ABSTRACT
In what is arguably one of the most spectacular opening shots in all of film history, the science-fiction epic Contact (1997) begins with the camera hovering over the globe, radio stations playing contemporary music on the soundtrack. Then the camera pulls back from Earth into space, the globe and the sun recede into the background, other planets in our solar system pass by, and the radio sounds go back in time, mixing music of previous decades with soundbites from important historical figures. This is followed by silence, while the camera is pulling back further, out of the Milky Way and the cluster of galaxies of which it is part, and further still toward the very edge of the universe, revealing amazing sights of celestial configurations along the way. When the silence, the relentless movement, and the sheer size of the space that is being traversed begin to become oppressive, sounds can be heard again, initially only radio static and then a voice. Finally, the camera concludes its journey by pulling out of the eye of a young girl, who sits at her CB radio calling out, with some urgency, to other radio amateurs: “CQ. This is W9GF0. Come back.”
