Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Debate:Should students learn a foreign language?

2010-01-06T16:36:55Z

Mattsmith:

{{debate}}

Would Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic be considered examples of foreign languages? [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 19:40, 19 March 2007 (EDT)

No, I don't see a real point. I'd rather kids learn German, Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, or some other useful language in school rather than Italian, Spanish and French. I'd also rather we start teaching kids foreign languages much earlier before English Language patterns are set.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 19:45, 19 March 2007 (EDT)

Spanish can be useful down in South-West US, places such as Arizona or New Mexico, so I don't see the problem with it.. But French is such a commonly taught language in North America; how useful is it really? Anyways, I quite agree with what Elamdri states.--[[User:Blzorav|Blozrav]]
:When I say useful, I mean languages that are more sought after in the business and government spheres. Yeah, Spanish can be helpful if you work at McDonalds in New Mexico, but other than that, your limited. German and especially Mandarin are the other two languages of big business besides English. Farsi and Arabic are important languages right now for anyone looking into careers in government, military, and espionage.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 19:51, 19 March 2007 (EDT)
::You do know that there are countries to the south of the United States right? You do know that these countries represent one of the largest trading blocks to the United States? Just wondering. --[[User:Raytrotter|Raytrotter]] 20:09, 19 March 2007 (EDT)
:::They aren't going to be NEARLY as important in the near future as Southeast Asia is.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 03:24, 20 March 2007 (EDT)
::Having worked at a Burger King in New Mexico, I'm pretty sure it's not going to be all that useful. If you want to work at a decent restaurant here, though, Spanish might help. Or, you know, if you want to attempt to talk to the people who do the jobs you don't want to do, keep the American economy from collapse, etc. [[User:IMFromKathlene|IMFromKathlene]] 01:18, 20 March 2007 (EDT)
:::I was being sarcastic. Of course Spanish is useful, but it is more of a region specific language. If you aren't doing business in the southwestern United States, then its practically pointless. Someone like me in the Midwest has no use for it. French and Italian are so pointless they aren't even worth mentioning.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 03:24, 20 March 2007 (EDT)
::::Unless you plan on, say, doing business with people who speak those languages. We're a country of immigrants, so we're going to have quite a few people who aren't speaking English here. Additionally, the more international the world becomes the more useful-- moneywise as well as culturewise-- it will be to be able to communicate with people who don't speak English. Expecting everyone to learn our language just because we have a puffed up idea of ourselves is naive at best and xenophobic at worst. [[User:IMFromKathlene|IMFromKathlene]] 03:31, 20 March 2007 (EDT)
:::::Your mistaking what I say. For starters, most people learn those languages in high school. Now, how many high school students honestly know they want to do business with people that speak that language? Besides, for the most part, if your an immigrant to the United States, you pick up the basic English needed to survive or you have your children do it for you. With most immigrant families that I have come across, the native tongue dies out after the first generation, because the children simply learn the English and rarely speak the older language. It isn't a bad thing to expect everyone who lives IN the United States to learn English. And honestly, because it is the established lingua franca, I don't see much harm in asking people around the world to agree to an already established common language (unless your really into all that Revelations stuff). If we don't do it now, we might loose our chance if China surpasses us.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 03:41, 20 March 2007 (EDT)
::::::High school students don't know a lot of things about what they do with their lives-- that doesn't mean we should put off letting them choose between Statistics and Calculus until they decide what business they want to go into. I really wish they would've done more foreign language stuff when I was a little kid, though-- I might just be bitter/annoyed at myself that I still don't know Spanish despite having lived in New Mexico for almost 17 years. Oh, and one other thing-- I seriously doubt we're going to have a problem with people needing to learn Chinese. Chinese is terrifyingly difficult. Japanese, Arabic and Farsi, though-- we're going to need a lot more people speaking those really soon.
:::::::I dunno, what happens if China does become the economic juggernaut that some have predicted?--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 03:55, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

PS: Oh, and I have one other reason I want everyone to use Spanish: maybe English will come to its senses and pick up a second person pronoun other than "ya'll." Ustedes FTW.[[User:IMFromKathlene|IMFromKathlene]] 03:53, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

::English language tip: the correct spelling of the second-person pronoun in English is "y'all", not "ya'll". Go back to Mexico where you belong, Kathlene!! --[[User:Madonna|Madonna]] 09:49, 3 April 2007 (EDT)

Ah, okay, I get what you mean. Thanks! --[[User:Blzorav|Blozrav]]

