During the first hour of Gravity, I was reminded of another bit of movie history in the last scene of Godfrey Reggios Koyaanisqatsi (1982) in which a rocket is launched into space, only to explode and fall back to the earth. Like Reggios metaphor of the failed rocket, Cuarón is asking us to consider the irony of the astronauts mission in space. None of the Promethean technological advances of the space program can prevent the chaos that threatens Stone and the other astronauts. As the disaster begins and later multiplies itself, we recall Icarus whose hubris resulted in a fate similar to that of the astronauts. Yet, there is a more important message that goes beyond the world of spacecraft and astronauts. All of us, whatever our place in life, are caught up in the play of Prometheus and Icarus. We strive to build great things yet, in the end, all of these things will be destroyed. It may be high time to look at the interplay of these mythical beings as they relate to our own earthly lives. Reggios Koyaanisqatsi and Cuaróns Gravity (and, even more profoundly, his Children of Men) may offer us the valuable lesson that all great societiesno matter their cultures, technological innovations, or other advancementswill falland we, with them.