Time, Noir, and Carpenter
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Recently I read, I watched, and I listened: a book, a movie, and a podcast. I hope you enjoy my thoughts on all three.
The Order of Time, Carlo Rovelli, 2018.
This short book was recommended to me recently by a biophysicist; I am glad I followed her advice and gave it a read. Rovelli crafts a lyrical exploration of the nature of time. Most of us think of time as something that directly flows between past and future via the present. Rovelli explores how this may simply be a human perception. He examines an array of other possibilities via quantum physics, a level at which many of our understood markers of time do not seem to exist. He explains how time works differently for every individual and place, so there can be no agreed, shared experience of the passing of it.
This is no dry physics textbook. Rovelli's work has a poetic feel, with light-hearted, elegant metaphors and enriching swoops into philosophy to illuminate his personal journey in this field. He ties the past and future into memory and existence. He wonders if we are entities, or a collection of events across time that make up our sense of self. He admits he's uncertain but he is enjoying the thought process, with wonderful sentences such as "I'm not sure that it's the correct answer, but it's the one with which I've become enamored."
This is not a book where it matters whether Rovelli is correct in all his musings, nor whether the reader agrees with him. The journey is beautiful.
Out Of The Past (1947) is often listed as one of the top Film Noir movies. It certainly has all the elements: a twisting plot of double-crossing, a world-weary lead, witty repartee, and a happy ending just out of reach. Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas, in early roles, showcase the acting skills that would define them - laconic versus predatory - and spar magnificently here. Jane Greer is the femme fatale who we alternate between sympathizing with and gasping at her double-crossing. Everyone smokes, constantly.
It should all work perfectly. It's pretty much the perfect Film Noir script. But for me, the movie didn't work.
The film is too bright, and too crisp. The romantic music is too saccharine. It's almost like they had too much budget, and made a standard-looking movie instead of the cheap, gritty, edgy darkness that characterizes my favorite Noir.
I feel like if someone took some sandpaper to the film reels and turned down the projector a little, we might have gained the dark undertones this wonderful script and cast deserved.
Emily Carney and Dave Giles' Space & Things Podcast continues its fascinating exploration of past, present and future (sorry, Rovelli) space events with this look at the flight of Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit our planet. Carney and Giles demolish some myths, and discuss some of the more controversial aspects of this mission. Their opinions are their own, but I found it most heartening that they drew so deeply on a number of my writings to back up their viewpoints. It's lovely to see my work used in this way, especially when in defense of a gentle and elegant character who is no longer around to defend himself. Please give it a listen.
