The Imagination of Disaster in Scientific - Essay Example

IMAGINATION OF DISASTER IN SCIENTIFIC FICTION By Imagination of Disaster in Scientific Susan Sontag in the “imagination of disaster” explores the dimension and development of the scientific fiction film as an independent subgenre and one that is significantly distinct from the scientific fiction novel. Sontag brings forth a range of perspectives that have contributed to the popularity of the scientific fiction film and the impact on the audiences. While the novel relies significantly on description and factual narration of scientific facts, the film employs the auditory and visual tropes to impact on the audiences through images of destruction captured in vivid dimensions (Sontag, 1966). Susan argues that the film thrives on the sensuous connection with the audience through the arresting images and the immediacy of the experience as observed on the screen. The author traces the main stages of development of the sci-fi film in terms of the emergence of a situation that disturbs harmony, to the stages of disbelief, tragedy, threat, destruction, feelings of vulnerability, and the heroic antics of a lone actor who eventually designs some kind of remedy that prevails against the formidable foe. The main features in Sontag’s analysis are manifest in the post-apocalyptic film I am Legend, which was directed by Francis Lawrence with Will Smith featuring as the military virologist Robert Neville, the main protagonist (Lawrence, 2007). In the film, Neville finds himself facing the odds of a horrific destruction wrought by a scientific experiment gone awry leading to a virulent strain of a virus that has depopulated nearly 95 percent of the world population. Neville has to put aside his own pain of losing his wife and child and struggle to save his own life and the lives of the few surviving humans by developing an antidote that would rescue the infected and the few survivors. The task is daunting and the odds are nearly insurmountable for the lone hero but he has to endeavor to contain the horror. The film represents the good and bad of science in the sense that it captures both its threat to humanity and its near limitless potential to provide solutions to the same threats. Sontag argues that scientific films are mainly dominated by the theme of massive destruction (Sontag, 1966). The focus, she argues is the scale of destruction, which is usually captured on an enormous and shocking scale. Destruction is captured in grim details that involve the potency of powerful machinery, a determined destructive force, and great humanitarian suffering. Most of these films anticipate calamities and apocalyptic events created by scientific factors that go against the initial intended plans. Images of collapsing cities, high death tolls, and terrified and fleeing humanity are usually foregrounded in ways that amplify the gigantic forces behind the destruction. The imagination usually gives free reign to carnage and ruin. Flashy images of sophistication, meticulously complex laboratories, and sky crappers are some of the images that feature predominantly in these films. The stability and sense of perfection symbolized by these structures is the disrupted by a chaotic incident that shakes the edifice of urbanization to its very core. At the end of the film, only death and destruction are evident. Emphasis, according to Sontag is based on the aspect of magnitude (Sontag, 1966). For instance, in I am Legend only a handful of humanity is left in the aftermath of the violence. The films do not feature romantic images of clinical military interventions that succeed in nipping the situation in the bud. Instead, the films are replete with desperate images of failed interventions and accidents. Hopelessness and destructions are the key drivers of the plot. The virologist in the film cannot even manage to shield his own dog from the menace of the virus. He is forced to strangle it to death after it is also infected with the virus. This act leaves him with an utter sense of desperation that appears to give some significant hints of a foreboding gloom. The final parts of the story feature his epic struggle with the invading things that seek to kill all hope of an antidote. The struggle costs him his life even as he remains the legend of the situation by finally managing to develop an antidote that saved the lives of the surviving humans. The portrayal of desperation and destruction is represented as the level of the individual and society. The virologist embodies the damage at a personal level. The plot in I am Legend and dominant themes of post-apocalyptic hope, the merits, and demerits of science, official ineptitude, sacrifice, death, and suffering are explored in this film in the precise dimensions that inform Sontag’s analysis of the nature and development of sci-fi films. It is important to consider the fact that some of the issues brought out in this film be meant to remind humanity of the fickle nature of existence and the vulnerability of humanity in the face of the destructive forces of nature or science. Sontag weaves her analysis of the sci-fi film around the concept of duality of science. In one dimension, science is considered as a valuable subject that offers the promise of prosperity and solutions to some of the challenges that afflict the modern generation. For instance, in the film “I am Legend,” the emergent of the virulent strain of virus was traced from a nearly successful experiment conducted by Dr. Alice Krippin, who sought to develop a cure for cancer. Part of the objective of sci-fi films is to transcend the bounds of morality in the imagination of scientific catastrophe. There are no caveats as the