General Shang
General Shang is a figure symbolising national anxiety and distrust in the process of contact with alien civilisation. The decisions of the PLA he commands — based on the mistranslated message that the aliens are 'offering weapons' — become the decisive trigger for exploding global conflict and cutting communications between twelve nations. He dramatically shows the danger of the collective fear and nationalistic response humanity experiences before an unknown entity.
General Shang: Symbol of National Fear and Misunderstanding
General Shang, beyond simply being a military officer, is a figure who represents each nation's approach to the alien civilisation — namely 'national fear.' The film depicts Louise Banks and Ian Donnelly seeking a possibility of human survival through a scientific and linguistic approach to communicating with the aliens. The military and national power to which General Shang belongs, by contrast, brings to this process the lens of 'threat' and 'control' rather than scientific rationality.
1. The Trigger for Conflict: The Mistranslation of 'Offer Weapon'
When asked the purpose of the aliens' visit to Earth, the message the Heptapods left was "Offer weapon." For linguist Louise Banks, this sentence — carrying many possible interpretations — was highly likely to be a mistranslation meaning 'we wish to offer a gift of new technology' or 'please provide a tool.' However, General Shang and the commanders of other nations leading the PLA interpret this sentence as an unambiguous 'weapon threat' with the subject omitted.
This interpretation plays a decisive role in amplifying global anxiety. Louise ceaselessly argues as a linguist that this sentence might be a mistranslation, but a moment arrives when national-level fear and crisis overtake scientific rationality.
2. The Decision That Led to Communication Blackout
In the film's climax, the process by which twelve nations progressively sever mutual contact through communication with the aliens unfolds in step with General Shang's decisions. General Shang concludes that the aliens' message is an obvious declaration of war against humanity, and decides to shoot down the shells (alien vessels) in response. This decision, beyond mere military action, becomes a symbolic event that collapses the system of international trust and cooperation.
General Shang's actions bring about the following consequences:
- Amplification of Inter-National Distrust: As China and other nations take independent action based on their fear of the aliens, the global cooperative framework collapses.
- Information Blackout: As twelve nations cut off contact and each responds in its own way, it becomes impossible for humanity as a whole to share accurate information about the aliens and find a joint solution.
3. What General Shang Symbolises: The Danger of a Nationalistic Response
General Shang, before the unknown entity of the aliens, represents humanity's most powerful weapons: 'national pride' and 'fear.' He argues a logic diametrically opposed to Louise's efforts to approach through scientific inquiry and linguistic interpretation. In other words, when confronted with an uncertain situation, he is the device showing how the rigid logic of power — placing national security and regime maintenance above individual rational judgment or academic approach — can bring about catastrophic results.
His character poses a question to the audience: 'Should we prioritise scientific inquiry and international cooperation before an unknown threat, or national survival and control?' General Shang's existence is the film's cinematic warning about this question.
Why It Matters
General Shang is the device that most dramatically shows the failure of 'communication' — the film's central theme. The film presents the hope that humanity can overcome crisis through linguistic communication, but General Shang shows how easily that hope can be demolished by the filter of national fear and misunderstanding. His character symbolises the structural paradox that humanity must fight not the external threat of aliens but its own 'internal enemy' of conflict and distrust — adding to the philosophical depth of the work.
Other Character dives4
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Louise Banks
Louise Banks is far more than a simple linguist — she is the figure who confronts the shocking truth, through contact with alien civilisation, that humanity's very concept of time may be an error. Her journey is the process of exploring the relationship between language and modes of thought, ultimately posing a philosophical question about humanity's destiny by understanding the non-linear concept of time in which past, present, and future coexist simultaneously.
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Ian Donnelly
Ian Donnelly is not a simple scientist but a theoretical physicist responsible for the film's philosophical depth. Through contact with alien civilisation, he poses a fundamental question about the concept of 'the linearity of time' itself — long taken for granted by humanity. Adding a physical perspective to Louise's linguistic interpretation, he builds the core setting that the aliens' mode of thought follows the non-linear concept of time in which past, present, and future coexist simultaneously.
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Colonel Weber
Colonel Weber is a figure who symbolises the collision point between military tension and scientific inquiry in the process of contact with alien civilisation. Initially leading the assessment of immediate threat and wariness toward the alien life forms, through cooperation with Louise Banks he comes to realise that 'communication' must take precedence over 'force' for the survival of the human race.
Back to the title
Arrival
14 deep dives in total