Anyone read Contact?

[lls_mutant]

Has anyone read Contact by Carl Sagan? I've seen the movie, but I've never read the book. I ask because there was an exchange in there that affected me very deeply, and I was wondering if it was in the book. The exchange is:

Palmer: Proof. Did you love your father?
Ellie: Did I what?
Palmer: Did you love your father?
Ellie: Yes. Very much.
Palmer: Prove it.

Is it in there?

Happy Father's Day to all (especially rinelk, since he's the only father I know of on my list!). Today's sort of a strange day for me. For one, I'm just exhausted (up too late last night and not enough sleep.) But my dad died 17 years ago today, and it's also Father's Day. This is the third year Father's Day really hasn't upset me, because ever since Toby's been around (and Trevor, but the change came with Toby), Father's Day has a whole new meaning for me. But because of the actual date, I still think about my dad a lot around now. And I really do wish he could meet my boys.

TOTALLY changing topics, I watched 27 Dresses last night. Wasn't very impressed. I like a good chick flick, even though I'm still in BSG mode, but it just really didn't do anything for me.

Speaking of BSG, , I LOVED the exchange where Gaeta dropped the paper and Tigh asked him if he wished to be relieved. If it had come from anyone but Tigh, it wouldn't have been interesting. But given their past history, and oh yeah- you could HEAR Tigh thinking "if I can work without an eye, you can work without a leg, motherfrakker!"- it was such a freaking AWESOME exchange.

Ugh. I don't often nap, but today might be the exception.

Comments

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I'm trying to think where it might be in the book. See, the book was very different from the movie. Ellie didn't go alone in the Machine - there were (I think) four others from other nations - Russia, China, & India among them, and the second Machine was built by the Russians, not the Japanese; her mother was still alive and remarried after Ted Arroway died - and Ellie doesn't get along with her stepfather; there was no romance with Palmer though he does play an important though smaller role than the movie, and they become good friends; and there was no public hearing at the end with Kitts presiding. All that stuff was private debriefings.

When they wrote the screenplay, they took the essence of the fundamentals of the story and distilled it into something more palatable for mass consumption.

I don't remember that line from the book, at least not even close to how it was portrayed in the movie, and I've thumbed through the book to the three parts where I thought it might be - her meetings with Palmer - but I haven't found it.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I've never read the book, and I needed to know for a fic that I'm writing, that may or may not be due in a few weeks ;) (::Gasp!:: You just aided the enemy!) It just seemed like a neat way to give credit within the fic, but if it's the movie, I guess I can't do it. Oh well. One day, I'll actually have to read the book. The funny thing is, Sagan's an atheist, and it's the movie that made me believe in God :)

Thanks!

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

Actually, there are some really fascinating discussions about religion and faith and science in the book. The Rob Lowe character from the movie - Rankin, I think his name is - is the stereotypical evangelical, while Palmer is the reasoned, intelligent believer, and then there's Ellie who believes in science. There's one or two scenes that involve discussing Focault's Pendulum that are really fantastic. :)

If you were planning to reference the book itself, I'm sure you could extrapolate that conversation from it - obviously the screenwriters did, from the discussions on Occam's Razor and things that are provable, and things we take on faith without having any way of scientifically measuring them.

Like I said, the essence of the discussions from the book are definitely there in the movie, and well, it seems like a logical progression. It's nothing anachronistic at any rate, so unless you need it to be something specifically stated within the book, rather than extrapolated by the character by logic and thought... You can credit the idea in end notes.

Oh dear, aiding and abetting. :-P

[aome.livejournal.com]

See, now, I thought 27 Dresses was adorable. Maybe it's because I was on a plane and not expecting too much. But I thought it was a very nice chick-flick overall, even if it's not my Favorite Movie Ever. I laughed myself silly at the "bridesmaid fashion show" scene.

[rinelk.livejournal.com]

http://books.google.com/books?id=dTbiMsf5ClIC&dq=contact&q=%22prove+it%22&pgis=1#search

Doesn't look good.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I really liked the idea of it, it just... didn't do anything for me, I guess is really the best way to put it. Although I agree the bridesmaid fashion scene was hysterical, and I did burst out laughing at the shot of all the bridesmaids at the end. Oh well. It certainly wasn't the worst way to spend an evening.