Generally speaking, yes. Being bilingual never hurts. People whose native language is English/American have a sort of choice since it's a very widely-used language. Everybody else should at least learn English as a second language. For the English-speaking people, I'd suggest French, German, or something like that, if just to appreciate how easy English is. ;) Overall, it depends on what you want to do, like Elamdri pointed out. But being able to communicate in a language other than your first one can be a true asset. --[[User:Sid 3050|Sid 3050]] 20:04, 19 March 2007 (EDT)
:In my opinion, being bilingual is just a boon really. There's always going to be SOMEONE who knows the language, so really, unless we come across some sort of shortage on translators, we really don't have a problem. Plus, English is pretty much the lingua franca these days. If you go almost anywhere worth going on this rock, you can probably get by just knowing English ("Getting by" in not really the best way to travel though, so its best to invest in some sort of guide if you can). I would however advise against French. Its rather case specific in it's use, and like Spanish, some English and Italian, it's Latin based, meaning that the words share common roots. This makes Spanish, French, and Italian somewhat easier to learn for English speaking students. Thus, people who speak these as a second language are more "dime a dozen." Non Latin based languages, especially the Asia and Middle Eastern languages, are much harder for English speaking students to learn. This means that people who aren't from those regions, who know those languages, are in higher demand. Also, jobs that tend to require those specific skills tend to be much more high profile careers.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 03:33, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

Your best bets for a second langauge would be any language formerly used by a colonial power. Spanish, French, German, Portugese, and Dutch are languages that are spoken throughout the world. Some variant of Chinese or Japanese would be helpful too, but good luck learning Chinese languages.

In my experience, Spanish is very useful in business and German not at all. I even have several German clients (Deutsche Bank, Bayerische Hypo- und Veriensbank, Commerzbank, Dow Olefinverbund GmbH, and others, but (i) the people who work there disproportionately speak English and (ii) outside of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, virtually no one else does. While I have no clients based in Spanish speaking countries, the number of business opportunities that arise in Latin America are quite substantial. They have an abundance of natural resources and often need first-world help to exploit them. I *wish* I spoke Spanish (or Portuguese, for Brazil alone). --[[User:JesusSaves|JesusSaves]] 03:34, 09 April 2007 (EDT)
:Key word there being '''exploit'''.--[[User:Elamdri|Elamdri]] 12:02, 11 April 2007 (EDT)

In order to really understand another country or culture it is mandatory to speak its language.

[[Media:Example.ogg]]== YES ==

Yes you should learn one other language then your own, it REALLY makes your mind work hard
and raises the level of your understanding of many things.
--[[User:Wally|Wally]] 20:08, 26 June 2007 (EDT)

I'm currently learning both Spanish (in which I'm pretty fluent) and Mandarin (which is way less difficult than some people say it is; no crazy verb tenses to worry about), and I definitely agree that knowing a second language is very important in today's world. The whole "everyone should speak English" idea is wildly outdated. If you compare English verb morphology and possessives to other languages, you see why. English, unless it's your first language, is probably the most difficult language to learn. While I don't meet people every day who only speak Spanish or Mandarin, it's still useful to know the languages and learning a foreign language is intellectually stimulating.
--SapphoChan17

If our country is gaining immigrants and trading with more countries than ever before, learning a second language would be essential to maybe gain a better job or promotion, or maybe to meet new people.
--JPBrick

This being my first edit I apologise if I'm somehow messing up the structure. Being European I figured it might be interesting to add something about my perspective on languages. Since Europe is roughly of the same size as the US (on a very general scale that is), but consists of some 50 nations using some 30 languages our situation is very different from the US, where even the largest neighbour to the North mainly speaks the same language. In Europe most people learn at least one foreign language from third or fourth grade. Personally I took English for ten years (3rd to 12th) and German for 5 (7th to 11th), then some Russian while in the military, and Dutch as an exchange student in the Netherlands during college. Having countries with different languages virtually around the corner shows you the use for knowing languages in a more direct way than a remote possibility in your future professional life. I do believe however that knowing a foreign language is never 'bad' as in being a waste. As someone pointed out above it is not possible to fully understand a culture without knowing the language of the culture. Which language to start with is of course a matter of discussion. Considering the growth of the Chinese impact I guess you could say everone should learn Chinese of some form, but in the US I assume Spanish (or possibly French) might come to more immediate use.
I'd also like to point out that the more languages you know, the easier it becomes to learn more.
--SwedeSteve

