A Century Back, A Century Later: A Reaction Paper on "A Trip to the Moon"

Le Voyage dans La Lune, or simply A Trip to the Moon, is a 1902 short French silent film, popularly known to be one of the earliest films ever made. It depicts the adventure of a group of astronomers as they launch in a metal spaceship shot off by a cannon to the moon, further telling of their discovery of life in the celestial body and then finally their falling back to Earth.

In today's context such a story might seem quite fantastical and may even be perceived as a film that took a comedic and sarcastic stand on the idea of traveling to the moon and what or who may be uncovered there. When put in the technology and reality we have today, we may have the opinion that what is being shown is a comedy, is so funny because it is just simply so far of the truth. But although all these might be true, we have to take note that this film was created in a completely different time; a time that having a man on the moon just seems to be such an impossible feat and ideas about whatever is out there are just ideas of fiction.

All of this being said, if I were to go back to 1902, see the movie upon its release and remove all thoughts of present-day technology in mind, I'd have a completely different, in fact probably opposite, opinion. It would've probably seemed to be a futuristic film, a fictional film depicting what could be. Having the film itself been possible, the fact that there were now moving pictures would've already been an impressive leap in technology for me. For it to show more possibilities of future technology is just a plus. The film might also as well simply serve as an inspiration for inventors and scientists on their journey in literally reaching for the stars.

What humanity has achieved in the past century has certainly been quite a feat. Today, we see space flight as something of fact, something that already happened, in comparison to 1902 when it was just possible in the imagination, in works of fiction. It is certainly one very impressive leap of achievement and just like if we were in 1902 today, we could only simply imagine what we'd have achieved and where humanity could possibly be another century onwards.

Audrey Anne A. Arocha

2012-51626