365 Inspirations—109: Oblivion, The Movie

"But what is all this fear of and opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter with the soft Darkness, the Dreamless Sleep?"—James Thurber

Today my husband and I went to see Oblivion with Tom Cruise, which was Mission Impossible-esque.  It's 2077 and Jack Harper (played by Tom Cruise) is the last drone repairman on earth, or so he thinks. The earth was destroyed by aliens and the drones exist to protect humans, or so we think. Jack lives in a space-age house above the clouds with a swimming pool. After his mission is accomplished, he will go with his wife to a space station and live out the rest of his days in paradise.

But that's not what happens. I don't want to spoil the story. I don't normally like these kinds of movies, but I liked the scenes and themes in the movie about consciousness. No matter how technologically advanced we become, nothing can replace human love and emotion and these themes were touched on.

Lately I've been wondering about all the technology we use and I've wondered whether we've gotten out of control or are headed towards oblivion ourselves. There's so much tuning out that I see around me and very little tuning in. People aren't really where they are. They are texting or Face Timing or checking their emails or fiddling with their apps. This is what has become of us in the world. I still can't get used to someone walking around Greenlake, a serene lake in the midst of Seattle, talking to the air. It throws me off every time.

I keep this blog everyday, but try to keep my online time to a minimum. When I walk I walk, when I blog I blog, when I cook I cook and when I drive I drive. I try to be where I am and I try not to multi-task.

Who know really where we will be in our future. I'd like to believe that we will keep trying to find a harmony between technology and nature for our own good and for the continuation of the species!

Did you see this movie? Do you think technology has gotten out of control?