"I think if I disappeared tomorrow, the universe wouldn't really notice."
"Kinda depressing... but thought provoking... I mean nothing really matters, huh? Like we're all put on this Earth for a reason, but why? Why were we put on EARTH, like why not another planet? And why are we so small anyway? Why? What?"
The first quote is from the 2014 drama, "Men, Women and Children," and the second quote is my reaction (if you couldn't tell) to the quote after I watched the movie. Although it came out in 2014, I just got around to watching this film with my friends last night. We were feeling a "drama," and stumbled upon this number on Amazon Prime. Little did we know, this movie would cause us to question our existence...
This movie was instantly captivating; it opened with sound. Dozens of different tones, voices and music filled my ears, which seemed overwhelming at first, but then the image of space came into view. The smooth, comforting voice of actress Emma Thomson explained the reason for the sounds, and how they emanated from the satellite, Voyager, that was launched by NASA in 1977.
This opening of the movie gave the viewer a feeling of amazement because they had to ponder how Earth is a tiny, pale blue dot, and can still be seen from the Voyager satellite billions of miles away on an advanced camera. Yet, at the same time, there is so much history, vibrant life, technology and of course, people crammed in that tiny, minuscule dot. The movie then continued to take place on Earth, and the story unfolded.
(First is a video Carl Sagan narrates about Earth, if you would like to watch it, and second is a picture that Voyager took of Earth in 1990 from over 6 billion miles away!)
"[We are] a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam" - Carl Sagan
Now, I'm not going to summarize the movie because that would be boring, but I will mention a few highlights of this film. This movie is anything but simple; there is no overarching theme or single story. In fact, this film basically sums up humanity today. It mentions the good and bad side to people, and the power technology has over us. It talks about affairs, betrayal, teen angst, family tension, bullying, sex, drugs, love, loss, and most importantly trust. Trust is one of the strongest bonds that holds mankind together and keeps us moving through life with ease. Trust is one of the most basic, yet essential, necessities in any relationship, and "Men, Women and Children" highlights trust between adults and children and between adults and adults.
Personally, I found this movie to be very complicated, due to all of the intertwining story lines; entertaining, due to the fascinating characters and how the movie utilized technology in consuming their lives; and thought-provoking because it left me questioning and existential in the end. I also enjoyed this movie immensely because another overarching theme was secrets. Everyone in the worlds current and past history has had or has a secret. This secret can be tiny or monumental.
In the film, each character has a secret, whether that secret is having a Tumblr account no one knows about where she wears a wig and makeup, or masturbating in his son's room while he is at school, or having an affair online with strangers and lying to her husband. This movie definitely highlights the negatives of technology: how it distances us from one another, how it can tear people apart because of something someone "texted" or "posted." How the internet is endless and makes it too easy to stalk someone or fall in love with someone through a screen when all of it could be a lie.
Sure, humanity has lived on Earth for a long time. We are the only living creatures in this solar system (that we know of) who have lived, died, created and made our mark on this tiny, tiny, tiny blue dot. Take this into perspective (and bear with me here): how can we feel so entitled, so self-centered, and want to kill each other all in the pursuit of being temporary leaders on this planet? Humans want success, power, love and happiness; this drive is innate, and we all wish to attain it.
In the film, one of the characters, Tim, who had quit playing football in order to pursue a true meaning to his life instead, strongly believes in this philosophy that nothing mattered because we are all so insignificant on this pale blue dot compared to the rest of outer space. This mentality keeps him humble, grounded, but also vulnerable and impulsive at the same time. When we look at the picture above, Earth is practically nothing, yet so so much at the same time because it's our home, whether we like it or not.
Tim's mentality is a good one to keep in the back of our minds, but we should still live life to the fullest. Even though our tiny human existences may not have a speck of impact on the greater outer space, we still drive on every day, attempting to attain that power, success, happiness and love.
