Post by klep on Jul 17, 2017 9:41:00 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/17: The Abyss
BEAT THE HEAT WEEK!
Note: I watched the Special Edition of the film for this essay
For all that water is vital to life, it is incredibly deadly in the wrong circumstances. And in James Cameron's The Abyss, those circumstances are as bad as they can be. The crew of the Deep Core are 1,600 feet down, in freezing temperatures and intense pressures. Their only new source of oxygen and electricity is a (relatively) thin umbilical reaching up to a ship on the surface.
When you're living that close to the edge of the abyss (and in this case, it's eventually a literal abyss), simple mistakes can get people killed. So pressure equalization and decompression have to happen, seals have to be checked, hatches need to be closed, radio contact needs to be maintained, and care needs to be taken with each and every single step. The deep sea is no place for arrogance and impulse; it is a place for humility and deliberation.
And as it is under the sea, so it should be in life Cameron seems to be arguing. After all, it is the hotheaded Lt. Coffey (Michael Biehn) - convinced he knows everything - who jeopardizes the Deep Core and possibly all of humanity. He ignores signs of high-pressure nervous syndrome in himself, convinced he can't possibly suffer from it. He absconds with the main submersible on a special mission without checking with Bud (Ed Harris) to see if that's a good idea or not, and he unilaterally decides that the strange creatures who have been investigating the humans nearby need to be taken out with a nuclear weapon.
And while the creatures down below don't specifically cite Coffey's actions in their presentation to Bud, they do cite similar hotheadedness and aggression among the brinksmen and warmongerers driving the crisis above. They've witnessed plenty of examples of man's cruelty to man through the years, but it's only when they believe we might annihilate each other and wreck the planet in an unthinking act of mutually assure destruction that they almost pull the trigger.
Ultimately it's Bud's self-sacrifice that saves the human race, but it's also the fact that it was considered. He had plenty of time to change his mind and try other options or just do nothing. This wasn't a sacrifice made it the heat of a moment like jumping in front of a bullet. This was a calm, rational decision he made in full knowledge of the consequences. So perhaps this summer while you're sweltering in the heat, you too can do your best to keep a cool head.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/24: Dune
SPACE OPERA WEEK!
We're celebrating Space Opera Week as Valerian enters theaters, and we'll be doing so by watching David Lynch's adaptation of Dune. A film both much-derided and much-praised, we'll surely have much to talk about next week. Dune is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 7/13: Okja
The Podcast's pairings of films with adorable pigs or pig-like creatures concludes with a look at Bong Joon-Ho's new Okja, streaming on Netflix Instant. We'll have a thread Wednesday to discuss it!
BEAT THE HEAT WEEK!
Note: I watched the Special Edition of the film for this essay
For all that water is vital to life, it is incredibly deadly in the wrong circumstances. And in James Cameron's The Abyss, those circumstances are as bad as they can be. The crew of the Deep Core are 1,600 feet down, in freezing temperatures and intense pressures. Their only new source of oxygen and electricity is a (relatively) thin umbilical reaching up to a ship on the surface.
When you're living that close to the edge of the abyss (and in this case, it's eventually a literal abyss), simple mistakes can get people killed. So pressure equalization and decompression have to happen, seals have to be checked, hatches need to be closed, radio contact needs to be maintained, and care needs to be taken with each and every single step. The deep sea is no place for arrogance and impulse; it is a place for humility and deliberation.
And as it is under the sea, so it should be in life Cameron seems to be arguing. After all, it is the hotheaded Lt. Coffey (Michael Biehn) - convinced he knows everything - who jeopardizes the Deep Core and possibly all of humanity. He ignores signs of high-pressure nervous syndrome in himself, convinced he can't possibly suffer from it. He absconds with the main submersible on a special mission without checking with Bud (Ed Harris) to see if that's a good idea or not, and he unilaterally decides that the strange creatures who have been investigating the humans nearby need to be taken out with a nuclear weapon.
And while the creatures down below don't specifically cite Coffey's actions in their presentation to Bud, they do cite similar hotheadedness and aggression among the brinksmen and warmongerers driving the crisis above. They've witnessed plenty of examples of man's cruelty to man through the years, but it's only when they believe we might annihilate each other and wreck the planet in an unthinking act of mutually assure destruction that they almost pull the trigger.
Ultimately it's Bud's self-sacrifice that saves the human race, but it's also the fact that it was considered. He had plenty of time to change his mind and try other options or just do nothing. This wasn't a sacrifice made it the heat of a moment like jumping in front of a bullet. This was a calm, rational decision he made in full knowledge of the consequences. So perhaps this summer while you're sweltering in the heat, you too can do your best to keep a cool head.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/24: Dune
SPACE OPERA WEEK!
We're celebrating Space Opera Week as Valerian enters theaters, and we'll be doing so by watching David Lynch's adaptation of Dune. A film both much-derided and much-praised, we'll surely have much to talk about next week. Dune is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 7/13: Okja
The Podcast's pairings of films with adorable pigs or pig-like creatures concludes with a look at Bong Joon-Ho's new Okja, streaming on Netflix Instant. We'll have a thread Wednesday to discuss it!