This Sci-fi Masterpiece Teaches Us about Time and as Well as Love

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2017)

Having recently watched the movie Arrival for the second time (I loved it so much, once was not enough!), I was confused as to how anyone who had viewed this movie could possibly give it a rating of "1." After reading through a good number of the 1- rated reviews, I've concluded that these individuals, in addition to being mean- spirited, missed a very important fact about this movie. This sci-fi story, which deals with the concept of non-linear time, demonstrates how language helps to shape our view of time.
The development of our language is, in large part, dependent upon the physical aspects of our bodies, which, of course, our planet's environment helps to determine (i.e., a planet with a super-strong force of gravity will foster the growth of smaller physical bodies than, say, a planet with a weaker force of gravity; a planet that is mostly liquid will foster the growth of physical bodies that have ways of "swimming" through that liquid, while a planet that has a lot of dry land will foster the growth of bodies that ambulate across the land with physical appendages that "walk" rather than swim). If you look at the human body, with its pair of eyes that are placed on the front of our heads, it makes sense that we view reality primarily through the lens of linear time. Because of the placement of our eyes, we literally see ourselves "moving forward" every day, and our language supports such a view. Not only do we often speak of "moving forward" on a project, we also refer to someone as "backwards" when that person does not display "forward thinking."
But what if our bodies had been constructed differently? What if we had multiple eyes that wrapped around our heads, allowing us a 360-degree view of our environment in every waking moment? We might have designed a world view that incorporated non- linear aspects of time, and our language would most definitely have reflected such a view. If, though, in traveling to another planet, we attempted to teach our language (steeped in the concepts of non-linear time) to another species (not steeped in non- linear time), as they learned our language that might cause a shift in the perceptions of those other beings so that they were able to grasp, more easily, the concept of non-linear time. And this might, in turn, begin to change those beings' perception of "reality," simply because they would be viewing reality through a different lens.
Already we have humans upon our planet (some of our physicists, for instance) who are able to view time in a non-linear fashion. Einstein once wrote that "People like us, who believe in physics, know the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." I believe it is the language of mathematics that has helped these physicists to look outside the box of our conventional perception of time. However, if one is not mathematically inclined (and I include myself in this category), watching the movie Arrival can help, I have found, to nudge one's mind into a new way of perceiving time.
But, as much as I love how this film portrays the concept of non-linear time (and demonstrates how language can impact the way we view time), there is one other aspect of this film that is, in my opinion, equally important: this film is a visually beautiful portrait of a mother's love for her daughter. Loving a child often pierces the heart in a way that no other type of love does. It is as if, through the act of loving a child, a permanent imprint of the child is left upon the heart forever. It is, I have found, a gift to love a child (even when that child is not so easy to love). You learn how to put the needs of another ahead of your own, and that helps us to learn how to be a little less selfish and a little less self-centered. The portrait of a mother's love for her daughter, found within the film Arrival, is one of the most "real" depictions of parental love for a child that I have found in the World of Fiction. Both times I have watched this film, this portrait of a mother's love for her child has moved me to tears.
In my opinion, Arrival is a perfect "10," a movie that I will enjoy watching again and again. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank every single individual who contributed to the production of this sci-fi masterpiece!