This is the only movie that I know of which uses Linguistics as its underlying science. I loved it.
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Arrival
Évariste — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 01:53 PM)
This is the only movie that I know of which uses Linguistics as its underlying science. I loved it.
The scientific hypothesis they make use of is an extrapolation of (an exaggeration of)
linguistic relativity
. Actually, they use an outdated version of the hypothesis, nowadays called the
strong
version. According to this strong version of linguistic relativity, the language we speak and the new languages we learn define aspects of our cognition.
When stated in these terms, linguistic relativity is in contrast with the hypothesis of
universal grammar
, according to which all human languages share universal aspects simply because that's how the human brain works.
An excellent movie, indeed.
To be fair, though, the
strong
hypothesis appears to have been abandoned in favor of the modern
weak
hypothesis, according to which, aspects of the language we speak may influence the way we think but not our cognition.
"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail." -
Chronic_Johnson — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 01:58 PM)
I love the idea of the film and should get around to watching it. I'm also a big fan of the director.
I just keep putting it off because I know my ex really liked it, and I try and steer away from anything that takes me down that path these days.
I'll get around to it. -
Margo — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 02:07 PM)
I thought it was boring.
https://youtu.be/iPUwtyZglQI
https://youtu.be/QRTNm6GLJYI -
Margo — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 05:51 PM)
Well don't cry
https://youtu.be/iPUwtyZglQI
https://youtu.be/QRTNm6GLJYI -
MrAmerica — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 05:56 PM)
Like Interstella i was disappointed in it honestly… promised a 2001 style cerebral sci-fi mind **** and it ends up all about ~relatable human feelings and an ~emotional journey and dude I have never felt more autistic and more of a bro then when I ponder why I was disappointed in this movie and a lot of acclaimed modern sci-fi flicks.
Trust me I love some really sappy emotional stuff and relatable low-key human story films but I just want to geek out more.
Same reason I want to throw a brick at the TV anytime Doctor Who has a "power of love" plot resolution. -
Margo — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 06:03 PM)
Interstellar, Ad Astra and Arrival. All of them were not what I expected either and I didn't enjoy either too much. Interstellar was probably the best of the three.
Arrival was purely a love story. The alien invasion was the backdrop of that love story.
https://youtu.be/iPUwtyZglQI
https://youtu.be/QRTNm6GLJYI -
Évariste — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 07:52 PM)
I think I was benefited from the fact that I didn't know about this movie until I watched it, so I guess my opinion wasn't affected by any hype or disappointment.
"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail." -
preachcaleb — 5 years ago(November 17, 2020 09:46 PM)
Same here. I just heard it was good, but I knew nothing about the plot other than aliens arriving.
I was blown away by the experience of watching two species learning
how
to even begin communicating.
So many stories, so little time. -
Man with No Aim — 5 years ago(September 11, 2020 10:47 PM)
I think the decision to make the aliens as abstract as possible (black/white, simple shapes) was a mistake, because it made the experience itself a bit anemic. Linguistics and metaphor are cerebral enough; I think it also needed something to engage the heart and the eye.
-
preachcaleb — 5 years ago(November 17, 2020 09:45 PM)
Gotta disagree. The design of the aliens sold it more to me. After all, why would a species that doesn't comprehend time as we do look anything less than abstract?
Plus, my eyes were fully engaged trying to make out exactly what they looked like.
So many stories, so little time.
