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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
 Posted - 09/04/2007 : 11:48:18
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I personally loved the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It came out when I was a kid and I thought it was great. Recently - in the last 5 years  - I watched the film again and it struck me how the Richard Dreifus (sp?) character must have appeared to his family, friends, neighbors and how his disappearance must have affected them. He literally went nuts and started demolishing their home, his wife and kids run crying from the house, he drives off into the sunset and is never seen nor heard from again. His wife and young kids are abandoned to single parent / dead-beat dad status.
What the hell? As a kid I was so envious of this guy who was chosen to go on this grand adventure with aliens etc etc. As an adult I'm like gee, that's nice the aliens wanted him and all, but maybe they should have invited the whole family....
Really, for that matter, why did they invite specific humans (those with social ties and responsibilities) to go instead of taking along whoever the government recruited? And why would the Richard Dreifus character want to go? I could never leave my family behind like that.
Really, DID he want to go? In the film it appeared as though the aliens implanted the obsessive imperative in his head, that image of Devil's Tower and the urge to go there, defeating his free will and driving him for all practical purposes recklessly insane. He didn't have much more choice in the matter than any of the abductees the aliens had been taking for centuries... I'm thinking that film could easily be remade into a tragic nightmare thriller with a sad ending.
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-Chaloobi
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2007 : 13:28:26 [Permalink]
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| It's a hard question, chaloobi. I've often wondered what I would do if I were given the opportunity to see the universe in some sort of spacecraft, what I'd do. I guess ultimately, going without human contact would be too much. But if you were with a largely random group, that issue could be settled (though, what if, after 3 months, you found out that you hated everyone else on the ship with you!). I don't have kids or anything, though, so perhaps with those ties it would be an easier choice to just stay and ask for a postcard. |
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Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2007 : 13:59:18 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Cuneiformist
It's a hard question, chaloobi. I've often wondered what I would do if I were given the opportunity to see the universe in some sort of spacecraft, what I'd do. I guess ultimately, going without human contact would be too much. But if you were with a largely random group, that issue could be settled (though, what if, after 3 months, you found out that you hated everyone else on the ship with you!). I don't have kids or anything, though, so perhaps with those ties it would be an easier choice to just stay and ask for a postcard.
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Tough choice. I'm not sure I'd go - I'd love to, but my mother and my sister... ugh. My dog. I'd miss my dog, damnit. |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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perrodetokio
Skeptic Friend
275 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2007 : 15:50:54 [Permalink]
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What you are addressing is exactly what I loved about the film. And itīs a pitty that Spielberg got so family friendly over time that heīll never do such a movie again.
Thatīs what a hero in any story does (not a hero in the "Rambo" sense). He chooses to act despite the consequences. Itīs a great movie with a great story.
Cheers!
perro de tokio |
"Yes I have a belief in a creator/God but do not know that he exists." Bill Scott
"They are still mosquitoes! They did not turn into whales or lizards or anything else. They are still mosquitoes!..." Bill Scott
"We should have millions of missing links or transition fossils showing a fish turning into a philosopher..." Bill Scott |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
 Posted - 09/04/2007 : 17:23:25 [Permalink]
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| I went... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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JEROME DA GNOME
BANNED
2418 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2007 : 18:10:59 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by chaloobi
I personally loved the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It came out when I was a kid and I thought it was great. Recently - in the last 5 years - I watched the film again and it struck me how the Richard Dreifus (sp?) character must have appeared to his family, friends, neighbors and how his disappearance must have affected them. He literally went nuts and started demolishing their home, his wife and kids run crying from the house, he drives off into the sunset and is never seen nor heard from again. His wife and young kids are abandoned to single parent / dead-beat dad status.
What the hell? As a kid I was so envious of this guy who was chosen to go on this grand adventure with aliens etc etc. As an adult I'm like gee, that's nice the aliens wanted him and all, but maybe they should have invited the whole family....
