Science
Fact or Cinematic Fiction?
I.
Introduction
a.
Introduce the principle of Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia): An
object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force; the
same goes for an object at rest
b.
Show examples of how Newton's Third Law works in the real world (a person
riding a skateboard is suddenly stopped by running into a wall)
c.
Hypothesis: Although the media of animated films (or films with CG effects) do
not always follow Newton's First Law precisely, they must sometimes break these
laws in order to have the style of motion fit in the world of the film for
consistency and entertainment
II.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
a.
Avatar already has a magical-kind of
quality to it. Characters will
"bend" certain outside elements to move them (earth, fire, air, or
water)
b.
"The Blind Bandit" episode: Toph Bei-Fong, an earthbender, uses her
hands and feet and swings them in midair or hits the ground and makes other
parts of the earth fly out without physically touching them
c.
When Aang fights Toph in the ring, he uses bending as well, except he directs
the air in different directions to hit her
III.
Wreck-It Ralph
a.
Felix posses a hammer that does not break things, but repairs when one uses it
to hit objects
b.
When Felix and Calhoun are stuck in the Nesquik sand, Calhoun must punch Felix
to make the Laffy Taffy's lower to the ground.
c.
When Felix uses his hammer on himself to heal his injuries, there is no sense
of force being acted upon his face; although he hits himself, there is no
knockback force
d.
This happens to any object Felix uses to fix , including jail bars and windows
IV.
Back to the Future: Part II
a.
During the Hover Board Chase scene, it is already unusual for the boards to be
floating in mid-air without hitting the ground
b.
The most interesting part, however, is when Marty McFly uses the same body
motions as if he were on a regular skateboard to make the Hover Board move, but
his foot is simply skating on air, so there would not be anything to push off
to make the board move in reality
V.
Conclusion
a.
Breaking the Law of Inertia helps make a film more entertaining and takes
advantage of being animated or live-action with CG effects (not being limited
to what can be animated).
b.
It also often times fits in with the kind of style of the film, whether it be
enchanted, magical, or simply slapstick
c.
As long as physical laws are broken bearing in mind that they are being broken
for a reason, the audience will buy into it because for 2 hours they are taken
to another universe
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