Interstellar Themes and Questions for Discussion

Are you an explorer or a farmer?

Are you a hero or a coward?

What are the movie's main themes? I see them as a network of contrasting polarities:

Theme: Evolution frame of reference: You-OR-me-NOT-enough-for-both (I gain at your expense) vs. You
AND me (we both gain);
Theme: Personal responsibility: "It's up to me" vs. "...waiting for someone to rescue me;"
Theme: Human motivation: Fear vs. Faith;
Theme: The "Two Wolves": Powerful hero vs. Victimized coward ("devil on your shoulder");
Theme: Dealing with life: Theory vs Reality / "From the stands" vs. "On the court;"
Theme: The nature of time: Living in the past vs. Living into a created/invented future;
Theme: Who we are: Suffering with rackets vs. Living with joy, vitality & self-expression;
Theme: Our purpose as human beings: Explorers vs. Farmers;
Theme: Who we are as human beings: Human as fixed entity vs. Human as expression of possibility;
Theme: Our moral imperative: Rationalized selfishness & cynicism vs. Choosing compassion & love;

Which quotes best represent the movie's main themes?

Questions about the plot and characters:

Why did Dr. Mann attempt to kill Cooper?

Why was Dr. Mann a coward?
What did Professor Brand and Dr. Mann have in common?
What did Dr. Brand mean by, "I thought I was prepared. I knew all the theory. - reality's different."

Dr. Brand represents the possibility of transformation: she "got" the distinction of experiencing life "on the court"
after she experiencing most of her life "from the stands" (ie. as theories, concepts, etc).
Dr. Mann stood for NOTHING except his own survival - "...I knew there was a way to get rescued."
Dr. Mann's habits of living in the past, of striving to be "right" no matter what the cost, of running rackets - "None
of this turned out the way it was supposed to." CONTRASTED with Cooper's context of responsibility that he
brings to living - "This thing has to adapt, just like the rest of us."
Professor Brand and Dr. Mann - what did they stand for (perhaps unwittingly)? Running rackets & supporting a
"cultural commitment" to looking good. Both men were used by or "owned by": striving to look good / avoid
looking bad, striving to be right / avoid being wrong, self-preservation, cowardice, selfishness, weakness,
victimhood, self-justification / invalidating others, winning / avoiding losing, avoiding domination.
Professor Brand insisted on the explorers having "no attachments" - such as Dr. Mann - what does that say about
what Professor Brand stands for? About his concept of what it means to be human, and what our purpose is?
Cooper and Murphy - what did they stand for? Integrity, love, being committed to something bigger than personal
concerns, courage, being cause-in-the-matter & individual responsibility: "Hes not coming back. He was never
coming back. Its up to us. To me.")

Interstellar Heroes Themes and Questions for Discussion.docx