WALL-E: A great Pixar movie, with a moving story, a good amount of social commentary (for the anti-consumerists) and lots of laughs. Everyone should see it.
Body Worlds One: The best science lesson I’m likely to get all year that’s outside of my field. You get to every bit of the insides of anonymous people (the focus is on the science, not the stories of individual body donors). The process of plastination is explained in simple and complex detail (for all levels of experience), and their are various philosophical quotes and narrative explorations of how death has been viewed in society. It’s quite interesting in how it explores the idea that death is only a taboo subject of late since our lifespans have reached new lengths in the past century.
My favourite quote from body worlds comes from the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger:
Death is the release from all pain and complete cessation, beyond which our suffering will not extend. It will return us to that condition of tranquillity, which we had enjoyed before we were born. Should anyone mourn the deceased, then he must also mourn the unborn. Death is neither good nor evil, for good or evil can only be something that actually exists. However, whatever is of itself nothing and which transforms everything else into nothing will not all be able to put us at the mercy of Fate.
I keep hearing that Wall-E is a great movie with a wonderful story but I think I might see it simply for the fact that it’s begun to annoy the right-wing fundies:
“From the first moment of the film, my kids were bombarded with leftist propaganda about the evils of mankind. It’s a shame, too, because the robot had promise. The story was just awful, however. Nice to see that Disney and Pixar can make mega-millions off of telling us just how greedy, lazy, and destructive we all are. There’s no hope for mankind. Hand over your wallet. ” -from the National Review Online (http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODBmN2FmNjIwNmUxMDBkZDc5MjUxYWIwYjBjODExNzQ%20)