engl 333 final blog entries

7/23/2019 ENGL 333 Final Blog Entries

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Critical Race Theory Applied toMoon

The Duncan Jones filmMoon,portrays a World in the future where technology has

reached a pinnacle of development. The U.S. space corporation named unar !ndustries

harnessed this technology to save the world from itself "y mining the moon for helium # and

using clones to supervise the process. !n the movie there was an o"vious lac$ of African

American representation in the film. SinceMoon is supposed to "e ta$ing place in the future%

one would suspect that society would "e more diverse and the power structure in America would

contain more African&Americans. !n the movie% unar !ndustries is represented "y a white and

Asian man when they are shown via satellite tal$ing to 'erty and then Sam (ell in the clip )*+),

and also -+#. The film e/cludes African Americans completely and most nota"ly the source of

the power structure% unar !ndustries. This manifests from a history of raciali0ation that

continues to the present day for African Americans and structural ine1uality that reinforces and

promotes whiteness.

As we discussed in class% many stereotypes e/ists for certain races in the United States.

African Americans are often la"eled as "eing athletically capa"le% "ut intellectually disa"led. 2n

the other hand% whites are seen as the standard for every other race to live up to due to their

position as the dominant race in the country. Asians are also given another favora"le la"el as

"eing a race that is intellectually gifted who e/cels in the sciences and mathematics. This stems

from the idea of raciali0ation in which some people "elieve that certain races "iologically inherit

not 3ust physical characteristics% "ut mental ones as well such as intelligence. Unfortunately%

raciali0ation 3ust isn4t an anti1ue of the past% "ut continues to this day. 5or e/ample% in )*) the


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5lorida School (oard set proficiency standards for African Americans that were one third the

level of white and Asian students 67olt8. !n the two clips% the audience sees an Asian and a

white man as the representatives of a Space Corporation. Since the setting of the movie is

dealing with space and technological sophistication that deals with science and mathematics% the

two men in the clip fit the stereotype well. This form of raciali0ation still e/ists depicting Asians

and Whites as the leaders of the future of innovation and human advancement. They are also

portrayed in the propaganda reel as saving society from hunger and economic collapse as shown

in the opening clips of the film. !n the "eginning of the opening clip% it shows starving people in

third world countries and "ecause of unar !ndustries technological innovations on the moon9

they are seen smiling at the end.

The two clips of the men also reveal the structural ine1uality that still e/ists within the

United States. The two men most li$ely had access to well&funded centers of learning that

ena"led them to gain positions in unar !ndustries. Accessi"ility to a well&funded educational

system promotes learning and an avenue for future progress relating to income and technological

advancement. :ven after the ruling of (rown vs. The (oard of :ducation in ;67are8.an Americans lac$ a certain intellect to progress% "ut don4t

have the right tools and funding to pursue a worthy education. This largely e/cludes them from

"eing connected with the world of science and technological innovation. Therefore% it is easy for


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people to stereotype and claim that they don4t have what it ta$es to e/plore space and lead

companies dealing with the sciences.

!n conclusion% raciali0ation and structural ine1uality has e/isted in the United States since

the country was founded. These concepts are still ingrained in )stcentury America especially in

education. They have prohi"ited African Americans from gaining a higher status within society

which manifests itself on screen. Duncan Jones most li$ely isn4t a racist who wanted to leave

African Americans out of the film. 7e was giving the audience the actors that were e/pected to

fit the "ill as heads of a space corporation due to the reality of America4s continued e/clusion of

African Americans in such positions of power.

?ew 7istoricism inMoon

The movieMoon, was a film "y (ritish director Duncan Jones whose plot focused on

issues that were relevant during the time it was produced and issues that continue to this day.

Since new historicism ta$es into account "oth the author and critic4s environment to analy0e a

piece of wor$% it is safe to say the environment surrounding the film4s producer and mine are

very similar since the film came out in )**;. Duncan Jones was writing the plot for the film

when the demands for an alternative source of clean energy were reaching new heights in the

glo"al community and the topic was on the minds of government administrations% scientists% and

private corporations. The main fear was the eventual depletion of all the natural energy sources

we ta$e for granted such as coal% oil and natural gas. Jones sets the movie in the later part of the

)stcentury when all the old sources of energy are nearly depleted resulting in unar !ndustries

setting up clones to supervising the mining of the new energy source on the moon% 7elium #.

The heated topic of finding alternative sources of energy was found in news reports% science


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3ournals and "oo$s during the timeMoon was "eing produced. This cultural "ac$ground

influenced Duncan Jones decision to use that as the "ac$drop for the film.

