Essay Sample on Twentieth-Century Physics and Science Fiction

Introduction

The fictional work to be used in this analysis will be based on a novel and it's film adaptation whereby, A Wrinkle in Time (2018), which is a Disney film adaptation of the book A Wrinkle in Time, written by Madeleine L'Engle in 1962 is selected. This film revolves around the adventures of Meg Murry, an obstinate teenager, who wanders across the cosmos looking for her lost father, Alex Murry, a NASA scientist. Through a combination of scientific brilliance and mystical powers, Meg is able to find her father in a garage laboratory. Nonetheless, unlike the book where the reader is introduced to an eerie family that combines wild ingenuity, scientific intelligence and nastiness to conquer a huge interstellar evil, the 2018 movie trades this nastiness and any awkward traits with some soft computer-generated images to present the viewer with a likeable version of the 1962 book.

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Historically, in the Madeleine L'Engle's fictional book, Meg Murry tends to rely more on her faults and supernatural powers to survive in a planet invaded by dangerous aliens. Mrs Whatsit, her guardian angel who also doubles as a witch gives her a much-needed stubbornness, temper and clumsiness, which forge her resolve in the fight against these aliens. She adapts to the cruel world, which ferociously castigates all kinds of differences, by developing these unlikable traits. Camazotz, a diabolic giant brain IT, plays the recurrent science fiction theme in the book where the writer curves him as an alien that manipulates peoples' behaviors and thoughts to suit its intentions. However, Meg's obstinacy prevents her from falling into Camazotz's trap and, in fact, it is her rebellious attitude towards orthodoxy that ultimately conquers the mighty brainiac and saves her family from the rest of the aliens.3

In the 2018 film adaptation, the Director, Ava DuVernay, calls upon the help of Stephon Alexander, a physicist, in generating a combination of scientific genius and paranormal powers that enable Meg to track down her father.1 Alexander is affiliated to the National Academy of Science's Science and Entertainment Exchange, which is a group that acts as an intermediary between scientists and individuals in the film domain. Nevertheless, the connection between this movie and 20th-century physics is first evident in the first scene, filmed in a laboratory setting, where the director introduces viewers to Dr Murry and his daughter Meg as they observe gravel particles bouncing off a vibrating iron plate. The fabric that constitutes this concept is grounded on Alexander's brilliant idea that vibrations occurring at the right frequency levels create wave-like motions on sand particles, which envisage the propagation of sound waves through any medium.

On another note, Dr Murry learns that specific frequencies enable him to traverse the universe through an interdimensional portal. The knowledge behind this portal comes from the idea of a four-dimensional cube in the real-life setting. A peculiarity about this portal is evident in its application of the vibrational love to allow individuals to navigate through billions of years within a split-second.1 This strangeness would inevitably raise a lot of skepticism with regards to its practicality. However, the movie's director intends to spur a culture of broadmindedness and imagination where people can create phenomena and worlds by first conceiving them. Besides, such physics groundwork as seen in the love frequencies distinguishes the level of scientific ingenuity in the film adaptation from that employed in the book.

In addition to theoretical physics, which is, arguably, the main theme in this fictional work, the audience can also trace cultural themes such as the role of miracles and sorcery in the society. In the book, L'Engle brings forth an impulsive combination between pagan beliefs and Christianity through the Mrs Whatsit character who uses her wizardly to guide Meg and her brothers as they traverse the space-time world. Having a mysterious presence by their side protected the siblings against any adversity that faced them in the course of their journey. Moreover, the author attempts to conceptualize a scenario where worldly heroes shine some light on others even though Jesus provides the paramount fortification and refuge to all beings.

Finally, the book also mirrors the Americans perception of the Soviet Union during the Cold War by constructing the Camazotz's lifetime. Unlike in the US where autonomy and democracy formed the nation's governing fabric, people in the USSR were denied the right to express themselves or participate in any religious activity. L'Engle uses Camazotz to illustrate how a manipulative central power can deprive people of their independence and free will. The novel's setting, that is, in 1962, also came at a time when this Cold War had already intensified the antagonism between these two nations' political ideologies. Therefore, L'Engle's outlook on a culture where people lack individuality as described above befitted the prevailing civil landscape.

Annotated Bibliography

Allen, Austin. n.d. "Physics, Miracles, And Witchcraft: 50 Years Of "A Wrinkle In Time"". Big Think. https://bigthink.com/book-think/physics-miracles-and-witchcraft-50-years-of-a-wrinkle-in-time.

