Discussion Film / Knowing

Pulled this example for severe Thread Mode and Natter

• Plot Hole:
  • Why would aliens tell a young girl every disaster there will be when the world is going to end in 50 years anyway? Also what the heck were the numbers that Caleb was writing all about? There couldn't have been that many disasters in 24 fricken hours!
    • The point was to show that the aliens were forcing many other kids to write the numbers throughout history and all over the world. This way the first girl at the start of the movie is not the only one with the numbers. And thus several people would learn about the numbers, realize that everyone will die and parents will be OK with aliens taking the kids on the spaceships. This troper is making a large assumption about this based on the fact that we see several space ships leaving at the end.
    • Double plot hole since the aliens could easily kidnap the kids against the parents will at any time they want. And they freaking do at the end.
    • Was Cage's character the only person on earth to ever figure out the purpose of the numbers? Because otherwise someone else would have told the media and easily proven that the numbers were true and become a famous billionaire. Did all of the other ships at the end come for kids who were kidnapped because their parents did not notice?
  • Why don't the aliens just tell humans in a normal way that shit will go down on the last day and to be ready instead of giving the numbers which only super geniuses could figure out?
    • Because they're aliens. Chances are they don't understand how humans communicate on a large scale. Hell, chances are large scale communication may be against the conventions of polite behavior for them. They're alien. They don't think like us. Also, there is the possibility of phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty living space: they might not be able to communicate in a way we see as normal, and as far as they know, that was normal.
      • Yet if they knew how humans note dates and coordinates well enough so that they could induce CHILDREN to write them down, they can't have been that ignorant of human society or psychology. And there's no explanation of why such a technologically-advanced species couldn't learn to friggin' speak English, or at least make devices that could translate their thoughts for them!
  • Why did they not start picking up people until the last day, why not start gathering people 50 years ago?
    • Causality. If they'd interfered before the flare, it would alter our history. Even the parts that hadn't happened, yet. Again, they're aliens. Rules of biology, legality and communication are vague.
  • Why do aliens care at all about the humans?
    • Why would they not?
    • Everybody needs a hobby. For some [entities], it's wildlife preservation. Cosmic Horror Story, remember?
  • Why do the aliens only grab some people, specifically kids who can "hear them"? Nick Cage asks why he is not allowed to go with his son and not be burnt alive but was told that he could not basically "just because".
    • Because Children Are Innocent. The adults had their chance and they messed everything up. Which is a logical fallacy, but again... aliens.
    • How did adults mess things up? Did we forget to build a sun shield at some time in history? Was that what we should have been doing instead of building things like the internet?
  • Why did the aliens have to drive to the center of a forest for pickup? They are aliens, they can land anywhere. And they already have the kid in their possession and who cares if people see the aliens?
  • Why do the aliens give black rocks to the kid? There are black rocks at the pick up point, but the aliens drag the kid to the point, the kid does not go to the point himself.
  • What was the point of giving Lucinda the vision in the first place? If she was one of the chosen ones to be saved, why did the Strangers drive her so insane that she eventually killed herself?

Please discuss a contested example instead of adding sub-bullets arguing with it.

Does not compute:

You do realize that ozone is only PART of the atmosphere, right? The movie only said that the ozone layer was destroyed, and that subsequent cosmic radiation (which is a conceptual error, because it's the magnetosphere, not the ozone layer, which shields us from cosmic rays) set everything on fire (also a conceptual error, because that's not how radiation works).

Assuming that the flare somehow managed to destroy all of the Earth's ozone (and it couldn't possibly do that when half of the Earth is blocking the other half), the only subsequent effect would be increased skin burns and cancer from exposure to sunlight (the alternative would be to stay inside).

The point is that the claim here is that radiation from the Sun is somehow going to reach the side of the planet facing away from the Sun, and that's not possible because radiation doesn't work like that. The side of the Earth facing away from the Sun has the entire Earth in front of it shielding it from both the solar flare and any subsequent radiation exposure (assuming we buy the crap about the ozone layer shielding us from cosmic rays).

This is an overly opinionated Trope Page for Knowing, marred by too many arguable interpretations of the film's story. For example, we don't know why Nicholas Cage was not allowed to accompany his son. And we don't know who ascended to the new world in the spaceships. The solar flares are not presented as damage caused by human carelessness with the environment; disasters are often inexplicable and not the result of fault but as natural phenomena.

I agree that it is not a downer ending—as in, for example, Melancholia. The human race was rescued by the ascension of the two children. Children have longer life spans than adults and are able to procreate more easily in the absence of man made morality and religions, a fact somewhat symbolized by the relationship between Cage & his minister father. Why bring that baggage with you?

Artistic License entry on the main page: is that artistic license or just a short explanation, which by definition will be inaccurate and lacking? He was teaching a class. That was one scene. There is no Artistic License - Philosophy trope because either it's a short explanation, or it's wrong.

I could be wrong, though, which is why I didn't just edit it.

• A Million Is a Statistic: Seen in the ending, which is apparently supposed to be upbeat.

I disagree. The ending is meant to be bittersweet. The scenes of the dying earth are melancholy, but the human race will live on.

The plane crash.

More specifically the aftermath. Has anyone either witnessed a similar event? Or work with First Responders or something?

I just wanna know if all the secondary explosions, people getting caught in said explosions et al was accurate.

Yes, it did leave an impression.