Week 9

Space travel and exploration is a big part of American pop culture and media. While America has achieved a lot in outer-space scientific research and orbit, much can be attributed to competition with the Soviet Union and the Cold War. The Soviets sent the first human into outer space, as well as a publicized dog, to which Americans responded with Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon.

Laika, the dog sent into space by the Soviet Union

Various forms of media have helped bring artistic and cultural interests to space and exploration, such as the Apollo films depicting American space missions. These films helped give the public an understanding of  the science  it took  to travel to space as well as what other parts of our galaxy look like.

Neil Armstrong on the Moon

The Mars Patent as well as the Cosmic Dancer have provided unique artistic ways of exhibiting space. The Mars Patent uses visual art to take  someone on Earth into the science and world of Mars whereas the Cosmic Dancer uses geometry and photography to display the impacts of gravitational forces (and a lackthereof) on the insides of space shuttles.

As mentioned, space is a big part of Hollywood. So many popular film and television series are based on artistic interpretations and visions for what could exist in the galaxy outside of Planet Earth - such as E.T., Star Trek, and Star Wars. Star Wars alone has created its own universe that is being brought to California. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is opening this week at Disneyland and has every square inch specifically crafted to resemble the land in the movies, which are based off of imagined outer space.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opening May 31st at Disneyland

References:

MARS PATENT. "The Mars Patent." Web. http://www.mars-patent.org/

Woods, Arthur. "Cosmic Dancer." 1993-2019. Web. https://www.cosmicdancer.com/index.php

Vesna, Victoria. "8 space pt3 1280x720" YouTube, uploaded by UC Online, 29 July 2013 Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WOqt_C55Mk

Vesna, Victoria. "Space pt4" YouTube, uploaded by UC Online, 30 May 2012 Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ClKO6AJPo

Vesna, Victoria. "Space pt6" YouTube, uploaded by UC Online, 30 May 2012 Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYmOtFjIj0M