Yes, learning a foreign language expands young minds and allows them to learn from other perspectives. In an ever globalizing world, whether you support globalization or not, learning a foreign language is useful for communication. When children grow up they are bound to meet foreigners at some time in their lives. Also, learning a foreign language cause students to use their brains in different ways. It has been proven that different parts of the brain "light up" when people start thinking in different languages. Of course learning a foreign language should be optional but I highly recommend it. I took latin and I'm not going to be a doctor or anything but it gave me an understanding of the origins of the english language and increased my vocabulary. Language and writing is the foundation of civilization and we should do our best to enhance our understanding of the world. -Nonobu

Only if they desire to learn one--[[User:TedM|TedM]] 23:22, 9 March 2009 (EDT)

Only if they desire to live in a global community --[[User:LincolnShuddered|LincolnShuddered]]

Maybe everyone else should just learn a universal language like english. It's not hard or anything.--[[User:Mattsmith|Mattsmith]] 11:36, 6 January 2010 (EST)

User talk:Mattsmith

2010-01-06T16:33:57Z

Mattsmith:

Don't copy anything from Wikipedia unless the entire article there was your own work. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 11:12, 6 January 2010 (EST)

Sorry, i just thought that the article resembled more of a movie review than an unbiased encyclopedic entry.--[[User:Mattsmith|Mattsmith]] 11:14, 6 January 2010 (EST)
:If you please, write it the way a movie article should be written, i.e. with plot description, cast, history of making it, box office take, etc. Point out the original movie poster and I'll upload it. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 11:20, 6 January 2010 (EST)
righty ho then. I shall start doing that now :D :D :D D: Heres a link to the poster. [http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/8595/nicolascageinknowingpos.jpg]
--[[User:Mattsmith|Mattsmith]] 11:25, 6 January 2010 (EST)
::I found one already, and it's up. But the rest is in place for you. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 11:31, 6 January 2010 (EST)
oh well at least i tried. i will try harder in the future. sad face.--[[User:Mattsmith|Mattsmith]] 11:33, 6 January 2010 (EST)--[[User:Mattsmith|Mattsmith]] 11:33, 6 January 2010 (EST)

User talk:Mattsmith

2010-01-06T16:25:31Z

Mattsmith:

User talk:Mattsmith

2010-01-06T16:14:50Z

Mattsmith:

Knowing

2010-01-06T16:10:16Z

Mattsmith: i saw this was edited to be quite opinionated so i decided to copy from an unbiased source (wikipedia) until this can be corrected

'''''Knowing''''' is a 2009 [[science fiction]] film directed by [[Alex Proyas]] and starring [[Nicolas Cage]]. The project was originally attached to a number of directors under [[Columbia Pictures]], but it was placed in [[Turnaround (filmmaking)|turnaround]] and eventually picked up by Escape Artists. Production was financially backed by [[Summit Entertainment]]. ''Knowing'' was filmed in [[Melbourne, Australia]], using various locations to represent the film's [[Boston]]-area setting. The film was released on March 20, 2009, in the [[United States]]. The [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] media were released on July 7, 2009.

== Plot ==
In 1959 at [[William Dawes]] Elementary School in [[Lexington, Massachusetts]], a [[time capsule]] containing students' drawings of their ideas of the future is buried and set to be ceremoniously opened 50 years later. A girl named Lucinda Embry contributes a page full of seemingly random digits. That night Lucinda is found in a school closet, where her fingers are bloodied from scratching at the inside of the door, and she complains about hearing voices.

In 2009, the time capsule is opened and the drawings are given to the current students. A boy named Caleb receives Lucinda's envelope. His father, John Koestler, a widower and professor of [[astrophysics]] at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], takes interest in the paper and soon realizes some of the digits represent the dates and death tolls of every major disaster over the past fifty years, and suggests three disasters still to come. Meanwhile Caleb begins receiving visits from mysterious figures in overcoats, "The Strangers". During these encounters he hears their overlapping [[telepathy|telepathic]] whispers.

