The road and Escape from LA

The Road John Hillcoat, 2009

The road begins with very colorful shots of a man and an unknown woman in a beautiful home with flowers and a horse. However, these images do not last very long, as a scene of something horrible happening in the middle of the night immediately interrupts them. This transition can be confusing and does not explain anything, which was intentional, but still I felt it could have been more useful to show more cause and effect.

This film features a grim world destroyed by fire. A man and a son struggle to live a normal life looking for food and shelter. This nameless family has lost their mother in the middle of the night. The mother is afraid that she will be r aped and the family will eaten by cannibals that they do not kill themselves. She cannot bear to see her child suffer any longer so she leaves in the darkness with intentions of death. She tells her husband that she does not want to simply survive.

The father carries a loaded gun with two bullets, one for him and one for his son. This shows us that the father would rather die by his own will then dying of starvation or cannibalism by other people. Cannibalism has become a last resort food source in this film due to the lack of farming and animals. There are people with guns that travel around looking for victims to capture and eat. In this dystopian world, desperation and hunger have left people no other options.

The man and his son were sleeping in a car when all of a sudden a group of armed bandits arrives. One of the bandits gets a hold of his son and the father has no choice but to kill him. This family now knows the dangers of living in this destroyed and chaotic world. In a life they no longer live happy and comfortably but only to survive. Constantly on the move sleeping and filth and eating whatever scraps they can find laying around. You rarely see them eating anything and they seem weak and unhealthy.

As the father and his son travel along the road, they find a house that seems like it may be in good shape. After breaking in the house, they go in the basement and find people locked up starving and naked. The cannibals suddenly arrive and the father almost kills his son out of desperation and fear of being captured by the cannibals or eaten.

This father and son family have little to no hope of living a normal or happy life ever again. The planet seems dead and hopeless, without sunlight, vegetation and living animals. In this world, you survive by eating anything you can find including people. This family is fearful of all people as they are all threats.

The road can seem like a very depressing film as you watch the characters struggle just to live each day. Human contact with others is often in conflict and by gunpoint. The lack of food has left everyone in desperation and without hope. The father looks out for his child and their survival. However, the boy takes pity on other people and wants to help them in any way he can. There is a struggle between surviving and being kind to others as if the two cannot coexist.

In the end, the father dies from a fatal arrow attack. A new family finds the boy but we do not know if they will eat him. This is less for interpretation and judgment of this desperate humanity. The boy is kind and has a gentle heart, something rare left and a horrible world.

Escape from LA

Escape from LA is one of the cheesiest, stupidly funny movies you will find from the 1990s. In this film, America is compared to prisons. The rise of crime and LA has led to the formation of the police force. The president announces that an earthquake will wash away all of the sinful people of LA. When the earthquake hits a huge tsunami hits LA. Pres. Lynchburg is now the president indefinitely. Having a permanent president means that laws and government will be under the power of one man’s ideals and beliefs. I believe if this were to r happen in America, there would be a rebellion against the government.

LA is no longer a part of the United States and is now the deportation point for all undesirable people to live in the new moral America. The police force guards the shoreline of LA to make escape impossible. That is idea alone could have been taking more seriously if it was not for the comedic, goofy tone of the film.

This film features cheesy special effects and a ridiculous storyline that glorifies an antihero Snake Plissken., Kurt Russell plays snake wearing an eye patch. As he is escorted to deportation, he is told that prostitutes, atheists, and runaways are all trash being thrown out? Snake is scratched on his hand on the way to his cell. He is shown a hologram tape of the president’s daughter stealing a top-secret prototype. They tell him that she hijacks Air Force 3. In this scene snake is surrounded by the hologram as if he was there. The president’s daughter name is Utopia, which is ironic as she is seen as a threat to the country. Snake refuses the offer only until they tell him that he has been exposed to a deadly virus. If Snake does not complete his mission, he will die by a genetically engineered virus.

Snake puts on his new gear dressed like a New Age outlaw from the Wild West. Although this film is quite corny, the scenes have decent composition and lighting. Snake travels in the sea by submarine on his way to LA to retrieve the data device.

This film has a western dystopia style to it. Snake travels around LA solving all his problems with his guns. Every negotiation and standoff is through the barrel of a gun. In this scene, a comic book style villain called the Surgeon General captures Snake. The henchmen are wearing costumes and makeup so they look deformed. Many wacky aspects to this film take away from the films potential. This movie could have been more serious with its use of a dystopian theme if John Carpenter wanted to.

                                Future Almost Lost by Redmond

Technophilia and violence, how do they co exist in dystopian films?In minority report there is a society driven by technology. The police men fly around to stop criminals. In Thx1138 technology observes everyone through monitors and the policemen are robots that beat people violently. Why is technology a key key role in a majority of dystopian films.The idea that technology will save the human race actually is used in reverse to suppress,conquer and attack the very people it was suppose to save.In actuality technology is the key to holding the upper hand in wars and keeping the peace by brute force and fear that the authority will use might and overpowering technological superiority.