!nMoon, Duncan Jones ma$es 7elium # the source of energy that the world will depend

on in the future when all the fossil fuels have run their course. Jones isn4t merely using science

fiction "ehind the concept for this% "ut is using factual evidence that supports his inclusion of it

in the film. !n ;@


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"e giving the audience a pea$ into the future% "ut again he could 3ust "e a product of the times.

Bresent issues don4t always manifest the way people thin$ they will over time. 7owever% it is

plausi"le with the scientific and political news and information at the "eginning of the )st

century. Duncan Jones would have "een aware of the financial crisis and the steep increase in oil

prices reaching an all&time high of one hundred and forty five dollars a "arrel on July #%

)**@6?ASDA8. 2il companies are running out of areas to e/tract oil and oil production is

plateauing. !t4s not that the world is running out of oil itself% "ut rather its a"ility to produce

high&1uality cheap and economically e/tracta"le oil on demand. !n enneth S. Deffeyes%

Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage, Deffeyes uses the geologist . ing

7u""ert4s wor$ to ma$e the prediction that% =the slowdown in oil production may already "e

"eginning9 the current price fluctuations for crude oil and natural gas may "e the pre&am"le to a

ma3or crisis>6Deffeyes 8. Those fluctuations can "e seen from )**< to )**@ when a "arrel of

crude oil went from forty&five dollars a gallon to one hundred and forty five dollars 6?ASDA8.

2"viously a lot of concern on the topic of oil was circulating around the glo"e at the time.

Duncan Jones was producing the movie which gave material for him to use for his movie and a

cultural conte/t that his audience would "e a"le to relate to during the time of the movie.

!n conclusion% the film reveals the ways ?ew 7istoricism can "e utili0ed to find

the historical and cultural conte/t that influenced Duncan Jones to set up a world in the future

where alternative energy was "eing mined on the moon. Jones wasn4t creating pure science

fiction% "ut "orrowing the "eliefs and information from a society that he was very much a part of.


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Reader Response Applied toMoon

Reader Response "elieves that a piece of wor$ such as a te/t or movie comes to life when

it is viewed "y an individual. !n other words% if itEs left dormant% it has no value. !t gives the

individual reader or viewer a divine role in drawing conclusions from a piece of wor$ "ased on

that person4s life e/periences% culture% social class% gender% and se/ual preference. 'rowing up in

a patriotic middle class family with a mom as a teacher and a dad involved in the capitalistic

pursuit of mar$eting% ! was e/posed to many ideas. y mom was the nurturing influence in my

life that taught me how to empathi0e and feel compassion for others. y dad always taught me

that what lies on the surface isnEt always the truth and the ma3ority of the human race has a

motive for their actions. !n other words people will ta$e advantage of you if you let them. (oth

these factors played a crucial role in how ! digested the film and the meaning ! too$ away from

it% specifically with the opening scene and when Sam (ell discovered the cloning cham"er.

!n the first scene% ! viewed unar !ndustries message on the importance of finding

alternative energy on the moon with s$epticism. The whole clip had a great deal of propaganda

in it showing starving children sorting through trash and factories polluting the atmosphere. 5or

e/ample% towards the end of the clip% they give the audience their solution accompanied with

smiling children and the phrase% F The Bower of our futureF. !t all sounded too good to "e true

and as the film progressed ! reali0ed my s$epticism and gut feeling was correct. The scene

immediately told me that there has to "e more to this then what lies on the surface. :verything in

the early stages of the film attempted to cover up this underlying issue of morality and identity

"eing encroached upon. 5or e/ample% we see Sam listening to his wife through a video to

portray that he still had loved ones "ac$ home waiting for him. unar strove for $eeping the

status 1uo inside their operation "y $eeping the clones convinced that they had a normal life.


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7owever% the discovery of the cloning cham"er reveals the monster "ehind the curtain.

The scene in which Sam discovers the cloning cham"er touched me in various ways. At

first% ! "ecame angry that all along this company had deceived the clones and the people that

were wor$ing for them. y mood steadily shifted to one of sympathy for SamEs clones. 7ow

could people do thisG 'rowing up with a mom that $ept me in touch with my emotions led me to

feel this way. All the characteristics of SamEs face when he removed the floor "oarding and

opened the vault with one of his "odies made me lose faith in human morality. This movie spo$e

outside of itself in that it made me 1uestion if a scenario such as this could really happen. As an

American it terrified me to speculate if the country ! love would ever succum" to going this far

and "ypassing our individual rights to the core. !n

conclusion% !4m the ideal viewer for this film "ased on growing up with a father that wor$ed in

the corporate world and a mother who raised me to "e a"le to empathi0e with other individuals.

