Dirk gently, six of crows, animes, cartoons (esp GF) icon by winfreywrites. Cottagecore, seasonal posts, academia sort of asthetics as well. Maybe some steampunk or Lolita fashion cause it pretty. Sorry I have to admit I’m not a friendly person… I’m sad about it but nothing I can do. Am trying to curate my experience and be better but probably won’t chat with anyone
okay, since I've been feeling very normal about Project: Hail Mary again recently, here's something I keep thinking about:
We're on Erid, and Grace is expecting Rocky for their daily walk on the beach. Only today it's not the beach; the environmental engineers tasked with developing the Earth Dome have released a patch of forest for testing, that they're going to explore. Grace is about vibrating with excitement, and kind of a mess when Rocky loudly knocks on the front door-glasses askew, only one boot on yet, the usual.
He thinks it's lack of sleep at first, making him see double, but no, that's two Eridians on his porch. Rocky says "Grace, Grace I brought Adrian to meet, I made a suit for them look!!!" Adrian hums a greeting. Grace says, "nope", and slams the door in their face. Distress noises from Adrian. Rummaging and curses from inside the house.
Grace whips open the door again, and now his hair is brushed, his glasses sit straight on his face, and he holds out a little round sphere of colored glass. He blurts:
"Rocky named a planet after you. This is Adrian." Pause. "I'm Grace. Nice to meet you!" Pause.
I'm much more on twitter these days but it feels appropriate to come back here for project hail mary meta. I like the long text blogs.
I saw the movie a couple days ago and I had an amazing time, I don't think a movie made me think this much in a long time (granted I didn't really watch a whole lot of movies in the past 2 years). I cried and laughed, but I also kind of observed my thoughts while watching, and I noticed that, even though I went in only knowing the minimum (science teacher in space, has amnesia and has to now save the world) I had lots of expectations connected to the movie based on all the other space movies I've watched before. This work of art broke with so many of them and I think that is exactly why it took me out of the experience a little, but in a good way.
Neatly dressed within a nerdy, precise love for science and space movies as well as beautiful, artful imagery, the bones and architecture of this story are much more profound than just that. Click for the spoilery part, everyone should get to watch this with as little knowledge as possible! But here are my (surface scraping) thoughts on emotional closeness and relationships in PHM:
Almost everything for me in this movie was unexpected, I could not have predicted a single thing with the knowledge I have of space movies, and everything i thought would happen, didn't quite.
I didn't even expect there to be another space ship, another living being near Tau Ceti. It completely surprised me. But as soon as the first contact was initiated, I expected it to go down the 'evil alien' route, and not a lighthearted, desperate craving for connection. I love how wrong I was, and I love that this is a focal point. You could say the whole 'accidental hero saves Earth' narrative was a fake-out for a much more touching, captivating story. I love Grace and Rocky so fucking much it tears me apart.
This was about Choice, connection to living beings, fear of failure and fear of isolation, learning what unconditional love truly means. The irony of having a fearful, avoidant and deflecting character choose connection over familiarity in the end, and with a being that could not be harder to communicate with. I dare to assume Grace thought of himself as not being a very emotionally skilled and loveable person. No one in his life, all alone.
I would also say this is one of his reasons as to why he refuses to go on the mission. You'd expect him, who has no remarkable emotional ties to anyone or anything in this world to not care. But I think he desperately craves connection with other human beings and the thought of not having had that and being isolated from his most primal urges terrifies him to no ends. The thought of having lived and not getting a shot at actually living and caring is what makes his life flash before his eyes.
When I sprinted to the toilet after the movie ended (please never let me drink anything during a three hour film again please thank you) I had this quick thought of 'what if Rocky had died, would that have been more impactful' and I almost immediately recoiled because I instantly realized, this is not that kind of story at all. This is what other tragic hero romance storylines go for. The love interest/family/friend dies and it serves as motivation to save the world or catapults the hero into some kind of carthasis. While watching I thought Rocky was for sure dead and we would see the breakdown of a century when Grace breaks down, delusions dissolved. But again not at all what happened, and we were proven to be wrong to be so depressingly cynical and pessimistic (by we I mean I). Grace had complete faith in Rocky's recovery and had such gentle patience and care (this is the part where I will cry during every rewatch)
In the end, Grace is not a hero, but finds himself in the most unlikely places of the universe. If I was in his position, i would also not go back but instead choose the friend, the only deep remarkable connection he has in his life. He has lived experience that a relationship with aliens is possible and I don't think he makes a big distinction based on whether it's someone human or alien to him. It still leaves me with a bunch of questions about how he's adjusting, but ultimately it was never about Grace coming back to Earth. He was sent to space to die, but instead he stayed and lived. I think he gladly accepts the physical distance he has to keep with Eridians on Erid in exchange for this unconditional emotional closeness and warmth he hasn't known before.
I had a mini discussion right after with the people I went to see the movie whether he stayed or went back to earth eventually, but deep down I really think he stayed. Time is a horrible thing truly, and is even worse in this context. If time and space were irrelevant I think this would be a different discussion, but it isn't, it's final for him. Time irreversably and cruelly snatches him out of his home. I don't think there's a satisfying solution for him to go back to earth: he doesn't really have anyone close, and after all he's been through and the time that passed (and how it changed earth) as well as the hostility earth had shown him there's nothing there, and if there is, it would be incredibly hard to adjust to again. I think Grace realizes that. He realizes his own mortality, and, even though it's very much a big part of the movie how he doesn't make peace with it - I really think he starts to do that in the end.
this is the absolute funniest thing I’ve read in the project hail mary 2022 draft so far. my stomach hurts from trying not to laugh so loud. I WISH they kept this in the movie
what if you were the woman in charge of finding some way, any way, to save your dying planet and the leading expert integral to your operation was a guy who has to do something silly every five seconds or he explodes
(1) "Are You Scared Yet, Laika?" by Gus Gresham // (2,3,4) Combined quotes of the scientists who sent Laika to space, nitter.net/yo_adrianididit // (5) "First Dog In Space" by Brennig Davies, Combined quotes of the scientists who sent Laika to space, nitter.net/yo_adrianididit // (6) "Are You Scared Yet, Laika?" by Gus Gresham // (7,8,9) "Laika" by Claire Williamson // (10) Combined quotes of the scientists who sent Laika to space, nitter.net/yo_adrianididit, THE SAD, SAD STORY OF LAIKA, THE SPACE DOG, AND HER ONE-WAY TRIP INTO ORBIT, Smithsonian Magazine // (11) "Are You Scared Yet, Laika?" by Gus Gresham
Male tufted social velvet spider, Stegodyphus tibialis, Eresidae
Photographed in India by vipinbaliga
Legally I can’t share this photo without asking the photographer first, so please visit this link to see a male and female snuggled up in their nest :)
where I need to be @nerdybullshit - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
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