Analyzing Annihilation

in #philosophy5 years ago

Annihilation


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Annihilation is a 2018 science fiction film that was written and directed by Alex Garland. The film is an adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s novel that goes by the same name. Though Alex Garland has been writing for some time now, he is a relatively new director. He made is debut in 2015 with the film Ex Machina. For those of you who haven’t seen the film I highly recommend watching it and if you are interested in reading my analysis of the film please check out my post Is Ava Conscious? An evaluation of the movie Ex Machina.

Much like Ex Machina, Annihilation is a fairly complex and thought provoking movie, which is perhaps one of the reasons why many people haven’t yet seen it. Apparently it didn’t make it into theaters because it was deemed “too intellectual” for a mainstream audience and instead it went directly to Netflix. Though I do think it is a thought provoking movie I do not see it as "too intellectual." I personally think it is entertaining enough to be enjoyed by a wide variety of people.


This post discusses some of the finer details of the film that people may have missed while watching it and offers my interpretations and analysis on the films meaning. The article assumes that the reader has viewed the film as it contains spoilers. I hope you enjoy.


Defining Terms


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The term annihilation is defined as a complete destruction or obliteration of something. However, a secondary definition applies to the field of physics which describes it as a process of converting matter into energy, especially the conversion of a particle and anti-particle into electromagnetic radiation (aka light energy).

Viewers should keep both of these definitions in mind as they watch the film as it speaks to both of these processes. For instance, in the scene depicted by the GIF above we see Dr. Ventress both being destroyed and also being converted into electromagnetic radiation. Kane (played by Oscar Issac) is also destroyed by a phosphoric grenade that incinerates him in an intensely brilliant light.


Prism of Light


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In one scene of the film the physicist Josie (played by Tessa Thompson) describes the shimmer as a prism that refracts various forms of energy (light, radio waves, and even thoughts and DNA) and combines them with the matter contained within the shimmer. In this way the organic matter in the shimmer morphs into mutated versions of itself. We see this process at work whenever Lena views her blood under a microscope.


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Each dividing blood cell splits into two versions of itself - an ordinary cell and a shimmer cell. The shimmer cell contains refracted DNA and energy which ultimately causes the host to mutate over time. This explains why the longer a person, plant or animal stays within the shimmer the more mutated they become. Eventually all of the hosts normal cells become replaced by shimmer cells.


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This process is random based on how energy is refracted within the prism which is why the mutations that we see also appear to be random. This is also why some of the mutations are beautiful while others are grotesque. It all depends on how the energy and DNA is refracted into the hosts own DNA. Plant DNA combines with the DNA of animals, bacteria and fungi which combine to form new structures and organisms.

For instance, an alligator develops sharks teeth, deer develop plant based antlers, and different flowers combine into a single complex species. Some of the more interesting mutations include a bear that takes on the dying cries of one of its victims, shrubs that grow in the shape of humans, and a house that begins to look a lot like Lena's home outside of the shimmer. The house itself is created by Lena's thoughts refracting within the shimmer.


Ouroboros


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The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a snake eating its own tail. It represents infinity and the continuous cycle of growth and destruction, rebirth and death. Ultimately the symbol represents an individual devouring itself in order to give birth to itself.

Something to note is that Lena (played by Natalie Portman) develops a tattoo of the Ouroboros on her left arm while she is in the shimmer. The tattoo starts out as a bruise that she receives during her battle with the alligator and over time it morphs into the tattoo.


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This process of course comes from the prism effect. Anya (played by Gina Rodriguez) has the same tattoo, so it stands to reason that the marking is being refracted onto Lena by her colleague. Interestingly though, the same mark can be seen on left arm of the dead soldier who is growing into the wall of the swimming pool.


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This is something that I still cannot fully wrap my head around. I understand the refracting principle but why do the three characters receive the mark? Did the military soldier have the original marking or is Anya's tattoo being transmitted to multiple individuals? What is the significance?


