Another Earth

            While watching Another Earth with my class, many people, including myself, could not help but to point out the fact that the Earth seemed to keep increasing in size. Because nothing was mentioned in the movie about “Earth Two,” or the other planet identical to Earth in the plot line, getting closer at all, I believe that this effect was largely symbolic. For instance, we first see Earth Two as if it were a somewhat large star, while it is mentioned on the main character Rhoda’s radio that Earth 2 has just been discovered. However, as time goes on, and people start finding out more about Earth Two, the size keeps increasing.

 By the time Rhoda wins the ticket for travelling to Earth Two, it is quite huge, and if I recall correctly, it was as big or bigger than the moon, symbolizing that Earth Two is now closer than anyone had ever imagined. This is also interesting because still, probably nobody else has really travelled to the moon yet since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did so. Perhaps this symbolizes that people are now just way past the moon, or just far more interested in Earth Two for it probably is saying that people are much more concerned with trying to find themselves or change their pasts somehow, and do a lot of things differently. By the time Rhoda’s “twin” makes it to Earth (One), Earth Two is huge, probably symbolizing that a full connection has finally been made.

One lingering question I have after watching the movie is: how it is possible that when people on both Earths saw each other, that the simultaneity was broken? Of course, if I had realized there does exist another “me” out there, I would also start questioning what kind of life decisions the other me has made, and start looking extra carefully at every single movement I make from that point on. However, assuming that the other me had gone through the exact same experiences and thoughts as me up to that point, psychologically, shouldn’t the other me be thinking the exact same things still? Therefore, I personally believe that the simultaneity should have been broken right at the moment at which both of the same person meet together.