Wednesday, August 14, 2024

The Man Who Came to Dinner


Remember The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) about the radio personality who overstays his welcome in the home of an Ohio family? The two NASA astronauts came for 8 days and may have to remain on the space station until 2025 or whatever amount of time it takes Boeing to figure out what's wrong with the thrusters on its Starliner. An indeterminate period of time feels like forever and long trips seem interminable until you have found signposts along the way. Knowing--the torture of being lost and not knowing when you'll be rescued. Imagine the plight of the kidnap victim buried alive with only a feeding tube/air valve for sustenance or the skiers caught as the avalanche caves in around them even further, the more they try to escape the mountains of snow. What's worse? To live with no end in sight or to have life suddenly snatched away? Star Wars deals with invaders and aliens, but Tarkovsky's Solaris describes the psychology of a stranded crew manning a spacecraft which has mysteriously lost its meaning and reason for being.

read "Frankel" by Francis Levy, Vol. 1 Brooklyn

and listen to "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes

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