Silent Running: The sci-fi that predicted modern crises(bbc.com)
bbc.com
Silent Running: The sci-fi that predicted modern crises
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210212-silent-running-the-sci-fi-that-predicted-modern-crises
62 comments
My father took me and my brother to see it at the movies, and I remember me and my brother crying and my Dad consoling us. We were 8 and 7 at the time. I haven't seen it since!
I first saw it ~1980'ish, I was a bit older and it gave me a massive lump in my throat, and still does in my mid 50's.
Right there with you. At the time it was the saddest thing I'd ever seen. It's stuck with me all these years.
Yep. One of a few times we pinned my Dad to the wall with Big questions, and he had to get very philosophical about the meaning of life, loss, and the collective realization of our mortality.
I loved silent running. (Except I always thought Bruce Dern wasn't the best casting choice. He always seemed to have too bold of a personality for a lower-key scifi movie)
They're right about 2001 stealing the spotlight for that time period though.
They're right about 2001 stealing the spotlight for that time period though.
Love the film, but am bothered by how nonsensical the decision to nuke the domes was. The linked piece explains it as "cost cutting", which I don't remember from the film but anyway, how is nuking something more economic than leaving it unnuked?
It reminds me of greenwashing and other lip service that modern society often pays to social justice issues. Companies will put serious resources into constructing an image that they are "doing good", in a way that has no benefit to the actual issue in question, sometimes even detrimental to it.
The fact that the domes had all the fittings necessary to let them be blown up makes it seem like that was the plan all along, that the whole project was just some kind of busywork to make it seem like they were working on a solution. Feels not unlike the impotent "ethics teams" and DEI teams that big corps set up. Pay some people to do research and write reports and then, when someone is asking what you are doing about X issue, you show them that you are "working on it". Rather than simply executing any of the many legitimate solutions people have already come up with for fixing societal woes.
The fact that the domes had all the fittings necessary to let them be blown up makes it seem like that was the plan all along, that the whole project was just some kind of busywork to make it seem like they were working on a solution. Feels not unlike the impotent "ethics teams" and DEI teams that big corps set up. Pay some people to do research and write reports and then, when someone is asking what you are doing about X issue, you show them that you are "working on it". Rather than simply executing any of the many legitimate solutions people have already come up with for fixing societal woes.
It is a metaphor for disposable product culture and that corps would focus on profits and only profits, if it doesn't make money throw it out / destroy it. (A fear that has arguably come to pass). Triggering the self-destruct is stand in for tossing in waste dump.
I could see some corporate bureaucrat back on earth saying, "well we don't want the liability if the domes crash into a spacecraft or fall to earth, better nuke em".
The existence of the craft could arguably obligate the corporation to incur ongoing expenses for upkeep.
When my city opened a new airport, they had plans to redevelop the old one for other uses. I remember hearing that, in order to stop people from fighting to keep the old airport around, the city quickly destroyed a section of the runways with dynamite. Supposedly this would make it cost-prohibitive to try to use it as an airport again.
A similar thing happened in Berlin. Once BER/EDDB opened, they closed down TXL and said it's still on "standby" when in reality they already decommissioned and sold off lots of the interior.
This happened to miggs in Chicago. And was more about letting the license run out.
> Daley first shut the field down in 1996 with the intention of turning the airport into parkland, in order to boost slumping Chicago real estate values and shore up political support by closing a symbol of elite privilege. > https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/day-shut-down-meigs...
In retail you see stock intentionally damaged and thrown out. It’s to prevent brand damage or some such crap.
Stuff like this happens with excess food too. https://sixfootjournalism.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/kathmandu...
Stuff like this happens with excess food too. https://sixfootjournalism.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/kathmandu...
Well yeah, but it goes even deeper than that, IMO, since the domes could have just stayed on Earth. Why launch them into space and return them later? They're terrariums with all of the life support and lighting that they need.
If you're making a backup ecosystem, you want it off planet in case the primary meets a nuke, asteroid, virus, etc. You could also park it in a stable solar orbit so it gets the right sun for its biostuff.
It seems there's no point sending it to deep space unless you're going to transplant it all on a new planet.
It seems there's no point sending it to deep space unless you're going to transplant it all on a new planet.
Our present situation is also pretty nonsensical, though. (There’s no wealth on an uninhabitable planet.) Yet, here we are, stampeding towards the crisis. So, if you squint, Silent Running predicted that, too.
TBF it was meant to be nonsensical.
If you need an analogy, think of unsold books. They get their covers torn off so they can be reported as “destroyed”, and then be issued a refund. (You’ll sometimes see a message warning you about purchasing paperbacks without front covers in books.)
In the movie American Airlines made an insurance claim, or made some other claim of loss on the trees, and so they now have to destroy them.
