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Morgan And Arrival: Two Films To Review

What kind of race are we? Are we naturally war-like, violent or peaceful and friendly? The answer would vary, from history and race and geography. Are we a failed race because of our disunity? Or are we denying our nature and impulses for violence?



Morgan is a film about a machine-human hybrid produced by a corporate entity for profit to produce a superior soldier. It stars Kate Mara and Anya Taylor-Joy (whose performance in The Witch is also noteworthy) as laboratory produced human hybrids. The interactions of Anya's Morgan character and her scientists-guardians are the films plot driver. There is constant reference to Helsinki which is I guess what happened to another similar effort by the company which failed. Helsinki being a metaphor to civilian scientists losing their detachment from their subject, or Helsinki being a metaphor to hostages shifting their loyalty to their captors.

Kate Mara's Lee character is introduced as a corporate agent of judgment. She is also an agent of execution. Also I find the comparison between Lee and Morgan regarding their intellect, social skills and physical power very interesting. Which one should have survived their encounter? Do I agree with the film's depiction of the victor? I feel that is where the film fails. I was searching for my feelings one way or the other and there's none.



Arrival is the story of a language expert recruited by the government to solve the mystery of aliens coming to earth in 12 ships. All over the world governments employed their own experts to try and communicate with the aliens. Amy Adams' Louise is a single woman who teaches in the university when the aliens arrived. The film isn't linear and there is a purpose to it. Louise theorized that the alien language isn't linear too. So we have a race of aliens that somehow know the beginning and end and so act accordingly. Louise tried to make sense of the alien message and it is: that the aliens are here to help us because 3,000 years down the road they are going to ask humans for help.

Even if you know the start and end of your journey, it still needs some amount of faith to take the trip. Why believe the message? Did Louise even translate it properly? I'm sure the aliens believe their message because they made the trip. But why should we? Unless it is shown to us with personal proof, human beings do not believe. Humans will only believe what they can understand. We understand when we can see and touch it. Close and personal. I understand why a lot of people are seeing Jesus in this movie. :)



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