John witnesses a commercial plane crash on the date that the paper had next predicted a disaster would occur, and he discovers that the unexplained digits on the paper are the [[Geographic coordinate#Latitude and longitude|geographic coordinates]] of the events. Speaking with Lucinda's former teacher, John learns of Lucinda's closet episode, and also that she had since died after a medication overdose. He then meets Lucinda's daughter, Diana Wayland, but is rebuffed once he mentions Lucinda's paper. But after John uses the numbers to correctly predict another disaster — a [[Manhattan]] subway train derailment which John tries and fails to prevent — Diana seeks out John, and together they go to investigate Lucinda's old remote mobile home. Having noticed that the last date on the paper is not accompanied by coordinates, further clues in Lucinda's home lead John and Diana to realize that the "33" listed as the death toll for the final disaster is actually "EE" reversed, which Lucinda meant to represent "Everyone Else." In the woods outside the home, John confronts one of The Strangers, who disappears in a flash of light. It is revealed that Diana's daughter Abby can hear The Strangers' eerie whispers as well.

John and a fellow professor forecast that a massive [[solar flare]] will soon reach Earth, and the final disaster on Lucinda's paper will indeed be worldwide and apocalyptic. John then examines the door of the closet in which Lucinda was found and discovers it is where she had scratched another set of coordinates. They represent the location of Lucinda's old mobile home, and John decides it is somehow a refuge from the impending disaster. Diana insists they seek shelter in some little-known underground caves instead and she takes Abby and Caleb, without John's knowledge, to go there. As panic erupts at a gas station after news of the flare is announced through an [[Emergency Alert System]] broadcast, The Strangers drive off in Diana's car with Caleb and Abby still inside. Diana gives chase in another vehicle but is killed when she is broadsided by a truck.

At Lucinda's mobile home, John finds the children with the four Strangers as a glowing vessel descends from the sky. The Strangers dispossess themselves of their human appearance and reveal themselves as glowing, translucent figures surrounded by wisps of light. The Strangers invite only those who can hear their whispers to escape the destruction with them. John convinces an initially reluctant Caleb to go with The Strangers, and the vessel departs with the two children. From the vantage point of space, other ships are seen taking off from all around Earth. John travels to Boston to be with his sister and parents. While he had distanced himself from religion following his wife's death, John reconciles with his estranged father, a Christian minister. John and his family embrace as the solar flare strikes Earth, incinerating the planet. Elsewhere, Caleb and Abby are dropped off in an otherworldly field as other ships are visible along the horizon, dropping off others. The film ends as the two make their way towards a large, white, solitary tree in the distance. 

== Cast ==
* [[Nicolas Cage]] as Professor Jonathan "John" Koestler
* [[Rose Byrne]] as Diana Wayland
* [[Chandler Canterbury]] as Caleb Koestler
* [[Lara Robinson]] as Lucinda Embry / Abby Wayland
* [[Nadia Townsend]] as Grace Koestler
* [[Ben Mendelsohn]] as Professor Phil Beckman
* [[Alan Hopgood]] as Reverend Koestler
* [[Adrienne Pickering]] as Allison Koestler
* D.G. Maloney, Joel Bow, Maximillian Paul, and Karen Hadfield as The Strangers
* [[Danielle Carter]] as Miss Taylor in 1959
* [[Alethea McGrath]] as Miss Taylor in 2009

== Production ==
''Knowing'' was originally written by novelist [[Ryne Douglas Pearson]] and the project was set up at [[Columbia Pictures]]. Both [[Rod Lurie]] and [[Richard Kelly (director)|Richard Kelly]] were attached as directors, but the film eventually went into [[Turnaround (filmmaking)|turnaround]]. The project was picked up by the production company Escape Artists, and the script was rewritten by Stiles White and Juliet Snowden. Director [[Alex Proyas]] was attached to direct the project in February 2005.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Nicole |last=Laporte |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117918117.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 |title=Proyas digs ''Knowing'' gig |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=February 16, 2005 |accessdate=May 20, 2008}}</ref> Summit Entertainment took on the responsibility to fully finance and distribute the film. Proyas and [[Stuart Hazeldine]] rewrote the draft for production,<ref>{{cite journal|first=Michael |last=Fleming |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117977454.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 |title=Cage to star in Proyas' ''Knowing'' |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=December 10, 2007 |accessdate=May 21, 2008}}</ref> which began on March 25, 2008 in [[Melbourne|Melbourne, Australia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=22411 |title=Byrne Set for Sci-Fi Thriller Knowing |work=VFXWorld.com |publisher=[[Animation World Network]] |date=March 4, 2008 |accessdate=May 21, 2008}}</ref> The director hoped to emulate ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]'' in melding "realism with a fantastical premise".<ref>{{cite news|last=Vejvoda |first=Jim |url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/893/893330p1.html |title=SDCC 08: Knowing When to Push |work=[[IGN]] |date=July 24, 2008 |accessdate=November 26, 2008}}</ref>

