Sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones, brought in to fix NASA's public image, wreaks havoc on Apollo 11 launch director Cole Davis' already difficult task of putting a man on the moon. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.
22 Dec Fly Me to the Moon (2024)
No Go
You may like this simply as a romantic story. Many people seem to need stories about finding love, and the improbable dance that brings couples together. I’m fine with that, and fine with watching even badly constructed stories, because I revel in a successful, improbable relationship.
This one at least has some post-modern character elements: a man haunted by the deaths of friends, and a woman who succeeds through fake but effective facades.
But set aside the story of man and woman. This is wrapped in the Apollo program, I suppose partly because we can. We now have the technology to actually fake (for the screen) a launch and landing so we can use it to entertain — strangely close to the visuals from the era — better in some ways. But I think the second reason is that we have had Trump for a decade now, and his exploitation of stories and what truth is. Apple can safely map that to Nixon, but we all know what acceptance of this as a plot line means.
Set all that aside. When is it acceptable to take historic events in our lifetime, and rewrite them for our entertainment? Does it matter if these folks are still alive? Does it matter if the events are part of the national narrative (for the US) and the absolute truth is being questioned by wackos and state adversaries? I was not involved in Apollo other than observing as a student at MIT, and before then literally mowing Alan Shepard’s lawn.
But I did meet most of these folks later when I became involved rather deeply in Space Station Freedom, and other still classified adventures. In that era, NASA and contractor employees had values and practices that were much like what we celebrate in the military. In some ways that built our national histories. These were people that mattered, and because we build our personal narratives within that situation, they matter to us as well.
Is it fair to appropriate that for 100 minutes of disposable amusement, particularly when the subtext is the malleability of truth? Should there be pushback? Well, there is with me. If you want to take me to some place, take care to leave it well and healthy afterward.
Posted in 2024
Ted’s Evaluation — 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
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