Hang on a second. I need to put down my glass of Tang.
OK. Let’s talk about the movie The Martian for a second. I saw Ridley Scott’s fantastic new film this weekend — and as you might guess, I loved it. Matt Damon, who makes it a habit of having to be rescued in movies, was spot on as Mark Watney, the astronaut left behind. And as you can probably tell by my Tang reference, I’m a space geek. My imagination was tweaked by the Apollo missions. I cheered Skylab. I loved the Shuttle. I believe in the hope that exploration brings. And astronauts are just darn cool.
So as a space geek, I enjoyed the movie. It was a big wet kiss to NASA. And it was very well done. Scott stayed true to the book (which is also excellent). You got all its hope and grit.
But I liked it for a deeper reason — a reason why I loved the early space program. It wasn’t about what we can’t do. Or whose fault it is. It was about, “Houston, we have a problem — how can we fix it?”
Mark Watney didn’t blame his fellow astronauts for leaving him behind. He didn’t blame NASA for not leaving him enough supplies. He didn’t whine about it being a conservative/liberal plot. Nope. He used his wit, his knowledge and got busy to save his stranded butt.
My son and I talked about that on the way home. The emphasis on science appealed to him (he is taking engineering in 10th grade). But Watney’s no excuses/can-do attitude really impressed me.
That’s what makes us great. Not excuses. Anyone can make excuses.
The Martian is a great movie. And on a day when I don’t have hope, I’ll go see it again.