A central theme to the movie The Martian is the fear of being alone. In the movie Matt Damon’s character has been left to fend for himself on the planet Mars for months until a rescue mission can be sent to save him. He copes by recording himself on his space station computer and planning out what his next step should be to save himself. I have heard that just after three continuous days of a lack of mental input (i.e. no one to talk to, no tasks to complete to keep your mind busy) a person will begin to get mental damage due to the extreme boredom. So in reality an astronaut left alone on a planet would need entertainment the same way he or she would need food and water. This is very surprising to me, as I normally try to keep to myself as much as possible. I suppose there is a spectrum of people and how much interaction with others they require before loneliness begins to take its toll. Having other people to talk to and seek advice from is vital to maintaining a healthy mental state however. I notice even in myself that I can wildly swing from being happy to discouraged without someone to confide in. The film The Martian gets its psychological horror from this, as you see Matt Damon’s character constantly struggle mostly on his own without help. He keeps a positive attitude basically through sheer willpower and determination. One thing that I disagree about in the movie is how effective perseverance against loneliness is as Matt Damon sort of chooses to ignore the hardships and constantly move forward. But I guess that’s why it is a movie and not a true story.