Gattaca and the Truman show

Gattaca

Gattaca is a city specializing in aerospace research and technology. This research center only hire genetically superior employees. Anyone who is born without genetic perfection will work only as cleaners, janitors or jobs for the average person. When an employee arrives at work, they must place their finger over a DNA analysis for verification that they belong there. Parents have the ability of choosing what their child will look like and even deleting the possibilities of diseases. Natural children are classified as invalid in this society of the genetically perfect. These naturally, born people will be segregated and forced to live in poverty with low-end jobs. To ensure parents have the best children they buy sperm and shop for egg donors.

Vincent is a naturally born child with imperfect genes has dreams of flying into space. In order for Vincent to work at the research facility, he must be aided by Jerome. Jerome is handicapped and must supply Vincent with his DNA like blood samples and urine. Vincent also has to increase his height by surgery in order to as tall as Jerome does.

Vincent cleans himself often to avoid detection of leaving the wrong or invalid DNA behind .If Vincent were to be detected as an invalid he would no longer be able to go to spaceor have a job at the research center.This is one of the shots in the film that stands out as far as lighting. This scene has a neon blue light that he uses inside this chamber to rid as much of his  DNA of the world.

This film demonstrates that a life of perfection does not include happiness. Vincent’s brother is the genetically superior brother and yet he struggles as a detective. He has nothing to prove and has nothing to show to a perfect society that gives out jobs just for being perfect genetically speaking.

As children, Vincent and his brother would swim in the ocean as far as they could until one of them gave up. Vincent would always lose until one day his brother lost his strength and almost drowned in the ocean. Vincent swam him back to shore and after that day, things were never the same between the two brothers.

This sequence has a unique hint of color to it compared to the indoor and night scenes in this movie. The colors look warmer as if the sun is much hotter in Gattaca. During the racing in the ocean scene the camera is at some points in the ocean as if you are in the ocean with the brothers. This gives the scene a more dramatic appearance and adds desperation to the overwhelming power of the ocean.

Gattaca tells a story of perfection vs. imperfection, love and happiness. Vincent proves that he does not need to be genetically superior to others to be successful or rise above the odds. I like this scene in particular when Vincent escaped the police into the shadows of an alley. You can see the fence shadowing on their faces as if they are prisoners.

           

The Truman show

Truman Burbank lives in a seemingly perfect town called Seahaven. In this perfect world, he has a wife and a desk job. Every morning his next-door neighbors greet him as he goes to work. He has a perfect life; the weather is always bright and sunny and everyone seems to be happy and friendly all the time.

This scene of Truman leaving his house in the morning has vignetting around the edges to make it look like a hidden camera. He has no idea that 5,000 hidden cameras are all around him.

Truman is the only one who does not know he is on a live television show. He has been the star of this show since he was a child. The producers of this show actually adopted him, as he was an unwanted child. Seahaven is actually a very large studio and everything in the studio is manmade including the sun and the moon. All of his friends and family are actors and he believes they are real genuine people.

When Truman was young, he went out at sea with his father in a small sailboat and a storm hit and his father drowned at sea. Little did Truman know that that man was an actor and this was supposed to be traumatic for Truman so he would have a fear of the ocean so he would not try to leave by boat.

There is also product placement marketed to pay this show to run 24/7. Truman has no idea that his friends, family and people everywhere in Seahaven are marketing items right before his eyes. In this shot, Marlon holds the beer in a commercial pose in conversation with Truman. With all the hidden cameras available, commercials happen often without Truman ever knowing.

Out of the millions of viewers of the Truman show only a few people have tried reveal what is really going on. Sylvia is one of the few people who actually want Truman to know the truth about his life. Truman does not question his life until Sylvia reveals to him by the ocean what is really happening. She tells him that he must find her and that everyone is pretending. Truman starts to question his existence in Seahaven. He becomes paranoid and asks his best friend what he should believe. Christof watches Truman hidden in the moon and tells him he is the creator of a television show where Truman is the star. This scene displays Christof as a god or the creator of life. Millions of people take comfort and security watching Truman sleep at night and watching his life develop 24/7. When Truman finally leaves the studio, the show is over and he finally has a chance at real life for the first time ever. As he walks out of the studio, Sylvia runs out of her house leaving you with the idea that they will again reunite.

                                                A world at risk by Monica Martin
Its not a surprise on how many similarities dystopian films have in comparison to our standards of living. Dystopian films often have some type of propaganda beating away at everyone's heads telling them what to think and what to eat and what to wear and everything else. I think the film makers want you to see these dystopian worlds and realize that these imaginary worlds of horrror famine and disaster can very well happen to us. I think we will continue to see more fear mongering in media broadcasting in this world and dystopian worlds.  

Minority Report and Children of Men

Minority report

Science fiction neo noir film. The plot of this movie focuses on a trio of psychics called "Precogs". Precogs see visions of murders before they happen. When the Precogs envision a murder that has not been committed, "PreCrime" evaluates the images on a futuristic screen. On this high tech screen the pre crime unit can rewind, fast forward and determine exactly where the crime has been committed.  

