Cloud Atlas

Summary 

Cloud Atlas was one of the more intriguing shows that I have seen in a while. I couldn’t have picked a better movie to represent into to sacred texts. The movie consisted of six stories, which happened over the span of centuries. It starts off with a lawyer, Adam Ewing, who upon stranded on an island finds transportation from an odd doctor with a hunger for gold. Upon the ship, he discovers that a slave had boarded as a stowaway and expects help from the lawyer. The slaves reasoning for reaching out to the lawyer is that they are the same. The slave, Autua, believes that he and Adam Ewing have a common soul. Fortunately for Adam, helping to prove Autua was an equal to him and the rest of the crew, ultimately saved Adams life. Autua saved Adam from the gold hungry doctor who was sickening Adam to get to his gold. The next scene consisted of a young musician named Robert Frobisher. He was employed under a very famous, but played out composer. With the help of Robert, the composer was able to once again create magnificent symphonies. Sadly, when Robert began to create his own works, the composer tried to pass it as his. Ultimately, in an effort to leave with his masterpiece, Robert shot the composer. This was purely accidental. Robert did not have intentions on shooting the man, in some way, the man bought it upon himself. The next scene took place in the 70s. It’s main character was Luisa de Rey, a writer, who stumbled upon the most interesting story of the time. She meet the lover of Robert (from the previous story), who handed her evidence that a nuclear power plant was unsafe. In the end, she is able to expose the unsafe nuclear power plant for what it really was. The subsequent story was of an old gentleman named Timothy Cavendish. He was a man who brushed into the wrong company. As a result, Timothy was forced to seek refuge from his brother. This coupled with the fact that Timothy had an affair with his sister-in-law put him into an inescapable nursing home. The later story was about Sonmi, a genetically engineered woman, who was made to serve a restaurant. She ended up relinquishing her role as a slave, and she became an activist for human rights (rights for all humans, regardless of origin). The sixth, and final story was about a post-apocalyptic society. In this society, the people praise Sonmi as if she were a god. Occasionally there would be an advanced civilization called the Prescients who go down to earth to study the post-apocalyptic people.

           

Analysis 

Cloud Atlas is a relevant movie to this class because it addresses the three questions that guide our studies, as well as, mimic certain religions that we have studied. It mimics Buddhism and Hinduism with the concept of reincarnation. To do this, Cloud Atlas shows that the entire universe is one continuous flow. Through the connections in the movie (the fact that actors play multiple characters, and the connections between the stories), it shows that you and I are apart of a constant reoccurrence. This happens because, on par with the religions we have studied, the universe has no boundaries, we may occur in the present, then the past, then the future, then the past again.

            Dharma as well as karma was presented in the movie. It appeared that the characters that went against dharma, and continued to do so in subsequent lives, always ended their story in a terrible fate. This bad karma seemed to build up as the characters when from life to life. This progression also happened to the characters that did follow the dharma; however, they were better off. A quote from Sonmi perpetuates the understanding of dharmic values; she says,  “our lives are not our own”. This quote shows that the decisions we make not only affect only what we perceive to be ourselves, they also affect every single thing around us- how we affect others around us, ultimately affect us.   

            The class questions that cloud atlas address are what makes a text sacred, how do we know what sacred texts mean, and what do sacred texts do. The answer to the first question is that the community makes a text sacred. The need for equality in Neo Seoul created the justification for the text. It just so happened that this need was perpetuated over a span of centuries. The Second question is answered by faith. Blind faith was incredibly apparent in the movie. One example is when Robert Frobisher’s lover trusts Luisa Del Rey with classified information. Another example is when Goose blindly trusts lady Sonmi. The third question is answered by showing the before, during, and after scenes of Lady Sonmi’s oracle. By showing this, we saw the transformation of characters as they progressed in the movie.

            Overall, I really enjoyed Cloud Atlas. It is the type of movie that reveals an deeper meaning, every time it is watched.