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Point-of-view gun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Point-of-view gun is a fictional device created by Douglas Adams for the movie version[1] of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and does not appear in any of the previous versions of the story.[2]
According to the film, the gun was created by Deep Thought prior to its long pondering of the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. When used on someone, it will cause them to see things from the point of view of the person firing the gun. According to the Guide, the gun was commissioned by the Intergalactic Consortium of Angry Housewives, who were tired of ending every argument with their husbands with the phrase: "You just don't get it, do you?"
This neatly mirrors the Total Perspective Vortex, an earlier plot device from the radio series and second novel, created by the character Trin Tragula to show his wife the whole infinity of creation and herself in relation to it. This symmetry may have caused confusion amongst viewers with only vague recollections of earlier versions of the story.
Humma Kavula wants to obtain the gun in order to expand the influence of the religion he heads. He agrees to trade it with Zaphod Beeblebrox for the coordinates to Magrathea. When the gun is discovered inside Deep Thought, it is playfully used by Ford Prefect and Zaphod on one another, and eventually taken by Trillian who uses it to force Zaphod to understand why she was upset over the destruction of Earth. (In the movie adaptation, Zaphod authorized the destruction of Earth, thinking he was simply being asked for his signature for a fan, and was completely unaware as to why Trillian was upset.) Following this, Zaphod threatens to fire the gun at Trillian, to which she replies that she is "already a woman", and therefore it will have no effect on her.
Near the end of the film, Marvin the Paranoid Android uses the gun to save the crew of the Heart of Gold from hundreds of Vogons. After the Vogons see things from Marvin's chronically-depressed point of view, they all collapse.
There are seven holsters for Point-of-view guns inside Deep Thought, but only one actual gun. The rest of the holsters are empty. At the end of the movie Arthur Dent possesses the gun, and Zaphod has not yet turned the gun over to Humma Kavula. These last two points may provide clues for the direction of any possible sequels.
- ^ According to Robbie Stamp, executive producer of the movie and longtime friend and colleague of Douglas Adams, the device is unique to the film: "Humma, the Point of View Gun and the "paddle slapping sequence" on Vogsphere are brand new Douglas ideas written especially for the movie by him." (Ask Slashdot, 26th April 2005).
- ^ Not to be confused with the earlier Total Perspective Vortex, or the later phrase "It can be very dangerous to see things from somebody else's point of view without the proper training." from Mostly Harmless.
