Event 1 Blog post (desma-9)

                                                                      

                                                                   Event 1 


We got to see the movie "A Fantastic Voyage," which was shot in the 1960s, at Alvaro's watch party. The film brings the viewers on an adventure within the human body. The cinematography in the film is well crafted to give the viewer the feeling of being inside the human body by demonstrating how the inside of the body functions. I thought it was very impressive how they portrayed the movement of the body as "An Ocean of Life," as shown by the miniature ship moving through the sea of blood vessels that flowed like a river. The distinction between the organs of the human body and the ocean was an interesting twist, considering that no one has ever been able to infiltrate the inside of the body, while so much of the ocean remains undiscovered as well.  This film inspired me to think about how I want to conduct my midterm thesis, which will include investigating beyond areas of popular culture that incorporate science and art for the public's interest.



(“The Ocean of Life”- A Fantastic Voyage) 



       (screenshot is taken from the watch party -zoom meeting held on 4/22/21) 



One idea that stood out to me as I watched the film was the way it linked math and art, which we explored in class during Week 2. For several artists, math is needed to produce an illusion. In the film, the scientist must compress the ship to tiny dimensions so that it can be inserted into the human body. Not only did the film's depiction of the ship's shrinking remind me of Haytham Alhazen's "The Book of Optics," in which he developed the laws of vanishing points, which I think we're used to illustrating to the viewer the ship's shrinking proportions. Getting back to the notion of art and math being intertwined to establish proportions to the human eye. In "De la Pintura," Leon Battista refers to the vision of the eye that is produced by math and art. Understanding the vanishing point adds depth to the audience's perception of the ship's height as it shrinks and shrinks.


Another idea related to class was the application of modern technologies to investigate the human body. Diane Gromala's TED talk discusses how she used VR feedback to develop a medical technology that combines technology and meditation. They used medical technology in the film to implant the ship into the human body in order to discover advantages for the person being tested on. This shows how medical technologies and research are still evolving in order to help those individuals who are struggling within their bodies.


I agree that if given the opportunity, my classmates should watch the film on their own time because not only is the cinematography on the film well ahead of its time, but it also combines insightful aspects of how medical advances can lead to new explorations that can help the environment.







Citations from class: 


Alhazen, , and A I. Sabra. The Optics of Ibn Al-Haytham: Books I-Iii. London: Warburg Institute, University of London, 1989. Print.

Leon Battista. "De la Pintura” "Lecture: Mathematics| Perspective Time| Space." UConline. Web. 08 April. 2021

TEDxTalks. “TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty.” 

YouTube, YouTube, 7 Dec. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdarMz--Pw. 

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