The Eyes of Riddick
Sometimes we all lack imagination or eyes that see in the dark.
From now on, Friday posts will be released between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. This arrangement allows space between posts while offering food for thought on the weekends.
Upon watching Pitch Black (2000) for the first time, I couldn’t get past the cheesy early aughts punchlines and angst. Something about it was cringe, but it also provided the escapism needed. Though my last post was about my experience watching 12 Years a Slave, I wanted to use the next several posts to highlight films that offer an escape. Fantasy and science fiction are genres that influence thinking without being steeped in the doldrums of present reality.
Pitch Black is the first film in the Riddick series. It centers around a group of space voyagers harboring an intergalactic prisoner on their ship. The diverse group of space travelers are subjected to a crash where they land on a planet inhabited by creatures who thrive in the darkness. The prisoner of the ship, Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, is set up to be a villain but instead becomes somewhat of an anti-hero as the deserted group relies on his special eyes to survive the coming darkness. The visuals of this film are still worthy of rewatching, from scenes that are shaded in a blue hue to the coming of the night and the surrounding terror of the planet’s nightcrawlers. This film is undoubtedly a cult classic.
One of the most unique elements of this narrative is the reflection on humanity’s internal darkness and the role of Riddick’s eyes. The other characters on the ship fluctuate from selfishness to selflessness or from the perception of noble intentions to the depths of pure maliciousness. But Riddick’s character remains a constant. His story about how he gained his “shined eyes” is that he paid a doctor in cigarettes to perform an illegal surgical operation on him so he could see in the darkness of his prison assignment. We, as the viewers, really don’t know the real story since the nefarious cloud of suspicion and mystery is characteristic of Riddick’s background.
To me, the eyes symbolize the lack of imagination we can all experience when faced with darkness or previously unfathomable motivations. Whatever Riddick’s background, it is definitely filtered by pain. His experiences gave him special eyesight, allowing him to see in the dark and be blinded by the light. Obviously, this is not to lionize the character. But it is an acknowledgment that the crew’s perceptions of Riddick were unhelpful in a time of existential danger. Thus, they needed to dispel their prior notions and rely on his experiences, skills, and insight to survive the darkness.
I can’t help but see parallels to how so many perspectives are ignored to hold onto beliefs and perceptions that reinforce doom loops rather than address their root causes.
Next Week: The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
