Annihilation, Sarita Madrid

Something that I thought I found interesting towards the beginning of the movie was that everything in the prism was unique. Flowers that came from the same stem were each different from one another which as Lena describes is impossible. Even the animals they encounter appear to be different and "unrealistic" as they observe an alligator that seems to be a hybrid with a shark. The alligator has different teeth in its' mouth which is not normal. When I saw this, I was thinking about how each person is made uniquely different from one another and I thought the prism represented that well. Their viewing of the video at the warehouse of Kane cutting open his partner and Lena's discussion with Josie about how "it" is inside of her made me think that whatever "it" was just happened to be in everyone who entered the prism. This reminded me of how Christianity teaches that we have an unconscious and nearly innate desire to have a relationship with God whether we believe that or not. We could see this manifesting in different characters as well because Josie submits to it and lets it take over her. With Anya, she gets frustrated with what is going on inside of the prism and dies because of it. Dr. Ventress finds the heart of the prism at the lighthouse and explains that it will take over everything. Lena experiences the same thing that Kane does in the video where he blew himself up because a sort of replica of her is created that imitates her every movement. She remedies this situation by also blowing this copy of herself up (or so we think she blew the copy up) which could represent dying to oneself or possibly being born again.

It was difficult to make sense of some of the things that happened, especially the ending when Dr. Ventress disappears from the lighthouse into light. The ending was a bit odd as well because the movie made it seem as though Lena and Kane had both killed their other selves, or their true selves. This would make them both new people which was also indicated by their eyes changing color after they hugged. I was wondering what other people thought about the fact that this prism was called "The Shimmer" and what the significance of that might be.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The "Prodigal Son Theme" in Movies

The "Prodigal Son Theme" in Movies In Luke 15: 11 - 32, Jesus shares the story of the Prodigal Son with His disciples. The story goes as follows: A father has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance and goes off and squanders it. After some time, he becomes poor and decides to return home to his father. He returns home with the intention of begging his father to be made one of his hired servants, expecting his relationship with his father is likely severed. However, the father welcomes him back and celebrates his return.  This story line can be found as an underlying theme in many movies today. 1) Big Fish  During the film, Will and his elderly father, Edward, have a falling out over Edward's stories about his life, and do not speak to each other for 3 years following the fight. However, when Edward falls deathly ill, Will returns home and although there is tension between the duo, their relationship has not been destroyed. Over the course of the mo...
Read more

C.S. Lewis - The Four Loves - Phileo Love

C.S. Lewis states that the necessity of friendship is not mandatory to our biological survival. Unlike the other loves it serves as the least "instinctive, organic, biological, gregarious and necessary" (58). Many films touch upon the idea of love in its eros or agape form but phileo love seems to always be the side product of the story line which is very affirming of what C.S. Lewis states in regarding phileo love. The idea of friendship is not something as valued in our society but as seen in war movies such as The Thin Red Line  the necessity for camaraderie in friendship comes into play. As C.S. Lewis states, "“Lovers are always talking to one another about their love; Friends hardly ever about their Friendship. Lovers are normally face to face, absorbed in each other; Friends, side by side, absorbed in a common interest” (61). Visually in films lovers are directly face to face and friends are often seen as companions side by side such as in war films or superhero fi...
Read more

The Decalogue - 1 & 5

The Decalogue is a series of films about the Ten Commandments. Decalogues 1 & 5 are thought provoking and pull the strings of feelings that all humans share, regardless of religion, race, etc.  The first film in the Decalogue is about the the First Commandment; " I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me". The film focuses on a father and son, having a very close relationship. The father is a professor at a university, and places all of his trust within formulas, calculations, and anything that is backed by fact or reason. The father represents someone who lacks faith and does not search for truths that cannot be attained through calculations or proof. The father's God is represented by his computer, where he trusts his calculations blindly. His son is young and innocent, asking questions that we all have wondered at some time in our own lives. The father cannot provide his son with adequate answers for these deep and profound questions of li...
Read more