Charles Austin Miller

Answer: If anything, I think the film's producers deliberately left godly topics unaddressed (and questions dangling, unanswered) because they didn't want to alienate any particular audience. However, we know the producers of "Contact" certainly did vilify religion through the sinister scenes with Joseph, the evangelical extremist. At the same time, the film created empathy for the president's glib theological adviser, Palmer Joss. So, I don't think the film was shying away from religious topics, and I think it was pretty fair to the religious viewpoint, for the most part. But this movie wasn't about religion; it was about a primitive, materialistic, self-centered and aggressive species (humanity) reluctantly acknowledging the existence of vastly more intelligent and even godlike entities throughout the cosmos. Even the first-contact entities, advanced as they are, acknowledge other entities much more ancient and much more advanced (the virtual architects of the space/time conduit). The implication was that we live in a universe that may be populated with many intelligent entities that answer every human criteria of godhood. Ellie's narrow-minded atheism was surely shaken to its foundation by her experience; and, while she didn't "convert" to archaic earthly religions, she was spiritually a different person upon her return. The film, however, is open-ended and fence-straddling and doesn't presume to definitively answer the question of the existence of god, leaving it up to the audience to decide.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The film chooses to focus on Ellie's personal journey and how she deals with and comes to terms with what happens - it doesn't really involve God at all, other than the inclusion of Palmer Joss as a religious advocate, choosing to restrict itself to the much less theologically controversial theme of a straight first contact scenario, without the religious overtones. Given the depth of feeling on religious matters in the US, it's hardly surprising that the filmmakers preferred to leave this particular hot topic out. While Carl Sagan died during production of the film, he both co-produced and was involved in the story process, so he was clearly not concerned about this change.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: The ring looks like sterling silver with a semi-precious Lapis Lazuli stone (not terribly expensive, even today). The name Lapis Lazuli literally translates (from Latin and Persian) to "Stone of the Sky," which probably explains Ellie and her father wearing the rings. Her father always encouraged her interest in astronomy and radio communications, and she spent much of her career waiting for "a voice from the sky" (as is also mentioned in the movie's dialogue). Other characters in the movie wearing replicas of Ellie's ring could be interpreted as their support for Ellie unravelling the alien message and going on the space mission. Another interpretation could be that the blue-stoned rings in the film are a tribute to astronomer and author Carl Sagan, who famously described the Earth as a "blue dot" decades ago. Sagan, who wrote "Contact" and consulted on this film, died during the movie's production.

Charles Austin Miller