THE FLYING ISLAND PLUMMETED INTO THE SKY OF OBLIVION

That was a time when the cinema thought they had to educate the masses of ignorant and hardly literate people in the world by showing them what courage and stamina were from an American point of view. And to make sure they got the proper ideas and the right impressions, they doubled up the visual and visible action with an unbearable voice-over, the voice-over of Free America.

The film might have been slightly more able to survive special effects and modern digitized technology, the time of the robots, as Melania Trump would say, if they had used the camera as being the teacher selecting actions and scenes to demonstrate what courage means in the flesh and in the minds of the five people stranded in the iced vastness of the Great North of Greenland or Canada.

But in 1953, under the pressure of a certain McCarthy against the communist influence in Hollywood, even accusing Charlie Chaplin of being a Soviet puppet, it was impossible for the new generations of average artists who had taken over the whole apparatus of Hollywood studios to see beyond the tip of their noses, and I say noses to remain polite. They favored the good old pedagogy of repeating some mottoes and then having the audience repeat them together like mantras with a prayer mill.

That was without considering the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylman, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, and so many more who used their words to open our eyes onto the world seen from an existential point of view, from a heartfelt and mindful and serenely meditative vista that spoke to the deepest self of the audience, the whole audience in the whole world. We would say today, the global audience.

One of the rare artists from this generation of anti-communist and pro-capitalistic B-Series artists will survive oblivion because he managed to be elected President of the USA for two terms. That was after the defeat in Vietnam, which proved that the repetitive recording plugged into your ears while sleeping, like in A Brave New World, did not work at all. Reagan was a mediocre actor on the screen, but he was a perfect actor for the White House.

God Bless All The Children! Born in that new age, they had to be ready for the new wars of the future in Ukraine, in Gaza, in Sudan, and in some other places. They were self-centered enough, illiterate enough too, as swift as a smartphone with an AI in its microchips to be oblivious of the simple fact that the dogs barking next door were simply being tortured into death by some genocidal, tyrannical minds. They continue every day listening to their smartphonic voices that tell them the world is finally at peace and happy. Amen. Do not forget the “Amen” of “In God We, The People, Trust.”

2. JOHN WAYNE – ISLAND IN THE SKY – 1953

THE ISLAND IS SINKING
INTO THE SKY

The film Island in the Sky is interesting because of the situation it creates. Urgency and emergency. It is
urgent that these men, lost in a very cold neighborhood (-40°, but no precision about Celsius or Fahrenheit),
be salvaged, saved, and recuperated before they all freeze to death. The emergency is for the people at the
base or at the airfield to retrieve them, no matter how, and at any cost.

In such a situation, the “leader,” in this case, chosen by rank, has to be obeyed 100%. To disobey and
go on one’s own to find some safety in a desolate, frozen landscape can only end up dead, frozen to the
ultimate voyage. Another one of the five people would like to go his own way. The leader puts him back in
place in an old-fashioned way, with a blow of some sort.



What pays in such a situation is
1- obstinacy that makes them try for hours to generate some May Day call, and they succeed.
2- Use all means available to attract the attention of the planes looking for them. They use flares when
the planes fly over them.
3- They send a message on the death of one of them by writing it in the snow with branches of pine
trees.

But the film is archaic in many ways, and a voice-over constantly tells us what we must think and
understand every two minutes. This is irritating. A film must show us what has to be seen and let us think
what we want or can. We can appreciate a film without a commentary. It is true nowadays, the commentary
accompanying the action in the film is common, but as an option.

Apart from that, the various personal situations are taken into account, and in such an emergency, the
personal situations have to become motivations to integrate the group and follow the strategy set up by the
leader, if possible, collectively. That’s not easy. Among the rescuers, one has been entrusted with calling a
wife who has a newborn baby. The call turns badly because the wife breaks down. The chap who called her
decides not to tell the concerned person about the breakdown.

Lying is important in such a situation to avoid the Traumatic Stress situation. Later on, the person
concerned will have to face his or her Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome if the emergency turns fatal. They
were right not to colorize this film.

Enjoy the tension of the situation.

3. Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

VERSION FRANÇAISE

L'ÎLE S'ENGOUFFRE DANS
LE CIEL

Le film Île dans le Ciel est intéressant par la situation qu'il crée. Urgence et soins intensifs. Il est urgent
que ces hommes, perdus dans une région terrestre très froide (-40°, mais aucune précision si ce sont des
degrés Celsius ou Fahrenheit), soient secourus, sauvés et récupérés avant qu'ils ne meurent tous de froid.
Les soins intensifs sont ce que les gens de la base ou de l'aérodrome de référence doivent mettre en œuvre
pour les récupèrent, par tous les moyens et à tout prix.

Dans une telle situation, le « chef », ici choisi par son grade, doit être obéi à 100 %. Désobéir et partir
seul à la recherche d'un peu de sécurité dans un paysage désolé et gelé ne peut que conduire à la mort,
congelé jusqu'au voyage ultime. Un autre des cinq personnages voudrait suivre son propre chemin. Le chef
le remet en place à l'ancienne, d'un coup de poing ou une gifle.

Ce qui paie dans une telle situation, c'est :
1- Leur obstination, qui les pousse à tenter pendant des heures de lancer un appel au secours, et ils y
parviennent.
2- Ils utilisent tous les moyens à leur disposition pour attirer l'attention des avions qui les recherchent.
Ils utilisent des fusées éclairantes lorsque les avions les survolent.
3- Ils transmettent un message sur la mort de l'un d'eux en l'écrivant dans la neige avec des branches
de pin.


Mais le film est archaïque à bien des égards, et une voix off nous dit constamment ce que nous devons
penser et comprendre toutes les deux minutes. C'est irritant. Un film doit nous montrer ce qui doit être vu et
nous permettre de penser ce que nous voulons ou pouvons. On peut apprécier un film sans commentaire
vous savez. Il est vrai que de nos jours, le commentaire accompagnant l'action dans un film,
l’audiodescription, est courante, mais elle est optionnelle.

Par ailleurs, les différentes situations personnelles sont prises en compte et, dans une telle situation
d'urgence, elles doivent devenir des motivations pour intégrer le groupe et suivre la stratégie définie par le
leader, si possible collectivement. Ce n'est pas chose aisée. Parmi les secouristes, l'un d'eux a été chargé
d'appeler une épouse qui a un nouveau-né. L'appel tourne mal, car la femme s'effondre. L'homme qui l'a
appelée décide de ne pas en parler à la personne concernée.

Mentir est important dans une telle situation pour éviter le stress traumatique. Plus tard, la personne
concernée devra faire face à son syndrome de stress post-traumatique si l'urgence se révèle fatale. Ils ont
eu raison de ne pas coloriser ce film.

Appréciez la tension de la situation.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU