Our life and the lives of the people we love is, and always will be the mostimportant part of our existence as human creatures. We are mammals, we areanimals just like the tiger that wonders through the pasture, the elephant whostampedes a heard of zebra, and the whale that gracefully glides though theocean. We have characteristics of all these and many other mammals that we seeand encounter everyday. What would happen if books were band? Or we were watchedevery day by a camera, or were forced to eat our own species without us evenknow it. In the three movies that were adapted from novels the authors havechanged the perfect world that we know of and brought to the forefront the grimreality of what our beautiful lives are really like. Although the measures takenin the novels are very drastic many of the same themes can be found in ourpresent society.
The authors have tribe to bring to our attention what lives arelike if for on day one aching minute our lives are not in our hands but in thehands of a greater power. The basic theme of the novel 1984 is that if we don’twatch out 1984 will find us. We need to realize, when we are being intruded uponby the government just a little too much. If the government proposes a new chipto be placed into all telecommunications devices so that it can tap into them. We have to stop it.
(This is not hypothetical, the government proposed “TheClipper Chip” which would be used to listen to our encoded conversations,and to see our data communications. We would be safe from our neighbors, but notfrom our government. ) The author’s predictions of the future are really advice,”Don’t let the government control every aspect of your private lives. “If we allow this we will be turned into robots of the system. Perhaps it is alsoa look at what is already.
In many ways we are controlled, we are robots. Inkindergarten we are taught how to be that way. “Stand in a line, don’ttalk, hands out of pockets, fire drill, bells ringing. ” We are trulycontrolled by words and bells. Nine-teen-eighty-four has come and gone, howeverthat doesn’t mean we are safe.
The author’s view of the future is no longer evenclose to accurate. It will NEVER happen that way. No, today we have far BETTERways of this happening. With computers containing almost all data, which can bequickly erased in large numbers at the touch of a but-ton, information is mucheasier to “rectify. ” With new technology we could hide micro-phones inthe fabric of clothing. Video cameras are smaller today.
They could be wornabout people. Maybe in the future be implanted in them. Orwell’s future is dead. The reality is that it could be even worse.
Orwell should NOT be discredited, heshould be listened to and praised. There are measures going through congress nowthat will inhibit our rights in the future. Our own congress makes measures togive themselves raises. They won’t vote yes on such bills as term limits. It isnot inconceivable that a bill could pass to law saying that the president andcongress shall stay in power forever. They could even convince us to allow it tohappen.
Hitler did it when he became leader. This is the future Orwellpredicted, he just didn’t have it exact. Perhaps it is closer than we think onlybeing shaded by conspirators. Fahrenheit 451 is a novel about men and women whoare torn away from the reality of life and told what to do and when to do it. Isuppose they really would have nothing else to do with their lives if they’veall thought the same.
They’re pretty much out of touch with reality. But ifpeople get out of touch with reality, how can they have the ability to thinkintelligently? To avoid reality and conflict, the people in Bradbury’s book haveal-lowed themselves to be diverted by technological entertainment. Theentertainment, like TV, has provided a distraction or diversion for thissociety. As a result of this distraction, they have quit reading anythingcomplex or insightful. Hopefully, our world won’t meet Bradbury’s predictions. Of course it won’t, will it? Well, at least we know that to avoid theconsequences the society of “Fahrenheit 451” faced, we must keep intouch with individuality and continue to express different opinions.
We mustcontinue reading and expanding our minds so that we are able to make intelligentdecisions. That way, we can work with technology so that it is beneficial to ourneeds, not so that it overpowers our lives. And to think, we thought a worldwithout conflict would make us perfectly happy. Soylent Green takes place anoverpopulated world, it’s only to be expected that life is cheap.
People crowdlike refugees, living from hand to mouth; attractive young women are rented outwith apartments and referred to as `furniture’. The future is not only crowdedbut also polluted, economically repressed, striped of all natural resources, andsuf-fering from the Greenhouse effect. We the viewer get the sense of a futureby focusing on elements of daily life that have no changes as a consequence. Robinson’s Sol, who is pointedly the `soul’ of the film, is our emotional andphilosophical connection to the unspoiled past – his memories are supposed to beours – and provides the film’s only touching moments. It’s a rare film thatmakes death a pleasant and more preferable alternative than living, but inSOYLENT GREEN humanity has reached a dead end: it posits that at a certainlevel, there are no solutions.
In fact, the climax at the film’s end, is not theact of evil and exploitation you’ll first think, but the only viable plan leftfor survival – it make you wonder about the lengths humanity will go to in orderto remain on the planet, and whether it is even necessary if the more noble ofhuman qualities be projected as essential part of our lives. The three filmsthat we have watched have all taught us something very import about our societyand the human culture. The characters all have endured great obstacles to bewhere they are in society. We can learn from all of them many lessons of lifeand hopefully teach the ones that we love how to excel in a world of such chaos. A world that our government has the power to run our lives without us evenknowing it.
A world where we are not the hunter but the hunted!