film immerses into the deepest end of horror. The imagination is usually stretched to the highest limits possible. The effective use of sounds and images is employed in the film to ensure that much of the attention is captured in the most precise dimension possible. The sounds and sights are supposed to contribute to the magnitude of destruction within the imagination of the viewers. The underlying intention is to provoke the thinking of the audience to adjust to the possibilities of the worst kind of destruction that could come out of the nature or science. Sci-fi films are targeted for the urban audiences (Reid, 2007). They seek to remind humanity of the possibilities of enormous destructive forces that could come out of the urban developments, which signify harmony and progress in technology and other forms of developments. The films seek to represent the fact that human advancement in vulnerable to destructive forces that lurk in every nook of technological systems. It is possible to observe these aspects of progress in terms of the various effects that attend to them at the basic level. The reign of imagination seeks to expose the vulnerable points of progress that could be laid to waste by enormous destructive forces. The potency of sci-fi film, according to Sontag, is to be found in the manner in which images are presented in grim dimensions that shock and stultify the viewer (Sontag, 1966). The unnerving portrayal of human suffering and general destruction in graphic details is a strategy that sustains the vivid and authentic aspect of sci-fi films. Horrific images of mutating humans, desolate neighborhoods, frightened survivors, and the malevolence of the virus are captured in dimensions that expand the aspect of vulnerability and hopelessness for the threatened humanity. According to Sontag, the use of graphic visual details to illustrate the horror of the situation is one of the strategies that prepare the stage for the heroic acts of the hero (Sontag, 1966). In the particular case of, I am Legend; the element of suspense is heightened around the virologist, as all attempts to develop an antidote seem fruitless even as the infected and mutated human enemies increase their efforts to vanquish him. The infected humans and the dogs that seek to kill the hero are presented in nightmarish images that evoke the feelings of terror in the viewer adding to the foreboding gloom that appears to edge closer at every moment. Sontag explains that sci-fi films will often seek to illustrate the fact of official ineptitude. The films usually imply, at the peak of the crisis, that official order has collapsed. In the post-apocalyptic films such as I am Legend all actions seem to proceed after the worst has already happened and all that is left is hope and despair for the survivors. At the point when Neville the virologist is grappling with the most feasible formula for an antidote, nearly the entire world population has perished. The viewer is left with a sense of apprehension and yearning for some hope of renewal and rebuilding of hope for a new beginning and the emergent of a triumphant force that might prevail against the all-powerful enemy. Neville is abandoned in a desolate environment, as there seems to be no contact between him and any other official or agent of the government. All action is centered on him. According to Sontag, the place of the hero is particularly important in sci-fi films (Sontag, 1966). At the preliminary stages of the film, the film will present the hero or protagonist in ways that win the admiration of the viewers. A series of actions around the hero will present him as generally likeable or commanding mercy and sympathy. Usually, the protagonist’s personal relationship in exploited in ways that present him as a perfect human and a loving father, mother, or lover. At some point, as Sontag explains, one or some of his kin must get embroiled in the emerging dander requiring urgent intervention. In some other cases, the situation may develop into some kind of tragedy that involves the lives of the hero’s kin. The intention is usually understood as a rhetorical strategy that is meant to appeal to the emotions of the viewers in order to rally behind the cause of the hero. The portrayal of the hero as a perfect human is equally intended to capture the human sides of science. It seeks to dispel the stereotype that successful scientists are unfeeling humans incapable of adjusting to the subtle truths of the society and always willing to surrender all else in pursuit of their lofty scientific experimentations. Such perceptions bandied by critics of the presumed scientific centrality in modern development often seek to hold up sci-fi heroes in antagonistic perspectives. In the opinion of Sontag, sci-fi heroes will often tend to achieve their objectives as part of a wider plan to rescue a lover, spouse, son, daughter, or any other relations that is caught up in distress. Sontag terms of analysis of the place of the hero in sci-fi films manifests in the character and situation of Neville. At the start of the film, he is portrayed as a loving husband and father who desire the best for his family. He is especially concerned with the welfare of his family and does all within his means to guarantee their safety and well-being. He desperately exploits all possible ways through, which he might ensure that his family is shielded from the virus attack. This fondness and closeness is built and highlighted in the most sensuous light in order to be destroyed at the opportune moment that leaves the viewers with a sense of utter desperation. During the quarantine, both Zoe and Marley who are Neville’s wife and daughter perish in a helicopter crash. The