Whereas sci-fi has continuously explored fears of outsiders perceived as threats, there’s room for a extra lighthearted tackle aliens as nicely. That’s rarer, however not unprecedented, a minimum of on tv. In Futurama, Zoidberg turned the alien at Roswell, the place he annoys and horrifies his captors however enjoys assembly new individuals, and in Star Trek: Deep Area 9, it’s the Ferengi, who’re shocked how Twentieth-century people poison their our bodies and pollute their planet however see a enterprise alternative on Earth.
In Asteroid Metropolis, the extraterrestrial is simply Goldblum in an alien swimsuit. It appears as skittish and as inquisitive because the individuals transfixed by it, however doesn’t say a phrase or utter a sound earlier than shortly leaving, making it extra of an enigma. Offstage (keep in mind, this can be a play-within-a-play), Goldblum says the alien is a metaphor, however of what, he isn’t positive.
Anderson doesn’t fairly convey as successfully or explicitly as, say, Contact how alien encounters can function catalysts for the viewers to develop a extra inclusive view of humanity and a imaginative and prescient of a future the place individuals don’t succumb to concern. His characters have an excessive amount of work to do for Asteroid Metropolis to get that far. It’s primarily the stargazers, like Steenbeck’s son and Campbell’s daughter, who’re extra prepared than their mother and father to speak with the alien outsider and conceive of a that means for all times. As he has finished earlier than in The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson reveals how mother and father generally have little understanding of the challenges their youngsters face, which are sometimes completely different from their very own.
Just like the fantastical sea creatures conjured up in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Anderson inserts particulars that draw the viewers’s eye, making the theatrical Fifties-era, Roswell-like world of Asteroid Metropolis like our personal, however a bit completely different. For instance, it features a jetpack the younger proto-scientists invented, a “galactotron,” which isn’t an actual kind of telescope, and not-quite-scientific-sounding terminology, just like the “celestial flirtation” of galaxies. The alien, in the meantime, appears humanoid, but in addition not like people in any respect.
Popular culture representations of aliens and public curiosity in house and UFOs appear to go hand-in-hand. Whereas the X-Information was within the zeitgeist, many individuals weren’t solely obsessive about alien craft however had been satisfied that the federal government was hiding them someplace. Asteroid Metropolis could not encourage new alien truthers, but it surely does land at a time when a UFO “whistleblower” and former intelligence officer has the ear of Congress, the Pentagon has opened a brand new workplace tasked with investigating UFO experiences, an impartial, UFO-assessing committee arrange by NASA is holding public conferences forward of its remaining report, and a non-public firm is releasing a UFO report-tracking app.
The film additionally comes amidst society’s ongoing curiosity in listening for alien indicators, referred to as the seek for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, and in sending messages of our personal into the cosmos, referred to as messaging extraterrestrial intelligence, or METI. This work, too, will get a nod in Asteroid Metropolis within the type of an astronomer performed by Tilda Swinton who watches for beeps and blips that may very well be alien indicators from house, and works with the Junior Stargazers and Area Cadets to determine what sort of message to ship to the aliens. Frank Drake and Carl Sagan they don’t seem to be, however their intentions are the identical.
Past the apparent Roswell references, there’s one thing becoming about setting an alien sighting in an old-timey desert city like Asteroid Metropolis. Among the most beautiful views of the night time sky, unhindered by mild air pollution, may be discovered within the American Southwest, and the timeless high quality of the panorama reminds us of humanity’s unending seek for that means. It’s not clear whether or not Anderson actually pulls off the alien metaphor, however he provides us, like his characters, lots to ponder.