Jerry Perttula

Are these aliens (the protagonists of "ARRIVAL") able to travel into the "time" embedded in our memories, as an "OBJECTIVE space" by using our words, our syntax, our hermeneutics? And can this "OBJECTIVE SPACE" be networked to include other COGNITIVE creatures (Humans, Aliens) so that ideas can be "planted across time" and across cultures? Can we do it, too? That is a provocative question. And, the answer seems to be, yes. Our perception of our words (and the LARGER intentions behind those words apart from our own suboptimal usage and misunderstandings) is an implication of the Whorfian Hypothesis of Linguistics as well as Neurolinguistics Programming. Language (spoken and written) may be a doorway to a "new physics" where our minds (per Noam Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device - LAD) is able to penetrate into our "attention Center" (e.g. Reticular Activation Center - RAC) and create a provenance of perception that allows for different variations of the temporal experience i.e., then-now-soon (past, present, future). I know this description may be totally opaque and abstruse, but this is the plot of the film. The film ARRIVAL is worth watching again.

Gabriel (Walken) explains that he doesn't want to leave (or disrupt) his cloistered existence on Earth because "...I learned to drive". Deadpan and painful sincerity. Hilarious.

Reminds me of Oedipus Rex, whereby the main character must piece together who he is and why he has chosen the path he walks. The layers of his amnesia peel away as each "clue" reveals his moral character. The satisfying part finds that Cedric is a good and worthy man who acted honorably. This is a story Hollywood rarely makes: A story about a good man choosing good friends to make good decisions. I wonder why we don't see more of these stories? Maybe Ayn Rand is correct.