Flatland: The Movie story
Flatland: The Movie is a short animated film which was released to video in 2007. The story is based on the 1884 science fiction novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions written by Edwin A. Abbott. Synopsis: A square inhabiting a two-dimensional world becomes enlightened to the existence of both lower and higher dimensional worlds.
15 total · 2 choice · 7 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| two-dimensional being | choice | The story follows a square, by the convenient name of A Square, as he comes to understand that there is more (or less as the case might be) to the cosmos than the 2D surface in which he and everything he ever knew reside. |
| two-dimensional space | choice | A main novelty of the film is the 2D world in which it is primarily set. |
| authoritarianism | major | Flatland was ruled by a priestly caste of circles that strictly prohibited the disseminating of any knowledge about the third dimension. They used a secret police force to spy on people, and offenders were punished by death. |
| caste system | major | Flatland citizens were organized into classes based on shape: triangles performed menial labor, squares worked white collar jobs, and circles made a a ruling priestly caste. |
| contraposed political ideologies | major | The closed-minded orthodoxy of the Flatland priestly caste concerning the impossibility of a third spatial dimension was contrasted with the freely inquiring outlook of Arthur and Hex. |
| faith vs. science | major | The ever-rational Arthur was persecuted by the ruling priestly caste for his heretical views on the third dimension. |
| grandfather and granddaughter | major | The story follows Arthur Square as he discourages his curious young granddaughter, Hex, from pursuing her curiosity about the heretical third spatial dimension. |
| heresy | major | In Flatland, it was heretical to maintain the existence of a third spatial dimension, and Arthur was sentenced to death when he did so in public. |
| the thirst for knowledge | major | The young hexagon girl Hex was passionate about studying the heretical topic of the third spatial dimension. |
| boss and employee | minor | Arthur was berated by his boss, Miss Helios, for arriving late to the office. |