Hi, I’m Michael.
This is Lessons from the Screenplay.
Every genre brings with it a set of expectations
that shapes the kind of stories it can tell and the themes it can explore.
And as Alex Garland, writer/director of Annihilation says,
science fiction is perhaps the best genre to openly explore fundamental ideas of existence:
“When I first started, I always felt like I had to smuggle ideas into the stories.
And, I realized increasingly that in science fiction you have permission for big ideas.
You didn’t have to feel embarrassed about the idea, in fact it’s almost encouraged.”
So today, I’d like to investigate how Annihilation takes biological, existential concepts
and translates them into narrative elements…
…to explore how these are expressed in every element of the story,
from the characters, to the environment,
to the monsters that inhabit it...
...and to examine how subverting one of the fundamental elements of character
creates an experience that is truly alien.
Let’s take a look at Annihilation.
On the surface,
Annihilation is about a group of scientists trying to understand a strange phenomenon.
They venture beyond an otherworldly border called the “Shimmer,”
into which teams of researchers have been sent before,
only to never be heard from again.
But this premise serves to explore the deeper ideas of
duplication, self-destruction, and mutation,
which are directly introduced at the beginning of the film through a brief lesson in biology.
“This is a cell.
Like all cells, it is born from an existing cell.”
We’re shown how a cell creates new life via duplication.
But this cell isn’t a normal cell.
“The cell we're looking at is from a tumor.”
This is a cancer cell—a product of our own bodies that may eventually kill us.
Self-destruction.
And as Lena says later in the script, during a flashback to this moment:
“We can describe cancer as a mutation that causes unregulated cell growth.
It changes us.”
Mutation.
These concepts are inspired by the fundamental elements of life itself,
so how do you explore them in a narrative?
In Annihilation,
the design of the characters is used to express the theme of self-destruction.
Every character in Annihilation is dealing with self-destruction.
“We’re all damaged goods here.
Anya is sober, therefore an addict.
Josie wears long sleeves because she doesn’t want you to see the scars on her forearms.
I also lost someone.
A daughter.
Leukaemia.”
Ventress, who leads the expedition, is using the mission as a kind of suicide.
“Ventress had cancer, she was never coming back.”
And Lena, the protagonist,
volunteers as a way to try to atone for her self-destructive actions.
Over the course of the film, we learn that Lena had an affair,
which is part of what drove her husband to enter the Shimmer in an earlier expedition,
eventually leading to his own self-destruction.
Each character represents a variation on theme of self-destruction.
Demonstrating theme through character design is a technique found in all genres,
but science fiction is particularly good
at expressing abstract ideas through the story world.
In Annihilation, the story world is used to express mutation.
The setting of a story can be a powerful way to express ideas
and reflect the hero’s journey.
In Annihilation, the story is set inside the Shimmer, a place of constant mutation.
“More mutations.”
“They’re everywhere.”
“Malignant.
Like tumors.”
This is one of the advantages of science fiction—
the writer can imagine a story world that embodies an idea.
What if the DNA of all life in an area was being mutated?
What kind of environment would that create?
What kind of animals might one encounter?
Embracing the science fiction genre
allows the concept of mutation to become literal in a row of beautiful flowers...
...or a terrifying monster.
"Sheppard!"
In one of the most memorable scenes of the film,
mutation is used to create a new twist on a classic horror scene.
Thorensen is losing her grip on reality
and has tied her fellow team members to chairs,
when she suddenly hears the voice of Sheppard—
who was killed by a bear earlier in the film.
“Help me!”
"Help me!"
“Cass?”
But...
“It’s not Sheppard.
It’s the bear-like creature that killed her.
Mutated jaw.
Hairless, strangely pigmented skin.
Lesions.
Then the Bear opens its jaws, and a human-like noise emerges.”
(distorted human noises—“help me!”)
But the Shimmer does more than simply mutate the DNA of the life forms within it.
It also makes copies of things, like a cell.
Lena sees a strange copy of a deer in the forest.
The house the team stays in is a copy of Lena’s own home.
And the Kane that leaves the Shimmer and returns to Lena
is actually a copy of the real Kane who committed suicide.
But the most dramatic example is found in the climactic scene of the film,
which is designed around the concept of duplication.
While genre can allow for creative freedoms,
one of the challenges of working within genre conventions
is that you can find yourself in very familiar territory.
In the finale of Annihilation, when Lena finally confronts the alien,
Alex Garland had to find a way to provide a unique spin on a well-worn sci-fi situation.
“When we deal with aliens we often make them like us in some way.
Maybe they want to eat us, or maybe they want our water, our resources.
But these are all sort of human concerns.
We are motivated by things, and we have agendas,
and an alien might not have an agenda or might not be motivated.
And so it was it was an attempt to create an alien alien.”
In Annihilation, the alien is unknowable.
This is achieved by subverting the fundamental element that drives every character in a story:
desire.
“It’s not like us.
It’s unlike us.
I don’t know what it wants.
Or if it wants.”
The alien lacks any definitive motivation,
and this absence makes it entirely unpredictable.
The physical form of the alien is also completely unrelatable.
As Ventress deteriorates, new forms begin to emerge...
“Then finally, the unfolding coalesces into a new shape.
Entirely non-human.
At this moment we are seeing the Alien.
Its actual form.
A Mandelbulb creature from the world of visualised mathematics.
Infinitely complex, inexplicable in its movement.”
Then, it becomes something more familiar.
“It expands.
Transforms.
And resolves –
– into a humanoid figure.
Sexless.
Featureless.
Having the arms, legs, head and torso of a human – man or woman.
But nothing else.”
A kind of duplication of Lena’s form.
And this idea of a mirrored duplication is expressed not just in the form it takes,
but in the design of how the entire climactic scene plays out.
“Lena scrambles across the room –
– towards the door to the lighthouse.
But she doesn’t make it.
The Humanoid simply appears in front of her, before she reaches the door.
It is unclear how it got there.
A frozen beat.
Then Lena strikes the Humanoid with all her strength.
And a moment later, in a mirror of her actions –
– the Humanoid strikes her back – but with incredible power.
The Humanoid is mimicking her.
She is fighting herself.”
In the final moments of the encounter,
the humanoid shape mutates to become a literal duplicate of Lena,
and in the end, she is only able to escape
by tricking it into doing what all the humans in this story are best at:
Self-destruction.
Annihilation is a great example of how a film can serve as an exploration of an idea.
It embraces its science fiction genre,
taking the fundamental process of how life spreads and evolves,
and expressing it in the setting of the story
and the forces of antagonism that inhabit it...
It unites all of this under the thematic umbrella
of humans’ tendency toward self-destruction
to create a powerful and intriguing cinematic experience...
And demonstrates how something new can be created
following annihilation.
When Alex Garland adapted Annihilation from the book, he used a unique approach.
Rather than try to adapt the plot beat-by-beat,
he decided to adapt it based on his memory of the book.
I think it made for a very interesting film,
but if you’re curious to check out the original text,
you can download the audiobook of Annihilation today for free with Audible.
Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks on the planet,
and every month Audible members get one credit good for any audiobook they choose,
plus two Audible Originals from a changing selection you can’t get anywhere else.
So go to audible.com/lfts or text “lfts” to 500 500 to start a thirty-day trial
and get your first audiobook for free.
Once again, that’s audible.com/lfts or text “lfts” to 500 500.
Thanks to Audible for sponsoring this video.
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I hope you had a very happy holidays,
and have a wonderful new year.
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