On April 10, the first-ever image of a black hole was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. So now that we know what a black hole looks like, how far-fetched (or not) are the stories we have filled it with in our movies?
EVENT HORIZON (1997)
A science fiction horror film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, it tells the story of a rescue crew that investigates a spaceship called Event Horizon. It had disappeared into a black hole and has now mysteriously reappeared, but with a hostile entity on-board. So what actually happened inside the black hole? When the crew members board the freshly-returned Event Horizon, they start experiencing hallucinations catering to their specific fears. One of them attempts suicide. A black hole that is injurious to your sanity—let’s hope this one stays more fiction than science.
INTERSTELLAR (2014)
Gargantua, the black hole in Interstellar, comes closest to the real one. The story is set in an earth that is on the verge of destruction. Former astronaut Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is recruited to reach other star systems which humans might be able to colonise. But other stars are light years away. So, how to reach them before humans become extinct? With a litle help from Gargantua. Considering the pace of climate change and Trump’s policies, it is about time we looked for a real Cooper.
STAR TREK (2009)
Star Trek, or J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the franchise, uses a black hole most effectively to create a parallel universe. Spock, along with bad guy Nero, falls into a black hole in the year 2387 and emerges in another universe in another year. This was mainly to enable the writers to create events that did not happen in the original universe of the Star Trek series. The story is backed with just enough science to make the prospect of a parallel universe seem credible.
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018)
Solo is the origin story of Han Solo, the iconic pilot of Star Wars’ starship—the Millennium Falcon. In Solo, it is finally explained how he does the ‘Kessel run in 12 parsecs’, which he brags about in other films. Apparently, to reach the planet Kessel one needs to navigate a cluster of black holes called The Maw. Han goes right through it instead of circling it. Watching him zip through The Maw makes for one of trippiest movie scenes ever.
