Effective Institutional Advertising for NASA

Rating: 2/10 (20 October 2015)

As cinematic entertainment of sci-fi genre rated a six. But this will be an different review of the film, one from a sociological, historical angle. There are a number of reviews that explore the scientific plausibility of the film contrasted with the artistic license that is a necessary part of any futuristic fiction. When the Matt Damian character, Mark Watney, got into real trouble, beyond being stuck in a planet with no water, oxygen or contact with other humans, his combative words were, ""I'm going to have to science the sh-t out of this," There have been articles on how NASA gave copious support to the filmmakers that was described as promoting future appropriation for Mars exploration, which is similar to how the Pentagon supports films such as "Top Gun" to turn aerial warfare into a thrilling adventure. There is no way to know how films that glorify the joy of war affected the public's acceptance of our invasion of Iraq, and still in spite of all evidence the the contrary, instills a certainty that this war was, as expressed by Jeb Bush, "a good deal." The creation of a permanent facility on Mars would cost in the many trillions of dollars, something that must evaluated in terms of other needs that would not have this funding. The film was shot in the Jordanian desert, which right now is not habitable. For a tiny fraction of the cost of our Mars colony, it could be a bountiful land that could be the home of those now living in the virtual prison of the Gaza strip, at one stroke ending the perpetual conflict precipitated by placing Israel in the midst of a different ethnic group.
The film was like the series "Friends" except their shared apartment wasn't in Manhattan but a a space ship and Martian habitat. It was fun to watch, but also depressing. Marketing courses teach about "Institutional Advertising" that insidiously sells an idea rather than a specific product. "Cisco" systems paid the production company for one in the form of their logo in the foreground of the 3D image for several seconds that they figure will sway future purchasing agents towards their industrial routers.
I don't think any group of space related companies sponsored this film, but the optimism had the effect of fomenting a mass movement, something best done when opposing ideas are silenced. As a postscript, an older Watney lectures astronaut trainees on how when they get into trouble in space, not to get depressed but start to get to work, to "science" out the problem and then they will survive. Not mentioned are the fourteen people of our two Space Shuttles, who certainly were aware that they were in such trouble, but all the "sciencing" in the world could not have prevented their fate. Such is the difference between realty and fantasy.
Colonizing Mars will mean diverting resources to address the monumental challenges on planet earth, where the outcome of this outpost is sill in question.