Man, I love this movie.
You know, this movie is really a love story hiding behind the guise of science fiction and shows why the late Carl Sagan was such a popular scientist/humanitarian.
Ellie Arroway, a free thinking radio astronomer (Jodie Foster) discovers an intelligent signal broadcast from Vega. The message is deciphered as detailed instructions for building a mysterious machine. What will the function of the machine mean to mankind?
Contact is science vs. religion and both are treated with realism and respect. I could relate to Ellie Arroway and her search for the devine in more than just a religious text. Or perhaps Ellie WAS looking for the spiritual in the cosmos and didnt realize it. Thats why I love this movie. There is no concrete ending and it leaves you with a more satisfying feeling of the world because it makes room for everyones opinions and beliefs and actually comes close to meshing science and faith. Contact is grand and sweeping in its presentation of conviction and doubt. The love relationship between Ellie Arroway and Father Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) "a man of the cloth without the cloth" is absorbing and fresh. You wonder how two people who are seemingly so different in their orientations could find such an adoration and respect for each other. Ellie always seems unsure of herself as much as Palmer is always sure. Palmer is the one who keeps Ellie from her life's dream. He said it was because it conflicted with his conscious that she should be the first human to represent mankind and she didn't believe in God. While they never used the word athiest it is obvious to me Ellie was never an athiest. Besides... Palmer agonizes right after he's sabotaged Ellie's chances for flight. The real reason was for love, not for belief. He didn't want to risk losing her. He admits it to her later. A romance story.
Who is Ellie really searching for and who does she really find? Obviously aliens in the guise of her dead father, but were they? Maybe it was really heaven and God's way of easing people into the proof of heaven and God's existance.
Aliens in the guise of God?
The alien/god thing is not just in Contact either. Close Encounters blatantly had the aliens in the guise of god. The aliens were scary at first, but in actuality were good, benign and all powerful. They taught us poor humans things of marvel, took us on outer space rides and we were in awe. The more intense the Spielberg stare, the more good and great the alien. It seems all aliens depicted as good, are seen as priestly, smarter, better, wiser. Its the Heston Syndrome. Judah Ben-Hur is out on the desert and his jailors wont give him water. A mysterious man comes along and lets him drink. Ben-Hur looks up into the face of Jesus and is somewhat confused, but rapturous. Moses goes up into the mountains to see the miracle of a burning bush. After hearing the voice of God, he comes back changed, a great wonder shining in his eyes.
I love this movie. Ellie is a woman of science who questions anything that can't be proven. She experiences a miracle of science and when people doubt her and accuse her of hallucinating, she has her own words thrown back at her. Ellie has learned a lesson in faith through science.
You know, this movie is really a love story hiding behind the guise of science fiction and shows why the late Carl Sagan was such a popular scientist/humanitarian.
Ellie Arroway, a free thinking radio astronomer (Jodie Foster) discovers an intelligent signal broadcast from Vega. The message is deciphered as detailed instructions for building a mysterious machine. What will the function of the machine mean to mankind?
Contact is science vs. religion and both are treated with realism and respect. I could relate to Ellie Arroway and her search for the devine in more than just a religious text. Or perhaps Ellie WAS looking for the spiritual in the cosmos and didnt realize it. Thats why I love this movie. There is no concrete ending and it leaves you with a more satisfying feeling of the world because it makes room for everyones opinions and beliefs and actually comes close to meshing science and faith. Contact is grand and sweeping in its presentation of conviction and doubt. The love relationship between Ellie Arroway and Father Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) "a man of the cloth without the cloth" is absorbing and fresh. You wonder how two people who are seemingly so different in their orientations could find such an adoration and respect for each other. Ellie always seems unsure of herself as much as Palmer is always sure. Palmer is the one who keeps Ellie from her life's dream. He said it was because it conflicted with his conscious that she should be the first human to represent mankind and she didn't believe in God. While they never used the word athiest it is obvious to me Ellie was never an athiest. Besides... Palmer agonizes right after he's sabotaged Ellie's chances for flight. The real reason was for love, not for belief. He didn't want to risk losing her. He admits it to her later. A romance story.
Who is Ellie really searching for and who does she really find? Obviously aliens in the guise of her dead father, but were they? Maybe it was really heaven and God's way of easing people into the proof of heaven and God's existance.
Aliens in the guise of God?
The alien/god thing is not just in Contact either. Close Encounters blatantly had the aliens in the guise of god. The aliens were scary at first, but in actuality were good, benign and all powerful. They taught us poor humans things of marvel, took us on outer space rides and we were in awe. The more intense the Spielberg stare, the more good and great the alien. It seems all aliens depicted as good, are seen as priestly, smarter, better, wiser. Its the Heston Syndrome. Judah Ben-Hur is out on the desert and his jailors wont give him water. A mysterious man comes along and lets him drink. Ben-Hur looks up into the face of Jesus and is somewhat confused, but rapturous. Moses goes up into the mountains to see the miracle of a burning bush. After hearing the voice of God, he comes back changed, a great wonder shining in his eyes.
I love this movie. Ellie is a woman of science who questions anything that can't be proven. She experiences a miracle of science and when people doubt her and accuse her of hallucinating, she has her own words thrown back at her. Ellie has learned a lesson in faith through science.
