4 ms·

"A serious Man" is "fully based on the concept of Schrodinger's Cat" , what? It is a post-modern retelling of The Book of Job, not sure other than the main char

"A serious Man" is "fully based on the concept of Schrodinger's Cat" , what? It is a post-modern retelling of The Book of Job, not sure other than the main character being a physics professor. At one point a failing student states that he understands Schrodinger's Cat, to which he is immediately admonished, for the analogy being pop-physics, and without understanding the math it is useless.

goldenkey 5y ago
Yeah, I didn't get that comment either and even tried to do a web search on it. I've seen A Serious Man numerous times. It's one of my favorite movies. But it isn't about physics. It's overall theme is somewhat cryptic but it is making statements. It is less cryptic than Coen's other films like Barton Fink. If you haven't seen the Coen Brother's filmography, start with A Serious Man. It's the kind of movie that gives you nostalgia for loneliness. It probably could have helped me in my teenage years. It's undoubtedly a cathartic movie for those who have had unfortunate luck or feel misunderstood.
bmitc 5y ago
There is a pretty big theme throughout the movie of not knowing what's going on though. Although not really being about physics directly, there is also another theme of anecdotes and stories being (often comically) useless as ways of explanation.
- leephillips 5y ago
  “not knowing what's going on” In that case, it is about physics. More specifically, my experience as a graduate student sitting in QCD lectures.
- elbasti 5y ago
  The theme of the movie isn't so much "not knowing what's going on" as "not knowing why this is happening to _me_". There's a phrase that's repeated again and again (in one way or another), which is "but I didn't _do_ anything".
  - bmitc 5y ago
    I didn't mean the theme. I just meant a theme. Also, if I recall correctly, the phrase "what's going on?" is muttered throughout the film as well. So I think it's a little of both (and more), where the more global theme is one of trying to understand understanding. This is a pretty good video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDmWFTvzto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDmWFTvzto Although, I think a lot of the analysis of Coen brothers can sometimes fall flat. Coen brothers films are hilarious, often in extremely dark and non-obvious ways, so oftentimes their films are overanalyzed. I often think answers to "why did the Coen brothers put this in the film?" are simply "because they thought it was funny".
varajelle 5y ago
I liked the scene in which a student complained to the teacher because he did not get a good grade. The student try to convince the teacher that he might get the math wrong but understands the story of the cat. The teacher reply that the physics is all about math and that he himself don't understand the cat.
tootie 5y ago
This list is fun movies that have some kind of physics theme. Coherence was a really fun movie shot an absolute shoestring budget but it's about like a magic comet that unlocks parallel universes at a dinner party. It's high-concept sci-fi and not realistic at all.
hellbannedguy 5y ago
ring--ring, "Hello doctor!" Doctor, "I think you better come into the office to discuss your chest x-ray?"

goldenkey 5y ago

Yeah, I didn't get that comment either and even tried to do a web search on it. I've seen A Serious Man numerous times. It's one of my favorite movies. But it isn't about physics. It's overall theme is somewhat cryptic but it is making statements. It is less cryptic than Coen's other films like Barton Fink. If you haven't seen the Coen Brother's filmography, start with A Serious Man. It's the kind of movie that gives you nostalgia for loneliness. It probably could have helped me in my teenage years. It's undoubtedly a cathartic movie for those who have had unfortunate luck or feel misunderstood.

bmitc 5y ago

There is a pretty big theme throughout the movie of not knowing what's going on though. Although not really being about physics directly, there is also another theme of anecdotes and stories being (often comically) useless as ways of explanation.

leephillips 5y ago
“not knowing what's going on” In that case, it is about physics. More specifically, my experience as a graduate student sitting in QCD lectures.
elbasti 5y ago
The theme of the movie isn't so much "not knowing what's going on" as "not knowing why this is happening to _me_". There's a phrase that's repeated again and again (in one way or another), which is "but I didn't _do_ anything".
- bmitc 5y ago
  I didn't mean the theme. I just meant a theme. Also, if I recall correctly, the phrase "what's going on?" is muttered throughout the film as well. So I think it's a little of both (and more), where the more global theme is one of trying to understand understanding. This is a pretty good video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDmWFTvzto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDmWFTvzto Although, I think a lot of the analysis of Coen brothers can sometimes fall flat. Coen brothers films are hilarious, often in extremely dark and non-obvious ways, so oftentimes their films are overanalyzed. I often think answers to "why did the Coen brothers put this in the film?" are simply "because they thought it was funny".

varajelle 5y ago

I liked the scene in which a student complained to the teacher because he did not get a good grade. The student try to convince the teacher that he might get the math wrong but understands the story of the cat. The teacher reply that the physics is all about math and that he himself don't understand the cat.

tootie 5y ago

This list is fun movies that have some kind of physics theme. Coherence was a really fun movie shot an absolute shoestring budget but it's about like a magic comet that unlocks parallel universes at a dinner party. It's high-concept sci-fi and not realistic at all.

hellbannedguy 5y ago

ring--ring, "Hello doctor!" Doctor, "I think you better come into the office to discuss your chest x-ray?"