What do you mean by this? I'm wondering as that fact stood out the most for me during the film. There's obviously some reason to do so. — Question

I think the reason is understandable, at least in my opinion. And should we say by today's rhetoric: anti-science.

The World where "everybody is a farmer" tells about a future with out of control greenhouse effect and a globalization process that has gone awry and has become a post-truth society.

This is also a statement of the present dismal situation of NASA and of the American Space exploration in general. The last big things have been the Space Shuttle, basically a "cost-saving" Project started By President Nixon as he killed the Apollo program early, and then the ISS, which luckily happened as the US simply didn't have the resources to create a Space Station on itself. After that, the bigger projects and especially human space exploration hasn't gone anywhere. Mars-projects have been canceled or pushed into later dates since the 1970's (basically Werner von Braun was asking for a Mars mission in the early 1980's). Now it might be that the last astronaut that has been in the moon will die of old age before any new astronaut goes further than lower Earth orbit.

Hence the metaphor of a "secret NASA center" hidden away from the hostile anti-science society that doesn't tolerate such endeavours as NASA, and basically think's it a "big government hoax".

This scene from "Interstellar" sums up well of the social critique in the film:

I still can't see the dichotomy yet ssu, who's the one portraying ignorance and the anti-science establishment, the teachers or Matthew McConaughey?

I still can't see the dichotomy yet ssu, who's the one portraying ignorance and the anti-science establishment, the teachers or Matthew McConaughey? — Question

???

If the teacher refers to "Apollo nonsense" and states that "the corrected version" now in textbooks are that the Apollo mission were fake and she believes this line, I think it's obvious. Or perhaps you are sarcastic?

And the dichotomy to 2001? Well, even if it doesn't depict ordinary life on Earth, the tone surely is different.

'Logical positivism' is associated with a book called Language Truth and Logic, published in 1936 by A J Ayer, and still on the curriculum in many philosophy departments. — Wayfarer

Even the former proponents of logical positivism admitted that they threw in the towel, and that LP has largely gone the way of the dodo. I understand that it is still on the curriculum in many philosophy departments, but so too no doubt is the cosmological musings of the pre-Socratics. That doesn't mean that anyone still believes it.

I came across this list of "Philosophical Films": http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/

Slightly puzzled that no one has mentioned the surprisingly deep I (L) Huckabees. It is such a back and forth debate on the underlying meaning of existence that it could have been a dramatization of a Philosophy Forum thread. Except, you know... funny.

Philosophy is such a wide-ranging subject that I find it difficult to pin down what makes any film distinctly philosophical. However, some films do strike me as less (or non-) philosophical than others. Perhaps it's a matter of entertainment vs. questioning or something like that, and so I agree that sci-fi movies tend to be more philosophical, as someone mentioned. Two that I would consider somewhat philosophical (and worth watching) involve time travel, which are About Time and Primer.

Just finally watched Interstellar because of this post. WOW!

Cool Hand Luke (Paul Newman)--great movie--makes several faith statements which are memorable and may or may not represent a practical plan for traffic safety. If I remember, Cool Hand Luke sings this after the warden tells him his mother has died.

Plastic Jesus Ed Rush and George Cromarty 1957

(This favorite book, No More Plastic Jesus: Global Justice and Christian Lifestyle--about the church and wealth--came out in 1977. Still relevant, but inflation has to be figured in for the last 40 years. .

I don't care if it rains or freezes
Long as I got my plastic Jesus
Sitting on the dashboard of my car.
Comes in color, pink and pleasant,
Glows at night cuz it's iridescent
take it with you when you travel far.

You can buy a Sweet Madonna
Dressed in rhinestones sittin' on a
Pedestal of abalone shell
Goin' ninety, I'm not wary
'Cause I've got my Virgin Mary
Guaranteeing I won't go to Hell

If you are into "mind-trip" movies, I would add Being John Malkovich and The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind that's been mentioned below. These are actually good movies, regardless of their "ideas". Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos) - perhaps less accomplished, but has obvious similarities with The Eternal Sunshine, also dealing with memory manipulation. Easy on the eye, too :)

Solaris (2002, which I think is a very good remake of the Soviet original). — jkop

Didn't see the remake. The Soviet original was by Tarkovsky, and I don't think it is one of his best. But those who liked that might also like his other philosophical sci-fi movie Stalker. I think of The Mirror as Tarkovsky's masterpiece, also Andrei Rublev, Nostalgia, The Sacrifice - they are not "philosophical" in the sense of having some intellectual puzzle or dislocation at the center of their narrative; more like spiritual and even mystical.

The first movie on that (alphabetical) list happens to be the one I thought to mention. Powerful stuff, as is most of Herzog/Kinsky work.

Has anybody mentioned Ingmar Bergman's films? Bergman uses quite a lot of metaphors in his films.

The Seventh Seal is quite philosophical (among others). With the Knight playing chess with death.



Bergman can have the deep phisophical ideas and metaphors in his stories and keep it together as great watchable movies. Unfortunately some of the worst films are done by those who have seen his films and think they can do a similar one.... and usually fail totally in everything.

This scene from "Interstellar" sums up well of the social critique in the film — ssu

Oh yeah, the new dark ages. :-( But the anti-intellectual life on Earth makes a great contrast to the depicted science and space travel. It reminds me of a quote of Bertrand Russell (from Why Men Fight):

Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin -- more even than death.... Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man. — Bertrand Russell

Primer — Luke

That's a great film made with little means.

they are not "philosophical" in the sense of having some intellectual puzzle or dislocation at the center of their narrative; more like spiritual and even mystical. — SophistiCat

I tend to think that what sets a philosophical film apart from a poetic film is that the narrative arises from some intellectual puzzle or dislocation. For example, on the nature of the world, perception, or ethics.

Has anybody mentioned Ingmar Bergman's films? — ssu

The questions in Bergman's films seem more religious or psychological or poetic than philosophical (e.g. existential angst, dreams).

Right, directors find Bergman tempting, but his worst films are already awful and shouldn't be imitated and his best films are difficult to imitate.

The Seventh Seal is one of my favorites. Wild Strawberries; Fannie and Alexander (vastly different films) were good, too; Winter Light about a pastor's existential crisis--(as one theologian noted, "The church was so dead that not even God showed up"). I've seen maybe 10 of Bergmans films and have forgotten most of them. Some of them were repellent.

Good art leads to reflections about life. Good cooking, Babette's Feast (Gabriel Axel, dir.) lead to spiritual renewal; Like Water for Chocolate, a film of 'magical realism" and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover--an absurd film but very good--may or may not have any "philosophical content but they were all compelling cinema experiences.

A great film (about anything, any style, any director, any cast...) like great music, great stage drama, a great book, a great conversation... great experiences in general have "philosophical content" in that they leave us wanting more of the good stuff.

If you are into "mind-trip" movies, I would add Being John Malkovich and The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — SophistiCat

Seen 'em. I do love Eternal Sunshine. Will definitely see more Tarkovsky. Thanks!

2001 : A Space Odyssey, would be my first pick due to being all cozy with logical positivism, which simply became replaced with scientism. — Question

Agreed.. I wrote this earlier on the forum:
I'm reminded of 2001: A Space Odyssey. One can read many things into that movie. The name of the ship was Discovery.. And David Bowman- the intrepid human, does encounter the "alien" Monolith and whatever created its technology. In this encounter, Bowman experiences the dimensions of time, moving through his life and is transformed into the Space Baby. Perhaps a new dawn for humans, or perhaps just a big farce- a big thing signifying nothing. I think it might be the latter. We are simply instrumental beings striving for nothing.