Name__________________________________________ Date __________
Period ______
Contact
Contact is a book written by Carl Sagen who was a
brilliant scientist. Sagen always
believed that there was so much more in our universe than we ever could begin
to imagine. Carl Sagen died before his
book became a movie, but the movie Contact was dedicated to Carl. Contact is about a young scientist whose
dream is to find other life in our universe.
Contact is a story about the day we finally contact another world.
Your assignment will consist of 2 parts. The first part is to analyze 5 of the 10
quotes from the movie, and the second part is to answer 5 of the 8 questions
from the movie. This assignment will be
worth 50 pts and is due on January 8th.
Good Luck!
Part 1: Quotes 25 pts
Your
job is to listen for 5 of the 10 quotes during the movie. You will need to analyze the 5 quotes (they
will be worth 5 pts each). You will need
to 1) explain when the quote was said in the movie, 2) explain its meaning, 3)
who said the quote, 4) who is the quote being said to, 5) what is its overall
importance to the theme of the movie.
These must be answered in complete sentences (each should be its own
paragraph).
1. "If
it is just us- it seems like an awful waste of space."
2.
"1(one) down- a couple billion to go."
3.
"Math is the only true universal language."
4.
"But a voice from the sky is exactly what you found, Dr.
Arroway."
5. "If
you travel to Vega at close to the speed of light…..if you come back you'll
only
be 4 years older but 50 years will have passed on Earth."
6.
"They still want an American to go, doctor. Want to take a ride?"
7.
"You are an interesting species.
An interesting mix. You are
capable of
beautiful dreams and such horrible nightmares."
8. "In
all our searching, the only thing we found that makes the emptiness
bearable is each other."
9. "This is the way it has been done for
billions of years. Small moves Ellie,
small
moves.”
10.
"The universe is a pretty big place. It is bigger than anything anyone has ever
dreamed of before. So if it is
just us then…it seems like an awful waste of
space."
Part 2:
Questions 25 pts
You
will choose 5 questions to answer. Each
question is worth 5 points. Your answer
should reflect the message of the movie and its importance. Please make sure your answer is
complete. Your points will be broken
down into the following rubric:
5pts:
4
pts: Good
explanation of the question. Explanation
contains some support from the movie.
Answer demonstrates a partial understanding of the question. Lacks a connection to the overall theme of
the movie.
3
pts: Answers
not very detailed. Lacks support from
the movie. Shows a surface level of
understanding of the movie. Attempted
but reflects little connection to the main idea.
0-2
pts: Answers
usually contain one or two simple sentences.
Answers demonstrate little effort or thought about the question and its
connection to the main idea of the movie.
Answers do not discuss the content of the question.
1. In the
beginning scene you hear music and audio in space. Where is the sound coming from? What happens in the scene that causes the sound
to stop? Why is this significant in the
movie?
2. Explain the
theory of Occums Razor. Examine 2
situations in the movie when it is questioned.
3. How does
Ellie convince the investors that they should fund her time at the VLA?
4. What
does Ellie realize the message is saying?
What do they later "see" in the message?
Why does the image anger people?
What do the scientists eventually find in the message (later in the
movie)?
5. Who
found the primer? What did it give
instructions for? What does Ellie think
the instructions are for?
6. Why is
Ellie not chosen "to go"?
7. What
happened to Ellie when she was in the machine?
What do the scientists tell her they saw?
8. Why is it so important at the end when they
mention that 18 hours of static was indeed recorded on Ellie's head-unit? What does this help support?