One of the blogs I semi-follow is The Flying Trilobite, "art in awe of science". While Glendon doesn't seem to deal with the fantastic in the literary or lore sense, his idea of "increas[ing] our metaphorical vocabulary using the discoveries of science" seems to echo a bit of our 9 discussions.
What do various lores and metaphorical, mystical things do for us? Reality is awesome enough - why do we decorate it? Case in point - my desk. I have a framed tarot card and a retablo of San Pablo, as well as my Mother's irish hex sign and her saint medals. None of these objects have a damn thing to do with my life, yet I feel enriched having them around, especially where I do my work. Is this just me playing games with myself or am I fillign a psychological need?
To take this sort of back to 9 if i can - and I can't recall all the character names, so I'll improvise. The elder-poppet had a distrust of experimentation and innovation. Understandably, given the things he witnessed in the past. But that was precisely what saved the (notably hetero nuclear) family clat the end. Elder (#1) clung to religious-looking accessories: he lived in the cathedral, wore a miter-lookign hat, and carried a staff. He clung to the accessories that for a viewer would represent a "benighted" religious view - but he *did* save quite a few of the other poppets whilst clinging....more than 9 did, actually.
Another complication/tangent is the female poppet (7)- She. She's fighting prowess and cool skull mask may overshadow the fact that She's the one that dragged all their dolly butts to the library (4 and 5) to find out what to do. Thinking of this now, I may have to alter my original opinion of the slight bias in the movie - She does use rational thought to advance the poppets' cause.
"What's your JStor login?"
"Science" as an institution comes out poorly, a victim in the face of "Government", which comes out very badly (go with that where you will), yet historical study and alchemical gadgets save the day? As a humanities person, I'm rather jolly about this! ;)
All in all I think it's a gorgeous visual, and a good way to start certain dialogues with the kiddies - or just leave them to enjoy it, as we sometimes have to. I'm counting it as a win, and an interesting node in my meditations on science and mysticism. (See also medieval art, architecture, relic culture, and so forth!)
Gonna go shop now ^_^
edit: added in tags and names of characters.