If you need an analogy, think of unsold books. They get their covers torn off so they can be reported as “destroyed”, and then be issued a refund. (You’ll sometimes see a message warning you about purchasing paperbacks without front covers in books.)
In the movie American Airlines made an insurance claim, or made some other claim of loss on the trees, and so they now have to destroy them.
It makes perfect sense as a politically-motivated decision. Some excuse was devised to destroy the pods, thus ending the debate forever of whether the Earth might one day return to a green space.
It also forced Dern's character into action, since he would have to return to Earth since his job of caring for the pods was about to end.
The film reminds me somewhat of 'Interstellar' — a once verdant world going dark and expelling the hero.
It also forced Dern's character into action, since he would have to return to Earth since his job of caring for the pods was about to end.
The film reminds me somewhat of 'Interstellar' — a once verdant world going dark and expelling the hero.
This movie does not hold up. This is the second time I’ve seen this touted as an unheralded classic. Watch it if you need a nap! Phenomenally boring and ham handed.
I think it can be simultaneously a classic, especially in historical context, and very heavy-handed. It's a good film but it's also one I'm not in a big hurry to rewatch.
Between the almost annoying seriousness of 2001 and the irresistible madness of Dark Star, Silent Running is in an very difficult spot where it's almost impossible to win anything beyond honorable mention for trying.
But once you've sat through Tarkovsky's Tokio driving sequence in a cinema those three all seem kind of superficial (my opinion, and probably mine alone. And I'm not sure that it would survive a re-watch of Solaris, it's been a while)
But once you've sat through Tarkovsky's Tokio driving sequence in a cinema those three all seem kind of superficial (my opinion, and probably mine alone. And I'm not sure that it would survive a re-watch of Solaris, it's been a while)
My girlfriend and I discovered it and watched it and enjoyed it. But we were screaming at the tv at how nonsensical it was.
> "These robots, often treated by critics as little more than a cute addition, "
That's really odd. When I saw the film all those years ago Huey, Dewy, and Louie seemed to me to be essential supporting characters.
That's really odd. When I saw the film all those years ago Huey, Dewy, and Louie seemed to me to be essential supporting characters.
I remember watching SR in ‘80 or so as a 5 year old. The ending was the first time a movie made me cry.
Reminder that there's a fantastic analysis of the film over at Centauri Dreams : https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2019/02/01/in-wildness-is-th...
Douglas Trumbull | Silent Running (1972) | the making of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xtsNdLj1F4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xtsNdLj1F4
I watched this mesmerizing sci-fi in my childhood in the early 80s, nearly a decade after its original release. It left an indelible mark on my psyche and it might be the reason why I hate the "system" so much.
Aren’t you consuming this site, which is funded by one of their biggest venture capital companies in the world, on a machine created by “the system“, and probably working for a company that is part of “the system“?
If your point was something other than “complains about air pollution, but still breathes the air”, it went right over my head.
I actually appreciate your point and those of all similar commenters. I think what bothered me is that a criticism as diffuse as “the system“ is without value because it means everything and nothing.
It also seems not to acknowledge that “the system“ has produced enormous medical and economic advances right along with the many destructive forces it has unleashed. For example, poverty is massively reduced since I was a kid. That is almost completely due to free market forces applied by “the system“.
Please understand I am not trying to defend “the system“ as a whole. I am simply trying to say that a blanket derogation of it does no one any good.
It also seems not to acknowledge that “the system“ has produced enormous medical and economic advances right along with the many destructive forces it has unleashed. For example, poverty is massively reduced since I was a kid. That is almost completely due to free market forces applied by “the system“.
Please understand I am not trying to defend “the system“ as a whole. I am simply trying to say that a blanket derogation of it does no one any good.
What I said is: the movie must be [one of the reasons] why I [grew up to] hate the system so much.
What I did not say: the entire system sucks.
What you claim that I said: the entire system sucks.
That's the maze of the human psyche for you.
What I did not say: the entire system sucks.
What you claim that I said: the entire system sucks.
That's the maze of the human psyche for you.
I bow to you, you say it in the most simple of words.
I mean, yes but also: https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/330/819/e47...
The name of this very old idea is Mr Gotcha - "We should improve society." "And yet you participate in society. Gotcha!"
https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/
Needless to say, this "argument" is completely false.
https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/
Needless to say, this "argument" is completely false.
"We should improve..." and "I hate..." are completely different statements, no?
So, let me get this right: the only way you are allowed to critique the system is to make yourself irrelevant by becoming a techno-luddite, turning your back to society, disconnecting and disappear into the woods to live of the grid and self sustaining? All the critics must shut up because they don't have an alternative (although if they give an imperfect alternative you probably wouldn't deem it feasible). This is bullshit and self serving.
