Speculation on 'Contact' - Design Impact of Chair (1 Viewer)

[Chris James]

I read this entire thread, and numerous times the question "Was the chair there when she returned?" remained unanswered. Well, it was indeed laying behind her on the floor of the capsule.

 

[Chuck C]

yep...and of course, the magnetic field wore off after the capsule hit the water so one could argue that the chair detached from the ceiling and fell behind her.

Here is another thought provoking idea: Upon closer inspection of the trasport scene, there are frames that show the spinning rings as scene from near the center of the sphere. To the keenest observer, one could probably predict that the sphere would fall straight through.

 

[Ken Chan]

Ellie's father in the form of a Vegan when asked who did it said "no one knows, they got here before us...maybe they will return someday." This shows that there is a grand creator

First, the ones the sent the message were not Vegans per se, although that is a handy way to refer to them. The beacon was at Vega -- she saw it part way through the trip -- but she went quite a few other places. Odds are they are not at a "local" system like Vega.

Second, the fact that there are "ancients" that built the system before and left does not necessarily mean that they are "the" or "a" grand creator. Imagine if humanity were to progress to the point where we could build a system like that; we do and then we "leave", maybe to answer that same question, "Is that all there is, is there nothing more?" Two generations of sentients later, some primitive race is thinking we're the grand creator. We would have created the system, but we're (obviously) not God in the common sense.

//Ken

 

[Brett_B]

I had assumed that everything she saw on the beach, including her father and...the beach, were communicated directly to her mind.

This is a bit off discussion on the original topic, but has anyone else ever noticed that the beach that Ellie sees on her journey looks exactly like the drawing of her interpretation of Pensicola, FL at the beginning of the movie?

 

[Chuck C]

I sure hope so...that's the dead giveaway that it's a recreation.

 

[Josh Lowe]

This is a bit off discussion on the original topic, but has anyone else ever noticed that the beach that Ellie sees on her journey looks exactly like the drawing of her interpretation of Pensicola, FL at the beginning of the movie?

that's because they chose a safe, familiar place from her memories to recreate as a meeting place.

 

[Holadem]

Second, the fact that there are "ancients" that built the system before and left does not necessarily mean that they are "the" or "a" grand creator. Imagine if humanity were to progress to the point where we could build a system like that; we do and then we "leave", maybe to answer that same question, "Is that all there is, is there nothing more?" Two generations of sentients later, some primitive race is thinking we're the grand creator. We would have created the system, but we're (obviously) not God in the common sense

One of the corner stones of the fabulous Sci-Fi series Babylon 5.
--
Holadem

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Second, the fact that there are "ancients" that built the system before and left does not necessarily mean that they are "the" or "a" grand creator. Imagine if humanity were to progress to the point where we could build a system like that; we do and then we "leave", maybe to answer that same question, "Is that all there is, is there nothing more?" Two generations of sentients later, some primitive race is thinking we're the grand creator. We would have created the system, but we're (obviously) not God in the common sense

Or imagine we get to a point capable of creating intelligent beings. Do we really have the right to judge or punish them or ask them to do everything that we say! I think Contact is a great movie with vast ideas! It presents different ideas and never means anything for sure, like recognizing or not recognizing God. Like all the great movies it poses the questions, there is no definite answer!

 

[ErichH]

This is a very cool topic!

I never percieved the transport system as being made by a God or grand creator. Just another step up to another even more evolved set of beings/race/people/whatever. Gives the trip she made a nice angle that it's only 1 step up and there are many more.

Just A Thought

E

 

[Christ Reynolds]

While true that compasses "react" to magnetic fields (they don't really measure anything) they are not magnetic in and of themselves

bringing threads back from the dead, only to comment on something other than its intended discussion anyway, in its most primitive form, a compass only reacts to magnetic fields. but once you apply the north south east and west markings to it, it becomes a measuring tool, and 'measures' direction. another example is a mercury thermometer. without the markings along the side, the mercury will react to heat, then will move through the glass tube towards the top. once you apply the markings along the side, it becomes a thermometer, and then is able to measure heat. just thought i would add that, i'm not really sure how i found this thread, 8 months after it was last posted to...
CJ

 

[Max Leung]

Christ, were you looking for movies portraying or featuring compasses, and stumbled upon this thread?
I am currently reading William Poundstone's biography on Carl Sagan. It spends several pages discussing the early adaptations for the movie, but I haven't finished that section yet.
Sagan and his wife Ann Druyen were heavily involved with the movie, and I hope to post what tidbits I find from the book.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

has anyone else ever noticed that the beach that Ellie sees on her journey looks exactly like the drawing of her interpretation of Pensicola, FL at the beginning of the movie?