sequence of action that follows the tragedy are designed to gradually convert the hero to some kind of a superman that is capable to survive the most terrific incidents that surround his life. Sontag argues that sci-fi films are mainly focused on destruction. Their core concern is the aesthetics of destruction as witnessed in the I am Legend. Essentially, sci-fi films are created in ways that seek to relate the aspect of humanity and technology. Humanity is portrayed as heavily reliant on technology. The presumed invincibility of the human subject is to be located in the technological machinery, with which it shields itself. The human subject hides his weakness in the devices that he uses for defense and offense. This aspect of humanity is quite evident in the character of Neville in I am Legend when he uses the UV projectors to ward off the threats of the menacing enemies. Without these devices, he appears exceedingly vulnerable, as he cannot match the ferocity of the foe. The question of limits features prominently in the sci-fi films. As humankind advances in technological progress, the moral question remains as to the limits of such progress (Sanders, 2008). There is the sense in which the films seek to challenge the presumed primacy of science at the heart of all developments. This position derives from the perspectives of critics who contend that scientific progress cannot offer solutions to all the problems that challenge humanity. By assuming the center of everything, science inevitable trashes the value of moral judgments and other ethical concerns. Such questions have featured elsewhere on matters regarding the value, safety, and ethics of scientific experimentations. On this score, it becomes evident that some of the matters that attend to scientific issues have to be observed in terms of the need to maintain balance of values and progress. The film I am Legend uses a range of cinematographic techniques to bring out the gruesome apocalyptic picture of a world that falls into the trap of its own progressive skills (Lawrence, 2007). The doctor who creates the virus sought to use the measles virus to treat cancer. Today cancer remains one of the leading killers in the United States and throughout the world. The film is set within the United States where all the destructive forces are focused. In essence, it becomes necessary to consider the fact that some of the factors of progress are converted into the forces of destruction that lay waste a city that stands as an epitome of progress and civilization. Sontag argues that sci-fi films are usually amoral in the manner in which they give titillating accounts of damage and destruction as understood within the context of the film. In the general sense, it is important to consider the fact that some of the fundamental issues that connect to the aspect of destruction have to be assessed from the point of view of scientific progress. The imagining of the apocalypse is indicative of the acknowledgement of the limits of science as a solution and its capacity as a hazard. In this sense, sci-fi films project a double perspective of science that seeks to promote a balanced view of all things. It is particularly important to consider the fact that most of the images that are presented in the film are meant to serve as metaphors of technological progress and scientific advancement. Sontag notes that the destruction will mainly feature expensive bridges, imposing architectural marvels, and other sophisticated facilities that present the picture of modernity and urbanization. In I am Legend the film director chose bright and dark colors to show the extent of vivid images of destruction and death. Sounds were effectively employed to evoke fear, shock, and horror. Scenes of deserted streets and abandoned neighborhoods were used to illustrate the enormity of the destruction. This representation effectively brought out the high levels of destruction, which attended to the affected areas. It might be important to consider the fact that some of the issues that are explored in the film are consistent with the idea of sci-fi film as essentially nihilistic. The films do not seek to illustrate some theory, as one would easily find in a sci-fi novel. Instead, as Sontag argues, they will attempt to display the power of science to make and destroy. Usually, the plot seems to reinforce the view that science only seeks to remedy the damage it has caused. In I am Legend, the protagonist labors to seek an antidote to a problem that was created by another scientist. Critics content that sci-fi films represent the glorification of carnage and the unleashing animistic impulses (Reid, 2007). Thematically and symbolically, the films are considered by some as a disruptive intrusion into the narrative of progress that underlies alternative forms of art that praise the morals and tenets of progress. Lack of restraint in the depiction of rage, force, technology, and progress illustrates a departure from the confines of morality and ethics that may be found in sci-fi novels. Raw images of destruction satisfy the sensibilities that wish to explore some form of freedom beyond the restrictions of morality. Consequently, sci-fi films, according to Sontag, have sometimes been equated with horror in the manner in which they seek to explore the highest levels of shock. Works Cited Lawrence, F (Dir) 2007, I am Legend, (Film). Reid, J, H 2007, Science-fiction & fantasy cinema: Classic films of horror, sci-fi & the supernatural, John Howard Reid, S.I. Sanders, S 2008, The philosophy of science fiction film, University Press of Kentucky, Lexington. Sontag, S 1966, The Imagination of Disaster, Against Interpretation, Farrar, New York. Read More