Thursday, April 19, 2018
Response to Arrival and Story of Your Life
Please post your response to Arrival and Story of Your Life here by
Sunday night. Your response should be no less than 250 words and can
approach the topic from any substantive angle you wish. You might wish
to discuss the way the story differs from the film, and how each
reflects upon their medium. You might also want to address the use of
science fiction as a genre, and how it is subverting and adhering to
some of those conventions.
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After reading the Story of Your Life and watching the film, I would much rather prefer the film. My first thoughts on reading the Story of Your Life were that the thoughts of the author, Ted Chiang, were all over the place. The memories of the daughter felt inserted and random. It made more sense in the film as flashbacks rather than a break in thought during the story. I prefer to watch them as flashbacks because I could analyze the actress’s reactions to these flashbacks and it really helped me understand how traumatic these memories were for the author. These flashbacks in the film showed more emotion and made the author seem human, unlike the short story. My initial feelings of the author in the Story of Your Life were that the author had a very dry personality and since the death of the daughter, the author seemed lost in the world until focused on communicating with the aliens. In the film, she also gives off this same feeling but, when reminded of her daughter she seems upset and distraught rather than indifferent like the author comes across in the short story. The seriousness that the actress shows in the movie aids to the feeling that this science fiction could have actually happened. With everyday settings, such as a college campus, and normal daily things, such as news broadcasts, made the situation almost real. Overall, the film shows more emotion that makes her seem more human and I can really connect with the character in the movie more than the character in the short story.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the film, Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, and reading the short story, Story of Your Life, written by Ted Chiang, I have discovered many differences between the two. I felt that the film was a lot easier to understand because it dealt with a lot less talk about physics and focused more on the linguistic portion of it. I thought the story was scattered and more difficult to understand due to the “flashback” cuts throughout. I also thought the movie had a better ending that was more satisfying than the story, which ended very abruptly.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect that give the movie more of an upper hand than the story is the film elements provided in the film. The film allows the audience to be more moved by the storyline due to the music that can provide deeper emotion for the topics being discussed. The flashbacks are easier to follow in the film due to the element of montage which exerts more emotion. In the story, the writing on the flashbacks is quite blunt.
The genre of science fiction normally focuses on the act of violence and war. Science fiction films often show the alien life forms coming from space and attacking mankind. In the film, Arrival, the Heptapods came peacefully and wanted to help the humans by giving them their language in order to allow us perceive time the way they do. They do this because they need the humans help in the future. Arrival also focuses more on the aspects of unity and working together. Because the 12 alien ships landed in different countries, everyone had to work together in order to decode the Heptapod language and stop a world war from beginning.
Charlize Couto
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ReplyDeleteAfter watching the film and reading the short story, I preferred the film, Arrival. The movie made me understand what was going on more than the story. I had a better understanding and wasn’t as confused as I was with the book. I prefer watching movies over books because I have a better understanding of the details that are happening, and I can visually see what is happening and the music helps with their thoughts and feelings. In the movie the facial expressions used, and the lightning gives it more understanding of the moods that are occurring throughout the movie. Unlike the book where it was throwing future memories into random spots when they were talking about something completely different. I liked how the director made you think about what was happening and made you think at the beginning of the movie these were all flashbacks of her past but, once you got into the movie and realized what was happening you realized they weren’t flash backs they were future memories. The book does it a little different but in a way that is confusing for me to read and enjoy it. I like the way the movie was set up so that it makes you think one thing when its actually another. The movie was able to show all these special effects for making these aliens and you can visually see how much work they put into the movie. The film allows me to get a better feeling and connect with the characters unlike the book does for me. Overall, I prefer watching Arrival to learn about Heptapods and how her future will turn out.
ReplyDeleteSydney Denkert
After finishing my reading of the short story, Story of your life, written by Ted Chiang, and watching the film, Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, I preferred to watch the film. The short story was way more complex and confusing in my eyes. The movie was able to give me a better understanding of what was going on throughout it while simultaneously keeping me entertained. Movies in general are more capable of keeping my attention because they usually provide more detail, as well as a visual output which helps me better understand the emotions within the characters. This movie as well was able to use certain aspects in order to create a feeling within the audience. By using specific music and facial expressions, the audience is able to relate to the movie and what is occurring. The movie also was able to be followed and understood more easily. When reading this short story, memories of the future were randomly placed in it and did not even fit into the topic being discussed. With the movie, the director made it easy to understand what was going on. Although in the beginning it appears to be flashbacks, the director makes it simple to understand that really, they are visions of the future. We, the audience, are able to get a full picture of what is going to happen in the future and what the aliens are really there for. Having a visual of the aliens and what their purpose is makes it easier for us to connect and understand the plot of the film.
