At the very end, of The Sentinel, a constant is created. The exact meaning of the constant is that it’s a constant which is valid despite being dependent. A constant which is valid, is a difference which is magic, and then a magic which is different which is dependent is a truth which is universal which is free.

A truth is magic, without doubt. And then when that magic is given a "free" freedom, the magic is transformed into a forced force. Suffice to say, a forced force is not necessarily more interesting than a free freedom, but it is perhaps more helpful.

A forced force, of course, is nothing but freedom. And seeing as how magic can be equated to freedom, the overall state at the very end of the 1977 movie is nothing more complex than just a magic that’s itself.

A magic which is magic is a reality which isn’t a reality – a reality which is magic (and this is hopefully where the article’s point begins to emerge). From a point of view, the very end of The Sentinel – which sees Alison Parker act as a sentinel in an official capacity – is actually the literal state of magic being real.

In general, movies, art and stories are the magic of representation. They are the magic of metaphor, and they are the magic of symbolism. What all those things aren’t however is actual magic (Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, Chinatown and The Exorcism of Emily Rose all feel like magic, but they are not magic); the very end of The Sentinel is an outright departure from this rule.

With her face directed at the window, and with the camera panning the back of her body and the back of her head, Alison Parker – and by extension, Cristina Raines – is now in a movie that she exists outside of. Her head, and her body are now a state which has never been inside of or been part of anything else, and yet the state is derivative of the rest of the movie – Alison Parker is now an origin which is after an origin.

An origin which is after an origin, is a constant which is before a constant – a truth that has a hierarchy inside of itself.

Between Cristina Raines and myself – Raines being connected to a constant and myself being connected to a constant – there exists the difference between the US and the UK. There also exists the difference between my era and the era when Raines made The Sentinel. There exists the difference when it comes to accent, and there exists the difference of status (Raines has had status, whereas I’ve essentially never had any status). So many differences, yet there exists a common thread: Raines played Alison Parker, who embodies a constant, and I am a true representative of reality.

Can a press conference become a scientist? Do planets need teddy bears? Did atoms create the American accent as a way to understand the Roman Empire? Can the Vietnam War write a movie review?

Who else is asking these questions?

My gravitation toward Cristina Raines is the very end of The Sentinel; my desire to hug Cristina Raines is my desire to reflect the magic at the end of The Sentinel. In 2018, after the Iraq War, after 9/11 and after every general election since 1977, Alison Parker is still in the hotel apartment she’s in at the end of The Sentinel, still dressed as a nun – of course, it isn’t true but I would like to make it true. I want to help Alison Parker be the constant that she deserves to be, and to do so by being the representative of reality to Cristina Raines.

By giving Cristina Raines a hug, I can protect Alison Parker’s right to remain alone, in her apartment room.