Event 1: Fantastic Voyage

Yesterday, I attended the Fantastic Voyage watch party for the Medicine + Technology + Art week. 

Fantastic Voyage, a Sci-fi film directed by Richard Fleischer in 1966, depicts the work of a group of scientists and their efforts to save one of their own. Jan Benes, a scientist, has recently discovered a way to shrink objects and is en route to transport his work from the USSR to the CIA when he is attacked. Jan Benes forms a blood clot and must be saved to deliver his information; this is when his fellow scientists shrink themselves in a submarine and travel within Benes's body. They must fix him and evacuate within 60 minutes (when the miniaturization wears off).

I enjoyed watching this movie for multiple reasons. 

First, I thought the medical and scientific aspect was fascinating. Much of the dialogue spoken by the characters focus on the specifics of the human body. This movie portrayed a unique integration of medicine and art; it was definitely before its time. This integration led me to think that perhaps movies like Fantastic Voyage inspired the development of CAT scans and MRIs (both were invented in the 1970s). 

Second, I loved the special effects and animations used in this movie. I was surprised at how intricate the effects were for their time. I wouldn't have expected the technology of the 1960s to be that advanced, but I was proved wrong. The scenes where the scientists are in the submarine were breathtaking to me. 

Watching Fantastic Voyage allowed me to consider the results of integrating technology with medicine and art; I truly enjoyed myself. 

*I pulled images from google to demonstrate the special effects because the screenshots I took while watching the movie were blurry.

Sources:

Bellis, Mary. “How Magnets and Radio Waves Changed Medicine Forever.” ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri-1992133.

FoxMovies. “Fantastic Voyage | #TBT Trailer | 20th Century FOX.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Aug. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO5E4wkg0hA.

Holmes, Adam. “Why The Fantastic Voyage Remake Has Been Delayed.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 8 Oct. 2018, www.cinemablend.com/news/1696419/why-the-fantastic-voyage-remake-has-been-delayed.

“Medicine pt1.” YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012, youtu.be/Ep0M2bOM9Tk.

“Medicine pt2.” YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012, youtu.be/psjnQarHOqQ.

“Other Dimensions: Fantastic Voyage (1966).” Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, www.dia.org/events/other-dimensions-fantastic-voyage-1966.