Films
Both of the films for this week I have both heard about in discussions where the participants are really trying to show how understanding and worldly they are. That being said I, myself, have never seen either film up until this week. After watching both of them I have got to say I now understand why these films are brought up in debates and conversation.
Many times science fiction seems to very closely show us what types of issues humanity is going to face in the future. Things like global warming, overpopulation, corruption, and many more are common especially in dystopian themed films. Unfortunately these are all problems the world is facing now although on a much less exaggerated scale. I’d like to hope that the good in the world is keeping any one of these issues from spiraling out of control.
In Soylent Green we are taken through a situation in which a detective, played by the great Charlton Heston, is brought in to find out what exactly happened to Soylent Corporation’s lawyer, later known as a board of director’s member, William R. Simonson. During the investigation of the lawyer’s body and estate the detective comes to the conclusion that the lawyer did not indeed commit suicide but was instead murdered.
This is where Corruption really rears it’s ugly head for our characters. Due to the world being in the over populated and completely polluted state the detective takes it’s upon himself to use the wealthy lawyer’s amenities to properly shower and eat real food. Even though we are shown Detective Thorn stealing from a dead man we don't necessarily feel bad for him due to the extreme circumstance that the society is in. Like in many dystopian stories the main character will commit an act of law breaking or the breaking of a societal rule, both of which the detective committed by stealing food and then showering at the deceased man’s apartment. This is to show the audience that even the so-called “good guy” is forced to do evil due to how bad of shape the world is in.
We see this type of “good evil” in Farenheight 451 as well when Montag is forced to kill his superior and subdue another firefighter in order for him to escape their interrogation and his own possible murder. Although we know that both of these created worlds are evil Montag’s world seems much closer to how our own current society acts. We are already walking around with the real world version of “Seashell Radio”s via bluetooth. Most of the younger generation is also so absorbed with “documenting” their lives through pictures and 140 character summations that they cannot see the beauty of nature or spend an hour without some type of media consumption.
To me at least, Farenheight 451 was a far more terrifying and realistic social outcome. I constantly hear the youngest generation talk about how reading is boring, slow, and takes too much time. Yet you never hear anyone have the same complaint about reality television or just television in general. Especially with smart phones having the full ability to stream video, or even audio content alone, to the audience member there’s no time or place that we are restricted from having access to theses amenities and our US society even deems cellular service a kind of right that should be added amongst the 10 commandments.
Reading
The reading for this week was a great place to start to really get my brain into a space to critically analyze dystopian arts. The film mentioned at the very beginning of the article, Never Let Me Go, is made from one of my favorite books and the film itself is a movie I choose to re-watch every couple years. Using Never Let Me Go as a platform since I know it well I was able to connect with and understand Booker’s thought process on identifying dystopian art and how to analyze it. I definitely agree with his definition of dystopian in that it must include an oppressed society that one is then able to comment on thus crating the story and lesson the audience would learn from the work.
You make a lot of good points. With how corrupted the world has become in each film, it makes sense that this would also be reflected in the actions and mannerisms of their protagonists. This is especially true in Montag’s case, as he doesn’t really have anything to oppose until he breaks the law and begins to read the stolen books for himself.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that for me at least, Fahrenheit 451 is the scarier of the two dystopias. The worst part being that they seem to be willing participants. The housewives are absolutely terrified to even have to contemplate a passage in a book for a few seconds. The film really demonstrates how regimes can take advantage of common needs or traits people have as a society. Whereas in Soylent Green people were still rioting and not blindly accepting of their circumstances. They weren't docile and emotionless, but actually fought for their needs, even if that meant stealing or murdering.
ReplyDeleteJust one thing, the investigation into the board member's death concluded he was murdered during a robbery, not that it was suicide. That's why the guy uses a crow bar, as Thorn points out, yet fails to actually steal anything.
Also, I love Never Let Me Go too! Such a great film, I've been meaning to read the book.