A movie Chomsky would enjoy

I saw it and really enjoyed it too. Apparently, linguists love it…

Link: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/index.php?s=arrival

However, here’s a review from a physicist that didn’t care for it…

Beware…there be spoilers here…

Link: http://freethoughtblogs.com/singham/2017/02/15/film-review-arrival-2016/

zn wrote:

The Whorf theory makes language primarily cultural. We internalize it and its logic as we learn it. Chomsky makes primary linguistic capacity entirely hard-wired psychological, not cultural.

That’s interesting. Coming from a place of almost zero knowledge of linguisitics I would say that Chomsky’s hypothesis makes more sense to me.

From things I’ve read I think the human brain is hard-wired for language. Culture plays a role too – but more along the lines of what language and how a language is spoken. The ‘why’ is because it’s an innate, biological part of us. I mean, we have other physical adaptations for language – especially pertaining to the position and shape of our hyoid bone and larynx, etc…it only makes sense that the brain could be adapted for speech as well…

I hate to be the one to throw a wet blanket on this linguist’s party but I have to tell you–I hated the film.

I didn’t even finish the film. Later I went back and looked up the “twist” as it were–which I’d gone far enough to see anyway. It was perhaps one of the dullest films I’ve ever seen. It was certainly the most boring alien film I’ve ever seen.

I get it–this wasn’t “Independence Day” and aliens were only a small part of the bigger picture.

Still–it was dull.

Saw La La Land with my wife last night. I liked it. I don’t think it’s a film I would want to see win Best Picture, but I thought it was very good (in spite of a largely mediocre performance by Ryan Gosling who seems pleasant enough, and certainly better than Adequate, but not, you know, ever remarkable).

I liked the film for its harmonious blend of theatre and film. I think that often films try to be “theatrical,” you know, when they are trying to film a story that was on stage originally (not that this was on stage first, but it clearly drew from theatre). But this one seemed like it used theatre elements when they best suited the story, and film elements when they best suited the story. I thought it was done well. The lighting, in particular, seemed to be under a uniquely talented hand. A lot of the lighting and costuming seemed to be more “theatre” than film, and even some of the sets seemed like stage pieces. But the many long, dizzying crane shots seemed to maximize the ability of film to provide multiple perspectives.

The story itself walked right to the edge of cliche a couple of times, but pulled back in the nick of time, I thought. And I like how the story resolved. It didn’t go for the typical, sappy, happy ending, or the “real world” bummer ending, nor even the “what the hell…I have to choose my own ending” ending, but kind of split the difference in a way. I liked it.

And the balance between acting and music was better than usual. One of my main gripes about musical theatre is that there is just isn’t enough character development, or actual acting. They don’t go more than a couple of pages without bursting into song, and it steals from the story, imo, and dissolves into spectacle. This film seemed to get the balance right (for the genre). I particularly liked the scene where Sebastian and Mia argue over dinner about their futures when Sebastian’s career is taking off while Mia is stuck as a barista. I liked the acting in that scene a lot (even Gosling), and liked that their rift was due to well-established character objectives that tore them apart in spite of their love for one another. That moment seemed driven out of character rather than plot device.

Anyway. I don’t even know how many nominations it got, or for what, but I heard it was well-liked, and as it’s the only movie I’ve seen this year (date night with the wife last night), that’s all I got.

There’s where you’re wrong. It’s well known that Chomsky has a weakness for show tunes.