#phm analysis

usually when people watch the news, they see tragedies happening in countries across the world, and this makes it much harder for them to sympathize when they have no connection to them. in project hail mary, the news is based on everyone in the world. its not just them, its affecting you, your family, and literally anyone else you can think of. astrophage is destroying peoples lives, but is also the one thing bringing people together during these times.

Googling microbiology on their website doesn't seem to include speaking events. It's mostly news on their microbiology prize, but that requires a lengthy nomination process, so I don't think that's what he was there for because it means the rest of the field would have to know and agree with what he's presenting, which we know they did not.

When you broaden the search to just biology, you get more articles on scientists and their stories eradicating diseases and providing resources/education to smaller, underdeveloped regions. But that's not really what his research was geared towards, since he was focused on extraterrestrial life.

After browsing their website a bit, it seems the most likely option is along these lines:

The webinar will begin with brief opening remarks from the organizing partners, followed by short presentations from invited speakers representing different areas of expertise across environmental health, exposomics, and cellular biology. The event will conclude with a moderated panel discussion bringing together the speakers and additional experts to reflect on future directions for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Format Opening remarks from UNESCO, the Human Cell Atlas, and the Global Exposome Forum Four talks (10 minutes each) Moderated panel discussion with speakers and experts Audience Q&A

^ thats from an event announcement on microplastics. It seems likely that Grace was employed at some lab (maybe private or academic), then sent to represent them. It explains why he could present his case despite people disagreeing with him, and why he got fired for being rude because it reflects badly on the institution since they sent him specifically to represent them for collaborative purposes. I also assume the guy he called a staggering waste of carbon would be one of those "organizing partners" mentioned, but he could also be some other expert brought on by the assembly.

In phm yellow seems to symbolise hope. Some examples of this are: the bright yellow jump suits of the crew, the yellow lighting in SO MANY scenes of hope.

For the lighting in many scenes such as when Grace first starts to communicate with Rocky in the tunnel the entire scene is tinted yellow by the lights. Or in other scenes such as when Rocky says he will give Grace the astrophage to get home the entire screen is dark with the yellow light slowly appearing silhouetting Rylands dark form before he steps into the light. In scenes of Adrian there is a mix of green and yellow and in moments where it seems they have failed it instead switches to pure green. For example after Grace gets back in the ship and they try to leave orbit the entire control room is tinted green and when Grace passes out we see Rocky and him from each other's perspectives both back-lit with a yellow light.

When grace wakes up afterwards the lighting is a warm yellow but upon seeing Rocky's body it shifts to a much cooler white.

- Ilyukhina and Yao's bins have embroidered patches with their names in English and their native languages. Grace's bin has a piece of paper with his name scrawled on it.

-He did indeed name the astrophage dots after the Stooges like he did in the book. On a whiteboard the three live ones are labeled as Larry, Moe, and Curly, and the dead one (doodled with xx'd eyes), is Shemp. He also later refers to them as the Three Musketeers. Both are groups thought of in trios that actually had four members

-I've noticed this before and don't know if nobody's pointing it out because it's obvious, but I love that the little person figure Rocky makes of xenonite is the first clear glimpse he got of an alien life form, which is the pose Grace makes when he catches the Blip-C and holds it up in victory. It's so sweet and symbolic of their relationship leading to the success of the mission, and also just that Rocky's first instinct upon viewing a person for the first time is to sculpt it.

- love love love the use of human percussion in the soundtrack, especially in contrast to Rocky's very melodic, non-human voice

-Grace only wears his glasses in the spacesuit the first time he goes out in it

-The container with the O2 rings in it has a little silhouette of the Hail Mary on the front

-It may just be because I'm an AroAce Grace truther, but he clicked off that 'sultry female voice' for Rocky SO fast. He didn't even let it finish the sentence lmao

-ok so for the rest of the movie I pretty much got lost in the story again and forgot about analyzing it. whoops.

shoutout to the editing and sound design- just so many of the cuts are so perfectly timed, the pacing is so lively it's kind of impossible to get bored with this on your screen. I can't express enough how every single aspect of this film was executed flawlessly.

Her not being in prison means that someone understood.

Some body of power somewhere saw why she did what she did, and allowed her to not spend the rest of her life in prison. Yes, maybe it’s just because they needed her with the taumeba, but if that was the only reason, I don’t think the set would have been framed as her alone in a control room of a ship with no restraints, guards, etc.

History as shown is the story of the scapegoat thousands of times, and someone was aware of that and said ‘fuck it. We’re done doing that.’

Stratt is just not a likable person to those around her. In the book, they list her being blunt, having no sense of humor, and rigid morality as part of the reason they chose her in the first place, and in the film, she’s just so far on a different social wave length from the other characters that no one is able to really get into her headspace. Even if the person in question doesn’t know about her power and they things she did, she’s shown to just weird people out in general. To lead the project, they chose someone who is perceived as bitter and dry and cold to everyone because even when that person has the best of intentions, it is an easy person to hate.

I think that also adds another element to the karaoke scene, and to a lesser degree, the historical studies scene in the book. They’re moments where she has the option to express herself in a way that is distinctly her, and therefore, the characters have the uncomfortable realization that she does not want to be a dictator with a rotting moral compass.

so stratt and grace

dubois and shapiro frickity frackin explode and stratt turns around. she sees grace. she condemns him. not because she loves him, but because she loves the earth

grace wakes up alone on the hail mary, eventually figuring out all the stuff that went down with the mission. and he doesnt sabotage it. not because he respects the mission, or stratt, but because he loves the earth

eva stratt wears black or other dark shades the entire film, visually contrasting basically every other character (excluding those in a uniform). i can't help framing it alongside the use of the dies irae motif in the soundtrack - death is a fundamental part of her work and it weighs on her at all times. it's her armor and strength, the wall separating her from everyone else, the reaper, the wolf, the mourning dress, the end her astronauts will find in space and the grave dirt of those on earth.

it's particularly fascinating that, talking to grace three days before the launch, stratt is shrouded in black moreso than ever before. she knows the weight of the mission and that there will be no going back. she is acutely aware that what comes after isn't 30 years of peace and hope, but unavoidable tragedy and hard choices no matter what. but it's also the narrative clearly telling us what's about to happen - death is clutching more tightly than they realise and it will force her hand that day.

contrast this with grace's colours- oranges, yellows (with their own layer of symbolism), blues, and cream/white. he is warm and vibrant and alive and always wearing his heart on his sleeve. but white in particular is notable as a contrast to stratt's black hues. it's hope and bravery, it's his memory loss, a layer of grace's own detachment from the world despite containing every color, the lamb to the slaughter, the astronauts' ultimate sacrifice. i might have missed it elsewhere, but i think the only times grace wears the white flight suit is after getting drugged on earth and when sacrificing himself to go back and save rocky - notable for the latter being his choice.

stratt also wears a coat when she needs to be official and show leadership (recruiting grace, the warship conference, the meeting room ultimatum) and sheds it in moments of greater vulnerability. the last time grace sees her, she's coatless - but it's also the only scene the audience gets with her wearing a light grey. death is still there and on some level she's still the wolf, but she has made herself vulnerable to try and connect with grace, to try to make him understand. she is so very aware of what she's doing, that they are both sacrifices to the cause, and for better or worse she has just as little choice as he does in that moment. there are endless possibilites and yet only one path saves the flock, and she has to take it.