 our shoes, you would respond to the story with skepticism?"
"Yes."
But here is the all-important line:
"Then why don't you just admit it didn't happen?" Arroway answers: "BECAUSE I CAN'T!
This line is clearly intended as a parallel to Joss's earlier description of his "moment" with god. Watch the movie; you can't miss the parallel if you keep an eye open for it. Arroway resorts to what I've called the "Pragmatist" justification of belief: "I believe because it makes me feel good to believe."
This scene relies on some of the elements of the book, but it completely turns around the meaning and tone of what's in the book. Consider the following points from the book:
Arroway does indeed briefly consider that she's nuts, but context makes clear that this is only a passing feeling that she doesn't take seriously and dismisses as implausible (389).
Arroway possesses quite a lot of physical evidence in the book, whereas she has *none* in the film and yet still "believes." (Remember, only the *audience* is given proof of the trip in the film, Arroway is not.) Evidence, not some "need to believe," is key for Arroway in the book: "The Machine was undergoing sensitive physical tests at this moment. That was how the validity of her story could be checked" (379). "'But our watches showed that we'd been gone more than a day,' [Arroway] protested" (380). The government schmo says The Machine "*apparently* has been exposed to a very different environment than the benzels and the supporting structures... to huge tensile and compressional stresses... [and to] an intense radiation environment..." (381). It turns out Arroway doesn't have enough evidence immediately to overcome the government guy's desire to pass off her story as a hoax, but she has enough evidence to herself believe her trip took place.
I just don't see how any conclusion can be drawn but that the filmmakers tried to tack onto Sagan's work the idea that Arroway ultimately relies on "faith" in a way similar to Joss.
****
Curiously, Sagan ultimately allows Arroway to *prove* the existence of "an intelligence that antedates the universe" (431) - she finds this proof in the far reaches of the digits of pi, in which the Intelligence has encoded messages (for intelligent species to discover). So Sagan's message is that, while the *end belief* of science and religion may turn out to be pretty much the same thing, what is of crucial importance is one's *epistemological orientation*. It's okay to believe in God, so long as one believes because of scientific proof. The film gets this point exactly wrong, and suggests that it matters not what is the content of one's end belief, so long as one's epistemological orientation is one of "faith" - one of "believing because it makes you feel good." It's okay, says the film, to believe in God or science or little green fairies, so long as one believes because of "faith." So again I agree with others that Sagan might have been a little perturbed about this, had he seen the film.
****
To be sure, the film allows Arroway to make plenty of slams against religion. Even though she is wishy-washy in her testimony to the committee, at least she finally admits she's an atheist. As a child, a priest tells Arroway that the death of her father is "the will of god." Arroway rejects this suggestion out of hand. When a reporter asks her if her confidence in the machine is "faith," she replies, "I was going to say, 'A sense of Adventure!'"
I would argue that the filmmakers have two aims in mind by allowing such scenes: first, to point out that Arroway never does come to a belief in God (as does Joss), even though she does ultimately utilize "faith," and second to show a contrast between her life-long held beliefs and her final belief in the reality of her trip.
****
The one thing I was wrong about at first was thinking the them of "faith" is "primary" within the movie. On my second viewing, I started to think that the main theme the filmmakers were going for is the "Triumph of the Human Spirit." The film shows Arroway fighting - and succeeding - against repeated failure and terrible odds. It shows her achieving a top education despite the loss of both her parents at an early age. It shows her fighting - and ultimately winning out over - a variety of assholes in the world (most of them from the government, which is I think fitting). It shows Joss fighting the "alienation" and mindless-entertainment that many people in our culture use technology for (thus squashing their own spirit). It shows Arroway discovering a universal community in which humans can join and improve themselves.
*****
I must disagree with the suggestions of some that Arroway could never love Joss (as happens in the film). In the book the two don't become lovers. However, they do become friends, and toward the end the book hints at the possibility of a relationship between the two (422). I like the book's Joss a lot better than the film's Joss, though I really like McConaughey and his portrayal of Joss.
*****
Obviously, Contact has made quite an impact upon me. It has lead me to think about a wide range of issues, from aesthetics to the nature of scientific proof. It's a great film, and an even greater book.
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The Colorado Freedom Report--#6905: Well, they pulled the trigger.
Democrats have decided on impeaching Trump, though they won't call it that until and unless the people start liking the idea.
The rules for the investigation are, of course, as perfectly lopsided as you'd expect them to be coming from a bunch of leftists. Republicans have to get permission to call witnesses, which means that Republicans will not be able to call any witnesses that can counter the Democrats' horseshit. They won't even be able to ask any questions without the Democrats' permission.
Democrats call this "fairness", of course.
So what will happen is, the Democrat voters are going to all point at the results of these hearings and shriek about how they prove that Trump is corrupt. Meanwhile, anyone to the right of George Bush (either one) is going to recognize this for what it is: a Potemkin impeachment. And as soon as they can vote, they will, and the Democrats will be shocked at the results of that election.
It might have worked out differently for them if this were twenty years ago, when the mainstream media still controlled the national conversation; but a great many people get their information from the Internet now, and no one controls that.
Impeachment is a losing issue for Democrats. It doesn't matter how they carry it out. The people don't support it.
It's a purely political process and what Francis Porretto doesn't say there is that if the House impeaches the Senate doesn't even have to take up the matter if it votes not to.
The worst part of it is that this whole thing is not about actually using a constitutional process to remove a President from office. It's about generating a false impression in peoples' minds.
This might have made a point if we did not already exist in a country devoid of journalism.
If that city planner is a Democrat, his crimes will go unremarked upon by the local paper.
Seems like we've been paying for not having journalism.
America currently has a fascist health care system. The difference between fascism and socialism is academic, but in the case of health care it means that while the means of production are privately owned, government calls the shots. This situation will not improve by handing control of the financing of health care to the government. It will only make it much, much worse.
Jeep's odometer is sitting at 199,998 miles. Tomorrow will be the day it flips past 200,000.
50,000 miles more and it'll have completed a "trip to the Moon". I don't know if it'll make it, though, unless I get off my duff and start doing something about the rust.With the new Game of Thrones prequel release now all that anyone can talk about, it’s no wonder that fans find themselves in total dragon mania. In the spirit of GoT, we’re sharing how you can sound like a dragon in your TTRPG sessions or any other game that calls for dragon and battle sounds. With our real-time voice changer and soundboards, you’ll feel like you’ve landed right in a George R.R. Martin book. Keep reading for steps on how to sound like a dragon–perfect for getting into the new show’s hype.
First things first, for those of you who are living under a rock and are unaware that there’s a new GoT prequel running, allow us to give you a bit of background. It’s been three years since Game of Thrones premiered its final episode. The prequel, House of the Dragon, premiered on August 21st and tells the story of House Targaryen 200 years before the events of the original series. During this time, King Viserys Targaryen rules over the Seven Kingdoms–along with 17 dragons, of course. The show focuses on the Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, and the overall conflict between members of the reigning Targary