save the planet

good SciFi

Someone asked me unbelievingly if I could name ANY good Science Fiction, So I said yes, but I couldn't find the names of those fantastic movies. So here are some movies, in a few categories but random order:

These you must see, even if you hate SciFi

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Gattaca (1997)
Minority Report (2002)
Pay check (2003)
Children of Men (2006)

other personal favourites:

earthbound

• The Time Machine (1960)
• E.T. (1982)
• Back to the Future (1985)
• D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
• X-men (2000, 2003, 2006)
• Reign of Fire (2002)
• Men in Black (1997, 2003)
• The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
• I, Robot (2004)

other worlds

• Dune (1984)
• Waterworld (1995)
• The Fifth Element (1997)
• Lost in Space (1998)
• Pitch Black (2000)
• Final Fantasy (2001)
• The Chronicles of Riddick (2003)
• the Matrix (1999, 2003)
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
• Star Wars III, IV, V, VI (2005, 1997, 1980, 1997)
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
• V for Vendetta (2006)

Earthbound hollywood adventure

• Armageddon (1998)
• Deep Impact (1998)
• Independence Day (1996)
• the Core (2003)

So, after having done this listing I must conclude that whether one thinks SciFi movies are good or bad really is very personal. I wouldn't count any movies like Alien, Species, the thing, close encounters of the ... kind, war of the worlds or any of those as good movies. But that's partially because I'm too scared by them. In my opinion they are only about creapy aliens who wish to destroy mankind. They just don't have much depth or fascinating concepts.
Even those which I call 'hollywood adventure', and have attracted a broad audience, are not very good SciFi movies to my opinion. There's usually just a problem with some rock or something which is going to whipe away all life. You just send a team of clumsy experts, count the deads, leave one romantic couple to survive, end of story.

No, the really interesting movies are those which are either earthbound, but unique in the issues (or techniques) they introduce, or those which play in completely fictional worlds. Both cases allow thought experiments: what if??? What if we could move to another planet? would we destroy it like the earth? What if the day after tomorrow really stood on our doorstep? If we knew it would come, would we change our energy consumption? What if we could make a machine to see the future? What if only perfect children were allowed to be born? What if humankind were on the brink of extinction? How will humankind survive the problems it creates for itself?
And for the other worlds: how does a planet prescribe our lives? How would we live in a desert-world, or an ocean world, or a fire world? What would economics be like in a world of scarcity? How would politics be different or the same? Would old hierarchies re-emerge, or would new political systems come to be? Would there be oppression, discrimination or genocide between species or cultures? Where does the human kind stand between aliens? What does it mean to be human?

I think SciFi enriches us, because it allows us to think about what our lives and opinions would be like if our reality were different. And that can make you realise that some things we see as normal are actually really special. Think of the 60 years of peace Western Europe has recently experienced, think of democracy, family life, legal systems, social systems, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the fact that we can make computers and virtual worlds, that we can go into space, that we can drink from our taps (all of these hold for the Netherlands). SciFi allows one to look at ethics, humanity, politics and religion in a totally different context. And from that we can only learn. Because to come up with a totally fictional world (and for a movie watcher to understand it) one must make paralels with our earth, and our history. So it will automatically make us think about the present state of the world and humanity, and about our future. It will make us think how we get allong with our neighbours.

People who are not interested in science fiction strike me as people who just don't see the deeper meaning of it. They don't see that SciFi can actually learn us something, but often only if you look at the earth on a planetary scale. And that is not something these people are used to. They are not very aware that all people of the earth are part of one humankind, moving towards a common future, and living on a single earth. Their awareness and interest does not expand far beyond their own personal lives, and the community they live in.
It is normal to only have attention for the problems which affect our personal lives. We only care about issues in the family, or maybe in the town we live in, and to a lesser extent in our country. But what goes on on a continental scale or larger, is usually not really an issue for our dayly lives. That's for politicians to work out.
But I think this is an oldfashioned symplification of matters, which allows us to sleep tightly when we really should be ashamed of ourselves. We live in a globalized world today. We use resources from all over the world, have contact and do business with people from everywhere. We get news from what happens everywhere.
If a friend would tell us that our sister had been raped, we would immediately take action, and help the girl. Why then do we turn away of the misfortunes of our fellow-men in faraway lands? How can we keep ignoring that we are even the cause of some of that misfortune? Just because we are not confronted with what the consequences are of our consumption, does not mean we should not take responsibility for it. If our consumption influences people and the environment in another part of the world, then we should care about that part of the world. Then we should see that we make use of the earth, and should feel responsible for its present state, and for its future.
And if we want to actively influence the future state of the world and its population, then we should first develop ideas about that future. And here is where I think SciFi is important. It raises awareness of a single human kind, on a single earth with limited resources. And if the boat sinks, we all go down with it. So we had better work together to stop this world from deteriorating! And apart of raising the awarenes of a global community, SciFi allows us to explore different worlds and different forms of social structures: different futures (utopias).

And for the very far future, if we manage to discover other habitable worlds, perhaps human kind could survive even after the earth and its sun have already passed away. I think that would be a great achievement. Because in a certain sence, it would make the human kind immortal. And because every person is part of this human kind, and has worked towards this achievement. This would make each and every person immortal. And is that not what most religious people strive for?

Liberia's female president

the BBC has a really interesting radio show: 'the Interview'

listen for example to

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia

Liberia means "land of the
free", but for the last quarter of a century the country has been anythingbut.

A series of coups and a brutal civil war has left an estimated 150,000
people dead and made refugees of a further 850,000. The econony is in tatters
and unemployment is a staggering 85%.

But hope is returning. Six months
ago, following the ousting of Charles Taylor, Liberians voted in Africa's first
female president.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a veteran of the political
scene in Liberia and says she aims for unity, reconciliation and development.

First broadcast 2 June, 2006

listen to the show

Sunugaal - Dj Awadi

Dj Awadi made a beautiful song about the migration problem in Senegal. Thousands of Africans leave from the Senegalese coast in rickety boats, attempting to reach the Canary Islands.

Dj Awadi sings about corruption and the politicisation of the legal system, with journalists and opposition politicians in jail, while thieves and robbers are set free, if they are ever arrested.

"You promised me I would have a job
You promised me I would have food
You promised me I would have real work and hope
But so far - nothing
That's why I am leaving,
that's why I am taking off in this canoe
Swearing not to stay here a second longer
I would prefer to die than to live in this hell."

Dj Awadi, 2006

Read the BBC article

and then listen to the song: Sunugaal

Vista vs IPCC

Some time ago Windows Vista was launched. 10,000 programmers are said to have worked on this new version of windows.

On the same day the IPCC's 4th assessment report was presented. 2,500 people (researchers, country representatives and businessmen) have worked on this report, representing 40 countries. The conclusion of this report is that global warming is irrevocable, and very likely (90% certainty) to be caused at least in part, by man.
Our world is changing, and it can no longer be stopped. We will have to deal with it. No place on earth will escape at least small climatic changes.

I personally find it unbalanced that Microsoft is able to bring together and pay 10,000 programmers for a commercial product which is only available for those who can afford it.
While a problem which affects the whole world community and will change the face of the earth, is tackled by only a quarter of that.