[Lee Jong-gil's Film Reading] The Aesthetic Environment Dreamed of by a Reclusive Genius

Director Michael Almereyda and lead actor Ethan Hawke's 'Tesla'
Philosophy and Legacy of the Modern Technology Pioneer Reexamined Through the Eyes of a Female Observer

"I think Thomas Edison is definitely a role model. But our company is named Tesla because Nikola Tesla invented the alternating current induction motor. Tesla deserves more recognition. However, I prefer Edison. He brought inventions to the market and made people use them. Tesla did not."

This was said in 2008 by Elon Musk, CEO of the American electric car maker Tesla. The genius inventor, physicist, and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla (1856?1943) lacked business acumen. Although he left remarkable achievements in engineering, he insisted on a highly private life. He remained a lifelong bachelor, worked alone, and never joined any organization. He revealed almost nothing about his personal life.

It is difficult to recreate the footsteps of this reclusive genius through art. The biography "Tesla Electric" by John O'Neill, editor of the New York Herald Tribune (published 1924?1966), is virtually the only one. Other biographies are based on this and show little difference in approach. "Tesla Electric" focuses on Tesla’s research in Colorado Springs, offering limited human analysis and scant details about his relationships with others. O'Neill found it hard to gather information because Tesla kept a certain distance. It was not an ideal relationship for a biographer.

The film "Tesla" cautiously explores the life of the enigmatic Tesla (Ethan Hawke). Director Michael Almereyda does not adhere to traditional storytelling. He inserts numerous scenes that transcend time and space over a classical narrative. The observer is Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson), daughter of banker John Pierpont Morgan (1837?1913). She is known as a person who showed interest in Tesla. In the film, she is portrayed as running parallel to Tesla.

Morgan opens a laptop that could not have existed at the time. She searches Google Images for "Nikola Tesla" and kindly explains the results. "There are 34 million images, but only about three or four keep repeating. They flip the images and add color, but there are basically only four. The rest are blurry or imaginative illustrations."

This direction is possible because Tesla is the protagonist. In 1893, he was the first to propose the possibility of wireless communication based on the theories and experiments of German physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857?1894). He also obtained the first related patent in 1898. He predicted how far wireless communication could develop. His blueprint is now regarded as the clearest forecast. American science writer Margaret Cheney wrote in her book "Tesla: Man Out of Time," "It was not simply wireless communication transmitting signals from one place to another, but comprehensive and global information delivery." She added, "Among the pioneers of wireless communication technology, Tesla was the only one who thought this way."

Tesla’s inventions are connected to countless modern technologies. He invented the induction motor at age 27. The following year, he moved to the United States and signed patent contracts with Westinghouse for alternating current generators, transformers, and motors. At 35, he created the Tesla coil, and at 37, he designed electric lighting for the Chicago World's Fair. With Westinghouse’s support, he also built the world’s first alternating current power plant at Niagara Falls.

Tesla hoped that energy would be supplied infinitely to the Earth so that people could enjoy intellectual and artistic lives. He enjoyed writing poetry from a young age. He cherished the poems he wrote so much that he took them with him when he left for America. He never made them public; they were purely for personal reflection. He wrote poems whenever there was a special event or something worth commemorating. He was not just a genius inventor but a pioneer with philosophy and dreams.

This pure spirit is also evident in "Tesla." A representative example is the conversation with Morgan on Long Island. Morgan sincerely worries about Tesla, who faced bankruptcy despite his global fame.

"If your system succeeds, who controls the power distribution? It can’t be sold like air, and everyone can use it."

"That’s right."

"How you control that will determine how the world works. What exactly do you want to do?"

"Even in swamps or deserts, just a few small receivers and machines can fully establish light, heat power, and communication means. It’s for people living in harsh environments. Moreover, it can be done at a low cost."

"You don’t understand economics well. Everything has a price. Money, that is."

Tesla’s view cannot be considered entirely correct. Historically, no matter how excellent science and technology are, they do not immediately converge. The whole society must recognize and accept their excellence for them to emerge. There are many cases where science and technology that could benefit humanity vanished in vain due to rejection by society and dominant forces. This is probably why Musk named his company "Tesla" but pointed to Thomas Edison (1847?1931) as the true role model.

Tesla remains at the center of forgotten efforts. Almereyda seemed to regret this. In the film, he had actor Hawke sing "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by the British new wave band Tears for Fears.

"The blueprint is mine and the regrets are mine / Help me choose / Help me enjoy freedom and pleasure / Nothing lasts forever / Everybody wants to rule the world."