(oth of these allowed me to reali0e the a"use of human individuality ta$ing place in the film "y

unar !ndustries.

ar/ist Theory inMoon

!n Duncan Jones4sMoon% a (ritish Scientist is wor$ing for unar !ndustries% a space

company interested in mining helium on the moon to use as an alternative energy source for

the :arth. The scientist% Sam (ell% is nearing his three year contract when he discovers that he is

really not the original Sam (ell. !n fact% he is 3ust one of many clones that have "een harvested

continuously as an efficient way of $eeping the production up. !ndividual identity is irrelevant to

unar !ndustries who 3ust need their mining operation to "e successful at any costs. ar/ism is

the underlying theme in the movie and elements of corporate e/ploitation% alienation of la"or%


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and commodification of the individual are seen throughout the film.

2ne of the fundamental principles of ar/ism is corporate e/ploitation of the

individual. Sam (ell in essence is nothing more than a tool used "y unar !ndustries to increase

profits in the name of a no"le cause to universally help the world. When he discovers he is a

clone% he reali0es he really doesnEt have an identity other than the memories that had "een

implanted into his "rain. unar !ndustries continually produces new clones every three years in

order to tric$ all the clones that they will "e returning "ac$ home to "e reunited with the world.

Therefore% the clones are nothing more than commodities to the company and are never rewarded

or truly "enefit from the wor$ that they had done.

Another aspect of ar/ism is the alienation of la"or. The clones of Sam (ell are never

directly mining the helium% "ut merely supervising it through a ma$eshift lunar command

station. 5or e/ample% he never gets to see the final product of the mined helium other than when

he sees it "eing launched in a roc$et "ac$ to :arth. Also% unar !ndustries4 control of mining on

the moon% directly shows manEs supremacy over nature and thus results in an increased alienation

of man. The only resem"lance of human interaction Sam has is with a ro"ot named 'erty and

old recorded videos of his wife. Sam is completely isolated from that need for social interaction

and the satisfaction in completing a hands on pro3ect

The most climatic scene in the film is when Sam discovers the secret cham"er that

stores and creates the clones. !n this scene% the essence of what it means to "e human completely

evaporates due to their "eing several duplicates of Sam (ell. The sense of self is lost within the

protagonist as he reali0es he is nothing more than a tool used "y unar !ndustries to $eep ra$ing

in the helium. Therefore% the clones can "e seen as a commodity with a use value for the

company. The clones have "een genetically engineered to perform the tas$s at hand while still


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"elieving that they are truly an individual human. This scene "rings up a critical 1uestion that

ar/ism as$s% how far the (ourgeoisie will go to increase their status. The movie clearly shows

that unar !ndustries is willing to clone human em"ryos "ased on greed

!n conclusion% ar/ist theory is very applica"le to "rea$ing down the meaning of the

film and applying terminology that matches up with events ta$ing place in the movie. arl ar/

would "e a"le to draw similar conclusions from the movie and wouldn4t have "een surprised that

the threat he saw from the "ourgeoisie and corporations managed its way into space.


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Wor$s Cited

Carlson% :mily. = ine on the oon.> On Wisonsin. 2n Wisconsin% )**-. We". - Dec. )*-.

Deffeyes% enneth S. Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage. Brinceton+ Brinceton

University Bress% )**@. Brint

7are% (ruce R. !""# Rae Od$sse$: %&rian %merians and Soiolog$. Syracuse+ Syracuse University

Bress% )**). Brint

7olt % i$el wa$u 2sei. = The Raciali0ation of Bu"lic :ducation.> Milaukee (ommunit$

)ournal.)< 2ct. )*). We". # Dec. )*-.

John ing% and iles 24(rien. =(ush Unveils Hision of oon and (eyond.> (**. < Jan. )**-.

We". - Dec. )*-.

ovegren% ?atalie. =Chemistry on the oon+ The uest for 7elium.> !#st(entur$ Siene and

Tehnolog$, Sept. )*-+ &). We". - Dec. )*-.

*%S+%. (archart ar$et Data Solutions. We". - Dec. )*-.

http+IIwww.nasda1.comImar$etsIcrude&oil.asp/Gtimeframe*y

Schmitt% 7arrison. Return to the Moon. ?ew Kor$+ Copernicus (oo$s% )**,. ,#&-* . Brint.


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