Yet another movie I am anticipating

[dangermousie]

Called "The Island"

Why? It's a Distopia (i.e. a sci fi future that sucks) one of my very favorite genres. Check out Equilibrium, A.I., Code 46, the Matrix trilogy, Gattaca, Logan's Run etc for other examples. Good Distopia books are Orwell's 1984, Huxley's "Brave New World" and Zamyatin's "We" (the latter is my favorite and the end of Code 46 reminds me of it).

Plot: Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid-21st century. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the “The Island” — reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually human clones whose only purpose is to provide “spare parts” for their original human counterparts. Realizing it is only a matter of time before he is “harvested,” Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Johansson). Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives to literally meet their makers. (it's a publicity write-up folks, as you can tell by the "trailer" language).

It's a summer movie, so who knows how good it is, but here's hoping. Plus, I am trying to stay away from SW so as not to sink into spoiler temptation.


In this distopia, denizens of the future have nifty clothes:


And are photogentic:


But hopefully still angst (or at least get their hair mussed):

Comments

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

If in the future we have clones of Ewan, sign me up for the future that sucks.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

And how would you ummmm..."harvest" him? LOL.

Elmo as Big Brother. *shudder*

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

You call it "harvesting". I call it "deflowering". Po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to.

And yes, a future with Elmo is a true thing of horror.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

a future with Elmo is a true thing of horror

As far as puppets-muppets go, Kermit is still the man for me.

[katranna.livejournal.com]

Meh. It sounds fun as far as action movies go, but it's also a pretty bad idea for a Dystopia.

For such things to work, the "brave new world" has to be
a) realistic and convincing
b) somehow an extention of where we, as a culture, are going. Otherwise, anyone can play the "do you know what would REALLY suck?" game.

And this is just painfully simple and logically unsound. There's no way that people would just makes clones of themselves in the future--clones who can think and feel and are in every way the same as the originals--to be killed and harvested.

Additionally, there's no way they'd go through the bother of setting up a whole mini society for them instead of a simple exercise pen, and absolutely no way in hell that they'd educate them.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

There is a novel by L.M. Bujold, called "Mirror Dance" that deals with a similar situation.

As to people making clones of themselves: I have a much more bleak view of humanity than you do, I guess, because I can totally see that.

whole mini society for them instead of a simple exercise pen, and absolutely no way in hell that they'd educate them.

The few scifi books I've read (see Mirror Dance) do have them in mini societies because it's less bother, more natural and keeps them content and not rebelling.

As to educating. That is the biggest sticky point, but if they do educate them to a certain degree, they would probably do so to make the little society self-sufficient and running smoothly.

I think it really comes down to what you are willing to accept, and I am willing to accept those points as I am not much for details but more the ideas behind them (heee, still remember your gripes about A.I. which is one of my favorite movies ever).

[katranna.livejournal.com]

do have them in mini societies because it's less bother, more natural and keeps them content and not rebelling.

I can see that, but then they'd have to be super-simple societies, without much opportunity to get hurt or sick (cause that ruins the whole thing right there), and definitely without fashionable leather clothes.

Really, personally, I'd give all the clones brain damage severe enough that they can't grasp complex ideas or get uppity, but mild enough that they can perform simple tasks. (Think gammmas.) In a society geared to their physical safety and with little complex resources, that should be just enough.

PS

[katranna.livejournal.com]

Zap them in the head hard enough, and you can put them right back in my theoretical pen, and they won't even rebel.

Re: PS

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Katranna as Supreme Dictator? *scary*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Interesting idea. Of course, they might harvest parts of clones' brains as well (who knows) in which case it's trickier.

I think the leather clothes et al is probably from when they escape though...Though it's a movie, so who am I kidding?

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

The picture with the leather clothes could also be Ewan as the cloner rather than the clonee since he's obviously playing both parts. Or his character of the clone trying to pass as the cloner. With everyone playing different parts, it's hard to call.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

That would make sense. After all, Evil always dresses better.

I am not really expecting a masterpiece. Just a fun 2 hours or so. At least the clones are better looking than the ones in SW! And hopefully I won't be tempted to snigger "Obi Wan has got a girlfriend" LOL

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

And hopefully I won't be tempted to snigger "Obi Wan has got a girlfriend"

Sounds like me during Moulin Rouge. "Obi-wan is singing!" ;)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

ROFL! I law Moulin Rouge before PT SW, so I am unencumbered with emotional baggage. I wonder how it will be on rewatching. Obi Wan would be horrified at Moulin Rouge's Christian who seems to be a somewhat older, Scottish version of AotC Anakin.

[katranna.livejournal.com]

Really, there's just too much leather in this movie, period. :-P

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

There is no such thing as too much leather

[katranna.livejournal.com]

;0 Well, you know we disagree here.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

That movie just doesn't seem dark enough to be a dystopia. Hmmm...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's made by Michael Bay, so I doubt we'd get a discourse on the human condition. However, there's a lot worse things that fun actioners where things blow up in name of moral liberation of the clones.