Arrival
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. Depends which parts of the trailer they focus on 
Ite
Save your valediction (she/her)
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- Ite
Looks great!
I'm actually more on board for the "boring" bits. Sci fi has always been a great vehicle for philosophy (imo it's one of its central functions). There were missiles and explosions at the end of the trailer, so I guess this movie will "have it all." The protagonist's story is what I'll be going to see, though.
I'm just happy that it's a new movie, not another reboot of the Day the Earth Stood Still.
I'm actually more on board for the "boring" bits. Sci fi has always been a great vehicle for philosophy (imo it's one of its central functions). There were missiles and explosions at the end of the trailer, so I guess this movie will "have it all." The protagonist's story is what I'll be going to see, though.
I'm just happy that it's a new movie, not another reboot of the Day the Earth Stood Still.
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
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- X
The big thing that's selling me on this is that I really love the idea of the difficulties and potentially EXTREMELY sensitive issues arising with communication between us and an alien race. I feel like there are way too many, "The aliens are attacking us for X contrived reason" films and far too few, "Oh man there are actually OTHER INTELLIGENT LIFEFORMS how do we even start" type films.
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Cthulhu
Administrator
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- Yop
ATTACK OF THE PED EGGS!
Looks interesting. I mean personally as soon as the tentacles showed up I think it's time to break out the nukes
What? That's when the fun starts
Looks very reminiscent of Contact, I'd say.
Tetsujin
he/they
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- Tets
ATTACK OF THE PED EGGS!
Looks interesting. I mean personally as soon as the tentacles showed up I think it's time to break out the nukes
banned
Looked cool until the explosions started. Far more interested in the concept of alien languages and working on communicating with them and all that.
Hope it focuses on that and the actiony bits are mostly bait for the trailers
Flare
Pro Adventurer
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- Flare
It does look interesting. I like the whole 'they seem to look creepy but are trying to communicate and every human is pretty freaked out but at least one girl is courageous enough to try and talk back', I just hope it doesn't turn into 'humans automatically start war with peaceful aliens' and shit.
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
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- X
Well... it's currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes right now.
I'm even MORE excited to see it this week.
X
I'm even MORE excited to see it this week.
X
Interslicery
.....
I'll agree that it's fantastic. BUT...
I don't know if I can go with the fact that learning their language let's you see time differently, and you can see the future. That's too much of a stretch considering how grounded and realistic the rest of the movie is
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
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- X
This is what's especially interesting to me about that, actually:
The way that our brain is wired being responsible for how we perceive time is a VERY heavily science fiction-y concept at a glance. Like any good concept though, that's got at some very solid basis in how our language significantly affects how we're able to grasp or perceive lots of things, from shades of colour, to math, and even concepts of social interaction and behaviours are affected and even limited by language, because we think in our language and having words for concepts defines our thinking.
Also, because of how weird things get when you try to understand how consciousness and perception actually works and whether things like free will exist, due to things like the fact that your brain edits and corrects everything that you perceive. So, conceptually, if fate is deterministic, and your active consciousness was able to jump around outside of a strictly linear flow, you'd be experiencing things without specific order without any issues. The science-fictiony bit is really just the ability to learn something out-of-order, but that really comes down to whether or not time itself is linear, or if we just experience it that way. If it's just our experience of time and time itself is not actually linear, then there's really no issue with perceiving time and things like that out of order.
It's does seem like it's a bit of a leap to suggest that it's something that's capable of being triggered by language, but it's actually not that far fetched of a sci-fi concept, especially for one that's dealing with the nature of communicating with an alien species that doesn't exist within a linear flow of time, and examining the concept of living in a way outside of the restrictions of linear time. Given the right conditions, it's actually really plausible.
(This is probably especially because I'm regularly studying Swedish these days, and after having learned some French & Spanish as a kid, & a decent amount of Japanese in High School/College, I'm getting a better appreciation for how language impacts all sorts of things just in its order, structure, and then in words that're unique to it).
The short story called "Story of Your Life" that the film itself is based heavily references the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis which will get you a good summary of all that stuff. I do REALLY want to hunt down and read the original short now though.