ReplyDeleteMolly Hauser
Both the short story, Story of Your Life, written by Ted Chiang, and Arrival, which was directed by Denis Villeneuve were very good. However, when it comes to choosing one which I prefer, I feel that the movie was in deed better. Trying to compare a short story and a film is very difficult. I believe that a film is better able to capture the moment, driving the viewer to a lot of details and understanding. When reading the short story, I was a little bit confused. Although containing a lot of detail, being able to watch the movie was way easier to understand. There were several flashbacks within the movie. Seeing the dramatic events occur, made the movie seem more real than reading the text. It is confusing to read about a flashback rather than visually watch it. The movie also had amazing special effects. Making the heptapods look as real as possible, this left the audience to fully engage and feel like the Heptapods were real. Seeing main character, Dr. Louise Banks communicate with these species showed the audience the truths about imagination, and human relations. This science fiction film was very smart and taught the audience a lot about communication and language. It shows us that when one encounters a culture or langue that seems impossible to engage with, one must seek another way of seeing the problem. All in all, I feel that both the movie and short story did very well in capturing the plot, however, I preferred the movie.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the film and reading the short story, I preferred the film over the story because I thought that the film did a better job depicting the narrative. I found that the short story was difficult to follow during some parts of it, and I did not experience this when watching the film. Sometimes, I struggled to understand how the characters were feeling and the emotions they were expressing in the short story. The film made it really easy to understand the mood and the emotions of the characters. Not only because you could see their expressions, but also because the colors and music helped to really amplify them during certain scenes. The movie also helped to clear up my confusion with all the flashbacks and what that had to do with the overall story. When I read the short story, I really did not understand the flashbacks that Louise was having and how they were associated with the rest of the story. I did not understand that the language of the aliens was the cause of the future memories, or what I previously thought of them as flashbacks. The movie made me realize that they were not flashbacks but actually memories of what her future life would be like. One aspect of the story that I thought was interesting was that the aliens did not come to conquer earth. Since, the short story and film are a part of the science fiction genre, the aliens would have typically come to invade earth. Although, I have not read many science fiction stories, that had always been my experience when reading them. Which is why I thought it was interesting that this one was different from the rest.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the film Arrival is based on the short story Story of Your Life I would argue that the movie adaptation was manipulated in order to portray a more suspenseful and ambiguous story line. For example I believe that the film is by far more exciting and I would say “extra” because in the written version Louise first meets with the colonel after receiving a phone call to her office requesting a meeting. In the Arrival the colonel and his colleges simply walk straight into the Louise's office without any warning or sense of courtesy. Additionally after Louis explains that she cannot decode the translation based on the short recording colonel Weber supplied her with the film quickly ends the scene with the agitated colonel leaving her office abruptly when Louise says she needs more information. The short story version does not end this scene so abruptly and the colonel even says that he will get back to the doctor with more information. Additionally, in the film the colonel so dramatically must fly beside the doctors house in the wee hours of the night, something you would only see in a hollywood adaptation. One aspect of the film adaption which I enjoyed stayed the same as the written version was that Louis meets her future husband and father of her child will attempting to communicate with the heptapods. Many hollywood movies will add in addition romantic plots within films which can often sway away from the premise of the book and almost contaminate the film with lovey dovey nonsense.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the short story "Story of Your Life" and watching the movie that corresponds to the story, "Arrival", I preferred the movie. When reading the story I had a much harder time following along and understanding what was going on. I was unable to tell how characters felt, and I wasn't able to connect with it the way I did with the movie. I feel a big part of this is because the movie was able to use audio to express how a character was feeling and it was also able to portray the tone of each scene better. Throughout the story I was unclear to me that flashbacks she was having were actually visions of her own future. I felt the movie better explained that through learning the language of the heptapods, you are able to see your own future. Another reason I was able to better follow the movie is because I could actually see what was happening where when I was reading, I would have to create the picture in my head and it wouldn't be as detailed as what I would see in the movie. Overall, I enjoyed the story because it came up with another side of the theme of aliens coming to Earth. Normally the aliens come to invade Earth and take it over, but in this story they came to help them through the use of language which I though was very interesting. While the short story was written well, I preferred the visual and audio aspects of the movie.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI think that the film "Arrival" and the short story "Story of Your Life" were very similar but they also did have their differences. It was easy to see that they both revolved around flashing forward with time while still being in present day. Pretty much, both of the stories are the same, but it seems to me as if they are coming from a different perspective. They both have a scientific genre as well. With Hannah, it would have been easier to understand what was going on from the start if I read the book first. In the book, it was very up front about explaining what happened with Hannah and even the divorce. While watching the movie I was a little bit confused. I had believed she died from an "unstoppable illness", but we learned what it was when the movie did a flash forward. In the book however, there is no mention of this sickness and she actually gets to live to her 20s. Something that was easier to understand in the movie instead of the book, was the aliens themselves. It seemed like the movie was very focused on aliens and had focuses on the nations working together. But in the book, they never find out the alien's purpose. In the end, I liked the movie better than the book just because of the way it was all portrayed. I also prefer to watch a movie to see how thing unfold rather than reading a story. They were both very interesting pieces.
