The Man from Earth story
The Man from Earth is a 2007 American drama science fiction film written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Richard Schenkman. It stars David Lee Smith as John Oldman, the protagonist. The screenplay was conceived by Jerome Bixby in the early 1960s and completed on his deathbed in April 1998. Synopsis: A departing university professor claims to be a prehistoric caveman who has secretly survived for more than 14,000 years.
11 total · 1 choice · 2 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| immortal living secretly among us | choice | John Oldman claiming to be a caveman who'd secretly survived for more than 140 centuries constitutes the film's primary novelty. |
| academic occupation | major | The departing university professor John Oldman engaged in a film spanning academic discussion with his professor friends (a biologist, an art historian, an anthropologist, a historian, and an archaeologist) over whether he was really a caveman who'd secretly survived for more than 140 centuries. |
| what if I told the truth and nobody would believe me | major | John Oldman tried as he might to convince his mostly skeptical academic colleagues that he was a caveman who'd secretly survived for more than 140 centuries. |
| Christianity | minor | John wowed his audience with a controversial account of the historical Jesus. |
| coping with the death of a spouse | minor | Dr. Gruber was in a prickly mood because his wife succumbed to pancreatic cancer the previous day. |
| crackpot theory | minor | John admitted he still believed the Earth to be flat when he accompanied Columbus on a voyage across the Atlantic ocean. |
| organized religion | minor | John spoke in glowing terms of Buddha's teachings. |
| religious point of view | minor | The devout Christian Edith took offense when John claimed to be the historical Jesus of Nazareth, going so far as to call his words heretical. |
| romantic love | minor | John and Sandy had some romantic vibes going on between them. |
| survivor guilt | minor | When pressed, John admitted to feeling guilty over having watching friends and family members drop like flies around him for 140 centuries. |