Gravity: Trip to the Moon Reaction Paper

2013-14710

BACONGUIS, Liana Isabelle T.

STS THY 7

Reaction Paper: Trip to the Moon

With all the advances filmography has taken in the last century Georges Melies’s short films might not look like much to the modern viewer – Trip to the Moon’s hand-moven props and hand-painted sets have nothing on today’s CGI. 

But to someone in the early 20^th century, when radio was the main form of mass communication, then a short film of that calibre would certainly have me lining up to the premiere. Trip to the Moon, centering around a group of astronauts on a rocket to the moon and get into conflict with the moon-dwellers, is heavily fantastical – it’s a cheery, upbeat film with handmade props and well-placed pyrotechnics for special effects.

The conflict with the moon-dwellers might be a commentary on imperialism at the time. As World War I approached, public view on imperialism grew increasingly negative, and Melies shows this in the moon natives driving out the astronauts seeking to make contact. All of the scientists are rescued and brought back home, but they might not come back.

Of course, since we know a lot about the moon now, it’s obvious Melies has taken much artistic license – the moon is incapable of supporting bacteria, let alone a civilization of territorial, warlike beings, and of course the scientists wouldn’t be able to walk around without highly specialized suits. But back then, space travel was unheard of. It is a testament to Melies’s highly creative imagination, and the film’s success speaks of humanity’s curiosity to explore the unknown.