Solar eclipses show up across the entertainment spectrum
From the birth of a carnivorous houseplant to a time traveler using the knowledge of modern science to his advantage, the phenomenon of the solar eclipse has played a role across the pop culture spectrum from cinema to song and beyond.
Here are a few examples.
‘2001: A Space Odyssey’
The classic 1968 film by Stanley Kubrick opens with a shot of both the moon and the Earth eclipsing the sun.
‘Apocalypto’
Mel Gibson’s 2006 film about ancient South American civilizations shows Mayan leaders taking advantage of a solar eclipse as a religious sign that their blood sacrifice has appeased an angry god.
‘Dolores Claiborne’
The 1995 psychological thriller based on a Stephen King novel includes a housekeeper who confronts her alcoholic, abusive husband during a solar eclipse, causing him to fall into a well hole she has covered over.
‘Little Shop of Horrors’
In the 1986 film adaptation of the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” the villain, a carnivorous plant named Audrey II, is born as the result of a solar eclipse.
‘Pitch Black’
The pulpy 2000 Vin Diesel action-sci-fi film centers on a group of people trapped on an alien planet, where they must evade underground predators who emerge during a solar eclipse.
‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’
This 1949 film, based on a Mark Twain story, features an early 20th-century American man who wakes up in Arthurian-era Britain and uses his knowledge of an upcoming solar eclipse to his advantage.
In song
• “Total Eclipse” by Klaus Nomi: German baroque synth-pop about a solar eclipse? That’s pretty much the perfect way to kick off our list of appropriate songs. Nomi recorded songs in a wide variety of genres, from classical opera to 1960s pop standards. There’s no lack of weirdness on display here.
• “Paint It, Black” by the Rolling Stones: “I want to see the sun, blotted out from the sky/I want to see it painted, painted, painted, painted black.” So goes one of a great many Rolling Stones songs that tend toward the darker side of the human condition. If nothing else, it’s a great metaphor for a solar eclipse.
• “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler: To be clear, the moon is not going to pass across the path of Bonnie Tyler’s heart. That is not astronomically possible nor is it scientifically accurate. But the title alone earns this one a spot on the list.
• “Eclipse” by Pink Floyd: As the musical peak of the legendary 1974 “Dark Side of the Moon” record, the song wraps all of the album’s reflective themes into a pounding waltz that crescendos with the line, “Everything under the sun is in tune/But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.”
• “Blinded by the Light” by Bruce Springsteen: You probably thought Manfred Mann wrote this song. He didn’t. Springsteen wrote it for his debut 1973 album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” Regardless, this is your reminder to not look directly at the eclipse without the proper glasses. Or, like Bruce at the end of the original, you’ll be wailing, “I was blinded!”
And since I know I’ll get yelled at if I don’t include the one everyone knows…
• “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden: I’ll be honest, I was peer-pressured to include this song on the list. It makes no reference at all to an eclipse, but rather is Chris Cornell pleading for the sun to become a black hole and destroy the universe. I am including this under protest. Do not ask why “Here Comes the Sun” is not on this list. That song is about spring … maybe about sunrise in general. No eclipse anywhere in sight. John Denver once wrote a song called “Eclipse,” which you’d think would be perfect for this list. But it’s just about the sun going down at night.
• “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash: Again, we’re really stretching things here, but for those not in the path of totality, “ring of fire” is a pretty apt description for what you may see as the moon passes across most, but not all, of the sun’s face.
• “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival: We’re still on the fringes here, but you could make an argument that, depending on your level of scientific awareness, the moon blotting out the sun could be considered a “bad moon rising.” We’re pretty sure this song is about the apocalypse in general, but who’s to say it won’t start with a solar eclipse?
• Carly Simon, “You’re So Vain: “You flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia/To see a total eclipse of the sun.” Luckily, in Western Pennsylvania, we only have to go as far as Erie.
• “The Final Countdown” by Europe: Only tangentially related to the eclipse, but hey, you know pretty much everyone in the path of totality is going to be counting down to when the full eclipse happens. So let’s toss it in here for good measure.
• “Eclipse Gallop” by the Karl King Band: Let’s go all the way back to 1919, shall we? Originally published by Lee & Walker as sheet music, the piece was written in commemoration of the 1869 total eclipse, which was visible across the continental U.S.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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