Contact story
A SETI scientist finds strong evidence of extraterrestrial life and is chosen to make first contact.
15 total · 6 major · 9 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| extraterrestrial being | major | The film climaxed with Ellie traveling through a wormhole and meeting an alien. |
| faith vs. science | major | There was an ongoing debate in the film that centered around whether or not science left any room for the belief in God. |
| first contact | major | The alien made it clear to Ellie that her meeting him was the first in a series of small steps in the development of relations between humans and the aliens. Although it was left open that it was all her imagination. |
| romantic love | major | Ellie and Palmer Joss. |
| search for extraterrestrial intelligence | major | The SETI scientist Ellie Arroway picked up an alien radio transmission emanating from the Ve star system. |
| the thirst for knowledge | major | Ellie's life work was to search outer space for signs of intelligent life. |
| amateur radio | minor | Ellie's father Ted cultivated her interest in ham radio communications and astronomy. |
| blindness | minor | Ellie's astronomer colleague was blind and used a white cane. |
| coping with a terminal illness | minor | Hadden was dying from cancer. |
| coping with the death of a parent | minor | Ellie's father died tragically while she was a young girl. |