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Jul. 18th, 2007 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccastareyesOkay, so in the book Contact, I remember Palmer Joss as the kind of guy who was religious, and was kind of trying to understand the whole science versus religion thing from his side. He had some interesting arguments with the main character, Ellie Arrowway, and in the end both of them come to terms with one another (as opposed to the other religious character, who was generally... well, a fundie YEC). So, of course, the movie makes them love interests, because you can't do a movie without explosions or love interests.
So in the movie (and the book), Ellie finds a signal from aliens that has instructions on how to build an unknown machine, put a person inside, and activate it. She's one of the finalists for the seat, as is her old teacher, who she isn't too fond of. Palmer Joss, the President's Spiritual Advisor, is on the selection committee. He pretty much asks if she's believes in God, and she not only says 'no', but denies the relevance of the question, and he says that he won't vote for anyone who thinks that the 95% of the world that does get religion is suffering from some mass delusion. (Of course, the teacher hams it up and tells the committee what he thinks they want to hear.) Joss then shows up later, and tells her that the real reason he did it ws because she had told him that she'd be gone for at least 52 years, and he didn't want her to leave.
Well, gee, thanks. Good to know that you're sabotaging what she was pretty much treating as the chance of a lifetime and her dream, just because you can't get over how she left you in Puerto Rico when she was a post-doc (seriously -- their relationship was a one-night stand four years ago, then a couple of dates. Maybe there was more to it, but I didn't get that impression). And not even saying, 'Hey, I think we have something here, but I'm worried about the whole unknown alien technology and 52 year round trip thing. Can we maybe talk this over as a couple?'
(Also, I'm no theologian, but one would think God would get kind of annoyed with the whole "I'm doing this in Your name, except I'm totally doing it for the radio astronomer that looks like Jodie Foster, and just telling everyone else I'm doing it for You, because they'll take me a lot more seriously if I voice grave theological concerns, instead of dumping me on my ass like a lovestruck teenager.")
So in the movie (and the book), Ellie finds a signal from aliens that has instructions on how to build an unknown machine, put a person inside, and activate it. She's one of the finalists for the seat, as is her old teacher, who she isn't too fond of. Palmer Joss, the President's Spiritual Advisor, is on the selection committee. He pretty much asks if she's believes in God, and she not only says 'no', but denies the relevance of the question, and he says that he won't vote for anyone who thinks that the 95% of the world that does get religion is suffering from some mass delusion. (Of course, the teacher hams it up and tells the committee what he thinks they want to hear.) Joss then shows up later, and tells her that the real reason he did it ws because she had told him that she'd be gone for at least 52 years, and he didn't want her to leave.
Well, gee, thanks. Good to know that you're sabotaging what she was pretty much treating as the chance of a lifetime and her dream, just because you can't get over how she left you in Puerto Rico when she was a post-doc (seriously -- their relationship was a one-night stand four years ago, then a couple of dates. Maybe there was more to it, but I didn't get that impression). And not even saying, 'Hey, I think we have something here, but I'm worried about the whole unknown alien technology and 52 year round trip thing. Can we maybe talk this over as a couple?'
(Also, I'm no theologian, but one would think God would get kind of annoyed with the whole "I'm doing this in Your name, except I'm totally doing it for the radio astronomer that looks like Jodie Foster, and just telling everyone else I'm doing it for You, because they'll take me a lot more seriously if I voice grave theological concerns, instead of dumping me on my ass like a lovestruck teenager.")
