In the Shadow of the Moon

I don't watch much TV but I've just seen two fantastic films on More4. The first, The Dish, was a touching dramatisation about the guys in Australia who beamed live TV footage of the moon landing into homes across the world. The second, In the Shadow of the Moon, was a documentary in which all the surviving astronauts from the Apollo missions are interviewed about their experience. It's one of the most profound things I've watched all year.

As someone born in 1983 I've always had a very post-modern view of the events that amazed the world on 20 July 1969. In some ways it's easy to take for granted the fact that men have set foot on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are two of the first celebrated names that I can remember so it's always been a kind of fact for me. Also there's plenty of other amazing things that we've accomplished in science, technology and medicine.

Sometimes when I stand and look up at the moon though, I find it absolutely impossible to believe that it could ever have happened, especially with the relatively rudimentary technology of 1969. Mixed with this are doubts fuelled by stories of mock ups in hangers. There's also a slight unease about the patriotic possessiveness implied by the symbolism involved and the knowledge that this was all part of the great arms race of the cold war.

These films cut through all of this and I think, for the first time really gave me a glimpse of the awe and wonder that people must have experienced when they watched these events for the first time. As Mike Collins (the third guy in Apollo 11) says in the later "My Father was born shortly after the Wright Brother's first flight but my son took it all for granted". It really makes you realise how amazingly fast things progressed during the 20th Century. What must it have been like to live through such times of change? Are the next 82 years going to be just as incredible?

The other amazing thing is what a universal achievement this was for the human race. While there were partisan and patriotic factors driving the mission, Buzz Aldrin recounts how when he travelled the world afterwards he was struck by how everyone said to him "We've done it".

Many of the most poignant words are at the end, when the astronauts discuss the spiritual and reflective side of the experience. In particular they all say that it made them realise how fragile the Earth is and how lucky we are to live on it. Something which we should all bear in mind given the current state of affairs.

All in all, a really thought provoking, awe inspiring documentary, with plenty of humour, quirky facts and incredible footage as well. Well worth watching if you get the chance (the preview below doesn't do it justice)!