Also, because of how weird things get when you try to understand how consciousness and perception actually works and whether things like free will exist, due to things like the fact that your brain edits and corrects everything that you perceive. So, conceptually, if fate is deterministic, and your active consciousness was able to jump around outside of a strictly linear flow, you'd be experiencing things without specific order without any issues. The science-fictiony bit is really just the ability to learn something out-of-order, but that really comes down to whether or not time itself is linear, or if we just experience it that way. If it's just our experience of time and time itself is not actually linear, then there's really no issue with perceiving time and things like that out of order.
It's does seem like it's a bit of a leap to suggest that it's something that's capable of being triggered by language, but it's actually not that far fetched of a sci-fi concept, especially for one that's dealing with the nature of communicating with an alien species that doesn't exist within a linear flow of time, and examining the concept of living in a way outside of the restrictions of linear time. Given the right conditions, it's actually really plausible.
(This is probably especially because I'm regularly studying Swedish these days, and after having learned some French & Spanish as a kid, & a decent amount of Japanese in High School/College, I'm getting a better appreciation for how language impacts all sorts of things just in its order, structure, and then in words that're unique to it).
The short story called "Story of Your Life" that the film itself is based heavily references the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis which will get you a good summary of all that stuff. I do REALLY want to hunt down and read the original short now though.
X
Interslicery
.....
Fair enough, I'd never really heard of that theory before. I'll see how it effects a second viewing knowing that info. I'm still not really convinced it works in the movie though.
It comes out of nowhere, and it's a pretty drastic shift what the rest of the movie was, and turns into into a different type of movie. I'm not sure how it could have been better implemented, but it was really jarring.
It comes out of nowhere, and it's a pretty drastic shift what the rest of the movie was, and turns into into a different type of movie. I'm not sure how it could have been better implemented, but it was really jarring.
I'll see how I process it on a second viewing. I'm probly gonna see if my parents wanna see it this weekend.
Interslicery
.....
It went over much better a second time, knowing that it was coming. I still feel like the whole language thing unlocking the perception of time is a bit of a stretch, but watching it again, there's a bunch of little hints at whats happening. It flows much better too, I think.
My dad enjoyed it, though I'm not sure how much of the ending he actually got. My mom was thoroughly confused though. She thought the disease Hannah gets was from the aliens, wasn't sure why Ian left, what was happening for the last half or so of the movie. She said the only thing she really understood was xiexie, which for some reason she knows means thank you.
My dad enjoyed it, though I'm not sure how much of the ending he actually got. My mom was thoroughly confused though. She thought the disease Hannah gets was from the aliens, wasn't sure why Ian left, what was happening for the last half or so of the movie. She said the only thing she really understood was xiexie, which for some reason she knows means thank you.
Cthulhu
Administrator
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- Yop
woo watched it. I r confused. I mean I get the gist of it, but still. Some blanks left.
What happens in 3000 years? Insert all the timeline fuckery paradoxes here.
The fuck did she tell the Chinese general that made him suddenly turn all Mandela?
Did she or did she not have a daughter, or is it like, inverse memory, or just editing in that she never actually had a daughter before the start of the movie.
On that note, her daughter isn't exactly a palindrome as the name allusion suggests, more like a repeat. Hanhan.
Also why did both the aliens and the humans start off with difficult letters and images that supposedly are entire sentences. Start with a line and a circle or something ffs. And put down a TV that just shows repeats of Sesame Street all day, instead of limiting it to a short window of time where some words are attempted to be exchanged.
The fuck did she tell the Chinese general that made him suddenly turn all Mandela?
Did she or did she not have a daughter, or is it like, inverse memory, or just editing in that she never actually had a daughter before the start of the movie.
On that note, her daughter isn't exactly a palindrome as the name allusion suggests, more like a repeat. Hanhan.
Also why did both the aliens and the humans start off with difficult letters and images that supposedly are entire sentences. Start with a line and a circle or something ffs. And put down a TV that just shows repeats of Sesame Street all day, instead of limiting it to a short window of time where some words are attempted to be exchanged.
Pixel
The Pixie King
She made the choice to have the daughter she saw in her future, even though she knew the heartbreak that would come, because she knew the love she could share. But Jeremy Renner leaves her, because she reveals to her the decision she made, despite knowing how it would end.
Both of my parents names are palindromes.
Mum and Dad
Cthulhu
Administrator
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- Yop
get out