But you’re really here for the story of the Biosphere 2 project (hint: there never was a “1”). Its origin came from a vision about living on other planets, like the moon or Mars. The idea was to build a self-contained building, sectioned off into all of the earth’s biomes, including desert, rainforest, ocean, etc. The goal was not only to survive on another planet but to live in seclusion and isolation to mimic what living on another planet would be like. Recreating nature was just one challenge, surviving isolation as a team was another. Can you imagine being locked up in your home with only your family and then not allowed to leave in some sort of lockdown? Crazy right. That’s what happened here.
“…these Biospherians could actually pull this experiment off.”
There’s so much cool stuff happening in/on Spaceship Earth to satiate the science nerd/futuristic dreamer in all of us. First, Allen and crew look crazy in their 80s EPCOT-inspired uniforms for the publicity. Also, unlike a real cult, these Biospherians could actually pull this experiment off. Their earnestness makes you want to root for their success…that is right before cynicism takes over and you’re mocking the hell out of them, like the news media looking for cracks and weaknesses in the project. The results will astonish you and not surprise you either…except for a surprise appearance by the infamous Steve Bannon.
What benefits Spaceship Earth and its director Wolf is the copious amounts of film footage he had to work with. He could have told the story without talking head interviews, but thankfully they are there for commentary. If you want to hear the story of dreamers fulfilling their outlandish dreams, this is the film. Just listening to the testimony of Spaceship Earth’s inhabitants and seeing just how close they got to pulling this experiment off may just inspire you to try it on your own. I’m no hippie, but I could watch Spaceship Earth over and over again.
"…I could watch Spaceship Earth over and over again."
