NOTE: This episode contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you might want to hit pause and come back when you’re ready.

This episode explores Interstellar, examining it through the complex scientific principles of Einstein’s relativity as well as the profound emotional humanism that underpins its narrative. Nolan’s expansive space epic masterfully bends the fabric of time and space, creating a mind-bending voyage across cosmic horizons. Yet, amidst the vastness of the universe, the story remains anchored by what truly matters—the enduring love we carry with us and the hope we send ahead into the unknown. In Interstellar, it becomes clear that what ultimately saves us isn’t raw force or technology but the depth of our feelings, connections, and hope that propel us forward.

If you’d like to read more about Vivian Sobchack’s approach to phenomenology, her landmark texts are:

• The Address of the Eye: A Phenomenology of Film Experience (1992)

• Carnal Thoughts: Embodiment and Moving Image Culture (2004)

Both works dive deep into how film is not just a story we interpret but a lived, bodily experience we inhabit.