SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: CHONG ZHAO LUN

STUDENT ID NO: 0320408

FILMS SELECTED: INTERSTELLAR & INCEPTION

WORD COUNT: 943

ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: APRIL 3RD, 2015

What is a science fiction movie? Well, Science fiction movie is one of the list movie genres. For example, there have other genres, which are action movie, mystery movie, adventure movie and more. Science fiction movies are usually like scientific, comic-strip-like, and full of imagination films, which also include of high tech gadgets, for example, robots and spaceships. The two movies that I have chosen are “Interstellar” and “Inception”. Both of these two movies are directed by Christopher Nolan and produced by Emma Thomas. In Interstellar, Cooper played by Matthew Mcconaughey is the main character of the movie. This movie is show that a former NASA pilot given a mission to find a livable planet in another galaxy that suitable of sustaining human life. In Inception, Dom Cobb played by Leonardo DiCaprio is the main character of the movie. These movie shows a thief who steal ideas by enter into a dream to collect information. By the same token, I will like to contrast these two movies in terms of family love, time alteration, the reality and new world and sacrifice him to save a girl.

First of all, there have some minor similarities in these two movies, the first is family love. Both of these two movies protagonists also played as a father character are trying to go back home for their children although they are undertaking their mission, which their life will be sacrifice in that mission. In Interstellar, Cooper was missing his children so much when he was in the space. He cries when he was watching the recording message from his son aged and aged, from the graduate then married and had a baby too. Her daughter only sends her once recording message when she turns to the age of her father, Murph said: “you told me that when you came back, we might be the same age”. In Inception, Cobb also wanted to go back home to see his children again. He can’t go back home because he was under a murder that he was the one killed his own wife. After all, he had not seen his children once so he must go home no matter how danger the mission is.

Subsequently, the second similarity in these two movies is the time distortion as will cause side effect of hazarding into another world. While in Interstellar, Cooper goes to a black hole that will affect the time in between the planet and the earth, which mean when Cooper in that planet for one hour equivalent to the earth with seven years. After he came back, he was actually hundred and twenty years old but he still in a young age. He was younger than his own daughter. In one planet, Cooper was using the space time to give signal to his daughter with using gravity. He can look at the past of himself. In Inception, as they venture deeper and deeper into the dream level, the time will move slower and slower than the reality. For example, for the first dream is need one week, second dream is take six month, and third dream is take ten years equivalent to the reality is only one hour. Cobb had stuck in the dream for hundred years before where is a place called “limbo”.

In addition, the reality and explore into other world is the third similarity in these movies. In Interstellar, Cooper jumps into it without his spaceship. The place with a three dimensional place that can look through his daughter bedroom is constructed by ‘they’. At the end of the movie, Cooper was awake on his Cooper station where there also look like four dimension. In Inception, Ariadne played by

Ellen Page who was an architecture student. She designs her own city like a maze in her dream. She needs to have full of imagination that cannot recreate place in her memory. She create a four dimensional city with her imagination. The sky was buildings that the top was showing down. People were walking upside down. That she can walk through ninety degree to another surface of the city. Is feel like you walking in a cube. I found out these two movies are using the same concept of city where the places had four dimension.

Furthermore, the last thing that I found similar in these two movies is the male protagonists sacrifice him to save the girl. In Interstellar, because lack of fuel, Cooper emanates himself from the Endurance to give the girl’s, Brand had enough power to escape from the black hole. Even though Cooper wanted to fly back to earth for their children but he sacrifice himself to save the girl. He knows that he will burst out from the black hole but he still did it. In Inception, Cobb sends off the girl, Ariadne back to the reality world where the place they start their dream from. Otherwise, Cobb was fall to another place where is another level of dream called “Limbo”, the place where he has been stuck in for hundred years before. Once you step in there you will become old and your memory will gone. The only way is people come and help you.

Lastly, these are the two movies that I found some scene that are similar. These movies had shown how amazing for this movie genre is. They had made the science fiction movie become a full of imagination world film that you are totally unexpected. Not just only the writing script, the high tech technology gadget is totally awesome. In conclusion, I hope that they will produce more movies with this kind of genre movie in future.

References:

The Misfits Closet,. (2014). 8 Reasons why Inception and Interstellar are Cinematic Siblings. Retrieved 8 April 2015, from https://themisfitscloset.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/8-reasons-why-inception-and-interstellar-are-cinematic-siblings/

Fandango,. (2015). Interstellar (2014) Synopsis - Plot Summary - Fandango. Retrieved 8 April 2015, from http://www.fandango.com/interstellar_163452/plotsummary

Fandango,. (2015). Interstellar (2014) Synopsis - Plot Summary - Fandango. Retrieved 8 April 2015, from http://www.fandango.com/interstellar_163452/plotsummary