Abstract
This essay explores Robert Zemekis’ film adaptation of Carl Sagan’s book Contact, through the lens of rhetorical constructs adapted from the critical writings of another science-fiction author, C.S. Lewis; specifically his concept of Sehnsucht, the rhetoric of technology, the persuasive use of misdirection in indoctrination, and the power of debunking to destroy someone’s sense of values. I argue that Zemekis’ film represents a “cosmic cheat” in that it promises filmgoers transcendence, but delivers only a warm materialistic nihilism. Ultimately, however, it may be that the resilience of the transcendence inherent in faery stories will overcome the sterility of technology.
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