Moon (Duncan Jones 2009) takes place in the near future, when humans have discovered natural gas in the form of Helium3 on the Moon. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is the only person manning the stations on the Moon, but as soon as he is scheduled to return to Earth, he has an accident in his rover. He then meets his clone who is supposed to replace him, and soon after realizes that he himself is clone. Moon exposes the raw emotions of both Sams and of Gerty, the robot who looks after Sam. Rather than portraying Gerty or the clones as pure scientific or technological products, Moon delves into the various states of emotion that they experience such as fear, sadness, and empathy. I intend to explore how Moon effectively bridges the divide between technology, science and human affect.
Thesis: Moon eradicates any preexisting boundaries between technology, science, and human behavior, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two in which both machines and clones appropriate human characteristics of empathy and self-realization.
Topic Sentence #1: The clones undergo a process of self-realization, in which they affirm the reality that they are clones of the original Sam, but reject the notion that they are not human. The latter is manifested in their demonstration of the innate human characteristic of affection and empathy towards their implanted memory of Tessa and towards one another.
I define self-realization as the process of maturation in which one discovers or unearths their true authentic self. This authentic self can only be affirmed and defined by that person, not by societal norms. In this body paragraph I will show how the Sams evolve to recognize that although they are an artificial product of science, they believe they are human, even if science does not think so. One example of the clones’ belief that they are human beings is their emotion towards Tessa, Sam’s wife. The clones show signs of love towards her, even after they realize that she is an implanted memory. Another example is their affection and signs of empathy towards one another. As Sam #1 decays physically, Sam #2 takes care of him and tried to lift up his moral. They form a friendship not unlike the bond of friendship between humans.
Topic Sentence #2: Initially, Gerty plays a dominant role in which he controls the clones, however as they experience the process of self-realization, the clones assume the dominant role and influence Gerty’s developing empathetic emotions.
In this paragraph I intend to explore the relationship between Gerty and the clones. Gerty repeatedly says that his job is to take care of the Sams. He aids them in their plan to escape to Earth, bypassing protocol and instead acting on his feelings of devotion for both Sams. This robot is able to empathize with others, showing a self-awareness that is usually not associated with technology.
Topic Sentence #3: Finally, the culmination of the clones’ maturation occurs when Sam #1 makes a sacrifice that allows Sam #2 to go to Earth by way of an energy capsule, demonstrating an intrinsic need for human interaction. This poses the question of whether their process of self-realization is valid in an isolated setting, or whether their human emotions are only validated on Earth.
I find it interesting that the one goal both Sams have is to go back to civilization, a world they never knew and were never a part of, but recall vividly in their implanted memory. They crave human interaction. Once Sam #2 reaches Earth, the movie ends with voiceovers of different newscasters and radio stations who comment about the clone’s arrival on Earth. One radio announcer says that Sam is either an immigrant or he is crazy. This ending poses the question of why the clones’ humans emotions are not recognized on Earth among humans, and whether or not their human characteristics are only recognized in an isolated setting on the Mooon.
COMM 2302 (Spring 2013) 