Steven Brence
11-07-2011, 02:40 AM
1. Why is Sam a "crew" of one? Why wouldn't Lunar Industries have more than one crew member, even if they were all clones? Is the company's purpose in this regard explained by what occurs once there are two Sams? How does their being two of them itself pose a threat to the smooth operation of the base?
2. What becomes of GERTY through the course of the film? The film indicates that the Sarang Base has a crew of one. Could it be argued that that one is actually GERTY (despite not being organic and having a model number--3000) rather than the single Sam clone that is awake at any given time? Does GERTY regard himself as the crew of the Sarang? If not, why not?
3. In Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi masterpiece, "2001: A Space Odyssey", HAL 9000, the talking computer onboard a spaceship on a mission to Jupiter, confronts a contradiction in his programming (pitting his responsibility for the success of the mission against his other responsibility of caring for the crew) and determines to resolve it through eliminating the human crew. What is Moon suggesting about the nature of developing intelligence by having GERTY 3000 choose instead to protect the crew (the Sam clones, that is)? Might the difference be that GERTY has a body that can move about the ship while HAL does not?
4. In what ways is the Moon (physically remote from Earth and life) a metaphor for a different kind of remoteness from life amongst contemporary human beings?
5. What does the film think in regard to the place of communication in human life? Note how the computer in the rover continuously repeats "looking for long-range comms" and the frequently referenced metaphorical label of two-way communication as a "live-feed".
6. Recall the accusation of the "beast-men" to Dr. Moreau at the end of "Island of Lost Souls" that he had made them "things… not men, not beasts,… things!" This would seem to endorse Jurgen Habermas' worry in respect to our developing capacity to manipulate the human genome that, if one were to be regarded as "made" by another person (as opposed to "grown"--nurtured into maturity, that is), one may not be able to recognize oneself, nor be recognized by others, as a person (a self-creating subject). What does Moon think in respect to that question? What is the status of the Sams? Are they able to regard themselves, and be regarded by others, as persons or as odd sorts of things? What difference would that make?
7. What should one make of the frequent references to "waking up" in the film? The Sam clones are literally woken up, but might there be figurative or metaphorical wakings as well? How might this be connected to the frequent references to Jesus (the Sams use "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ" frequently as exclamations, and the harvesters are named after those associated with the four gospels of the Christian "New Testament", Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the hints as to the reception of the second Sam's upon his arrival back on Earth, etc.? Is it we that are meant to be awakened by the film? If so, to what?
8. Just before restarting GERTY and blanking his memory, the newer Sam corrects him--"We are not programmed, we're people. Understand?" What are we to make of this claim? Is it actually true, or is it an articulation of a messianic message he will return with to Earth? How might it be that we are in ways programmed? How might we be, much like the clones in the film, more objects than subjects, even if we are not exact genetic reproductions of already existing people?
9. The newer Sam regards the older Sam as naïve in his lack of appreciation for the motivations of their common employer/creator, Lunar Industries-- "It's a company, right? They have investors, shareholders, shit like that. What's cheaper, spending time and money training new personnel, or just having a couple of spares here to do the job?" Would we be naïve to regard business corporations in our present as any less ruthless in their pursuit of profit? Would they really have to be able to operate on the far side of the moon before they might treat their employees as so many expendable "objects"?
10. The two Sams, initially and quite naturally, lay exclusive claim to the identity of Sam Bell. That seems to transform over the course of the film, however, until ultimately they are able to reminisce together over their common (implanted) memories of a common past that neither of them actually lived. Is this development psychologically credible? If it is, might there be any insights in the film as to how we reconcile ourselves to our own identities, that if not wholly fabricated outside of ourselves, are certainly significantly determined by factors beyond our control.
2. What becomes of GERTY through the course of the film? The film indicates that the Sarang Base has a crew of one. Could it be argued that that one is actually GERTY (despite not being organic and having a model number--3000) rather than the single Sam clone that is awake at any given time? Does GERTY regard himself as the crew of the Sarang? If not, why not?
3. In Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi masterpiece, "2001: A Space Odyssey", HAL 9000, the talking computer onboard a spaceship on a mission to Jupiter, confronts a contradiction in his programming (pitting his responsibility for the success of the mission against his other responsibility of caring for the crew) and determines to resolve it through eliminating the human crew. What is Moon suggesting about the nature of developing intelligence by having GERTY 3000 choose instead to protect the crew (the Sam clones, that is)? Might the difference be that GERTY has a body that can move about the ship while HAL does not?
4. In what ways is the Moon (physically remote from Earth and life) a metaphor for a different kind of remoteness from life amongst contemporary human beings?
5. What does the film think in regard to the place of communication in human life? Note how the computer in the rover continuously repeats "looking for long-range comms" and the frequently referenced metaphorical label of two-way communication as a "live-feed".
6. Recall the accusation of the "beast-men" to Dr. Moreau at the end of "Island of Lost Souls" that he had made them "things… not men, not beasts,… things!" This would seem to endorse Jurgen Habermas' worry in respect to our developing capacity to manipulate the human genome that, if one were to be regarded as "made" by another person (as opposed to "grown"--nurtured into maturity, that is), one may not be able to recognize oneself, nor be recognized by others, as a person (a self-creating subject). What does Moon think in respect to that question? What is the status of the Sams? Are they able to regard themselves, and be regarded by others, as persons or as odd sorts of things? What difference would that make?
7. What should one make of the frequent references to "waking up" in the film? The Sam clones are literally woken up, but might there be figurative or metaphorical wakings as well? How might this be connected to the frequent references to Jesus (the Sams use "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ" frequently as exclamations, and the harvesters are named after those associated with the four gospels of the Christian "New Testament", Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the hints as to the reception of the second Sam's upon his arrival back on Earth, etc.? Is it we that are meant to be awakened by the film? If so, to what?
8. Just before restarting GERTY and blanking his memory, the newer Sam corrects him--"We are not programmed, we're people. Understand?" What are we to make of this claim? Is it actually true, or is it an articulation of a messianic message he will return with to Earth? How might it be that we are in ways programmed? How might we be, much like the clones in the film, more objects than subjects, even if we are not exact genetic reproductions of already existing people?
9. The newer Sam regards the older Sam as naïve in his lack of appreciation for the motivations of their common employer/creator, Lunar Industries-- "It's a company, right? They have investors, shareholders, shit like that. What's cheaper, spending time and money training new personnel, or just having a couple of spares here to do the job?" Would we be naïve to regard business corporations in our present as any less ruthless in their pursuit of profit? Would they really have to be able to operate on the far side of the moon before they might treat their employees as so many expendable "objects"?
10. The two Sams, initially and quite naturally, lay exclusive claim to the identity of Sam Bell. That seems to transform over the course of the film, however, until ultimately they are able to reminisce together over their common (implanted) memories of a common past that neither of them actually lived. Is this development psychologically credible? If it is, might there be any insights in the film as to how we reconcile ourselves to our own identities, that if not wholly fabricated outside of ourselves, are certainly significantly determined by factors beyond our control.