The Arrival

One of my favorite movies is Arrival a 2016 science fiction film based on Ted Chiang's short story, Story of Your Life.  In the film, twelve mysterious spacecraft appear at different points around the world.  Their arrival results in a global panic. To quell the panic, the U.S. military enlists linguist Dr. Louise Banks to help decipher the alien language and understand their purpose. Rather than words, the aliens known as Heptapods, communicate through complex circular symbols, which presents a unique linguistic challenge.

   Arrival is a meditation on the ability of language to bridge cultural divides by forging connections across time and space.  In the film, language is not merely a tool for communication but a gateway to understanding and unity. As Louise Banks deciphers the Heptapods' nonlinear symbols, she discovers that their language reshapes the perception of time, allowing one to experience past, present, and future simultaneously. 

   The film also examines the human tendency to fear the unknown. The global mistrust of the Heptapods reflects the xenophobia towards foreigners prevalent in most countries. By cracking the Heptapods language code, Louise Banks demonstrates that empathy and open-mindedness are crucial in overcoming these fears.

   My first reaction after watching Arrival was, “This is just like my experience.”   Like the Heptapods, I was an alien in a strange land, constantly under observation, always separate and apart, never able to fully grasp my new country’s constantly shifting cultural mores.  No matter how much I studied and learned, there was always something new to confuse me.  At my job, it seemed that no matter how hard or long I worked each day, whatever I did was interpreted in the exact opposite way that I had intended.  Social interactions continued to be awkward.  After living in the United States for more than a decade, there were still occasions – far too many of them – when I was still unsure how to act at a party or when I was introduced to someone new.  When your status is always that of “the other,” it’s easy to become depressed and question yourself.  Was it me?  Was I just not fit for life in America?  Or was my experience similar to that of all the other African brothers and sisters who had come  before me?

From:  Between Two Worlds