Project Eucastrophe

So what exactly is a eucastrophe?  Well, it’s not a deus ex machina.  At least in my book.  My book has a lot of cross references of things I learned from books, movies, television and failed attempts to gaslight me.  By definition, eucastrophe is a plot device that saves the protagonist from an unhappy fate.  While deus ex machina evokes thoughts about lazy and stupid writing, eucastrophe is a rewarding and satisfying happy ending.  Since the term eucastrophe is attributed to the great Tolkien, let’s give an example for Middle Earth.

And just as things looked darkest for the ring bearer, Sauron had a pulmonary embolism and died.  The End.

I “get” grim.  And cynical.  And nihilistic.  I get them as concepts.  I emphasize with some of the thoughts and lifestyles of those that espouse them and merely talk about them.  Approve of them, no I don’t.  I do not engage in an excessive amount of time directly engaging with people about my philosophical thoughts.  My mere presence is usually enough for me to give off the vibe of what I’m all about, and for me clamming up and not engaging with assholes works just fine.  

And every once in a while, something gets added to my list of things right wing extremists don’t like.  Like they’ve been trained to hate mutts, Wikipedia, anything science related and Joe Biden.  And speaking of science, that brings up the star of today’s show.

Project Hail Mary

My gosh I adore this film.  Previously over approximately 45 years of movie theater trips, I’d only seen two movies more than once in the theater.  That record was shattered by seeing Project Hail Mary four times in five weeks.  Add on some reaction videos on YouTube and some shorts, I have all the best parts locked away in my palace of happy reference points.

A breath of fresh air amidst a sea of cynical cinema.  Perfect?  Hardly.  But while watching it, especially the first time, I simply did not care.  And now weeks later removed from the first viewing, I still reflect on a more personalized take.  I really can’t picture a die hard MAGA cult member appreciating it.  While I admit that I’ve felt more compassion for a fictional alien rock, a heart warming story involving the slightest empathy - loved by MAGA?  Toxic narcissists have a new target to replace hatred of old Jimmy Stewart movies.  Pretty much the only thing they have to latch on to is it’s an Amazon product and Jeff Bezos is and always will be a narcissistic asshole.  So there’s that for them.

There’s lots of movies from the past half year that have not been ashamed to put in at least pieces of anti rich asshole messaging.  Superman 2025, The Running Man remake, They Will Kill You, Ready or Not 2.  Unlike the in your face commentary in Superman, PHM is subtle.  What happens when desperation forces a, well, Hail Mary attempt?  Now the under-appreciated and misfit scientist is the hero.  Good thing he wasn’t antagonized along the way or he might not be so ready.  Oops.

I think of teenagers watching this and absorbing the eucastrophic message.  Probably on the smarter side, there is lots of sciency stuff.  And yes, it is a fact that as a demographic smarter people tend to be more liberal and anti Trump.  So it’s not just my right, it is now my duty to wear my custom made PHM themed shirt and bring it up as much as possible.  A timely movie displaying a massive tonal shift from the doom and gloom cynical content overwhelming us for over a decade.  It’s OK to be smart again.  It’s cool to have empathy again.

We’re allowed to be human again.