"Mozart in Outer Space" movie promotional poster.
●Wang Shu
This hot topic in July is almost always calling us to "lift our heads up and look up"!
html On July 12, the most expensive space telescope in human history: The James Webb Telescope released its first scientific picture, which provides the most profound astronomical image of the distant universe to date, and it shows the galaxy that may date back to 13 billion years ago, almost close to the Big Bang created by the universe 13.8 billion years ago. html On July 24, at the Wenchang Space Launch in my country, with the launch of the Long March 5 B Yao3 launch vehicle, the "Quanwen" experimental cabin of the China Space Station successfully started the "Quanwen Travel", which is the largest and heaviest spacecraft in my country so far. The Wentian Experimental Cabin was born for science. "Wentian" means asking the sky, exploring the vast universe, and exploring unknown mysteries.also attracted everyone's attention in July. The movie "Mozart in Outer Space", a movie about alien visitor "Mozart" protecting the astronomical dream of young people on Earth and resolving the conflict between father and son, integrating various elements such as fantasy, comedy, family movies. Unlike the "hard core" foundation of the above two achievements, the protagonist Ren Xiaotian, as a junior high school student, seems a bit weak in his yearning for the universe and his understanding of astronomy. This thinness is one of the reasons why the movie encounters word-of-mouth differences after its release. Director Chen Sicheng once said in an interview that this is a fantasy family-friendly film developed from the perspective of teenagers, with the purpose of "to leave an artistic image to Chinese teenage audiences that can be remembered." As a summer gift for children, the crew’s original intention is to tell stories from the perspective of children to better resonate with children. Those daydreams under the clear sky and the wanton laughter in the bright night sky are rich in appeal because of the boy's fearlessness, sincerity and innocence.
In terms of genre, "Mozart in Outer Space" is difficult to be classified as a science fiction movie with traditional cognition, but it contains a lot of science-related content. For example, the Miyun Radio Astronomical Observation Base appears in the film, located in Bulaotun Village, Miyun County, Beijing. It is the main observation base for early radio astronomy in my country and the largest radio telescope array in China. The Shanghai Planetarium, which was longed for by the protagonist Ren Xiaotian, was completed in 2021 and is the largest planetarium in the world with the largest architectural scale in the world. The popular science book "The Encyclopedia of the Universe" which was given as a gift to the close-up shot is also a classic work in children's popular science publications. Of course, this movie inevitably involves the "scientific dream" that we often discuss. These scientific elements are closely related to scientific culture.
Xunzi said: It is better to hear it than to hear it than to hear it than to see it, it is better to know it than to know it than to do it. We believe that curiosity is human nature, and the guidance and cultivation of children's interests should be started with children. The best guidance is "silent and silent", which is a feasible path based on specific, sensible, vivid and vivid works of art. From this point of view, although "Mozart in Outer Space" has some unsatisfactory aspects in plot layout and artistic expression, especially when facing audiences of different ages, it is still an attempt to fill the gaps in the summer children's film market and guide children's audiences to be interested in scientific knowledge, including astronomy, which is still an attempt with sincerity and courage. Even if the creator's original intention is not realized, it will leave some value for reference and reflection. If a movie "dedicated to childlike innocence" can allow children to plant seeds of yearning for the universe and loving science in their hearts, then looking back from the future, today's movie has its own success. It allows children to raise their heads and look up at the stars while laughing, and pursue the light of their dreams more inward.
Every child who looks up at the starry sky in the dark night will perceive the shortness of human history among the vast sea of stars, appreciate the majesty of the number of sands in the Ganges River, and feel the vastness of the boundless universe. Through these works of art, children can know that we survive and reproduce on the dim blue dots in the Milky Way of the Earth. Human beings are unique enough, but they are not lonely.
(The author is the vice chairman of the Science and Film and Television Integration Committee of the Chinese Association of Popular Science Writers)
