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DVK's recent question got me thinking about something I thought when I first saw "The fifth Element".

From the setting it is obvious that there are multiple alien species, which means that there are many planets capable of creating life, and even more capable of sustaining it (as in the Fhloston Paradise).

Yet it seems that only Earth is the target of the "evil spirit/living world" that appears every so many thousands of years.

Is that explained somehow through the movie? Or outside it?

phantom42
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SJuan76
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  • The only weapon that could destroy it wad on earth, and needed to be activated by the 4 stones and the perfect being. –  Jul 07 '15 at 18:03
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    We only see the self-contained cruise ship on Fhloston Paradise. We have no idea if there is any native life there. – phantom42 Jul 07 '15 at 18:09
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    @phantom42 True, but the abundance of alien races (at least 4, off the top of my head) implies at least a few habitable worlds. – Nerrolken Jul 07 '15 at 18:10
  • Ah! Artstotle Was Right and Galileo Was Wrong! – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jul 07 '15 at 18:21

1 Answers1

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Because the Temple can be used for good or evil

During his exposition to the President, Cornelius shows him an ancient book full of illustrations. He describes the use of the five elements to stop evil, and the necessity of doing so.

enter image description here

However, he also has this line, accompanied by an illustration of the temple bathed in darkness and filled with despairing, dying worshippers:

Cornelius: But if evil stands there... then light turns to dark, life to death, forever.

We don't have any information about why the temple is on Earth, specifically, but it's clear that Evil is heading to Earth because that's where the Temple is. If it can get there in time, it's a one-stop-shop for achieving its goals.

Get to Earth, get to the Temple, and Evil wins.

Nerrolken
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    Save the temple, save the world. – phantom42 Jul 07 '15 at 18:19
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    Well, it has to be somewhere (has it?). So there will always be someone who can say “why is it on my planet?” That’s the story bias. It’s not a coincidence that the people and places of a story become important within the story. It’s just that the story wouldn’t tell about them if they weren’t important to the story… – Holger Jul 08 '15 at 08:51
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    @Holger True, and I completely agree that people mislabel things as "coincidence" as you describe. However, whatever planet it gets placed on, there's usually a reason. Saying "it's a ridiculous coincidence that it's on Earth" is wrong, but asking "why is it on Earth" is valid. – Nerrolken Jul 09 '15 at 16:19
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    It’s a valid question but “there was no reason for another planet so we threw a dart arrow at a galactic map before building the temple” could be a valid answer. – Holger Jul 09 '15 at 16:29