I'm watching this for at least the 100th time and out of all the different.. phenomenon - that Dave experiences through the Stargate, these always puzzled (and kind of scared) me the most, I think because the way they're flickering makes me feel like they have some type of.. consciousness? are they alive? another type of tool? are they LEADING Dave? Just curious to hear anyone else's interpretation..
Apologies if there's already been a topic on this.
Do you mean these ?
http://oi64.tinypic.com/2rqkd3r.jpg
I think of them as diamonds - and if you are interested, research Kubrick's diamond motif, it pops up in most, if not all, of his films.
I'm not sure about attributing specific meaning to some of the geo-metrical patterns in the star gate sequence, but the diamond bit does stick out as unique.
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride
It's because basically everything else in the stargate sequence can be explained as the blending of light/incomprehensible land masses/gas masses.
But the diamond shapes stick out because they don't connect with anything, they just float.
Maybe it's how the Aliens try to communicate with him. Or something.
[deleted]
In chapter 36 of Arthur C. Clarke's novel, he talks about how the unseen aliens who visited prehistoric Earth eventually transcended their physical forms:
Out among the stars, evolution was driving toward new goals. The first explorers of Earth had long since come to the limits of flesh and blood; as soon as their machines were better than their bodies, it was time to move. First their brains, and then their thoughts alone, they transferred into shining new homes of metal and of plastic.
In these, they roamed among the stars. They no longer built spaceships. They were spaceships.
Ah! You know, shame on me for not yet having read Clarke's Odyssey novels.. I've heard they're great and obviously go far more in depth.
Perfect answer, thanks!
I've always seen them as junctions in the stargate; a kind of hypergalactic intersection where you can jump from one hyperspace highway to another!
sharea kind of hypergalactic intersection
Interesting way of looking at it, and I don't say you are incorrect. In a way, your idea is very like my own. I see the "cube" effect as a welcoming committee, if you will. Bear with me as I explain. Some dismiss the Stargate sequence as a shapeless muddle. But I think it has a clear narrative structure.
Its first segment is the split-screen effect, Dave and pod hurtling through a kind of wormhole as some have called it, which takes him "beyond the infinite." He emerges from this "tunnel" into a kind of galactic tour, meaning that series of chemical effects which represent vast celestial landmarks like supernovae, stars, nebulae, and such. Dave and the pod ultimately depart from this leg of the journey, breaking through some kind of stellar membrane into a whole new dimension. Listen to the Ligeti score in conjunction with the visuals; together they help sort all this out.
It's at this point we see what Douglas Trumbull and other of the effects artists on the film describe as the "Mindbender" effect (i.e. "the 7 shifting cubes"...they're actually rhomboids). Notice that below them, we see what appears to be a layer of shifting clouds resembling an atmosphere, as if Dave and pod orbit an actual planet. The Mindbenders appear to be guides ushering Dave and pod across then down to the surface of this planet.
Following this iconic shot, a sequence of colorized terrains imply Dave and the pod have penetrated the planet's atmosphere and now float across its landscape. The focus of this final lap of the voyage narrows to a last shot which suggests Dave and pod reach and fly down a canyon near the planet's surface. Dave then finds himself and the pod in that "hotel room" where the film's last sequence takes place.
The Dumpster gives a whole new meaning to "red" states.
Trying to conceptualize aliens in the abstract is a hallmark of the best science fiction films. Not only 2001, but Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the Russian (and later US remake with George Clooney) Solaris seem to be the best examples.
Unfortunately, it doesn't make for good box office. Movie audiences want their aliens dumbed-down to either humanoid or monster form.
"Movie audiences want their aliens dumbed-down to either humanoid or monster form."
I thought that the aliens in 'Arrival' looked like giant fallopian tubes (and their language resembles chromosomes); in the context of a central character who is haunted by visions of the untimely demise of her hitherto unborn daughter, I'd suspect there's some kind of anti-abortion text buried somewhere deep in the film's vaginal imagery (the military want to put a bomb inside the giant floating uterus)! Ultimately, Amy Adams decides to have her daughter despite knowing that she is condemned to die an unpleasant and untimely death and the film is seen as helping her come to terms with this moral quandary... meanwhile, elsewhere in space, Chris Pratt wakes Jennifer Lawrence from hibernation prematurely so he doesn't have to be alone and everyone thinks he's monstrous!
shareA friend of mine who's a great science fiction fan was quite tepid about Arrival. I haven't seen it so have no dog in the race. I can't quite tell from your comments whether you liked it or not, and I'd be interested to know. Not to worry, though. If you did or didn't, that won't prejudice me. Well, unless you think it's absolute dreck or total genius, and present some convincing arguments to support those feelings.
The Dumpster gives a whole new meaning to "red" states.
I'd be interested in your reaction to the film. While it wasn't PERFECT, it was certainly head-and-shoulders above most of the dreck that passes as sci-fi moviemaking these days.
If anything, DEFINITELY read "Story of Your Life," the novella by Ted Chiang that the movie was adapted from. If your local library has the Nebula Awards Showcase for 2001, you can read it there:
https://www.amazon.com/Nebula-Awards-Showcase-2001-Fantasy/dp/0151005818/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484921428&sr=1-10&keywords=nebula+awards+showcase
CHUCK ANZIULEWICZ
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My long-time friend from college was very pleased by it...said he thought it was the first hard science fiction film in a long while. I may have to wait until it's on youtube, though. However, if you really think it's worth the money, I'd be willing to get it on DVD.
The Dumpster gives a whole new meaning to "red" states.
Ultimately, Amy Adams decides to have her daughter despite knowing that she is condemned to die an unpleasant and untimely death and the film is seen as helping her come to terms with this moral quandary... meanwhile, elsewhere in space, Chris Pratt wakes Jennifer Lawrence from hibernation prematurely so he doesn't have to be alone and everyone thinks he's monstrous!
I didn't get a chance to see Arrival when it was in the flicks but am looking forward to its release on DVD.
I am fed up of many attempts to portray alien life - it's cringeworthy when yet another dud with slitty eyes turns up.
Movie audiences want their aliens dumbed-down to either humanoid or monster form.
Ain't it the truth. Look at the Star Trek movies, for instance. With all those millions and top notch effects folks at their beck and call, the best they can come up with is guys in rubber masks???
The Dumpster gives a whole new meaning to "red" states.
It's just Kubrick messin' with your brain.