In his Metamorphoses, Ovid is concerned with, among other things, images of woman and the men that love them. Perhaps that is a euphemistic way of saying: Ovid’s book of changes often features women as the victims of men’s desire.
Tag Archives: stanislaw lem
Stuff Going On
Well, we’re off. Yes, another semester has started with a bang. I have finally finished my course prep and posted my last syllabus online for a class that begins tonight. I even have my second session course’s syllabus finished. It’s an interesting semester: I didn’t get my usual New Media senior seminar, but I also [...]
South Again
Today, despite the cool weather, I donned my new jacket and, once again, headed south. My destination: the 25th annual conference for the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. Walter, Tom, and I are to give a panel on Lem’s Solaris at the conference in Ft. Lauderdale, and I decided that I needed [...]
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.
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.