This is an article on the Big Think website written by Allen Austin that discusses some of the overriding themes in the book and film A Wrinkle in Time. The source is scholarly in the sense that it provides an in-depth analysis of L'Engle's work by drawing reference from specific excerpts in the novel to give the reader a better understanding of the author's views and the message that is being passed onto the book's audience. Allen Austin encapsulates how L'Engle utilizes the themes of witchcraft, miracles and physics in the novel to capture a society that is engulfed in evil brought about by supernatural beings. For that reason, this article will be used as a secondary source in the analysis of how A Wrinkle in Time connects to historical and modern cultural settings.

Becker, Rachel. 2018. "Will It Ever Be Possible To Travel The Universe Like In A Wrinkle In Time?". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/12/17111504/science-physics-fantasy-wrinkle-in-time-stephon-alexander-ava-duvernay.

This is an article written by Rachel Becker and published on The Verge website. Fundamentally, it describes the perspective of the brains behind the physics concepts employed by Ava DuVernay in the movie A Wrinkle in Time. Since it summarizes an interview between Rachel and Stephon Alexander, the physicist involved in making this film, this text is a popular source that can advance one's understanding of the correlation between DuVernay's work and twentieth-century physics. With that in mind, the article will be used in the essay as a secondary source to analyze the specific scientific concepts used in the film and probably check their applicability in the real world.

Grady, Constance. 2018. "A Wrinkle In Time Is A Joyous Celebration Of Its Heroine's Anger". Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/5/17058088/a-wrinkle-in-time-madeleine-lengle-meg-murry-faults-anger.

This document, written by Constance Grady in 2018, and published in the Vox website covers an exploration of L'Engle's book with specific interest on the character portrayed by the chief protagonist, Meg Murry. Constance draws reference from the novel to elucidate on the ordeals that Meg has to survive to conquer evil aliens that had invaded her world. She is forced to develop a thick skin that strengthens her resolve when fighting against the mighty Camazotz that had manipulated most of her people. In this line, this article provides a scholarly secondary source that will be used in the essay to further understand the recurring themes in L' Engle's novel.

L'Engle, Madeleine. n.d. "A Wrinkle in Time." The Glencoe Literature Library: McGraw-Hill. http://www.somersetacademy.com/ourpages/auto/2014/5/13/43702421/wrinkle_in_time.pdf

This study guide is written by Ruth Hill and published by McGraw-Hill. It essentially reviews the work of Madeleine L'Engle by first providing a brief memoir of the author and then introducing and explaining the predominant themes that L'Engle adopts in her book. Moreover, this document shows how L'Engle science and artistic writing merge to create another masterpiece in the popular science fiction genre. Specifically, this book review presents a primary scholarly source that is used in the essay to analyze how the novel brings out political themes that characterized the Cold War between the US and USSR in the 1960s.

Robinson, Tasha. 2018. "A Wrinkle In Time Isn't For Cynics - Or Adults". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/9/17100816/a-wrinkle-in-time-movie-review-ava-duvernay-storm-reid-oprah-winfrey-reese-witherspoon-mindy-kaling.

This article written by Robinson Tasha and published on The Verge website represents a review of DuVernay's film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. Generally, it provides an elucidation of the movie's director of L'Engle's book in which DuVernay tries to create a friendlier and more pleasant version of the novel. Tasha shows how some characters such as Dr Murry engage their physics knowledge of vibrating particles and wave action to create a fictitious interdimensional portal based on love that allows people to travel through time within a fraction of a second. Therefore, in that light, this article provides a scholarly secondary source that will be useful in the evaluation of how the movie connects with 20th-century physics.

Bibliography

Allen, Austin. n.d. "Physics, Miracles, And Witchcraft: 50 Years Of "A Wrinkle In Time"". Big Think. https://bigthink.com/book-think/physics-miracles-and-witchcraft-50-years-of-a-wrinkle-in-time.

Becker, Rachel. 2018. "Will It Ever Be Possible To Travel The Universe Like In A Wrinkle In Time?". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/12/17111504/science-physics-fantasy-wrinkle-in-time-stephon-alexander-ava-duvernay.

Grady, Constance. 2018. "A Wrinkle In Time Is A Joyous Celebration Of Its Heroine's Anger". Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/5/17058088/a-wrinkle-in-time-madeleine-lengle-meg-murry-faults-anger.

L'Engle, Madeleine. n.d. "A Wrinkle in Time." The Glencoe Literature Library: McGraw-Hill. http://www.somersetacademy.com/ourpages/auto/2014/5/13/43702421/wrinkle_in_time.pdf

Robinson, Tasha. 2018. "A Wrinkle In Time Isn't For Cynics - Or Adults". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/9/17100816/a-wrinkle-in-time-movie-review-ava-duvernay-storm-reid-oprah-winfrey-reese-witherspoon-mindy-kaling.