Film Analysis
The film ‘Apollo 13’ is about a space mission which was carried out in the year of 1970. This mission was focused on the ambition to land on the moon. This was going to be the third time, The American was aiming to go to the moon. The film showed three astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise. The captain of this mission was Jim Lovell, which was played by an Academy Award winner Tom Hanks. In this movie, one of the engines of the Apollo 13 completely stopped working, which forced the three astronauts to take immediate actions. One of the astronauts, boarding the spacecraft, Jack Swigert performed a standard procedure to take control of the situation, but while forming the procedure, the oxygen tank exploded. The explosion of the oxygen tank caused the significant reduction in the supply of oxygen. The mission got aborted and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) started another mission and that was to get those three astronauts back home in one piece (www.commonsensemedia.org). This film is about the struggle of the NASA and the astronauts as they fight to reach home safely. The film gave out a message that people need to find a home other than the planet Earth. This is a vast galaxy and there are multiple galaxies in this universe and furthermore, their multiple universes, and we need to find a planet other than ours, which can be conducive to living.
The Apollo 13 mission was done during the cold war era. The cold war refers to the war of supremacy fought against the United States of America and The Soviet Union. America was on the brink of making yet another moon landing through their remarkable astronauts, but the things got complicated, and they had to abort the mission. The historical background of this mission is that the Soviet Union and the United States of America were fighting each other and were in a competition who gets to space first. There were multiple of space missions that were launched during this era, from 1970 to late 1980s. The United States of America was hell-bent on winning this intellectual and technological war against the Soviet Union.
The film clearly shows that initially the United States was focused on beating the Soviet Union in this space mission to the moon, and when they won the war by successfully sending the first spacecraft on the moon, they started to lose interest in space missions and programs. The film showed the grit and courage shown by these astronauts as they did not board the spacecraft to write their names in history or they did not volunteer because they wanted fame, but they were brave people who only went on the mission to gain insight and more information (www.rogerebert.com). Although there was blatant animosity between The Soviet Union and the United States of America, the film did not conspicuously shed light on it.
There is a dire need for humans to go out to space or send space crafts and satellites to explore the possibilities of planets other than ours. There must be other planets like Earth which can support life. The reason for the exploration of new planets is that the Earth is constantly expanding and there will come a time when it would no longer be suitable to live here. The other reason is that we cannot depend on just a single planet, it is a possibility that we might end up finding a planet which is far more suitable for human life than the planet Earth.
Our planet is like a grain in this vast desert. Space is infinite and the movie ‘Apollo 13’ gives the idea of exploring different places in this enormous space to find a place where humans can replicate the ways of life. It gives out a message that we are so insignificant compared to the vastness of this universe. There are gigantic galaxies in this universe and the size of our planet is nothing in comparison to this universe. Since the inception of space missions, there were only male scientists and astronauts who ventured out in space. It is interesting to note that women were considered equal or for the best part, better than the male astronauts in venturing out into space. When the astronauts, who were going out to their space expedition, went to the medical tests, the doctor who was examining the tests and the results suggested that women would also do well in these missions. He posited that women are lighter in weight and also require less oxygen and would be beneficial in these space missions. The tests were carried out and 13 women out of 19 had cleared the tests. Randolph Lovelace carried out these tests and recommended that women should be allowed to aboard, but even after passing the tests, those women were not allowed to go (www.theatlantic.com). The women ended up flying to space in 1983. It was not until 1983, when the first American women, Sally Ride went to the space that opened the gate for women in space (Camp, 1997).
Even though we ended up on the moon, and carried several missions on space, but there are several problems that are encountered. There is a drag of gravity that poses a challenge (www.wired.com). The mass of spacecraft is very large which requires a massive push or force in order for it to move. There are also broken satellites in space and it can come out of nowhere and hit the shuttle. When a shuttle goes into space, there is no concrete map or GPS to go about it. This is another problem encountered by the astronauts. There are many problems with the space missions, but it has benefits for the society. The astronauts are constantly looking for a region or a planet which can sustain life. It is imperative that we find an alternative place so if something happens to this planet, we would have a backup plan.
References
Staff, W. (2018). Space Is Cold, Vast, and Deadly. Humans Will Explore It Anyway. WIRED. Retrieved 26 March 2018, from https://www.wired.com/2016/02/space-is-cold-vast-and-deadly-humans-will-explore-it-anyway/
Koren, M. (2017). Why Women Weren’t Allowed to Be Astronauts. The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 March 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/women-in-space/498833/
Ebert, R. (1995). Apollo 13 Movie Review & Film Summary (1995) | Roger Ebert. Rogerebert.com. Retrieved 26 March 2018, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/apollo-13-1995
Apollo 13 – Movie Review. (2018). Commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 26 March 2018, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/apollo-13#
Camp, C. A. (1997). Sally Ride: First American Woman in Space. Enslow Pub Incorporated.
