“Third Thumb” Augmentation Changes the Way we Think of Prosthetics
Star Trek Into Darkness: Eye candy for the amygdala. Yes, this is another Hollywood blockbuster depicting a dystopian future with big explosions and small innovations. However, the first ten minutes are worth the price of the ticket. I was pleasantly surprised to see J.J. Abrams using the [easyazon-link asin=”B008KRWK3K” locale=”us”] Ancient Aliens [/easyazon-link] theory and a huge wink to author [easyazon-link asin=”0061379131″ locale=”us”] Zecharia Sitchin’s [/easyazon-link] work in the opening scene located on the fictional (depending on who you ask) world of Nibiru.
This opening scene is multi-layered and cuts deep into the heart of ancient religious beliefs on our planet. It also suggests that our own history could be the product of a visitation by an advanced [easyazon-link asin=”B002WJH2MG” locale=”us”] extraterrestrial [/easyazon-link] civilization. If the entire movie followed the trajectory set forth in the first ten minutes, Abrams would have created a ground breaking piece of science-fiction. Alas, this was not the case.
After the first ten minutes we enter a slippery dystopian slope. As with most sci-fi films these days, the director and writers reference one or two decent ideas and then surround these philosophical and futuristic ideas with dystopian nightmares. A cliché of a cliché . Things blow up, cars (or in this case spaceships) crash and yes, we even get a fist fight in deep space. Really? A fist fight? Will we have fist fights after the [easyazon-link asin=”0143037889″ locale=”us”] singularity [/easyazon-link]?
The marketing is on target, and the amygdala pushers did their jobs well, but I’m board to no end with this type of low brow limited thinking science fiction. What made [easyazon-link asin=”B000REOEBK” locale=”us”] Star Trek [/easyazon-link]so groundbreaking and Gene Roddenberry a household name, was the sense of deep curiosity and wonder, exploration of ideas, worlds and insight. But Into Darkness is really just that. A trip into a dark place in our minds. No innovation, no curiosity and very little wonder. No one even utters the phrase “What could that be?” or “How do we communicate with it?”
Where are all the brilliant innovative [easyazon-link asin=”0765305356″ locale=”us”] science fiction [/easyazon-link] writers? I refuse to believe that the future is going to be the cliche that Star Trek Into Darkness serves up.
The art direction is magnificent and the CGI is beautiful but you will need to arrest your intellect to really enjoy this film. We need our new E.T. moment. We need more science fiction adventure for the intellectual mind, and less eye candy for the amygdala.
About the author
Gray Scott is founder and editorial director of SERIOUS WONDER.com. He is a futurist philosopher, speaker, writer and artist. Gray is an active professional member of The World Futurist Society.
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