Spoilers included.

In the 1956 movie The Forbidden Planet, the crew of a spaceship visit a remote planet to investigate the fate of a previous expedition.

When they arrive they find only two survivors, Dr Morbius and his daughter Altaira. Dr Morbius explains that the rest of the crew were killed by a strange force. That force then threatens the new expedition.

Dr Morbius shows the captain of the expedition the underground remnants of a previous civilization. A vast power source that is still functioning. He explains how he has used this technology to increase his own intelligence but is reluctant to share the technology as he believes it is too powerful and humans are not ready for it. The central concept of the story is that this ancient technology allows the doctor to create reality through the power of thought.

The positive thinking industry at its extreme fringes believes something similar with its notion of cosmic ordering. By writing down a list of what you want and focusing on it, those wants will materialize in the real world. The ancient technology is the underlying mechanism of the universe, it is “The Secret”.

On the forbidden planet, Altaire formed a relationship with one of the crew members which only seemed to increase the danger to the crew from the invisible creature stalking them.

The creature was, in fact, Dr Morbius. It is was his id manifested in the real world. The dark side of his personality that he had refused to acknowledge.

Assuming that cosmic ordering worked, would it really be a good thing, or would it, like the forbidden planet, give people what they think they want but come with a long tail of unintended consequences for both themselves and those they influence and or control?

The movie is partly based on Shakespeare’s Tempest which takes place on an island ruled by the sorcerer Prospero. In the play, life is described as being dreamlike.

We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep

At the end of the play, Prospero gives up his supernatural powers and leaves the island he has ruled. He rejoins humanity and in doing so accepts less control over his world.

The urge to control reality is understandable but not necessarily healthy if we cannot accept the limits and fleeting nature of that control.

The final scene of The Forbidden Planet reflects a passage from the last act of The Tempest.

the great globe … shall dissolve … like this insubstantial pageant