Lately, when not reading Honor Harrington books by David Weber (just finishing number 3), I have been catching up on dystopian future or apocalypse films. I find that I am morbidly interested in people's views on how the world will be after some cataclysm or other. Probably because I think one will come some day though it is more likely going to be socio-economic rather than environmental in nature. That leads us to today's quick reviews.
Goodbye World - this is one of a number of apocalyptic near-future movies that have come out in the last year or so (and most of them are starting to be available on-demand through Netflix). In Goodbye World, we are given a glimpse of a family living off the grid in Northern California and their "friends" who converge on their home when disaster strikes. The movie stars Adrian Grenier (Entourage), Gaby Hoffman and Ben McKenzie. The basic premise is a virus takes down the power grid and cell phone network, etc. and riots ensue and society breaks down. Meanwhile we get to witness the narcissistic friends who have come to James' (Grenier) home. There are also neighbors to deal with and things generally getting worse. What really was annoying about the movie was the sense of entitlement by some characters that those who stockpiled supplies/medicines should just give them up with no say. When did personal ownership go out the window? When was your lack of planning my problem? I was also annoyed by the opportunistic price gouging and taking advantage of those weaker than you. It was probably so irksome because I can imagine that all of these things will be exactly how many people will act with the crap really hits the fan. A sometimes slow, frustrating thought experiment of what people would be like during an apocalypse - Goodbye World gets 2.5 Mick Happies.
Divergent - This is the first film based on the Divergent Series by Veronica Roth. Divergent is the latest in a group of dystopian future young adult series like Hunger Games that have taken over the post-Harry Potter reading world. In this case, we have future Chicago surviving behind a wall and everyone distributed into 5 factions based on their defining character traits: intelligence, selfless, brave, honest and peaceful. The main character, Beatrice (Tris - played by Shailene Woodley), was born into the selfless faction but at 16 chooses to join the brave team. Thing is that she actually is divergent, having 3 key character traits. This makes her a threat to the status quo in the society where faction boundaries are important to keeping people in line and things running smoothly. Of course there is a broader story going on in the background. Joining the brave group, Tris is put through training, which is often brutal both physically and mentally. What caught my eye in the movie and is probably based on the young adult nature of the source material is that most people focused on in the movie are under 25. Yes there are parents and some older people but most of the leaders are not shown and the story focuses on those in the 16 - 20 age range. Why do future societies put so many of their children into danger (a la Hunger Games) and when did 16 become an age where readers/viewers are so angst ridden that they would choose to leave everything they know to join another group? Is that a thing and I have just missed it? With all the things I know the story is trying to pull off, Divergent isn't bad at all. I thought the casting was a little odd (I don't buy Shailene, who is a fine actress, as a bad-ass) but okay. The movie and setting are compelling if far-fetched (I can't imagine a society being setup like this) and so I give Divergent 3 Mick Happies. It is okay but not as visually compelling as the Hunger Games films (which I have issues with many due to the violence to and by children).
So there you have it. The two dystopian films I have seen recently. I hope that the world won't devolve into jerks and society broken down based on single characteristics. I would like to think we would do better than that, but I think I know we won't really. Seeing these types of movies always kicks off thoughts of moving to a spread in Idaho or Wyoming and living off the land. Not sure if the family would buy into that, but on days when my internet service is giving me fits or I am sitting in traffic for 40 minutes to go 5 miles and I hear about another company laying off 5,000 people while their stock price shoots up on the "news" - I wonder if I might not be better off out there milking a cow.
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