tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post941154721006534222..comments2024-03-27T09:14:27.496+00:00Comments on All That Is Solid ...: Science in The MartianPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-46742063552671104522016-04-11T15:51:35.766+01:002016-04-11T15:51:35.766+01:00The real hero is humanity.
'The Martian'...The real hero is humanity. <br /><br />'The Martian' is essentially a corporate video for NASA, which has ambitions to put a human on the Red Planet sometime in the next 20 to 30 years. Since the Challenger disaster, films about feasible space exploration have struggled with the dilemma that chucking meat into space is costly and dangerous, compared to the use of probes and unmanned vehicles, but that without human interest there is unlikely to be sufficient political support to ensure adequate funding. <br /><br />This has given rise to a guilty fascination with jeopardy and sacrifice, from 'Apollo 13' to 'Gravity', where the focus is on safe recovery rather than exploration. This new film follows the same outline, but with a more gung-ho attitude, arguing that human ingenuity will overcome most problems so let's take the risk. Given that by 2030 we will have even better explorer-bots, 'The Martian' is a plea for the flexibility and endurance of the hardworking meat-based astronaut.<br /><br />The ideological core of the film is Watney's evocation of John Locke's colonial theory: it is only by growing crops that you can lay claim to the land (as Native Americans were assumed not to, they could be legitimately dispossessed). In this context, the reliance on that iconic New World staple, the potato (handily available in a Thanksgiving dinner pack), is deliberate, as is Watney's mixing of his labour (i.e. mission shit) with the land. That there are no aborigines on Mars (hence the irony of the title) is irrelevant: this is a claim for American pre-eminence.<br /><br />This propertarian worldview explains why Watney goes out of his way to justify appropriating the personal gear left behind by the other crew members, from audio tapes to a crucifix that he uses for kindling. He even expounds on international law in respect of piracy when planning to commandeer the rocket ship handily left in anticipation of the future Ares IV mission many miles distant.<br /><br />The real hero is humanity, but specifically those who respect the property rights of settlers.David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-28698906776651277172016-04-11T08:34:16.284+01:002016-04-11T08:34:16.284+01:00Interesting. You got me thinking, I reckon a more ...Interesting. You got me thinking, I reckon a more interesting film would be one that critiqued NASA, because most of what I see about NASA is how fantastic they are, which I am sure has truth to it.<br /><br />But for balance a critique would be nice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-76927928485212826952016-04-11T00:15:21.362+01:002016-04-11T00:15:21.362+01:00I think that the real hero - of book, but even mor...I think that the real hero - of book, but even more of the film - is not science. It's Lewis. Everyone else just gets to do their thing to the best of their ability. Only she gets to have to make an actual decision. The plot revolves around whether or not she's going to decide to risk herself and the rest of the crew to save Mark. It's neatly done. Chris Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06610945802623682949noreply@blogger.com