Sashquash — 9 years ago(February 13, 2017 07:17 AM)

[spoiler]1-In physics, the equations about space and matters work with time going forward and backward as if time is the invention of man. People use to think that time was circular (like the alien language) and men thought about their own body aging as a tool degrading over time. It's only been around 100 year that we have stories about time travel and our understanding of time will surely change again in the future.
2-This in turn present a philosophical problem about free will. If your actions are only reaction to what you have lived then none of our choices are real. If you don't have free will and already know what will happen to your life the only thing making you humain is your inner life, what you feel and how you respond to outside stimulus. (Or you can argue that our emotions is the sources of our free-will.)
3- The ships are designed with the form of a comet, wise directorial choice, and we can deduct that the ship can control his mass on a cellular level to affect gravity and travel through space. The aliens seams to come from a oceanic world (europa?) they are non symmetrical and have not a clear face to convey emotion.(Alien don't have to convey emotion like us. smiling, frowning, etc.) They also have their own linear language and a non linear writing. Pretty nice world building here.
4-On social science even if the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (learning a new language change the way we think) is pretty much debunked, it makes a great anchor for the rest of the story. The linguist side of the story is spot on.
Paranoia is contagious, and openness can ease tense situation. (Desescalation)
5-The movie advocate international cooperation instead of isolationist politic. Empires have made conquest with war or trades, i think the movie try to say that in the long run the peaceful way will benefit both civilisation instead of one winner taking all the benefit after a war. (this is the win-win or non-zero-sum game)
This is what i found im sure there is more to find in a second viewing. The movie don't teach us "science" but use science to make a story and you have to know some of it prior to seeing the movie.
This is why i like Arrival.
You can ad your grain of salt, add or correct anything i wrote, this is just my fresh take on it, i jus saw it yesterday.