Arrival

We're a world with no single leader. It's impossible to deal with just one of us.

Arrival (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Col. Weber: [after playing a recording] How would you approach translating this? You hear any words? Phrases? Dr. Louise Banks: I do not... I do not know. Col. Weber: So what can you tell? Dr. Louise Banks: I can tell you that it is impossible to translate an audio file. I would need to be there to interact with them. Col. Weber: You did not need that for Farsi translation. Dr. Louise Banks: I did not need because I already knew the language, but this is... Col. Weber: I know what you're doing. Dr. Louise Banks: Tell me what I'm doing. Col. Weber: I'll not take you to Montana. It's all I can do to keep it turning into a tourist site for everybody who has a clearance. Dr. Louise Banks: I'm just telling you what it would take to do this job. Col. Weber: It is not a negotiation. If I leave here... your chance is gone. Good day. Dr. Louise Banks: Colonel...You mentioned Berkeley. Are you going to ask Danvers next? Col. Weber: Maybe. Dr. Louise Banks: Before you commit to him...ask him the

Arrival (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Col. Weber: Good Morning. Dr. Louise Banks: Colonel? Col. Weber: Gavisti. Dr. Louise Banks: That's the word, but what did he say it means? Col. Weber: He said it means an argument. What does it really mean? Dr. Louise Banks: A desire for more cows. Col. Weber: Pack your bags.

Arrival (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Col. Weber: I don't want to take away from your success, but Dr. Banks, is it really the right approach? Try to teach them how to speak and read? That's gonna take long. Dr. Louise Banks: You're wrong! It's faster. Col. Weber: Everything you do here, I have to explain to a room full of men, whose first and last question is "How can this be used against us?". So you'll have to give me more than that! Dr. Louise Banks: Kangaroo. Col. Weber: What is that? Dr. Louise Banks: In 1770, Captain James Cook's ship ran aground off the coast of Australia and led a party, where they found the aboriginal people. One of the sailors pointed to the animals that hop around and put their babies in their pouch, and he asked what they were. The Aborigines said, "Kangaroo". Col. Weber: And your point is? Dr. Louise Banks: It wasn't until later that they learned that "kangaroo" means "I don't understand". So...I need this so that we don't misinterpret things in there, otherwise it is going to take 10 times a

Arrival (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Col. Weber: You have a vocabulary list for me? Dr. Louise Banks: I do. Col. Weber: You're gonna teach them, your name, and Ian's? Dr. Louise Banks: Yes, so that we can learn their names, if they have names, and then introduce pronouns later. Col. Weber: These are all grade-school words. Eat. Walk. Help me understand. Dr. Louise Banks: Okay, this is where you want to get to, right? Col. Weber: That is the question. Dr. Louise Banks: Okay. So, first, we need to make sure that they understand what a question is. The nature of a request for information, along with a response. Then, we need to clarify the difference between a specific "you"...and a collective "you", because we don't want to know why 'Joe Alien' is here, we want to know why they all landed. And purpose requires an understanding of intent. We need to find out: do they make conscious choices, or is their motivation so instinctive that they don't understand a "why" question at all. And biggest of all, we need to have enough voc

Arrival (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Dr. Louise Banks: They have names. But what're we going to call them? Ian Donnelly: I'm thinking "Abbott & Costello".

Arrival (film), CC BY-SA 4.0