Alan Watson
Sarah Head
Raven Moore
Olivia Reich
Elizabeth Wills
Prometheus: A Classic Example
The movie Prometheus (2012) is a classic example of the lack of doubt found
in humans. The character’s actions and the story’s plot all point to my mentioned
“lack of doubt.” I would like to include a spoiler alert, for I will reveal most of the
plot in this review.
The movie starts off with two scientists (Elizabeth Shaw and David
Holloway) finding enough proof to suggest that identical cave paintings all over the
world are a map leading us to a particular planet. Their blind devotion to their goal
(finding the origins of humans) hides the fact that their trip may be dangerous. As
the plot continues, it’s clear that the expedition across space was very dangerous
(threatening the human race). The paintings were not exactly the message that it
seemed to be according to the two scientists. This predictable mistake makes the
lack of doubt clear in their behavior.
The idea of the questionable origin of the human species is discussed and
analyzed beautifully by the film. Shaw and Holloway are firm believers in God, while
there are also characters that disagree with faith. The captain of the spaceship
(Meredith Vickers) and David (a human-robot) even question David and Elizabeth’s
beliefs during the film, making for great discussions on the merits of both. Shaw’s
religious views are held in such perfect opposition because of David’s status as a
robot. He has no soul, and therefore cannot want the ideas of eternal life and
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Alan Watson
Sarah Head
Raven Moore
Olivia Reich
Elizabeth Wills
salvation that is the reward of religion. This is the equivalent of an all you can eat
steak dinner for the minds of any philosophical thinker.
The deception continues with Peter Wayland, the deceased investor who
pays for the expedition. Wayland is clearly the deceiver of the story. He uses Shaw
and Holloway’s passion to lead him to the planet, but his motive turn out to be less
for the sake of discovery than they originally seemed. Turns out he is not dead, but
kept in some sort of medical coma that preserves his life just long enough to
possibly find a way on the planet to stop his aging. A good bit of artistic touch is the
foreshadowing when Wayland is presented to the characters and the audience. He
speaks through a recorded hologram because he is supposedly dead. The hologram
(which is very close to the real thing, but not) is a great representation of the
perception versus reality that Shaw and Holloway learn throughout the film.
Unfortunately for our main characters, their lack of doubt gets them into
further trouble as the plot thickens. David (the robot) is assumed to be programmed
never to harm anyone, but his allegiance to Wayland’s hidden motives has him
poisoning the two scientists. Holloway drinks the alien poison because David simply
offers him a drink. David is also a deceiver in this way; he slips the alien substance
into Holloway’s drink. This lack of doubt ends up killing Holloway and impregnating
Shaw with an alien creature. The film’s constant warning exemplified by Holloway’s
demise leaves its viewers questioning what they take for granted.
The biggest impact of Shaw and Holloways lack of doubt plays into the
original intention of the cave paintings. It is clear what they find on the alien planet
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Alan Watson
Sarah Head
Raven Moore
Olivia Reich
Elizabeth Wills
is not anything that would help the human race, but actually destroy it. The
poisonous substance that killed Holloway was almost sent to Earth because of the
expedition. If Holloway’s death and Shaw’s painful experience were not enough to
convey why things should not be taken for granted, this grim plot twist does the
trick.
Prometheus shows the argument between faith and logic in two very artful
ways. The viewers are shown flashbacks to Shaw’s childhood where her father
explains why he believes in God. He says, “It’s just what I choose to believe.”
Elizabeth repeats this later in the film, which is in great contrast to David’s (the
robot) view. He is a robot communicating and thinking via artificial intelligence, so
his primary way of thought is logic and reasoning. The conflict between the right to
believe what one wants and dismissing faith because of lack of logical proof is
displayed throughout the film, with the ending suggesting the film’s meaning on the
subject. Elizabeth and David (the robot) are the only ones to survive the disaster.
David is only his head after his body was mangled, but Elizabeth needs David to
drive the spaceship away from the planet. This need for one another suggests that a
compromise between faith and logic is the solution to the argument.
The movie seems to support belief in God. Shaw’s peace of mind found in her
faith sticks out as helpful during the disastrous situation, while logical characters
like Meredith Vickers dies in a state of anger and fear. She even questions why she
came, making God a preferable choice of comfort over Vickers’ cynical mindset.
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Alan Watson
Sarah Head
Raven Moore
Olivia Reich
Elizabeth Wills
The movie urges viewers to view their world differently through the characters’
realizations. The seemingly promising expedition goes so horribly wrong, that
viewers may think not to view the world as optimistically as Shaw and Holloway.
After seeing the trouble the characters get into, its clear that the film suggest that
assuming anyone or anything is possibly not dangerous can get people in a lot of
trouble. Shaw clearly switches to this cynical view with her final decision. Instead of
assuming the creators of the poison will not attack Earth, she assumes the worst and
heads to stop them on their home planet. What Prometheus does well is showing
how her more cynical view does not change her faith providing good commentary
on the topic.
Overall, I would have to say Prometheus is a one-of-a-kind movie. I give it
Five Stars because of its masterful discussion of philosophic ideas. With plot
elements and characterization the film reinforces themes and suggest solutions to
philosophic conundrums making it a must watch for any critical or philosophic
thinker. Throw in an intense plot and fantastic acting and it is clear why I regard this
movie so highly. Be ready to pay attention when you watch this one, there sure is a
lot to decipher!
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