$10 / $6 members | 2hr 30m | PG-13 | Sci-fi/Thriller | Panel discussion follows the screening
National Science on Screen Night – Arrival and Panel
The Rosendale Theatre celebrates National Science on Screen Night and the first event in it’s 2022 Science on Screen Series® with the acclaimed film Arrival and a post film discussion led by Drs. Colette Salyk, Assistant Professor in Vassar College’s Astronomy Department, and Oksana Laleko, Associate Professor in Linguistics at SUNY-New Paltz.
Arrival (2016) follows the events after 12 extraterrestrial spaceships land at scattered locations across the Earth. The movie focuses on the American team racing to decipher the language and understand the purpose of the aliens that set down in Montana. Are they friendly or dangerous? Differences in translating the complex alien language have big consequences.
The movie stars Amy Adams (Hillbilly Elegy, Sharp Objects) as the head of the linguistics team, Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye, Hurt Locker) and Forest Whitaker (Black Panther, Rogue One). The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve (Dune, Blade Runner 2049); it was nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture of the Year in 2016.
Following the movie, the panel will discuss the film and the issues it raises from two different perspectives. Dr. Salyk, who studies the formation of planets using ground- and space-based telescopes, will focus on the hard science aspects of the film. She will also talk of her upcoming work with the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope. And Dr. Laleko, Director of SUNY New Paltz’s Linguistics Program, will share insights on the challenges of translating a new language. Her interests include bilingualism, language attrition and incomplete acquisition, and language context.
Science on Screen® is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.