The names of the victims and perpetrators appear on a ball that rolls down a series of tubes like gum in a gumball machine. After the Precogs have a vision, John Anderton the PreCrime captain reviews the visions like an orchestral composer with wearable interactive gloves that control the images. A red ball is a crime of passion, which shows no premeditation is why John had to evaluate this murder quickly in a matter of minutes. Usually the crimes are committed with premeditation in which the Precogs can see within four days prior to the murder.

This film compares free will and determinism. The comparison is to determine if a person can change an event of the future if they already know what is to happen ahead of time. The concept of freewill is to make a decision out of freedom and not of destiny. Agent Danny Witwer is an agent for the department of Justice and is investigating whether PreCrime is morally just. Should PreCrime stop people before they commit a crime? If I knew that tomorrow, I will definitely commit murder, would I change my mind or would I be determined to keep my choice at all costs.

John Anderton becomes a wanted criminal for the murder of an unknown man Leo Crow. In this dystopian world criminals are broadcasted live on newspapers leaving the criminals with little hope of escape. Is this dystopian? In the United States violent crime is a constant threat and in Minority report violence barely exists. Besides the violence dropping this dystopian world keeps track of everyone through retina scanning when they are shopping. This may seem alittle scary to some people but it may have its uses.

Also advertising seems to be everywhere like bottled water and the Gap.This society is suppose to be an undesireable place to live in but the crime is incredibly low and who wouldn’t want murderers to be stopped before it happened. The cars in this movie don’t seem to use gas and they are guided without having people drive them. That means zero accidents and casualties from driving related accidents which sounds great to me.Im not sure if I consider this film to be dystopian. Technically the society has to be worse than mine but in my opinion it is not. If all crime could  be stopped I think most people would agree that would be an ideal living condition. I would call this film a Utopian film if I am comparing to modern day living.

Spielberg uses very bright over saturated shots along with heavily shadowed shots, which in contrast has a unique style and look. The shot below is heavily shadowed called chiaroscuro lighting. One of my favorite shots of the film shows heavy shadows on the face of John and Agatha.

Children of Men

Children of Men begins with the death of the youngest man on the planet. "Baby Diego", was stabbed to death at age 18 after spitting in the face of a person was killed because someone wanted his autograph and he refused. He was a constant reminder of the infertility of the new   world.

 This film takes place in London of 2027 where women have become incapable of having children. Britain stands alone as the only functioning government. If you ask yourself why Britain? Ask Slavoj Žižek, a continental philosopher and explains that Britain does not have a constitution. The rest of the world is in chaos and destruction.

When Theo arrives at work, he finds that many of his coworkers are emotional from the death of Baby Diego. Theo then tells his boss that he is to upset and wishes to go home and finish his work. When Theo is on a train there are people throwing debris at the window as it goes by. This shows society is broken and has resorted to violence and disorder.  

I like how this film uses long scenes with a steady cam. This gives the film a realistic approach that puts the viewer right in the action. One of my favorite scenes is when Theo is trying to escape with Kee the only pregnant girl left in the world.

The British government is anti-immigration, fascist, and totalitarian. The government of Britain has kept a tight lid on the walls of its boarders. Illegal immigrants are unwanted and thrown on buses with cages and delivered to containment in more cages that resemble prisons like the Holocaust.

One of the most powerful scenes in the movie is when Theo escorts Kee with her new born down the war torn building. Everyone stops and looks at the baby crying even while soldiers outside are shooting some of them.

When they finally make it outside the soldiers let them pass in awe. The soldiers seem to be amazed how a child could be alive let alone in the midst of gunfire and guerilla warfare. Some of the soldiers kneel down, as they believe it to be a miracle. Then when all the soldiers are distracted, a missile is fired at the soldiers without warning. This goes to show you that war will not stop for anything in a government that can no longer maintain order and peace.

Even with one pregnant girl how can the population survive especially the way it is at its current state. For a child to live in such conditions kind of defeats the purpose of having a kid not that Kee had a choice. The father of Kees baby remains unknown and they joke that she was a virgin.

Overall, I really liked this movie. I really admire the effort it took to pull off those longer choreographed scenes in high action situations. This film is very grim and shows us what life could be like in the future if war takes over. 

                    When Science Fiction Writers Used Fictional Drugs

“This inquiry is driven by two questions. First, what do the fictional drugs described in drug dystopias do? What effects do they have, and do those effects have symbolic meaning for the story?” John Hickman

In the film, THX 1138 drugs are mandatory and must be taken each day in order to keep them obedient. In this case, a dystopian social order is maintained by control with the use of sedatives. In Minority report John uses while watching holo tapes of his son and estranged wife. John seems to be much happier after. I would consider THX 1138 to be more of a drug dystopian film than minority report. The drug use in THX 1138 has more meaning and effect to the social environment.