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Ultimately I believe that the mark on Lena represents the death and rebirth process. At the end of the film Lena meets the alien life form and gets locked in a battle, essentially with herself. The alien mirrors Lena's every move to the point where Lena is temporarily defeated by her own struggle. The harder she pushes against her reflection, the harder her reflection pushes back until eventually she succumbs to her own suffocating behavior. In the end though, Lena survives the battle and is re-born as basically a new individual. In the last scene of the film Lena cannot answer Kane's question "are you still Lena," and her eyes reveal refracted light that signifies that she has indeed developed into a new being.

The Light House


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The lighthouse represents the epicenter of the shimmer. It is where the alien crashed into earth and where the shimmer expands outwards from. In many ways the world inside the shimmer is like a living cell. The outer wall is the cell membrane and buried deep inside the lighthouse is the cells nucleus.

This analogy may explain what happens when Lena goes into the structure and encounters the strange alien object. The object is very much like a cell nucleus where the the aliens DNA would be kept. As such, when the nucleus takes in a sample of Lena's DNA it gives birth to a mirror version of Lena. A sort of combination between Lena and the alien.


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In this way the object that Lena encounters is actually the alien itself and what is birthed from the object is a sort of reflection of what already exists in the world (i.e. Lena). As such, the humanoid that acts as Lena's duplicate is not really the alien itself but more so a creation of the alien, just like the other creations found within the shimmer. It is like a refracted version of Lena that is made of light energy.

Interpretations


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Overall there are many different ways of interpreting Annihilation. However, one of the most predominant theories is that the film metaphorically represents cancer, a topic which is brought up several times throughout the film. For instance, in the beginning scenes Lena lectures students on how cancer cells grow in the human body and later we find out that Dr. Ventress is actually dying of cancer. Similarly, Cass (played by Tuva Novotny) agreed to go on the mission into the shimmer because her daughter had recently passed away from leukemia (a form of cancer). Many of the mutations seen in the shimmer also have a cancer like quality to them. Often we see bacteria or growths that resemble tumors and the shimmer itself expands much like a tumor plaguing the earth. Many people even suggest that Lena cheating on her husband represents a form of cancer in a relationship.


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Another metaphoric interpretation of the movie revolves around the idea of self destruction and rebirth. This is another topic brought up at several points throughout the film (i.e. through imagery of the Ouroboros and through dialogue on the concept of self-destruction). Each of the characters who enter the shimmer also in some way represent self-destruction. For instance, Tessa is a self destructive individual who cuts herself and who also eventually accepts her doomed fate of becoming a human shaped plant. Watch this scene carefully to see vines sprouting from her arms as she walks into a field.

Dr. Ventress's body is self destructing due to her cancer. Kane self-destructs by killing himself with a grenade. Lena herself not only metaphorically destroys her marriage via her affair but she also physically destroys the mirror version of herself that was created by the alien nucleus. After she destroys the form she is reborn as a new individual thus completing the rebirth through destruction process.


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Another way of interpreting the film that is less metaphoric in nature goes back to the ideas that I discussed in the lighthouse section of the article. From a more literal point of view the movie is about an alien or alien device that travels to earth and crashes into the lighthouse. Once landed the alien device begins to terraform the planet in order to make it more hospitable for itself or its own species. It does this by destroying the current biosphere and replacing it with its own version of life. At the center of the shimmer is the nucleus, or the creative force of the alien species. The nucleus takes in DNA from from organisms that currently exist on the planet and re-constructs it in a way that allows itself to survive. It is kind of like the process of life itself and how organisms evolve in new environments. This alien species is evolving and adapting to its new environment by assimilating with the planets current lifeforms. In essence the version of Kane that survives along with Lena, become the first humans of this new alien life form. This may explain the final scene that shows the light shining within both of their eyes. They are the only surviving members of the alien life form.

But they are a pair that can populate and carry on the alien DNA.


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I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of the film Annihilation. Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about the movie. Thanks for reading.


Images from the film Annihilation

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Fascinating write up, never heard of the movie before but now I'll have to keep an eye out for it! Looks like a good one!

Yes. I definitely recommend checking it out. Its a thinker, so if you like thought provoking movies or the sci-fi genre in general then definitely check it out.

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