After reading the short story, Story of My Life, by author Ted Chiang, and watching the film, Arrival, although they follow the same story line, or are inspired by the story line, they are very different. Between the two different films and stories, I personally prefer the film Arrival over reading the short story. Personally, the film was much easier to follow since it was visual, and the story is rather all over the place. The flashbacks in the short story were not as easy to understand compared to in the film where the flashbacks were clear of what they were trying to get across. In the story, it wasn't as clear to follow along and understand the alien language, which is clearly perceived in the movie. In the movie, the alien language was shown in visual aspects and then written on screen in subtitles so that the viewer could follow along and see the visual aspect. In the story, the flashbacks all occur at the random times, so the rest of the story was very confusing to me and very focused on the whole heptapod language. The movie was very helpful in clearing the blurred lines between both the flashbacks and the present time. In the move, Hannah is very expressive in her emotions and the way she delivers her lines, which helps the viewer understand the feelings and mood of the scenes. This isn't as clear in the story since it can't be visualized.
ReplyDeleteThe film arrival and the story of your life were two amazing compositions of genre. For me personally, I preferred the film over the short story. The author Ted Chiang wrote the story with many good qualities such as his descriptions, words and execution of such and it was enjoyable but not as much as the film. The film had phenomenal qualities throughout, such as the way it grasped the concept of time. The storyline itself is hard to tell or show because of the abstract concept of time that's a lot different than what we’re used to. For example, the mom who could see the future and how the visions of her daughter seemed like the present, yet it was the future was confusing at first. I also thought that the setting, music and lighting assisted with the aesthetic of the film. I also really enjoyed seeing facial expressions from the actors which added a lot more depth into the characters. The lighting signified a darker time of being in the dark and not necessarily understanding everything that was going on but the music was uplifting and sent out a message of hope. This was a reoccuring theme with the film especially with the concept of knowing the fate of your future but still living to your fullest. As opposed to the film, the story was more difficult to read, again because of the difficulty of grasping and explaining such a concept of time through text. I still genuinely enjoyed both compositions, however I liked the film a lot better.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the short story, “Story of your life,” by Ted Chiang, and watching the movie, Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneauve, I would definitely pick watching the film over reading the short story. To me, watching the film and seeing the actor’s raw emotion is more entertaining and easier to understand. I especially would prefer watching the ‘flashbacks’ or ‘future sights’ because I can see and try to connect with the characters feelings and emotions, rather than try to determine, in the story, when Louise is having one of those memories. During the movie, the viewers got a chance to witness everyone really focused on the aliens’ presence and huge dramatic scenes about all of the countries not giving out their information and China when they were moments away from bombing the alien’s ship. It seemed like the whole movie was all about the aliens and not really about Louise’s story to her daughter. The short story really focused on character development with Louise and why and how she wrote this book for her daughter, Hannah. In general, watching the scenes be played out in the movie really helped me follow the story line because while reading the short story, it got sort of confusing and I had a hard time following the narrative. I have not read many science fiction literary works, but I have seen many science fiction movies and it was a nice surprise to find out Louise got the temporary power to see into the future from the aliens. Denis Villeneauve did a great job bringing Ted Chiang’s literary piece onto the big screen. Denis really turned this science fiction writing into a good science fiction movie.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Dorsey
Arrival is the movie based on the short story Story of Your Life. In Arrival, Hannah’s dies from a disease that’s most likely cancer, rather than from a rock climbing accident. Twice the short story mentions Louise pulling back the white sheet to reveal her daughter’s face, however this is not shown in the film. This might have been altered and omitted in the film for a more streamlined plot so that the producers would not have to spend time on another scene explaining Hannah’s passion for rock climbing. I believe that the original text provides a better explanation as to how the logograms are actually interpreted, but the film of course gives a solid visual as to how the aliens’ written language appears. In the movie, Gary’s name is changed to Ian and the two aliens themselves are named Abbott and Costello by Ian rather than Raspberry and Flapper by Louise. The choice of renaming the aliens might have been made in order to make the film seem more proper. The film shows the humans in the aliens’ ship wearing hazmat suits with Louise and then Ian purposely shedding their suits so that the aliens can see them for who they really are. The movie also focuses on how the world became quite tense with the arrival. It includes a scene on how Louise called and stopped China’s General Shang from launching a military assault against the aliens by getting a “flash-forward” of an event eighteen months into the future where he thanks her for doing so and shows her his phone number. This could have been done for a suspenseful and dramatic effect on viewers.
