Heyo! It’s the Ephesian again. I’m back from a little trip through cyberspace and decided to drop in and share some thoughts about outer space. I went to see “The Martian” and a few things stood out that I’d like to write about if anyone is willing to read it, or even if no one reads it. I guess it’s kind of like Mark’s video logs – no one is watching them, but they just might someday ;-).
Anywho, much of the movie is about dealing with the technical problems regarding staying alive on Mars. As for the scientific accuracy and entertainment values of the movie – I’ll leave that to other thinkers and writers. This post, as usual, is about what the movie is conveying to us consciously or even subconsciously through the way it portrays and frames certain events and actions. In this case, there are three scenes I’d like to discuss.
As always: Spoiler Alert.
The first scene that comes to mind sort of jumps out at me right off the bat. At first, I was watching the movie and began to wonder whether I’d have any material to write about when suddenly a crucifix made its way onto the screen while Mark (Matt Damon) was evaluating his situation and looking through the personal belongings of his friends. Naturally, this jumped out at me. At first Mark appears to be contemplating the crucifix as in some form of prayer or reflection on his situation. Not long after, Mark begins to work on a way to create water by burning hydrogen. While narrating over a montage of scenes he points out that almost nothing is flammable “with the notable exception of Martinez’s personal items.” At this point, the crucifix then takes on a much more material value – it is wooden and therefore perfect for starting a fire. Perhaps this might give pause to some of the faithful, but it may not be so bad after all.
This is why make such a big deal out of “event” and “lens.” Burning a crucifix might seem like a wicked event, but the way this even is portrayed is essential. In fact, in ordinary usage, burning a religious item, especially one that is blessed, is actually the proper way to dispose of it if it is no longer usable. In the case of Mark Watney, however, disposal is not the goal, survival is. In the middle of his shaving the wood off the crucifix, Mark is depicted as saying (something like) “By the way, I’m assuming your okay with this considering my situation and all.” Bravo for acknowledging the question in the viewers mind and… I’d argue that Jesus is perfectly content with his actions, especially considering that he even shaves off the bottom and appears to keep the corpus intact. Not only that, but this ends up leading to some pretty cool, and possibly unintended, symbolism:
Mark, alone on a dead planet and facing destruction, seeks water as a way to stay alive. He needs fire to create water and the only way he can create water is by using the wood of the cross. I’m sorry, but I can’t help at rejoicing at the convenient “Jesus leads to the waters of life” symbolism that could apply here. So yeah… this is me rejoicing.
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| Careful, even Jesus fire can burn you! |
Alright, next scene. Despite the application of his Jesus-fire-water and his conveniently Irish crop, the possible Catholic tie-ins do not prevent a problem in the HAB that breaks the seal and freezes Mark’s crops, rendering all of his potatoes sterile and seeming to crush all hope of survival. At some point after this, Mark is talking to Commander Lewis (Jessica Chastain) about what to do if he doesn’t make it back. He’s asking her to pass along a message to his parents and the gist of the message is this: “I love you, I’m happy with what I’m doing, I’m okay with dying for something bigger than me.” There is a lot here: facing death, reconciling with friends, passing along a message of love, but what I want to focus on is the “bigger than me” part.
First, it’s good to hear this, even if it’s old hat. The idea of living and dying for something bigger than oneself is a beautiful thing – we often hear about it in our culture in relation to military service, humanitarian projects, and even political advocacy. Let’s face it, human beings have always sought “noble causes.” It resonates with people because it touches on a key part of human nature: living for another. Human beings are meant to turn out from themselves and give themselves wholly to another. In the end, the only true fulfillment of this desire is to live for the love of God, but the search for some “greater cause” is itself a positive sign of what all men are truly looking for.
Secondly, just what is “bigger” than Mark? It appears that the scientific mission of space exploration in general and the study of Mars in particular is that “bigger thing.” Is this a noble cause? There is certainly something to be said for scientific advancement, especially if its meant to improve or even save the lives of other people, so we can applaud that. But what about space travel and the exploration of Mars? Is this really a cause worth dying for? Perhaps some will say that such things are a necessary step in seeking out alien life or finding more habitable planets for humanity’s future. If that’s really the motive, then there is at least some concern for humanity, but I personally think this is a goose chase. It strikes me as a kind of false eschatology. There seem to be two unreliable assumptions behind the idea the space exploration is necessary: First, that we will need to leave this planet at some point in order to survive. Second, that it is even possible to get to another habitable planet when all of the likely candidates are hundreds of light years away (and we can’t travel even close to the speed of light).
As for the need to leave, do we fear overpopulation? The problem is poverty, not population. I’m not sure sinking so much money, natural resources, effort, and time into projects that aim to solve a possible future problem is wise when those same resources can be used to deal with a concrete problems here and now. Of course, research into space exploration has led to a number of scientific developments that are helpful to humanity on earth, so its not a total bust. At the same time, there are plenty of other forces that spur scientific advancement, like recognizing needs and various market forces. Still, I’m not saying we should stop all astronomy and space-related sciences, but perhaps some more sober realism about the subject is what I’m looking for. Anyway, there are plenty of Catholic defenders of space exploration and there is no official teaching, so make what you want of it.
What do I make of Mark’s noble cause? It’s hard to say because his motives are not exactly expounded. In general I’d say this: Science can be good and it can certainly be done for the Glory of God and the good of our fellow man, but we should be careful not to make science into an end in itself… an idol. This is especially true as our culture loses it’s human touch…
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| Well, at least we could make Martian Potatoes! |
That brings me to our last scene to be considered. When NASA is considering Rich Purnell’s plan (in the “Council of Elrond” – hooray for a LOTR reference!), a conversation takes place between NASA’s chief Teddy Sanders and the Crew Supervisor Mitch Henderson. They are debating the merits of risking the Hermes and five crew members in order to rescue one man. Teddy expounds about the glories and hopes of NASA and basically says “this is more important than one man.”
Mitch responds simply “no, Teddy, it’s not.” This is a fantastic point and really gets at what I was just saying above. Human beings are worth more than abstract scientific advancement. This forms a kind of “inclusio” with Mark’s comment about dying for this “something bigger.” He was willing to lose his life for this cause, but that doesn’t mean his life isn’t worth more than a few setbacks in that cause. Indeed, his friends were willing to lose quite a bit if it meant saving him. Considering that movie goes on to show the crew’s unanimous acceptance of the plan and its successful conclusion, its safe to say that the “lens” for this claim puts it in a positive light. The viewer is implicitly told to agree with it and that’s not a bad thing.
In the end, the Human Being is the greatest thing in this universe because each human being has an inalienable dignity which comes from being made in the Image and Likeness of God. It is encouraging today to see a Science Fiction movie which consciously places a great deal of importance on caring for a human life, even when it is particularly costly and inconvenient to a number of people (an extra 500 days and possibly jail). Even more significantly, this movie makes a good case in defense of non-romantic love, which we call friendship. Despite the fact that the movie seems to be about space travel and survival, it seems that this theme of friendship and community is actually it’s inner logic. The tragedy is that Mark is left alone and there is a constant reference to the tension felt by Commander Lewis for having left behind. The goal of the entire movie, and its signature tagline, is to “bring him home” where can be in community with others. Even Mark’s need to create film logs, beyond being a great plot device, manifested this need to communicate with others, even if only potentially. The triumphal climax of the whole film is the embrace, full of love but completely devoid of romance, between Commander Lewis and Mark in space. Finally, he is safe from the barrenness of Mars and, more importantly, the barrenness of being totally alone.
Do you have friends who do so much for you? I know of at least one who would…