Really, for that matter, why did they invite specific humans (those with social ties and responsibilities) to go instead of taking along whoever the government recruited? And why would the Richard Dreifus character want to go? I could never leave my family behind like that.
Really, DID he want to go? In the film it appeared as though the aliens implanted the obsessive imperative in his head, that image of Devil's Tower and the urge to go there, defeating his free will and driving him for all practical purposes recklessly insane. He didn't have much more choice in the matter than any of the abductees the aliens had been taking for centuries... I'm thinking that film could easily be remade into a tragic nightmare thriller with a sad ending.
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I am with you, I have perceived him as a loser ever since seeing this movie. It has spoiled any other movies I have seen this actor in.
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What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. - Bertrand Russell |
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2007 : 19:09:17 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by perrodetokio
What you are addressing is exactly what I loved about the film. And itīs a pitty that Spielberg got so family friendly over time that heīll never do such a movie again.
Thatīs what a hero in any story does (not a hero in the "Rambo" sense). He chooses to act despite the consequences. Itīs a great movie with a great story.
Cheers!
perro de tokio
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But are you sure he chose to go? Seems like the aliens infected his mind in some way with an obsessive compulsion. Is that free will? |
-Chaloobi
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maledoro
Skeptic Friend
66 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 04:26:00 [Permalink]
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One thing that had always puzzled me: if these aliens are so intelligent, why did they travel zillions of light years to pick up Richard Dreyfuss?
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"Nothing frightens me more than religion at my door."
-John Cale |
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Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 10:05:48 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by maledoro
One thing that had always puzzled me: if these aliens are so intelligent, why did they travel zillions of light years to pick up Richard Dreyfuss?
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Maybe they liked his movies... |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 10:26:21 [Permalink]
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| Jaws was really good. |
-Chaloobi
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 12:14:43 [Permalink]
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JDG said:
I am with you, I have perceived him as a loser ever since seeing this movie. It has spoiled any other movies I have seen this actor in.
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Ahhh.... a peek inside the head of our resident troll... and it reveals an inability to seperate fantasy from reality.
How unsuprising.
He is a man playing a role in a science fiction movie Jerome. An actor, being paid to play a part.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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maledoro
Skeptic Friend
66 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 12:45:44 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Siberia
Maybe they liked his movies...
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I do too. Fair enough!
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"Nothing frightens me more than religion at my door."
-John Cale |
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JohnOAS
SFN Regular
Australia
800 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 14:56:18 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by JEROME DA GNOME
... I have perceived him as a loser ever since seeing this movie. It has spoiled any other movies I have seen this actor in. |
Seriously, you were so affected by this actor's portrayal of a character written by someone else, that you cannot put aside this fictional work in order to enjoy another?
Edited to add:
I get it, in principle, I personally always initially "see" Harrison Ford as Han Solo, but can get over this initial reaction to see him as another character in another film.
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John's just this guy, you know. |
| Edited by - JohnOAS on 09/05/2007 14:59:03 |
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Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 16:37:27 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by JohnOAS
Originally posted by JEROME DA GNOME
... I have perceived him as a loser ever since seeing this movie. It has spoiled any other movies I have seen this actor in. |
Seriously, you were so affected by this actor's portrayal of a character written by someone else, that you cannot put aside this fictional work in order to enjoy another?
Edited to add:
I get it, in principle, I personally always initially "see" Harrison Ford as Han Solo, but can get over this initial reaction to see him as another character in another film.
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Keanu Reeves will always be Neo to me.
Always.
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"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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Boron10
Religion Moderator
USA
1266 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2007 : 16:54:03 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by JohnOAS
I get it, in principle, I personally always initially "see" Harrison Ford as Han Solo, but can get over this initial reaction to see him as another character in another film. |
I fluctuate between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, but yeah. Originally posted by Siberia
Keanu Reeves will always be Neo to me. |
Nah. He's Ted "Theodore" Logan! |
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Close Encounters - A Family Tragedy