ReplyDeleteCharlene Forti
Mitchell Bluh
ReplyDeleteThe Arrival was a movie I have already seen and disliked. Watching it a second time was substantially better and I really do appreciate the movie now. I can see where the scenes tied into the overall plot and I can now see all the hints I didn’t notice the first time around and it was very entertaining this way. The first time I saw it I thought it was a jumbled mess. As for the short story I personally thought it was just as messy the second time around. For reference I don’t like to read and thought the movie is the best way to experience the story but the story was really confusing on paper. Movies just have power to them that reading does not have such as music and visual stimulation. Reading can get you inside the head of whoever your reading about but it personally cannot have that same effect. The Arrival confuses the viewers the whole time they are watching it putting in little clues here and there so they can figure it out for themselves. I wasn’t smart enough to piece together the movie originally so it was my fault there. Story of Your Life tries to throw those same hints at the audience but it just makes it more confusing and sound odd. I can appreciate the new idea the writer had for the piece but it was better portrayed in the film. The film also had a lot more suspense that the short story just lacked.
After reading Story of Your Life and watching the movie Arrival I noticed that the movie had a lot of different variations on the original story. I read about half the story before finishing the movie because the writing was hard to understand with a lot of the different terminology that was used. After seeing the movie and knowing that there was these flashes of the future some of the text from the book made more sense, but it is very subtle in the text the change from present to past tense to future tense. Other obvious differences I noticed right away because in the short story Hannah's death is from some kind of accident while in the movie she dies from a disease. Also, in the story it says that there are one hundred and twelve ships that arrive while in the movie there are only twelve. I think overall the movie does a much better job of establishing the story through its more clear that the flashbacks occur because Louise begins to think in the same way the aliens do which is not chronologically but in a cycle and I could not see this in the story. In regards to both the story and movie, I liked how it was unlike most science fiction movies where aliens and humans fight. It is cool to watch a movie that is so different from others that it shares a genre with because the whole movie I did not really know what to expect, where in other science fiction alien movies I can almost always guess how the movie is going to end.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Story of My Life, by Ted Chiang, and watching Arrival, I realized although they follow the same story line, or are inspired by the story line, there are many variations. I preferred to watch the film. The writing was interesting yet complex. In a way I found it confusing in my eyes. The movie gave a more efficient affect in my mind of the information and theme, along with keeping me very engaged. Movies always keep me more attentive because they usually provide more detail, as well as a visuals which assist me better understand the emotions the characters have. This movie was able to use certain aspects in order to create a feeling within the audience. By using specific music and facial expressions, the audience is able to relate to the movie and what going on. When reading this short story, forecasts of the future were randomly placed in it and did not even fit into the topic being discussed. in the movie the director made it easy to understand what was going on. Although in the beginning it appears to be flashbacks, the director makes it simple to understand that really, they are visions of the future. The audience is able to paint a picture of what is going to happen in the future and what the aliens are really there for. In the movie, being able to see the clients and the viewing setup helped connect more concepts
ReplyDeleteAlthough both the movie Arrival and the short story Story of My Life are very moving pieces, I prefer the film over the short story. I enjoyed the complexity of both genres; however, the movie was more entertaining in my opinion and helped me visualize and keep up with the plot. I found the story a lot more confusing than the film because, throughout the writing, there were random memories involved which threw me off a bit. Fortunately, the movie put things together for me and helped me understand that they were memories of the future rather than of the past.
ReplyDeleteThe use of pathos to evoke an emotional response in both forms of media was very apparent and helped me think deeper about the plot and the philosophy behind time. Also, I think the acting in the film powerfully conveyed the emotions within the story's plot line. The science fiction aspect was better executed in the film in my opinion. For instance, when the crew encounters the Heptapods in Arrival, their methods of communication with the alien species are vividly depicted compared to the short story. Moreover, the movie followed the conventions of a typical science fiction film by having mysterious music, special effects, technology, and of course the aliens. There are many differences between the movie and short story such as the increased character development in the story and Hannah dying of a disease in the film. However, the movie ultimately captured the essence and abstract nature of the short story without completely confusing me.