It's like saying you aren't allowed to hate petrol cars because you use a petrol car. The concept of technology being solely the domain of capitalist is ludicrous. The invention of technology is not bound to our economic system. This is a presumption that is not based on history nor empirical evidence.
So critique of the system is something that can be done even if you like technology.
I would think someone who identifies with hackers would understand this.
It's like saying you aren't allowed to hate petrol cars because you use a petrol car. The concept of technology being solely the domain of capitalist is ludicrous. The invention of technology is not bound to our economic system. This is a presumption that is not based on history nor empirical evidence.
So critique of the system is something that can be done even if you like technology.
I would think someone who identifies with hackers would understand this.
Ugh, send this forgettable piece of crap to the trash compactor already!
Another overlooked gem from this era is "Dark Star".
The dreary psychological effects of prolonged confinement in closed quarters seem particularly poignant today; and the dispute and argument with Bomb is a delightful foreshadowing of the frustrations of dealing with advanced, yet imperfect and inhuman, artificial intellegences.
And yes, the beach ball alien was intendedt be humorous; and yes, the closed-quarter panic in narrow vent shafts was inspirational on later science fiction movies.
The dreary psychological effects of prolonged confinement in closed quarters seem particularly poignant today; and the dispute and argument with Bomb is a delightful foreshadowing of the frustrations of dealing with advanced, yet imperfect and inhuman, artificial intellegences.
And yes, the beach ball alien was intendedt be humorous; and yes, the closed-quarter panic in narrow vent shafts was inspirational on later science fiction movies.
And the tickling by the beach ball alien, though possibly to death. So there's still some menace there :)
Dark Star is wonderful!
Also:
- it's the first movie by horror movie legend John Carpenter
- it was co-written by Dan O'Bannon, who also wrote "Alien"
Also:
- it's the first movie by horror movie legend John Carpenter
- it was co-written by Dan O'Bannon, who also wrote "Alien"
I love how the the origin of the terrifying duct scene in Alien was the guy chasing the beachball through the ducts in Dark Star. All those guys were waiting for was a proper FX budget.
Don't forget https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Cobb who worked on Dark Star, Star Wars and many others.
You can see similarities between Dark Star sets and Star Wars.
You can see similarities between Dark Star sets and Star Wars.
These are the guys that connect Dark Star with Alien with Jodorowsky's Dune.
[deleted]
Ty Franck (co-write of The Expanse) and Wes Chatham (Amos in The Expanse) talk about this in their new postcast, well worth a listen if you like sci-fi :)
https://www.youtube.com/c/TYandThatGuy
https://www.youtube.com/c/TYandThatGuy
I had no idea this podcast existed, but love The Expanse. Listening to the first two episodes last night was great, it’s immediately apparent just how much they love the genre.
Yeah it was very unexpected, I always assumed that Wes was a meat head - but no, he's a sci-fi nerd just like me.
Another cool one is "Event 201".
I’ve been thinking about The Machine Stops a lot since the start of covid, it’s wild that it was published in 1909.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops
How Unmechanical of you.
Seriously though, wow that is unbelievable how it was written then.
Seriously though, wow that is unbelievable how it was written then.
> The two main characters, Vashti and her son Kuno, live on opposite sides of the world. Vashti is content with her life, which, like most inhabitants of the world, she spends producing and endlessly discussing secondhand 'ideas'.
Woah. I'm literally doing that right now...
> Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as 'unmechanical' and threatened with Homelessness.
What!? This is insane. Thanks for sharing.
Woah. I'm literally doing that right now...
> Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as 'unmechanical' and threatened with Homelessness.
What!? This is insane. Thanks for sharing.
I watched Silent Running last year after learning the Steam Gardens area in Super Mario Odyssey was based on it.
The main environmental issue at the first Earth Day was pollution. Climate change was then theoretical and not at the forefront. Air and water pollution were terrible in most major cities of US and Europe. They made good progress by the end of the century.
From my faint memory as a ~12 year old in 1980, Acid Rain killing off woodlands and lakes, caused by European and UK heavy industries, was a massive concern back in the early 80's at its peak, fortunately mostly rectified in Europe now. Shortly afterwards the media latched onto the hole in the ozone layer which lead onto the climate crisis. Hard to believe these things were 30+ years ago (when I became aware), but we seem to be no further forward.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain
Because the soundtrack is by Peter Schickele of P.D.Q. Bach fame? And everyone else has been on a P.D.Q. Bach kick?
No? Just me?
No? Just me?
1. The theme song; Joan Baez's "Rejoice in the sun"
2. Huey, Dewey and Louie, the little Robots that assist Bruce Dern's character Lowell in maintaining the space ship.
I always take the trouble to show my kids Joan Baez songs on YouTube so they don't feel that good music only started with their generation :). Oh what a beautiful voice!