For the human race, the future will always be a big question mark. Do we create our own future, or is it a predetermined series of events that lead to our ultimate demise? There truly isn’t a definitive answer, although the film, Predestination (2014, The Spierig Brothers), directly examines the future and our inability to control it. Predestination is an independent film that was produced and shot in Australia, but that certainly doesn’t mean the film is inaccessible to global audiences. This intelligent science fiction film has a cast and crew that spans the globe, and most importantly it examines themes that nearly anybody can understand. We will be examining the film’s production, the global aspects of the film, and the themes of self-identity, …show more content…
Critically the film was a smash hit, as critics all over the world raved about it. The critics praised the films for many different things, including the films concept, it’s acting and the focus on characters and human emotion. Critic Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects pointed out that “Genre films aren’t generally known for their humanity or emotional power.” Over in Australia, David Stratton loved the Spierig’s effort, “they have created a genuinely original, staggeringly clever and tremendously entertaining thriller… the film has all the trappings of film noir in its mysterious and wonderfully tricky narrative.” Finally, American critic Peter Sobczynski specifically wrote about the performances of the film praising Ethan Hawke’s performance and more specifically Sarah Snook. “Snook delivers a knockout performance… I would go so far as to put up her work… against any of the current front-runners for the Best Actress Oscar.” The film was such a critical darling in Australia that it was nominated for nine Australia Film Institute awards (Australia’s version of the Oscars), including best picture and director. It ultimately went home with four wins, for cinematography, film editing, production design, and Actress (Sarah
The fight between addressing control you could call your own life and having confidence in predetermination is one that has been continuing for quite a while. The perspectives of which is truth are particular for everyone and they can be needy after anything from their experiences in life to how they were raised. In the novel, Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, individual control and the thought of fate are two contending strengths all through the story. While John is endeavoring to compose a book about the Hiroshima bomb dropping, his exploration goes up against him an experience that was out of his control. He watches how a couple of other characters' lives were unfathomably impacted by the bomb and what they have done resulting to the event. As I would see it, the story rotates substantially more around the subject of predetermination and tolerating your destiny than whatever else.
The article “Freewill and Determinism in Psychology” by Saul Mcleod like all the other articles have something in common with the movie, and that comparison in this case is the idea that we can make our own fates with having free will. The Bureau best exemplifies this idea where at minute 1:37:57 the Chairman changes the plan the A.B was on for David/Elise so they can make up their own future. Likewise, Saul makes a statement in his article that there are people “…who believe that human beings have the ability to control their own destinies.” These two have the same idea for one reason: both agree that we are in control of our
It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is,” (86). With this in mind, everything in life is left up to fate; there is no chance at free will because every moment is already a moment and no one is capable of changing that.
One individual’s action may alter the lives, destinies, and future of millions of other people. In A Sound of Thunder, the killing of a single butterfly alters the course of evolution. Bradbury observes how a careless action by one traveler alters the destiny of others. “With the death of that one caveman, a billion others yet unborn are throttled in the womb” (Bradbury 3). Creating destiny is about being careful in actions. Human beings should learn how to create destiny by sticking to or changing their actions. A person should not reject doing one act of kindness even when it appears to be of no significant importance, neither should one commit a bad act even if it appears to cause an insignificant harm. Bradbury emphasizes on the significance of this argument, “destroy a single man, and you destroy a whole race of people and eventually an entire life history” (Bradbury 3). A single act of good or bad can impact or alter the future in unimaginable ways.
We make choices every day, from waking to sleeping our day is composed of choices and the results of these choices. These choices help to shape us to who we are and want to be. But, these results may not be foreseen and may be adverse or favorable depending on the situation. Topics and events in our history ranging from the literacy of common man to unnecessary gun violence were a result of un-foreseen consequences. Our world’s history has been shaped by these consequences forming the world to where we are today.
Tan, Amy. The Opposite of Fate: a book of musings. New York: Putnam, 2003. Print.
