg\u2019s sighting of a meteoric shower as lad with his father, in New Jersey. It led to the sci-fi film Firelight <\/em>that he made in his teens. Later he penned a short story about a group of teenagers in a Midwestern farming community seeing a \u2018light show\u2019. All of these culminated in the film about people who believe in UFO, which entered the National Congress Library Register of films in 2007.<\/p>\n

When Spielberg first proposed the film, Hollywood majors found it \u201cthe worst idea ever.\u201d But after the phenomenal success of Jaws there were takers for Spielberg\u2019s tale of aliens returning the humans they\u2019d kidnapped decades ago \u2013 in pristine condition! Spielberg had culled known facts of UFO mystery but USAF and NASA declined to cooperate. Instead, NASA wrote a 20-page letter to say the film\u2019s release will be \u2018dangerous\u2019.[1]<\/p>\n

The script knitted several unrelated \u2018appearances\u2019. A French scientist (Francois Truffaut) and his American interpreter go missing. A mapmaker and other government researchers discover the planes of a squadron that had gone missing, with no sign of the pilots. A lost cargo ship is found in the Gobi desert. An air traffic controller overhears two airline flights avoid a midair collision with a UFO. A three-year-old wakes up at night to find his toys playing on their own. A housewife is frustrated as every household appliance malfunctions. A blue-collar worker burns a side of his face by the bright light of an object that flies over his truck. Witnesses in India\u2019s Dharamshala report hearing a distinctive five-note musical phrase. When this is played into outer space, a series of numbers mystifies the UN scientists investigating the reports. The numbers, when placed in a certain order, indicate a location in Wyoming which the US military is evacuating to a secret landing zone for the UFO and its inhabitants!<\/p>\n

\"Close

Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em> (1977) (Pic courtesy: Amazon \/ IMDb)<\/p><\/div>\n

Extensively shot on locations, Close Encounters<\/em> used visual effects to design the aliens. The mothership was made to look like an oil refinery Spielberg had reportedly seen by night, in India, so it emphasised the luminescent look rather than the metallic hardware look of Star Wars<\/em> (which released the same year). \u00a0Oxygen mask with lights became one alien; the graceful local girls became the small aliens; puppets too were used to actualise the alien who communicates in the end, by hand signals. All of this combined to weave the story of an everyday person who has a sighting which becomes such an obsession that he leaves his wife and children to fly out in a UFO. The bottom line: Human race has reached a point where it is ready to enter the community of Cosmos.<\/p>\n

Spielberg, with his belief in Someone-Out-There, was a frontrunner in humanised space saga. Later, in an interview during the Cold War years, he compared the alien\u2019s communication as \u201ctolerance\u201d. \u201cIf we can talk to aliens, why not with the Reds?\u201d he\u2019d asked. And in 1985, after the heart-warming success of ET,<\/em> he donated $ 100,000 to the Planetary Society for \u2018Megachannel Extra-Terrestrial Assay.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi<\/em> (1983) (Pic courtesy: IMDb)<\/p><\/div>\n

George Lucas\u2019 Star Wars<\/em> became a pop-culture phenomenon in 1977 and made famous the words, \u201cA long time ago in a galaxy far far away.\u201d It was followed by successful sequels, The Empire Strikes Back<\/em> (1980) and Return of the Jedi<\/em> (1983). So successful was the original trilogy that later a prequel trilogy was made between 1999 and 2005. Subsequently Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/em> has started off a sequel trilogy. Amazingly each of the releases has garnered financial success as well as Academy Awards nomination and inspired animation series, turning Star Wars<\/em> into the third highest-grossing film series.<\/p>\n

Star Trek<\/em> (1979), directed by twice academy Award winner Robert Wise, built upon the success of a 1966 television series now referred to as \u2018The Original Series\u2019<\/em>. It followed the interstellar adventures of USS Enterprise, a space exploration vessel built by the United Federation of Planets. It is 23rd<\/sup> century, and when the crew on board spot an alien spacecraft of enormous mysterious power approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk assumes command of the starship to intercept, probe and halt the intruder.<\/p>\n

Critics faulted Star Trek<\/em> for its lack of action and over-reliance on special effects. But the film, conceived at $15 million and completed at $46 million, not only boasts subsequent prequels, sequels, parodies, franchisees, animated series and an upcoming television series that\u2019ll debut in 2017, it has its own fully constructed language, Klingon. Its influence on the world outside sci-fi is traced in technological inventions like cell phone and tablet computers. And, with a multiracial cast to represent the interstellar federal republic, it held aloft a progressive civil rights flag.<\/p>\n

Star Trek<\/strong><\/em> (1979)<\/span><\/p>\n