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"The Man Who Fell to Earth" mesmerized me. It was the first film in the science fiction which I'd learned to expect the familiar Hero's Quest plot and the simplistic Good vs. Evil morality-that challenged me intellectually and made concrete comments about our society. Nicholas Roeg's stark aesthetic made science fiction feel real to me. And, in a more recent viewing, I was startled to be reminded of how topical the film is.
- Pandora
I admit it: I�m a member of the �Star Wars� generation. In fact, I�m a first-generation Taiwanese-American who was raised to hold all things American near and dear as a part of my assimilation. So, as a child, science fiction was all about George Lucas�and the most British thing about the genre was the guy who played Obi-Wan Kenobi.
However, this all changed when I was in high school. David Bowie was in his �End of Gender� stage, which appealed to me as a first-born daughter who clearly could not live up to her father�s expectations. In my worship of David Bowie�s androgyny, I delved into all things Bowie. I discovered his �70s Glam Rock past, unearthing �Ziggy Stardust.� I also found a British science fiction film called �The Man Who Fell to Earth.� This film mesmerized me. It was the first film in this genre�in which I�d learned to expect the familiar Hero�s Quest plot and the simplistic Good vs. Evil morality�that challenged me intellectually and made concrete comments about our society. Nicholas Roeg�s stark aesthetic made science fiction feel real to me. And, in a more recent viewing, I was startled to be reminded of how topical the film is.
I admit this, too: I still love �Star Wars� and continue to hope that George Lucas will capture magic in digital projection with his prequels. But �The Man Who Fell to Earth� will always have a special place in my heart. This film was the seed of my love for independent film because it made me realize that there was a whole world of movies besides the ones made in Hollywood and the triple feature Hong Kong kung-fu films my father would take my brother and me to see when he needed his fix of Chinese culture.
