Movie Review: Contact

*A new feature I am going to do every week is to have a movie review. Generally, they will be later in the week (because normally I will see the movie on Mondays), but this one is about Contact, which I saw last night at 12:30 am. 

 

I know this is an older film, and I know many of you have most likely seen it; but I had not. All I I can say is wow. Now, the only thing I heard before going into this film was that the ending was bad? First of all, I thought that ending was brilliant. Everything about that movie was brilliant. Between the clash of science and religion, faith and facts, and even what we would do with the knowledge that we are not alone. 

 

*Spoiler below if you have not seen the movie. Highlight over the text to view it.*

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If you have not seen the movie, basically Jodie Foster plays Eleanor Arroway, a scientist who listens deep into space to try to hear sounds from distant planets in hopes to find alien life. Her father, who died of a heart attack, kept her interested in science at a young age. Palmer Joss, played by Spankbank alum Matthew McConaughey, plays her love interest. Ellie has spent her life searching for "the truth" through science; while Palmer has spent his life searching for "the truth" through God. Ellie discovers a message from deep space. Prime numbers. A television signal. Blueprints. The government decides to build the machine depicted in the blueprints. The role of religion comes into play as to who will go into the machine (since it can only hold one person). Due to a terrorist attack, Ellie gets to go and travels through a wormhole to find a world depicted from her imagination to "make her more comfortable". Upon her return, it is viewed through everyone on Earth that she never left. When in fact, she was gone for over 18 hours. This debate goes to Capital Hill where a team is searching for answers. However, all they have to go on is Ellie's word that she went there and met them. 

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Faith vs. Science. A discussion I am very used to having/hearing. However, I think how it was approached in this story was simply incredible. Ellie firmly believed that the truth was within the science of our world. The fact that these beings used science (math) to communicate with us was a large piece of evidence that science, not God, is throughout the Universe. However, Palmer (btw, I love that name) believes that sometimes you have to rely on faith. For instance, he asks her if she loved her father. She replies yes. Then he asks her to prove it. 

 

Where Science and Faith get crossed is when she returns from her trip and no one believes she went anywhere (the videos clearly show the pod falling straight through the machine into the water. When she got there, she met a man on a beach that looked like her father; but she knew everything was fake. He told her that they did it this way to make it more comfortable on her. He also told her that this is the way it's been done for billions of years; they return with no evidence, and only one person can come/go. When she returned, she tried to tell them what she had seen, but they did not believe her. The battle went to Capital Hill where they blasted her for not having any evidence. However, these are the same people that originally did not intend to send her because of her disbelief in God. Because she required evidence in her truth, and therefore she could not represent the planet Earth because 95% of the people believe in some sort of God. But these people, who believe in God, live on faith alone, blasted her for not providing evidence. She knew she had no evidence, however she knew she didn't need it. Because it was proven to herself, and that's all she needed. 

 

I just think the irony in that scene is huge! Those who live on faith could not be faithful in someone who lived their entire life based on facts. And she who based her life on facts, was asking people to have faith in what she said. 

 

Personally, I'm a very scientific person. I believe we are not alone, I do not believe we were intelligently designed (trust me, when you're a biology major, you learn that SO much of the human body is so stupid that a higher being would have never made so many slip ups), I thoroughly believe in evolution, and I do not believe in miracles, only anomalies. However, is that to say that I do not believe in God or a creator? A creator of the Universe? Yes. A creator and divine ruler of men? No. The Universe is too small for us to be that special. We are a species that will destroy ourselves through technology long before an "apocalypse" could ever arise. We have too many flaws to be considered a pristine being. 

 

I think the most naive thing the human race has ever done was to humanize existence. What I mean is we reflect everything back to ourselves. We believe that God's son would be in the form of a man? We believe that only humans (in most religions) have souls. We believe that we are the only intelligent species in the Universe. We believe our lives are more valuable than those of other species and the planet. We have humanized ourselves to the point where religion has corrupted us. The worst form of corruption to overthrow this planet is ourselves capitalizing on the suffering of others. Sure, we save endangered species, help each other; but we cause pollution, destroy the terra of many regions, create disease through over population, and leave scars in the planet through wars. 

 

Being humanized, we're too good and special. There can be no others like us! Another naive comment. I cannot believe that people do not believe in intelligent life in our Universe. For how big it is, the odds are against that we're alone! To be completely honest, I'd be a little worried if we're alone. If that were the case, then we could possibly be the exception that was never to occur. A mistake in the creation of the Universe. Animals have had a great deal of influence in the evolution of the planet, but none so much as ourselves. Look outside at our world. Pavement, buildings, exhaust, burning...all because of us. In all of the earths billions of years of life, never has there been such an influence from the animals on the planet; until now. And we've only been around a "blink of an eye". I pray we are not the only intelligent beings in the Universe.

 

This, however, does not say there is no God. This does say that the way many religions portray God has been shown false. But what if only part of the story was correct? What if God has a part in the creation of the Universe, and then let it unravel itself without intervention. There would still be an ultimate creator. However, he would have created the laws of science that govern the Universe and keep watch. Faith and Science rather than Faith vs. Science; much more logical in my opinion. 

 

Achem's Razor: God created the Universe and let it unfold on its own under its own government by the laws of Science? or God created the Universe and continued to intervene while the laws of Science were at odds with God and the faithful on Earth?