The film is set primarily in the town of [[Lexington, Massachusetts|Lexington]] with some scenes set in the nearby cities of [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] and [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]. To represent the Boston area, filmmakers used Australian locations such as [[Geelong Ring Road]], the [[Melbourne Museum]], [[Mount Macedon, Victoria|Mount Macedon]], and [[Collins Street, Melbourne|Collins Street]].<ref name="night">{{cite news|first=Daniel |last=Ziffer |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/strongfilmstrong-nicolas-cage-talks-about-the-film-emknowingem/2008/04/06/1207420201620.html |title=Night at the museum |work=[[The Age]] |date=April 7, 2008 |accessdate=May 21, 2008}}</ref> Filming also took place at [[Camberwell High School]], which was converted into the fictional William Dawes Elementary, located in 1959 Lexington.<ref>{{cite news|first=Doug |last=Nye |url=http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/jul/07/bc-vid-bluraymct-_-entertainment-700-words/?entertainment&national-entertainment |title=Grumpy Old Men,' Knowing' top short list of new Blu-ray releases |work=Victoria Advocate |date=July 7, 2009 |accessdate=September 22, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Jane |last=Metlikovec |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23405786-2862,00.html |title=Nicolas Cage goes back to school |work=[[Herald Sun]] |date=March 30, 2008 |accessdate=May 21, 2008}}</ref> Interior shots took place at the [[Australian Synchrotron]] to represent an observatory.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bernecich |first=Adrian |title=Powerhouse for research |work=Waverly Gazette |date=October 28, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=International Film Shot at Australian Synchrotron |url=http://www.synchrotron.org.au/images/LightspeedNewsletter/lightspeed-april-2008.pdf |format=PDF |work=Lightspeed |publisher=Australian Synchrotron Company, Ltd |date=April 1, 2008 |accessdate=November 12, 2009}}</ref> Filming also took place at the [[Haystack Observatory]] in Westford, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite news|last=Minch |first=Jack |title=Hollywood coming to Westford |work=[[The Sun (Lowell)|The Sun]] |date=September 23, 2008}}</ref> In addition to practical locations, filming also took place at the [[Melbourne Central City Studios]] in Docklands.<ref>{{cite news|first=James |last=Wigney |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23603205-2862,00.html |title=Nicolas's golden cage an empty shell |work=[[Herald Sun]] |date=April 27, 2008 |accessdate=May 21, 2008}}</ref>

Proyas used a [[Red Digital Cinema Camera Company|Red One]] digital camera, making the film the first time the director used digital cameras.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fischer |first=Paul |url=http://www.darkhorizons.com/interviews/proyask.php/ |title=SDCC Interview: Alex Proyas for ''Knowing'' |work=[[Dark Horizons]] |date=August 6, 2008 |accessdate=December 13, 2008}}</ref> He sought to capture a gritty and realistic look to the film, and his approach involved a continuous two-minute take in which Cage's character sees a plane crash and attempts to rescue passengers. The take was an arduous task, taking two days to set up and two days to shoot. Proyas explained the goal, "I did that specifically to not let the artifice of visual effects and all the cuts and stuff we can do, get in the way of the emotion of the scene."<ref>{{cite news|last=Minnick |first=Remy |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17682 |title=Alex Proyas: And ''Knowing'' Is Half The Battle |work=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=August 12, 2008 |accessdate=November 26, 2008}}</ref>

==Reception==
''Knowing'' received mixed reviews. ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]'' reported that 34% of critics gave the film positive write-ups based upon a sample of 145 critics with an [[weighted mean|average]] score of 4.7 out of 10, although the Rotten Tomatoes community gave the film a 60% "fresh" rating.<ref name="rt">{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/knowing/ |title=Knowing Movie Reviews |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc |accessdate=April 21, 2009}}</ref> At ''[[Metacritic]]'', which assigns a [[Standard score|normalized]] rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 41 out of 100 based on 27 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/knowing |title=Knowing (2009): Reviews |work=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=CNET Networks, Inc |accessdate=April 21, 2009}}</ref> The consensus observed that ''Knowing'' had "some interesting ideas and a couple good scenes" but was hampered "by its absurd plot and over-seriousness".<ref name="rt"/>

