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The Host
12 years ago
General
So my housemates and I went to the movies yesterday but since the movie we wanted to see was sold out they went to see Oblivion while I decided to take a gamble and see The Host, which had pricked my interest yet I hadn't heard any kind of review of it or seen a recommendation for it. The book was written by Stephanie Meyer of the Twilight Saga and yes I will admit I've read the first three Twilight books and seen the first three movies due to a female friend saying I reminded her of the werewolf Jacob. The movie has not done well domestically and I think most non-Twilight fans are avoiding it out of worry it will be more Twilight whereas twilight fans have avoided it because it's not Twilight. I had the theater to myself. Personally I found the movie to have a much stronger plot and more interesting characters than Twilight (it also had more experienced actors/actresses particularly in William Hurt and Diane Kruger)
The movie starts off with-
The Earth is at peace. There are no wars. There is no hunger. Honesty, courtesy, kindness are practiced by all. The world has never been more perfect. It is no longer your world.
An extraterrestrial species has come to Earth to "colonize" humankind; implanting itself in human bodies to take over the body and overwrite the existing mind. The few remaining unturned humans are desperately trying to survive in hiding. The protagonist, Melanie, is captured and implanted however her mind survives though has essentially no control over her body and most of the movie revolves around Melanie and the extraterrestrial being inside her occupying the same body as she struggles to keep her remaining family from being captured.
Yeah it sounds like something trying to rip off the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" but not as horribly as 2007's "The Invasion" however it's a lot deeper than that and among the benefits the extraterrestrials bring is advanced medicine, energy technology, and the knowledge of how to sustain our species without the unyielding arrogance we, as a human species, rape our planet with. It's suggested one of the reasons for their coming is to remove all the negative aspects of humankind. There are going to be many people who are just not going to like the movie for whatever reason, among them being not wanting to reflect among how introvert our species it, however I think more people should see the movie.
This journal would be better if I'd had access to my computer on my drive to work since I was deeply reflecting on it at the time. One of the things the movie made me think of is an idea I've had for a few years for a video game, which itself was strongly inspired by Arthur C. Clark's infamous Rama Series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_series) of a 31 mile long by 12 mile diameter sized cylindrical alien starship. Backstory of my game idea is that aliens have been infiltrating humans on Earth for 50-60 years, slowly working their way around the world into the highest levels of governments, militaries, the media, businesses and finance, science, religion, and others until there are some 1 million aliens on Earth; their purpose to help bring about a peaceful annexation of Earth due to a highly rare mineral in the galaxy that is only found naturally in salt water (the rest of the solar system is annexed also and various mining operations are developed throughout the different planets and moons). The game itself would take place 40 or 50 years after the annexation date of their larger fleet arriving at our planet and humankind becoming aware of their existence.
Unlike almost all movies or video games, which tend to feature aggressive extraterrestrials seeking to dominate the planet or kill off the human population, in return for humans losing their right to self-govern the aliens bring huge technological and informative advances- among them space exploration and astronomy, biology and botany, biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, genetic manipulation, sustainable energy, chemical and mechanical engineering, etc.
Would that be a fair trade for humankind if we were given some similar choice irl? Would humankind be able to overcome their negative species aspects? By the end of the Rama series humankind has turned the paradise originally created for them on Rama into a disaster and wage war against the other inhabitants on the starship due to humankind's fear and greed. Are we as a species going to bring about our self-destruction or can we as humans become something better than we are? That is what I wonder upon deep reflection after being nudged by The Host and I can attest that there are no sparkly vampires in the movie either.
The movie starts off with-
The Earth is at peace. There are no wars. There is no hunger. Honesty, courtesy, kindness are practiced by all. The world has never been more perfect. It is no longer your world.
An extraterrestrial species has come to Earth to "colonize" humankind; implanting itself in human bodies to take over the body and overwrite the existing mind. The few remaining unturned humans are desperately trying to survive in hiding. The protagonist, Melanie, is captured and implanted however her mind survives though has essentially no control over her body and most of the movie revolves around Melanie and the extraterrestrial being inside her occupying the same body as she struggles to keep her remaining family from being captured.
Yeah it sounds like something trying to rip off the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" but not as horribly as 2007's "The Invasion" however it's a lot deeper than that and among the benefits the extraterrestrials bring is advanced medicine, energy technology, and the knowledge of how to sustain our species without the unyielding arrogance we, as a human species, rape our planet with. It's suggested one of the reasons for their coming is to remove all the negative aspects of humankind. There are going to be many people who are just not going to like the movie for whatever reason, among them being not wanting to reflect among how introvert our species it, however I think more people should see the movie.
This journal would be better if I'd had access to my computer on my drive to work since I was deeply reflecting on it at the time. One of the things the movie made me think of is an idea I've had for a few years for a video game, which itself was strongly inspired by Arthur C. Clark's infamous Rama Series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_series) of a 31 mile long by 12 mile diameter sized cylindrical alien starship. Backstory of my game idea is that aliens have been infiltrating humans on Earth for 50-60 years, slowly working their way around the world into the highest levels of governments, militaries, the media, businesses and finance, science, religion, and others until there are some 1 million aliens on Earth; their purpose to help bring about a peaceful annexation of Earth due to a highly rare mineral in the galaxy that is only found naturally in salt water (the rest of the solar system is annexed also and various mining operations are developed throughout the different planets and moons). The game itself would take place 40 or 50 years after the annexation date of their larger fleet arriving at our planet and humankind becoming aware of their existence.
Unlike almost all movies or video games, which tend to feature aggressive extraterrestrials seeking to dominate the planet or kill off the human population, in return for humans losing their right to self-govern the aliens bring huge technological and informative advances- among them space exploration and astronomy, biology and botany, biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, genetic manipulation, sustainable energy, chemical and mechanical engineering, etc.
Would that be a fair trade for humankind if we were given some similar choice irl? Would humankind be able to overcome their negative species aspects? By the end of the Rama series humankind has turned the paradise originally created for them on Rama into a disaster and wage war against the other inhabitants on the starship due to humankind's fear and greed. Are we as a species going to bring about our self-destruction or can we as humans become something better than we are? That is what I wonder upon deep reflection after being nudged by The Host and I can attest that there are no sparkly vampires in the movie either.
nyss
~nyss
In the end, I don't think humankind would be able to bear the idea of no longer being the master of it's own destiny, no matter the benefactor.
Cohasset
~cohasset
OP
It's very hard to say. Individuals and certain closely knit communities have a better chance. I think one of the things that makes Star Trek so popular is that it's potentially one of the better outcomes for our species and even there for humankind the Federation is more like how the U.S. is within the U.N.
nyss
~nyss
I like Star Trek because it's an example of what we could become if we stop being jackasses to each other. Starfleet is full of bright, exceptional examples of folk from all races.
Nameswalker
~nameswalker
I've got a star-trek in my pants!
Cohasset
~cohasset
OP
Careful when you go into warp or you might tear a hole through subspace :)
Aedrion
~foulfrost
I'd pass on alien possession any day. Basically, most of humanity is dead. =I
Cohasset
~cohasset
OP
If you are referring to the movie *spoiler alert* actually the being that is implanted in Melanie knows how the extraterrestrial beings can be removed. Earth isn't the first or even second planet these beings have come to.
