Throughout the ages, humanity has always seen the future with hope. With all our mistakes, errors, and vices, a deep belief in the attainment of some sort of utopia always lingers on, reflected on ideas about the limitless of knowledge. Amidst all the chaos and destruction of the present, we seek refuge in a tale of "progress" and "communion", wherein everyone will transcend the current limitations and achieve a state of perfection. In all of this, one can discern the presence of a pressuposition that history moves in a linear way, towards an end goal, as if eventually the utopia will be reached. But is such pressuposition correct? Are we in a constant state of enhancement, or is it that our "selves" are in their roots divided, corrupted, hopeless?
In what is essentially Zulawski's magnum opus, despite never being entirely finished, "On the Silver Globe" tells the tale of a group of astronauts that crash in another planet, in hopes of finding an alternative to their dying planet. In the process however, we see them going back to an almost primitive state, where instinct reigns supreme, and where the law of the strongest reigns supreme. With this, they are lost, and whatever their was of their personalities is suddenly filled in by group identity, by tribal customs, by rituals. Rationality, autonomy, the "self", loses in a constant struggle against the collective, and by the end of their lives, the only things that exists are myths and the collective. Every gap in knowledge, every moral conduct, every branch of human conduct is thus solved by an appeal to the supernatural, to their creators, to their "Adam and Eve". Suddenly, the tribe acquires a given belief system, and a society is formed around it.
While the first half tackles all these difficult themes, the second follows from a narrative akin to a retelling of Jesus Christ. Already consolidated as a society, what was once a cohesive group is now divided according to belief in the return of the "chosen one". A new astronaut (named Marek), upon finding the recording of the previous cosmonauts, ventures into this new world, only to be identified with God himself. Should Marek accept his "fate" and play God, or should he hold on to his own identity. In other words, are we defined by how others perceive us, or are we defined by how we perceive ourselves? From this dilemma, madness insues deep in his soul, and much like his colleagues before him, his "self" ends up being lost. Upon constant battles with a bird-like civilization, Marek chooses to portray himself as the saviour. His whole existence, his whole purpose from thence forward is subjected to the preservation and defense of the collective. Marek is no longer an individual, but an attempt at transposing the divine to the terrestrial. Despite his efforts, faith starts to decrease, while his arrogance increase. The systems of power in place start to question his omnipotence, dooming him from the start.
In the end, the society portrayed in "On the Silver Globe" ends up being nothing more than a copy of our own. Chaos, destruction, faithlessness, an endless desire for power and perfection assume themselves as the norm. Zulawski's vision thus encapsulates a pessimistic and cyclical vision of humanity and the human nature, meaning that all of us will, forever, be condemned in some sense or another.
In what is essentially Zulawski's magnum opus, despite never being entirely finished, "On the Silver Globe" tells the tale of a group of astronauts that crash in another planet, in hopes of finding an alternative to their dying planet. In the process however, we see them going back to an almost primitive state, where instinct reigns supreme, and where the law of the strongest reigns supreme. With this, they are lost, and whatever their was of their personalities is suddenly filled in by group identity, by tribal customs, by rituals. Rationality, autonomy, the "self", loses in a constant struggle against the collective, and by the end of their lives, the only things that exists are myths and the collective. Every gap in knowledge, every moral conduct, every branch of human conduct is thus solved by an appeal to the supernatural, to their creators, to their "Adam and Eve". Suddenly, the tribe acquires a given belief system, and a society is formed around it.
While the first half tackles all these difficult themes, the second follows from a narrative akin to a retelling of Jesus Christ. Already consolidated as a society, what was once a cohesive group is now divided according to belief in the return of the "chosen one". A new astronaut (named Marek), upon finding the recording of the previous cosmonauts, ventures into this new world, only to be identified with God himself. Should Marek accept his "fate" and play God, or should he hold on to his own identity. In other words, are we defined by how others perceive us, or are we defined by how we perceive ourselves? From this dilemma, madness insues deep in his soul, and much like his colleagues before him, his "self" ends up being lost. Upon constant battles with a bird-like civilization, Marek chooses to portray himself as the saviour. His whole existence, his whole purpose from thence forward is subjected to the preservation and defense of the collective. Marek is no longer an individual, but an attempt at transposing the divine to the terrestrial. Despite his efforts, faith starts to decrease, while his arrogance increase. The systems of power in place start to question his omnipotence, dooming him from the start.
In the end, the society portrayed in "On the Silver Globe" ends up being nothing more than a copy of our own. Chaos, destruction, faithlessness, an endless desire for power and perfection assume themselves as the norm. Zulawski's vision thus encapsulates a pessimistic and cyclical vision of humanity and the human nature, meaning that all of us will, forever, be condemned in some sense or another.