[[A. O. Scott]] of the ''[[New York Times]]'' said, "If your intention is to make a brooding, hauntingly allegorical terror-thriller, it’s probably not a good sign when spectacles of mass death and intimations of planetary destruction are met with hoots and giggles ... The draggy, lurching two hours of ''Knowing'' will make you long for the end of the world, even as you worry that there will not be time for all your questions to be answered."<ref>{{cite news|last=Scott |first=A. O. |authorlink=A. O. Scott |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/movies/20know.html |title=Extinction Looms! Stop the Aliens! |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 20, 2009 |accessdate=March 31, 2009}}</ref> In the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', Peter Hartlaub called the film "a disappointment for fans of Proyas" and "a surprisingly messy effort." He thought Nicolas Cage "borders on ridiculous here, in part because of a script that gives him little to do but freak out or act depressed".<ref>{{cite news|last=Hartlaub |first=Peter |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/20/DDLG16IL0E.DTL |title=Movie review: ''Knowing'' funny for a thriller |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=March 20, 2009 |accessdate=March 31, 2009}}</ref>

Writing for the ''[[Washington Post]]'', Michael O'Sullivan thought the film was "creepy, at least for the first two-thirds or so, in a moderately satisfying, if predictable, way ... But the narrative corner into which this movie... paints itself is a simultaneously silly and morbidly depressing one. Well before the film neared its by turns dismal and ditzy conclusion, I found myself knowing—yet hardly able to believe—what was about to happen."<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Sullivan |first=Michael |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/19/AR2009031901082.html |title=Few Surprises in ''Knowing'' |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=March 20, 2009 |accessdate=March 31, 2009}}</ref> Betsy Sharkey of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' found it to be "moody and sometimes ideologically provocative" and added, "''Knowing'' has its grim moments—and by that I mean the sort of cringe- (or laugh-) inducing lines of dialogue that have haunted disaster films through the ages ... So visually arresting are the images that watching a deconstructing airliner or subway train becomes more mesmerizing than horrifying."<ref>{{cite news|last=Sharkey |first=Betsy |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-knowing20-2009mar20,0,4009291.story |title=Review: ''Knowing'' |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 20, 2009 |accessdate=March 31, 2009}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] was enthusiastic about the film, rating it four stars and ranking it "among the best science-fiction films I've seen—frightening, suspenseful, intelligent and, when it needs to be, rather awesome" in the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''. He continued, "With expert and confident storytelling, Proyas strings together events that keep tension at a high pitch all through the film. Even a few quiet, human moments have something coiling beneath. Pluck this movie, and it vibrates."<ref>{{cite news|last=Ebert |first=Roger |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090318/REVIEWS/903189991/1023 |title=Knowing |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=March 18, 2009 |accessdate=March 31, 2009}}</ref>

=== Box office ===
''Knowing'' was released in 3,332 theaters in the United States and Canada on March 20, 2009 and grossed $24,604,751 in its opening weekend,<ref name="bom">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=knowing.htm |title=Knowing (2009) |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |accessdate=April 10, 2009 }}</ref> placing first at the box office.<ref>{{cite journal|last=McClintock |first=Pamela |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001500.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 |title=''Knowing'' tops weekend box office |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=March 22, 2009 |accessdate=March 22, 2009}}</ref> According to exit polling, 63% of the audience was 25 years old and up and evenly split between genders.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gray |first=Brandon |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2566&p=.htm |title=Weekend Report: ''Knowing'' Digs Up the Digits |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |date=March 23, 2009 |accessdate=April 5, 2009}}</ref> On the weekend of March 17, 2009, ''Knowing'' ranked first in the international box office, grossing $9.8 million at 1,711 theaters in ten markets, including first with $3.55 million in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal|last=McNary |first=Dave |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001824.html |title=''Knowing'' tops foreign box office |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=March 29, 2009 |accessdate=March 30, 2009 }}</ref> As of July 26, 2009, the film had grossed $79,957,634 in the United States and Canada and $93,891,197 in other territories for a worldwide total of $176,175,143.<ref name="Knowing"/>

=== Home Media Release ===
Knowing was released on DVD on July 7, 2009 opening at #1 for the week, selling 773,000 DVD units for $12,508,192 in revenue. As per the latest figures, 1,439,100 DVD units have been sold, bringing in $21,675,000 in revenue. This does not include DVD/Blu-rentals or Blu-ray sales.<ref>[http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2009/KNOWI-DVD.php The Numbers - Movie Box Office Data, Film Stars, Idle Speculation]</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}