Dodds 1 Hannah Dodds Mr.

Jason Ellis College Writing 1 2/5/09

Is Carl Sagans Cosmos: Blues for a Red Planet more educational than Walt Disneys Mars and Beyond. When comparing Walt Disneys Mars and Beyond and Carl Sagans Cosmos: Blues for a Red Planet, I argue that Carl Sagans video is more educational than Walt Disneys video. Both display educational content but it is apparent that Mars and Beyond was created to be more on the entertaining side rather than the educational. Sagan on the other hand is all about presenting factual information to the viewer. Walt Disney, one of the greatest entertainers of the twentieth century, presents his information in a style that is captivating to the audience. But the majority of the video is concentrated around pure fantasy and speculation rather than facts. It also concentrates more on past speculations and understandings of the universe rather than the current knowledge. Carl Sagan, a renowned astronomer, presents his information in a more factual manner. He touches on the stories of the past in order to illustrate his point on how man has always been fascinated by the universe and stars beyond their reach, much in the same way as Walt Disney. But unlike Walt Disney, Carl Sagan dedicates the bulk of his video to the factual information known about Mars. Going into discussions about the men who made the eventual exploration of Mars possible, and helped to inspire the future

Dodds 2 generations of scientists. He also touches on the fiction writers; who inspired the general populaces fascination with the universe beyond our world. The similarities between Walt Disneys Mars and Beyond and Carl Sagans Cosmos: Blues for a Red Planet are few. They both touch on the unproven belief of life beyond Earth. Disney however goes more in depth on the subject than Carl Sagan. Disney goes on in his video speculating how aliens from other planets mite look or behave. Sagan only discuses what writers and scientists thought of the idea of life on other planets. Such as H.G. Wells book War of the Worlds; written in 1897, this book was the first of its kind. The story was written about a Martian invasion of Earth, it introduced the ideas of ray guns, biomechanical suits, and so many other revolutionary ideas. H.G. Wellss book frightened, fascinated, and implored the readers imagination to envision what was thought to be the impossible. Sagan goes on to speak of Percival Lowell, an amateur astronomer from Boston in the late eighteen hundreds. But for Lowell martians werent the fictional characters of a book, for him they were very real. Both Sagan and Disney touch on the idea that Mars was riddled with what looked to be canals, or grooves that could of once contained water. Scaperelly was the first to observe these canals, or grooves. Both also discussed how the shadows and color variations on the surface of Mars appears to be vegetation, seas, and what apear to be polar ice caps. There are quit a few differences between the two videos. Sagan is more concentrated on teaching, were as Disneys video appears to be more for entertainment rather than education. Sagan goes into discussion about Robert Goddard, the man who made space exploration possible. When Goddard was a boy growing up in New England he always had a fascination with rockets and fireworks. Goddard was so inspired by the

Dodds 3 ideas of Percival Lowell and H.G. Wells that at the age of seventeen he decided that he would one day build a rocket capable of voyaging to Mars. When older after extensive studies in physics and engineering Goddard began experimenting with liquid fuel rockets. Goddard soon came to the realization that in order for his rockets to obtain the high altitudes that he wanted they would have to be designed far differently than the rockets of his boyhood. Using the principles of an entirely new technology Goddard invented the basic components to guide, propel, and stabilize a rocket. These basic components can still be seen in rockets today. Unfortunately Goddard never could build a rocket capable of reaching Mars, though his experiments and inventions made it possible for future generations. Disney on the other hand said nothing of this great man, and gives very little information regarding what at the time was considered modern discoveries. Disney does briefly touch on Percival Loll, but not in as great of detail as Sagan. On the other hand Disney does give extensive information on the past. Like how in early history man believed the stars to be living things, and interpreted the star formation as omens telling them when to plant, harvest, and when famine was coming. He goes on to discus the Greeks who were the greatest astronomers of the ancient world. The Greeks constantly debated the shape of the Earth at first thinking it flat, and then square, and finally round. They also debated the theory as to whether the universe was heliocentric or geocentric, Copernicus proved mathematically the heliocentric theory. Even with all this information presented in Disneys video there was still far more in Sagans.

Dodds 4 Sagan goes on to discus some of the geography of Mars. Such as the fact that there are many signs of what look to be ancient riverbeds. Also the pyramids of Elysium, are they mountains, or are they something similar to our pyramids of Egypt? This is one of the questions that had scientists dying for a closer look. They eventually got there chance when the first probes were sent to mars; this event was one of the greatest moments in scientific history. Two probes were launched Viking 1 and Viking 2; their landing sites were preselected for their geographical favorability. Viking 1 finally landed after traveling one hundred million kilometers on July 20,1976 in an area known as Chrysie. Soon after landing, Viking 1 radioed home the first close up imagery of Mars. Surprisingly the surface looked much the same as the rocky deserts of Earth, but sadly the canals seen by Scaperelly and Lowell were not found, nor did they find any signs of life. Viking 2 landed shortly there after in a plain known as Utopia. It sent home much of the same data is Viking 1. But the biggest advancement in the study of Mars came with the invention of the rover. The rover was accentually the Viking probes on wheels capable of moving from place to place. Between the two, Disneys video was defiantly created for a younger audience, were Sagans was created for a more mature viewer. Admittedly Disney s video is more entertaining, but it is not something I would recommend as a learning tool. Though when watched together they both give a broad view how astronomy and knowledge of space developed.