Join Los Angeles Review of Books Newsletter


“It is not for nothing that one of the most memorable shots of Sandra Bullock is of her curled up like a fetal ball. “Umbilical cord” here is not limited to just one stage of life, something we outgrow. On the contrary, it is the enduring mark of our dependency — earthlings that we are, vulnerable beyond words, with no ability to survive outside of one tiny globe, the only one that offers the life-sustaining environment we need. The astronaut’s tethers, the parachute cords, the cables that bind the space capsule to the shuttle, all hark back to that primordial habitat.”

—Wai Chee Dimock, professor of English and American Studies at Yale University, discusses the imagery of fetal dependency in her essay, “Umbilical Cords: Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity.” Click through to read more.

  1. reverse-rain said: 👍
  2. ludusanima-blog reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  3. doesntsuffice reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  4. foundcarcosa-decommissioned-blog reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  5. homecomingqueen reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  6. carrierelyeatumbls reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  7. naytile reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  8. darkmagepoppers reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  9. itfeltlikeamovie reblogged this from sapageisnotfound
  10. sapageisnotfound reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  11. adayunwired reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  12. thecanyonmoons reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  13. xminimiss reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  14. candidexpectations reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  15. tpunkt reblogged this from late-night-talker
  16. late-night-talker reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  17. besween reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  18. eleanorea reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
  19. eternalhitchhiker reblogged this from lareviewofbooks
Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
Search