The scene shows the 3 things we know Ellie really likes: her father, the nighttime sky, and the Pensicola beach. Isn't it odd how you can have a sun-drenched beach under a nighttime sky?
So is this a visit with aliens who can produce visions, or a preview of heaven? As with most of this film, many different interpretations for each event.

 

[Max Leung]

According to William Poundstone's Sagan biography, director Robert Zemeckis was signed on after Warner fired director George Miller (who directed the Mad Max movies):

[Linda] Obst went back to Robert Zemeckis. This time she told him he could end the film any way he wanted. Zemeckis agreed to do it.

(Linda Obst previously worked with Sagan on Cosmos).

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Almost 2.5 years later. No need for a new thread, so I'll just resurrect this one. Lots of new faces on the HTF for comment, if they so choose.
Out of almost nowhere, this is a film I've thought a lot about lately. Bill C. nailed it earlier when he discussed the role reversal played upon in the film. Ellie has to defend her "faith" from those with the same questions she had. But the film does not play it to make a point either way (whether she is, or was, right or wrong). Instead, the conclusion puts everyone (those on either, both, or neither sides of the religious and scientific issues) on the same side. The goal is the same.
It does it brilliantly, carrying the "big" themes forward. Besides the fact that this film was a breath of fresh air in the late 90's (where blockbuster was a four letter word...deservedly), being released in the summer of 1997. I feel it has more resonance now than ever.
I think another viewing is in order, and maybe a space on the vaunted Chuck Mayer favorite films
Thoughts on the film?

 

[TheLongshot]

Thoughts on the film?

I thought it got hosed at Oscar time. I thought it was the best film of that year, and that Jodie Foster should have at least gotten a nomination for Best Actress.

Jason

 

[Darcy Hunter]

This has been one of my all time favorite films since I saw it in '97. It was indeed a breath of fresh air at the time, and it seemed to get a lot of flack at the time from the general public for it's "anti-climactic" ending (thanks in part to that South Park episode). This is a film that does raise a lot of interesting questions without offering any definitive answers, like all good sci-fi should. I can almost view this as a companion piece to 2001 (blasphemy to Kubrick devotees). It raises the same questions about our origins,our place in the universe, and who or what is God. The fact that we can have a long discussion about the design implications of the pod chair shows there's a lot going on in this film.

A note on how this movie was supposed to end: was it in the book, or a proposed draft of the script where instead of Ellie going through the worm hole, the aliens actually sent Earth to another system. Or was it that a worm hole opened up next to our planet, and the whole world was witness to some vast light show. Either way, I'm in love with the way the film ends in it's current form.

Just perfect.

 

[Brett_M]

Foster was nominated for Golden Globe for Best Actress in Drama. She didn't get the nod for Oscar -- which is a shame because her performance was awesome.

I have shown this film in my 9th grade science foundations course for years. My students love it. (It helps that I have a ceiling-mounted Hitachi XGA projector and 5.1 surround in my classroom.) It's not a film they would rent at Blockbuster because it's "old." They love the characters and how intense it is and it generates excellent discussions about space and time. It's one of my favorite films. Great disc, too.

I also show The China Syndrome, The Core, and The Day After Tomorrow. It's fun to shred the science in the last two. My students have to write reviews of the films and discuss the science of them. I love movies and it's a great way to begin and/or end a unit of study.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I don't know, Brett. As a nuclear engineer (of sorts), I had quite a bit of fun shredding the science in that first film as well
Contact is a great DVD. My first dual-layer disc, it comes pretty packed with goodies, including several commentaries. I wasn't a member of HTF in 1997, but I imagine we would have had a great time with this film when it was released.

 

[Kami]

I actually watched Contact on Friday night. It's in my top 10 or 15 of all time. It was also the 3rd DVD I bought and it still stands up pretty well.
Brett,
I wish my science teacher back in high school showed us blockbuster films.

 

[Tino]

Just watched in in HD on HBO HD.
Awesome!