“Arrival” Screening and Discussion

Adapted from the 1998 short story “Story of Your Life” by acclaimed science fiction author Ted Chiang, Arrival (2016) centers on communicating with tentacular alien visitors, whose language changes one’s experience of time. When twelve mysterious extraterrestrial spacecraft touch down across the planet, the U.S. Army recruits linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to decipher the strange, inky writing, an experience that precipitates future-memories of Louise’s daughter. Introspective and immersive, Arrivalimagines a fantastical calligraphy alongside questions of alienation, race, motherhood, and queer time. This event is presented in conjunction with this year’s UCSB Reads program, highlighting the work of Ted Chiang in anticipation of his campus discussion of his bestselling book Exhalation: Stories.

Jennifer Rhee (English, Virginia Commonwealth University, author of The Robotic Imaginary) will join Melody Jue (English, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of Arrival.

This event is free but a reservation is recommended in order to guarantee a seat. Tickets for this event will be available Thursday, April 14 at 11:00 AM.