Interstellar gave no consideration to alien immigration laws
The epic space opera didn’t even mention bigoted extra-terrestrials, disgruntled by us humans going over there and taking all their jobs
(Picture from Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and Legendary Productions)
Director Christopher Nolan has made the leap from caped vigilantes and dream invaders to intergalactic travel, presumably because wormholes and the extinction of mankind are the only plot topics extravagant enough to better his previous work. Bigheaded or what? And in an even bigger act of arrogance, his latest film shows no consideration towards extra-terrestrial immigration laws!
I am of course referring to Interstellar – the highly ambitious sci-fi blockbuster that sees Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway go in search of new, habitable planets for the human race to eventually cock up just like Earth. But at no point in the film do we see an alien equivalent of UKIP raise its borders and deny us entry. In fact, Nolan dismisses the issue altogether by sweepingly suggesting there are no aliens – meaning these planets are up for grabs like an island off of Fiji or an undesignated corner of the school playground.
The plot centers on the premise that as soon as Earth becomes virtually uninhabitable like Guinea, Liberia or Hull, humans have a God-given right to ditch this planet and colonise a new one. It’s that typically middleclass double standard of ‘you can’t come here, but we can go there’.
The film shows Earth on the brink of death when a wormhole opens up, offering the characters a curiously convenient route to the most cinematic looking planets. Experts swear to its scientific accuracy, but there is no mention of any bigoted aliens, disgruntled by us humans going over there and taking all their jobs.
How dare the human race! How dare we leave a hostile and famine stricken world for a cleaner, safer and more prosperous one!
When WE are suddenly faced by the prospect of death, it becomes acceptable for US to go wherever WE want. Interstellar embodies that selfish, western attitude towards immigration. But in fairness, the cinematography was shit your pants awesome.
Chris Edwards - @CynicalCME
