Interstellar Thoughts

 When we started watching Interstellar, I had mixed opinions. For one, I love Anne Hathaway ever since I saw her in The Devil Wears Prada, so I was excited to see her acting in a science fiction film. On the other hand, I'm not the biggest fan of Matthew McConaughey, since I don't like when celebrities try to enter politics. However, when researching the movie before we started watching it, I found out that he is a fellow Scorpio and thought I should have a little bit more of an open mind above this movie and the main protagonist in it. 

When we started watching it, I immediately related to the father daughter relationship between Murph and Cooper. My dad has a PhD in biology, so has always been a big proponent of believing facts and supporting scientific advancements whenever they come. I grew up watching scientific documentaries, going to museums, and listening to discussions between my mum and dad about topics like climate change and progression in technology. When watching Cooper begin to believe Murph about a ghost being in her room telling her a message, I found myself thinking about what would've happened if I were in her shoes. I felt like if I had come to my dad with Murph's story at my age, he would've encouraged me to explore my theory and ty to find out why what I believe is or is not correct. 

For the movie itself, I was vey impressed by the visuals and overall look of the movie. I've always been interested but scared by space exploration, and I usually avoid anything related to space because it always freaks me out and leaves me feeling incredibly existential. However, I was impressed with the balance between real world problems and the problems with space exploration and the fear of not finding a livable planet. 

One of my favourite parts of the movie was when Cooper used the slingshot move to use the gravity to propel them to the final planet. I thought it was so well acted by everyone in the scene, and I found myself on the edge of my seat the entire time. I also loved when he realized he could use gravity to send messages to Murph and his past self, because it gave the movie a running theme, and I love when movies continuously touch on themes and come back to them throughout the movie. 

Overall, I thought the movie was beautifully sad. While I do admit to crying when he went down to meet an older and obviously aged Murph, I thought it was a beautiful ending in the story between them and their relationship as a dad and his child. Cooper always taught Murph to be curious, ask questions, and use a scientific method and steps to see if your hypothesis is right or wrong. The fact that, at the end of the movie, she was a well celebrated scientist who helped save the human race was a very appreciated touch and gave the movie a sad but touching ending. I also think the movie is an ode to science and the fact that science shows us there can't always be happy endings. Especially in modern terms, in times of climate change and conspiracy theorists, I think the fact that there wasn't a happy ending is the most realistic one Nolan could give us. Now that we know our Earth is disintegrating and we have to do things as urgently as possible to prevent any more harm, we have to be realistic in the outcomes of climate change and man-made degradation of the planet. The ending echoes that same sentiment, one where we don't end with the perfect world, but we end with the best possible solution. 

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