1. Discuss the style in which the film is shot. Be sure to comment on each of the following stylistic devices and provide relevant examples for each in your answer:
1. Long takes
2. Shaky-cam or hand held camera
3. Composition and cinematography
4. Sound and sound editing
2. What is the purpose of the immigration crisis that is so much a part of the backdrop of the story? In particular, explain how the movie might present a “forced migration”.
The purpose of the immigration crisis that is so much a part of the backdrop of the story is to introduce crisis and a sense of distress and desperation among the general population. The movie presents a “forced migration” because the pandemic caused people to riot and destroy their civilizations, forcing people to move out of their ruined homelands in hope that they can find a better, more prosperous, home like Britain.
3. Discuss with some examples the religious symbolism of the film. Does the film contain a “Christ-figure”? What religious themes and icons are developed through the characters, especially Key, Theo, the mid-wife, or others?
Religious symbolism is very prevalent throughout the film especially the symbolism of making Key into a Mary esque figure. Key even jokes that she was a virgin to poke fun at the idea of her being the first mother of the new human race, similar to Mary. Key is also shot in a way that makes her resemble Mary and the fable she originates from, such as the scene in which she is in the barn full of cows and revealed to Theo she is pregnant.
4. What does the setting and action of the background of the film suggest about the social order in power in the movie? Be specific about what is happening in the background and how it helps make the movie feel “dystopian”.
Often the focus of the movie is shifted from the main story line to the background at the end of various shots. These recurring shots allow the viewer to get a sense of the dystopian society the movie is set in by seeing what the majority of people have to live like, they emphasize this by contrasting it with “normal” situations to show how much this society has deviated from them. This can be seen in scenes such as when Leo is getting off of the train, a normal occurrence, but behind him are immigrants in cages, as Leo walks off screen the shot focuses in on the people and shows their despair in their incarceration in their quest to assimilate into a better society than the ones they ruined and left behind.
5. Should we interpret the end of the film as hopeful or does the ambiguity of the film ultimately trump any hope, leaving the film without any real hope for humanity whatsoever? Be specific as you explain your interpretation.
The ambiguity of the end of the film is what gives it hope because there is a chance that humanity is revived and that Key and her child are the linchpin in doing so. The sound of children laughing at the end of the movie provides a sensation of hope seeing as previously in the film the midwife describes the disparity that hit when the world loss the laughter of children.
6. What do children represent in the film? What do they represent for the human race? Is it realistic to think that without children the world in which we live would fall apart?
In the film children represent hope for the human race, a way that the human race can rebuild and thrive again and overcome the chaos that hit when the infertility began. It is realistic to think that without children the world in which we live in would fall apart because eventually the human race would end due to the lack of new generations to fuel it. Children represent the future which is full of hope, without them you are left with old people who only represent the past with no reason to preserve the world for a better tomorrow.
7. What are some of the specific qualities of Theo’s character that allowed him to overcome his cynicism to become a true hero?
Theo’s character possesses qualities such as hope, bravery, and determination that allow him to overcome his cynicism to become a true hero. Although he doesn’t initially believe the world can be saved, and doesn’t see the point in fawning over the youngest human alive when he died, Key gave him hope with her fertility and her determination to have and protect her child and make a better world for him to live in.
8. Explain at least one way that the dystopia of the movie speaks to some issues in contemporary America.
The dystopia of the movie speaks to issues in contemporary America such as our immigration issue. The movie emphasizes this issue and dramatizes it, showing immigrants being hunted down and caged in camps but although it seems extreme it is very similar to the polarized debate over immigration today and the alienation that occurs.
No comments:
Post a Comment