The Point of View gun is a weapon that appears in the 2005 movie but not in any of the prior versions of the story. The gun was designed by Deep Thought. It makes the victim see things from the shooter's point of view.
Description[]
The gun is a golden coloured weapon, about the size of a rifle. It is very similar to human firearms in its design, with a grip, trigger, and trigger guard. There is a handle midway along the barrel of the gun, which is silver in colour, as is the grip, which is silver and copper.
There are jagged, angular patterns along the length of the weapon, and it shoots an invisible ray out of the hole at the end, the back of the gun lighting up blue when it is used.
History[]
According to the Guide in the film, The Point of View gun was designed and created by the supercomputer Deep Thought before it had calculated of the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
It was a commission from 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?" Prior to this, the Consortium had inadvertently sparked off the Great Gender War on planet Amazonia and the gun was seen as a more peaceful means to accomplish its aims.
The Point of View gun, as seen from the side
The Consortium requested that the gun would only work on men, as they realised that the consequences could be disastrous if a man were to get ahold of it and "persuade the female population to put their feet up and forget the housework." However, this wasn't necessary, as it was said that the gun had little effect on women, as their empathy levels were on average too high for the gun's circuitry to modify.
Deep Thought also created six other Point of View guns and delivered them to its clients with a warning: "It can be very dangerous to see things from somebody else's point of view without the proper training."
The gun was found on Magrathea by Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford Prefect, and Trillian, after they went to retrieve it for Humma Kavula, in exchange for the return of Zaphod's second head, which Humma Kavula had removed as collateral. Humma Kavula sought to use the gun in order to convert more people to his religion of believing in the Great Green Arkleseizure.
Ford and Zaphod used the gun on each other, to test out its function, and then Trillian also used the gun on Zaphod to make him understand how horrible she felt about him signing the order for Earth's destruction. He attempted to use the gun on her in turn, however, it would have had no effect, as she pointed out: "I'm already a woman." Using the gun on Zaphod and seeing his lack of remorse at his actions resulted in Trillian realising how much she loved Arthur Dent.
At the end of the film, Marvin used it to depress the Vogons, making them unable to fight, and causing them to fall over in anguish at feeling Marvin's depression. By the end of the events in the film, Arthur is still in possession of the gun, with neither him nor Zaphod having given it to Humma Kavula.
Appearances[]
Film[]
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Point Of View Gun
Featuring Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def, and Martin Freeman.
Trivia[]
- The Point of Gun view is similar to the Total Perspective Vortex, a plot device from the Secondary Phase of the radio series, and the second novel: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The vortex was created by the character Trin Tragula to show his wife the whole infinity of creation and herself in relation to it.
- According to Robbie Stamp, executive producer of the film and longtime friend and colleague of Douglas Adams, the device is unique to the film and was created by Adams[1].
References[]
- ↑ "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, 26 April 2005)