Titus Andronicus goes to great — almost hyperbolic — lengths to make this clear, though it is often overlooked trying to make ethical sense out of a morality tale. I believe that Titus Andronicus shares this quality with Euripides’ Medea: both of these plays unsettle us in ways that we might not be willing to face.
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Lem’s Solaris: Critique of Human Progress
Unlike either Tarkovsky’s or Soderbergh’s film versions, both of whom seem to have taken Muntius’ interpretation of Solaris to heart, Lem’s 1961 novel suggests that Solaris remains alien, something that humanity’s cataloging and ordering cannot explain.
We Want Mirrors
I watched Soderbergh’s Solaris again last night to try and get this paper going. I was again captivated by the visuals that seemed to pay homage to Tarkovsky’s love of flow. If Tarkovsky had had access to the latest in CG technology, would he have used it?
Tarkovsky’s Solaris
Tarkovsky’s Solaris portrays humanity’s attempt to understand that which is beyond the scope of our creation. The characters make contact with the truly alien and try to conceive of this presence in terms dictated by their science and ration understand, but fail miserably.
Dodgy Science Fiction
Today, Mark Ward of the BBC laments the lack of hard science in film these days. He states: “A strange idiocy seems to have over-taken the makers of blockbusters such as The Matrix Reloaded, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and others who are bolstering their creations with some decidedly dodgy science.” Well, this might [...]
Soderbergh’s Solaris
This film does not try to promote a clear position about the universe, but suggests that we are products of what we choose to do — I guess in itself that is a position, but the ontology of the film is one of human volition in that we make our own meaning and determine our own happiness (and sadness) through the decisions we make every day.
Full Frontal
I watched Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal tonight. This film examines love in reality versus that which is presented to us in popular culture. The irony, something that the film drives home by the last scene, is that the “real” vision of love and connection is only itself a part of a film. I assume that [...]