SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: CHIA LY VIER

STUDENT ID NO: 0320142

FILMS SELECTED: INCEPTION & INTERSTELLAR

WORD COUNT: 990

ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: APRIL 8TH , 2015

Science fiction is a genre of fiction which the stories always portray about the future science and technology. It is essential for us to know that science fiction has an interrelation with science principles where these stories include both truth and theories of science (Definition of Science Fiction, 2005). It is not a completely unbelievable story as this will undertake the genre’s fantasy. Generally, new events, encounters and evolutions in the future science industry will be included into the plot. Notably, the plot is regularly set in space, in future, or in a different world, a different universe or maybe a different dimension. For example, Le Voyage dans la lune by Georges Melies during the silent film era will be the early pioneers in the field of science fiction film. The movie that I have chosen are Inception and Interstellar, which I think both movies, have similarities in terms of time distortion, distance between reality and exploration of other worlds, hero complexes, and also the love between family members.

Primarily, time alteration is a very noticeable point in both movies. In Inception, since the time slows down, all characters will gain more and more time as they venture deeper and deeper into the dream levels. Despite the safety where they might just die in the dream, the time in the deepest level of the dream actually allows characters to spend lifetimes there where it is only a minute in reality and this allows them to have sufficient time to finish their mission. On the other hand, in Interstellar, the hours spent on a new planet are actually correspondent to decades back on Earth, which means, the time moves faster in the new planet (The Misfits Closet, 2014). The characters are running against time in order to look for a new liveable planet in the universe which could save the humankind. The male lead spent his time in a planet and found that every minute equals to a decade on the Earth and his former crew member had waited him for 27 years on Earth until they both met (Movie Masticator, 2014).

In addition, distance between reality and different worlds are also a visible idea throughout both movies. In Inception, the male lead and his fellow members went bottomless into the breaks of the spirit which is presented in a form of dreams (The Misfits Closet, 2014). They intend to implant the idea of disbanding the company layer by layer; further and deeper into the person’s dream in order to ensure that the idea is completely ingrained into the person’s subconscious. On the contrary, in Interstellar, the male lead and his NASA members went thousand and thousand miles away from the Earth to investigate and research about the other planets which could save the civilisation by providing a whole new environment for them. There are several worlds portrayed in Interstellar where each of them is a totally detached space and the astronauts who had been sent there can only be communicated through the beacons after nearly a decade (Kendrick, 2014).

Furthermore, hero complexes also place an important role in both movies. In Inception, the male lead tries to plant an idea inside a person’s mind to stop the monopoly of global energy (Shao, 2014). He fought the way through obstacles in the person’s mind and the danger where he might never leave the dream again and

completes the mission flawlessly in the end. Similarly, in Interstellar, the male lead tried his best to look for a new environment with the aim of saving the humanoid (Shao, 2014). A crew’s robot helper was sent into the centre of the black hole by the male lead which hopes that the data transferred could help NASA to amend any missteps in the professor’s calculations. He also sacrifices himself to ensure his friends can make it to the other planet and escapes the black hole. However, the male lead is then transferred into a gravitational singularity created by the supernatural race in the universe which can control time and space instead of dying alone in the universe (Kendrick, 2014).

Last but not least, the love between the family members is also emphasized in both movies. Inception’s climax is built on a tender, soft scene where the young man, who the male lead planted new ideas in his mind, is heartbroken when he saw his dad dying on the hospital bed. Strength and peace is found in the young man’s heart through his dad’s final words, just before he passes away (Movie Masticator, 2014). Love is proved to be a powerful force and it is so bizarre which pushes humanity (The Misfits Closet, 2014). Correspondingly, in Interstellar, home is the only place where the male lead wanted to go; it is the place where his children are left in because he had to go for a mission. The climax portrays the love of a father towards his daughter where he finally had the time for his beloved elder daughter before she passed away. His daughter forgives him for leaving her alone since she was a child, therefore, gave the male lead the motivation to find his true love.

In a nutshell, we can clearly identify the similarities about the distorted time, the plot in different kind of spaces, the hero settings and also the power of love in both Inception and Interstellar. In my opinion, both movies forced the viewers to rack their brains to ponder about the plot and explore a brand new world in science-fiction movies. Both movies do not only show future technology like other science-fiction movies do, yet, the director added thrill essence into it by presenting concepts such as implantation of ideas through dreams and manipulation of spaces by extra-terrestrial species. Both movies gave viewers a strong impact where both male leads, also a father in the movie, get on their heroic journey with the aim of meeting their children again.

References

Definition of Science Fiction. (2005) (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson927/SciFiDefinition.pdf

Kendrick, B. (2014). ‘Interstellar’ Ending & Space Travel Explained. Screen Rant. Retrieved 6 April 2015, from http://screenrant.com/interstellar-ending-spoilers-time-travel/

Movie Masticator,. (2014). Interstellar & Inception: The 6 Similarities You Can't Deny [SPOILERS]. Retrieved 6 April 2015, from https://moviemasticator.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/interstellar-inception-countdown-six-similarities-you-cant-deny/

Shao, Y. (2014). Interstellar vs. Inception. Boston Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2015, from http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2014/11/06/interstellar-vs-inception/

The Misfits Closet,. (2014). 8 Reasons why Inception and Interstellar are Cinematic Siblings. Retrieved 6 April 2015, from https://themisfitscloset.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/8-reasons-why-inception-and-interstellar-are-cinematic-siblings/