The power of acting without necessity and acting on one’s own discretions, free will still enamors debates today, as it did in the past with philosophers Nietzsche, Descartes, and Hume. There are two strong opposing views on the topic, one being determinism and the other “free will”. Determinism, or the belief a person lacks free will and all events including human actions are determined by forces outside the will of an individual contrasts the entire premise of free will. Rene Descartes formulates his philosophical work through deductive reasoning and follows his work with his system of reasoning. David Hume analyzes philosophical questions with inductive reasoning and skeptism with a strong systematic order. Neither a systematic philosopher nor a rigid thinker, Nietzsche offers his own nihilistic spin on the topic of free will. The three different approaches of free will by Nietzsche, Hume, and Descartes all obtain their strong suits as well as their pitfalls. Nietzsche insists free will is created by theologians and therefore denies its existence, while Descartes embraces free will, and Hume individualizes the meaning of free will.
Alfonso Cuarón’s movie “The Children of Men” depicts a catastrophic future for humanity. Although it is portrayed to show events in the future approximately the year 2027 what is interesting is that the society in which the people live in is very similar to the world we live in today. The buildings, stores, cars (although weird-looking) do not look at all fancy as one might think the future to look. Cuarón’s look on the future is not a positive, hopeful one as his movie foreshadows sorrows, miseries and gloom waiting to be welcomed into our world. His movie though does indeed go parallel with the political and societal events of today.
Fate in The Matrix remains a non-negotiable factor as the world has been pre-programmed every action being predetermined. Freewill, however was visible in small amounts and was valued immensely. In this film, the choice you are manipulated to think in life is a complete illusion as the path of what you are has already been fixed. The true meaning of this is that fate is something that you have no control over, ultimately your destiny.
In his first thought, Greg M. Smith establishes nothing is random within fictional lives. First off, he points out how easy it is to treat films like everything happens by chance, but proceeds to prove this is not the case. We are encouraged to get caught up in the movie’s world. Even a pedestrian of a scene has specific directions to follow. Outfits are chosen at length. Environments are carefully picked for being utilized by filmmakers. Everything in a movie has a purpose and has been edited and reviewed several times before reaching the big screen.
In the writing of George Carlin’s perception of the modern world, Carlin introduces many problems the world believes it has fixed. These solutions, however, have only led to problems that seem to be ignored or thought of far too irrelevant to be considered an issue. These problems that many people seem to ignore are the aspects of our life that could lead to our demise as a species. As time rolls on we seem to find new methods of reinventing our technology, culture and what we would consider success in order to suit our needs for the moment. But these reinventions ultimately end up failing us in the near future which causes us to get stuck in a cycle of new problems and new solutions that will eventually lead to more problems.
Predestination, in the dictionary, is said to be "the doctrine that God in consequence of his foreknowledge of all events infallibly guides those who are destined for salvation." Scripture has 2 very good passages for defining what predestination is: Jeremiah 1:5 which says "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." God is talking about Jeremiah in this passage and how God chose him before time; he was predestined for his job. Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called them he also justified: and whom he justified them he also glorified." This passage speaks about God's ultimate omniscience concerning our predestination and how we would react to the message of God's Word.
One of the most powerful gifts that all humans are born with is the gift of free will. When the veracity of free will is questioned, the nature of humanity itself is questioned. What defines free will is the knowledge and ability to choose between different options. The movie Stranger Than Fiction explores these ideas, using a metafictional narrative of the character Harold Crick's life to highlight the capability of free will. Stranger Than Fiction observes Harold Crick's life with lenses of metafiction to illustrate the thematic idea that free will is more powerful than any controlling factors of life.
“Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.” Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre attempts to convey that the effects of individuals’ actions effects their future. He indicates their free will to make themselves. However, how this occurs is unclear. Who or what determines destiny? Is it a supreme being like God? Does the individual hold the key to their own fate? Do previous actions cause one’s actions and future? Throughout the history of time, various philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Pierre Laplace have created theories to prove or disprove the existence of free will. For instance, existentialism claims that decisions and free will establish outcomes. Contrary to this, determinism states that there is no free will
... is only of the many futuristic movies that allow the viewer to expand their imagination and explore the possibilities of the future. The film’s captivating set design allows the viewer to get a visual perspective of technological advancements and scientific motivations that can alter the lives of human beings drastically. In fact, as seen in the article written by Aguila, several scientific experiments have already been conducted to genetically modify human genes. The movie helps the viewer explore the possibilities that DNA innovations offer. Furthermore, although this film is science fictional viewers should not disregard the information proposed within the plot, but rather use their imagination to further explore what the movie has to offer. The future is ours to conquer, why not use our intellectual mind frames to examine possibilities and futuristic utopias.