Mooooooon

Moon like so many other science fiction films questions "what is human?" We have seen this theme in previous films including Bladerunner and 2001: A space Odyssey. In Bladerunner the humans in question are the replicants and in 2001: A space odyssey the humans in question are, well, the humans. In 2001, the humans show no emotion and just go through the motions, much like a computer would do. In moon the clones who are both identical to each other are obviously different people. That adds to their humanity, however they are obviously clones and are born and die alone. By the end of their short life, about 3 years the clones begin to decompose, their nails fall out, they talk to themselves and their general health declines. The viewer wants to distance themselves from these sickly sad excuses for human beings. Much like the viewer in Bladerunner wants to distance themselves from the dangerous replicants. Until we learn our protagonist is a replicant and they are enslaved and abused by real humans who lack the charisma of the replicants. In 2001: A space odyssey the humans are boring. They do nothing interesting or out of the ordinary. They are not the driving force of the movie, HAL drives the movie as he has an alternative agenda. He is the most interesting character and yet he's a computer. The viewer even feels sad for HAL as one of the humans un plugs him.

In all three movies the human element is exposed and questioned. There is no criteria for what is human, it is based solely on the viewers analysis of what is human and for most of us our analysis has to do with how deep their emotions go. The filmmakers realize this therefore the "humans" evoke empathy from the viewers. Sam cries, the replicant girl cries and HALs voice is muffled as he is shut off, almost as if he really dying. Moon draws elements of its theme from these other science fiction films.

What really made moon stand out as a science fiction film though was the fact that it was totally believable. Everything about moon seemed as though it was true story. And the ending newsreel sounded like a newsreel that you hear everyday "people exploiting others for profit. " it was definitely a science fiction film, there's no doubt about that, but what made it interesting was the fact that it sounded like something humanity would and could do within the next century.

Q4

Moon, one of the last films we watched in class that fits well into the sci-fi genre, definitely takes inspiration from many of the other sci-fi films we have watched previously. The most notable films that Moon seems to take from are 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner. Moon not only shares a similar cinematic style, especially with 2001: A Space Odyssey, but really shares similar themes that we see often in this genre of film. The classic question of to what degree can inhuman creations reach a level of humanity. We see this in Sam, acting as a clone on the space station, trying to realize his humanity -Returning home to his family- and in GERTY the robot at the station, much similar to Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey, who in the end seems to develop a conscious and helps Sam leave the station resetting his memory. These themes are most prevalent in Blade Runner, a film in which we see clones who are strikingly human try to maximize their lifespan and be closer to human. The clones in Moon and Blade Runner are so strikingly similar. Both sets of clones have limited life span, both have desire to live longer, and both are injected with memories to make their lives more human.Just as Sam's character seems similar to those of the clones in Blade Runner, GERTY seems realted to Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey, although Hal tries to prevent the Dave and Frank from their goal, and GERTY in the end helps Sam realize his.

The thing that comes of somewhat of a surprise is not the Themes that are in the film, but the way they are handled. In moon, unlike many of the sci-fi films we have watched in class, presents a view of the future that doesn't seem so destructive and horrible. Although the way Sam's character is played, and manipulated into remaining on the station cycle after cycle is depressing in itself, the films focus isn't its view of the future.

Moon Moon

Moon

Moon (2009) manages to seamlessly fit into the genre of science fiction, not only by embodying the common themes of control over man, and the fragileness of humanity, but by its plausible view of the future.  To begin Moon, managed to consistently remind me of Blade Runner due to its similarity between the clones and the replicants, each beings created in the mirror image of a human yet not considered one. Both in Blade Runner and Moon do we see the reaction of a “Non-Human” being struggling with the fact that they are not an original. Moon makes various references to an outside power, a something superior that manages to control the lead character, the Ministry in Brazil, and the Tyrell corporate in Moon. There seems to be a theme of “ownership of man” in sci-fi films, that someway or somehow man will be controlled and will be manipulated by a higher force.  In Moon Sam Bell is literary property of the Tyrell Corporation, while in Brazil Sam Lowry is owned by the society he lives in (on a random note they both have the same first name, coincidence? I think not!). Finally in a final note Moon manages to follow in Primer’s footsteps by showing a realistic approach to a futuristic or out of bounds topic, such as cloning or time traveling. Like Primer, Moon is able to create a scenario of the cloning process and use that is not only reasonable but also well thought, creating a plot more believable and thus more interesting.

What surprised me about Moon was how easy it was all to believe. When we watched other films they either seemed ridiculous or so well fabricated that their possibility was never probable in my mind. Moon manages to create a scenario, a character, and a situation, that are just true. If I were to turn on the news and hear something similar, I would be shocked of course, but I wouldn’t need much convincing to believe it. Moon manages to rid itself of the silly elements that seem to follow sci-fi and create a provocative and self-aware piece that makes us question not only the ability of science but the use of it as well. We manage to create clones? Then what would we use them for? Moon answers the question; Profit.