Disidentify from Roles and Rules

Why a scene from a movie released in 1997 continues to live rent-free in my head, and what it has to say about breaking free from limiting roles and societal expectations.

There’s a powerful scene in the movie Contact that I think about a lot.

Dr. Ellie Arroway, played by Jodi Foster, is strapped into a seat aboard a futuristic spacecraft. The spacecraft was built using specifications communicated by extraterrestrial intelligence. However, the seat Ellie is strapped into wasn’t part of the original specs. Engineers, believing they knew better than Ellie and the alien intelligence, added the seat to protect Ellie on her journey.

I promise this is going somewhere!

As Ellie hurtles through space, the seat starts to violently shake. In that moment, Ellie instinctively realizes that the very seat designed to protect her is now threatening her survival. She quickly unstraps herself, and as she does, the seat breaks free and, moments later, shatters against the wall of the spacecraft. Ellie, now free from the constraints of the seat, floats calmly and safely.

Gem Lake, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington. Photo Credit: Us

To me, this scene serves as a metaphor for …