Neil deGrasse Tyson took to his Twitter account and incorrectly spotted out an error in the film Arrival. Released in 2016, the film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, follows the mysterious and sudden appearance of twelve alien ships around the world. Focusing on the efforts of expert linguist Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams, Arrival’s story centers on humanity’s attempts to try and communicate with extraterrestrial life. The movie is based on a 1998 short story, Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang. Other notable cast members include Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.
After its release, Arrival was received with open arms by both fans and critics, being deemed one of the best movies of the decade. The film won the Oscar for Best Sound Editing and was nominated for several other awards including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. Aside from its masterful film making, Arrival also received praise for its scientific accuracy. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that behind the scenes, Villeneuve and his crew were meticulous in how they fleshed out their story, hiring both linguists and physicists to consult with them throughout all levels of production.
One of the more vocal personalities in astrophysics recently has been Neil deGrasse Tyson, who decided to add some of his own takes on the science behind Arrival earlier yesterday. He tweeted, “In the film Arrival (2016) nobody wondered whether the circular patterns drawn by the creature were backwards. The septopoid Alien drew them from the other side of a transparent glass wall.” In his tweet, he was referring to the different symbols used by the aliens in the film as they try to communicate with Amy Adams’ character. Check out Tyson’s tweet below:
American film critic Lindsay Ellis, however, quickly responded and shut down deGrasse Tyson’s claims, tweeting that “this is explained in the film.” She went on to explain that although she didn’t wish to criticize such an expert like deGrasse Tyson “this one really bugs me for some reason.” Ellis continued her rant with several other tweets and many fans responded throughout the day with their own opinions as well:
The creativity behind Arrival was one of the film’s greatest strengths, and fans were pleased to discover how rooted in reality it turned out to be. It was and still is often looked at as a new and fresh take on traditional sci-fi movie making. That makes it even more interesting that Neil deGrasse Tyson felt compelled to share his thoughts, nearly four years after Arrival hit theaters. Perhaps he gave it another watch and that small detail he pointed out had never occurred to him before. Whatever the case may be, Arrival fans can breath a heavy sigh of relief after learning that the movie addresses the exact issue which deGrasse Tyson found problematic. It’s an interesting case of fact vs. fiction and how two completely separate things like science and film making can come into contact with one another. No matter what the consensus is regarding the scientific facts, Arrival can keep its place as a marvelous achievement in the art of film.
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Source: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lindsay Ellis
