So, I watched the movie Elysium and it
wasn't very good, it was one of those movies where you want to yell
at the screen because the actions taken by the characters don't make
sense and some things about the world which was created just didn't
really make sense either.
Spoiler Alert! but since it's a
Hollywood movie, you could probably guess everything I'm going to
tell you...
Elysium is about our world in the
future. We, predictably, screwed up our world through wars and it's a
rough place to live; so the rich people of the world got together and
built a beautiful habitat which orbits earth. This place, Elysium, is
a place of beauty and wealth, of manicured lawns and parks, where
citizens have access to machines that can cure any disease or injury.
But the majority of humanity still lives on earth, in dirt and filth,
in overcrowded neighborhoods, a place where unemployment soars,
poverty is commonplace, where healthcare is primitive (even though
they know the city in the sky has machines which can cure all).
Everything is controlled by their masters in the sky, and, if they
can find work, much of it is done for the benefit of those who live
in Elysium. Whether on earth or in the habitat above, many service
jobs and law enforcement jobs are done by androids. Androids are also
in charge of taking care of the general well-being of Elysium's
citizens.
Elysium is the place in the sky that
everyone stuck on earth wants to go to. It is the place where your
child can be made well. It is the place where your family won't
starve. It is the place where there is room to breathe clean air.
The story is about a group, mostly a
man, who is trying to make the city so everyone can be a citizen of
Elysium and have access to the machines which can cure all ills. The
environment in the sky is perfect but it requires a tremendous amount
of resources to maintain its perfection, it's perfect but fragile.
In the movie, the group succeeds in
making everyone a citizen. Because everyone is declared a citizen,
the androids are made aware of millions of people on earth who are in
need of medical attention, so ships disembark and humanity is made
well. I know I've shared I have an advanced sense of empathy and I
care a lot, but there is also a part of me that is coldly logical. At
this point in the movie, instead of feeling warm and fuzzy, I thought
“and so the society was overburdened and everything collapsed.”
At various times in the past, this same
part of me has vaguely wondered if one of the reasons governments of
developed countries are slow to dispense healthcare and resources to
developing countries is that they view diseases and letting nature
run its course as a sort of population control. A sort of, “Until
those nations learn to better control their birthrates, we'll let
nature take care of it so we don't have to” sort of attitude.
Viruses, disease, and such help control deer and other animals which
no longer have many natural predators, why not just let them control
the human population as well?
This train of thought caused me to
think a little more about the movie. My initial thought about Elysium
was that it was stupid, but then I realized that, in a sense, America
is Elysium. I don't know if this is the statement the writer and
director were trying to make, but it is what I gleaned from it.
I know America is far from a perfect
Utopia, that we have sick and starving here, but just stick with me.
America (and other developed countries) are where those stuck in
poverty in other countries look for hope. It is the place where, as
they see their loved one dying from a common sickness, they look
toward in desperation and think, “If only I could get them there,
they could heal them.” Those starving hear about all of our food,
our epidemic of obesity, and think, “If only I could make it there,
my family wouldn't starve.” They may look at their overcrowded spot
in the world and think of the rumors concerning all of our space.
Saying all that, can we really blame
all those who want to come here, who try to come here?
Some people want to stop immigration
because they're scared we'll lose our heritage, but immigration is
our heritage. One day someone I
worked with in a past job was talking about how he was angry about
how people who come to the US don't learn English, how they hold onto
the cultures they left behind and how that's that's not how it used
to be...I don't think this person has ever been to New York, doesn't
realize that all over the country in large cities there are
neighborhoods that have held on to their “old cultures” for a
hundred years or more.
There
have always been those first generation emigrants who fiercely hold
on to “the old country” and there have always been those first
generation who, though they have not lived here long, have become our
fiercest patriots.
Whether
they be children of the former or the later, unless they are secluded
in one of those neighborhoods I was speaking of, second generation
emigrants almost always learn English, in many cases better than a
lot of “Americans” speak it.
I'm
not good at taking sides, I know it's a weakness, but I don't like
“taking a stand,” because I hate confrontation...but I will state
my opinion on this issue. I say, until Americans are ready to
contribute more to our country than those who are illegally among us,
let them keep coming, let them keep working.
I
believe and know there are still many hardworking Americans out
there, who have lived here for a long time, but there are also those
who could work but chose not to, who pose at getting a job but don't
really want one. Maybe we should spend more energy addressing that
problem than in dealing with those who are making contributions to
our society.
I know
there are many people who actually need disability
and food stamps and other services, but there are also many who do
not. While I was in AmeriCorps I was the thankful recipient of EBT (a
type of food stamps) but, while I was thankful, I thought it was
ridiculous that I could buy candy bars, chips, soda, and almost every
other type of junk food with that card.
I also
know that many illegal emigrates do not pay taxes, and I'm not saying
that's okay, but whether they pay taxes or not, some of them are
still contributing more to our society than some of our citizens are.
I stop
rambling. Elysium showed me how some of the world may view our
country, so despite it being frustrating and the characters sometimes
acting in stupid ways, it was worth watching.
P.S.
One of the most frustrating and yet funny things is that one of the
main villains had an unidentifiable accent that was pretty hilarious.
If that accent is actually real to somewhere, I apologize for
thinking it's awful.
