Dr. Louise Banks: linguist >>> contacted by the U.S. government to decipher alien language at the base site of Montana. (Twelve alien spaceships landed on twelve different countries on Earth)
Dr. Banks has a daughter, Hannah, which we assume has passed away at a young age because of cancer, and Dr. Banks divorced with Hannah’s father
Throughout the story, Banks emphasized the importance of collaboration amongst the twelve countries, such as sharing their findings. However, the countries are afraid that they’ll leak intelligence information, so they are not cooperative.
Dr. Banks tries to teach the aliens the word “Human” at first by repeating the word, and pointing at theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly, hoping that they’ll understand the meaning. However, Dr. Banks was not able to decipher what the alien was saying. Eventually, she turned to pictographic.
The aliens’ method of writing, as shown below is drastically different than humans. Instead of writing in a line, the aliens convey their sentences in a circle, representing their understanding of time. Unlike humans, who only live in the present, the aliens are able to live within the past, present, and future. This is why Dr. Banks keeps seeing glimpses of her daughter, Hannah throughout the film. As she was learning the alien’s language, she’s also learning about their culture.
This book reflects the significance of communication. Communication gives us the ability to empathize with each other and understand each other’s cultures.
