Dystopian Elements in Children of Men free essay sample

Dystopias serve as warnings to contemporary man(Erickson) Dystopias portray possible consequences for flaws in society, portrayed through dark futuristic setting. Dystopias can be a warning to prompt society of a danger that corrupt societal systems could possibly lead to. The movie Children of Men envisions a world that has fallen into chaos. Women have lost the their ability to reproduce and thus society has lost its pursuit for maintaining the world, as mankind is on the brink of extinction. The main protagonist Theo an ex-activist strives to save mankind by finding asylum for an African refugee, whos pregnancy is ambiguous as no children were born in 18 years due to unknown cause. Citizens fear the outside world which has completely collapsed, under the influence that they are the last nation prospering while destruction lies outside of their doors. Alfonzo Cuarons Children of Men is a dystopia because the natural world is banished and disturbed resulting in the fear the citizens have of the outside world under strict bureaucratic control. The natural world is disturbed in Children of Men as the cycle of life has been banished symbolizing characteristics that shape this dystopia. Children, the future of mankind, a commodity that gives society something to live for, has been stripped away to an unknown cause. Women had become infertile for the past 18 years causing mankind to reach the brink of extinction in a post-apocalyptic state. These characteristics in part serve to illustrate the dystopian aspects of the film. For example, Theo an Ex-activist gave no importance to life, as he ignored his surroundings and found little pleasure in the world around him. When he is with his buddy Jasper, and asked how his day went Theo replied it was an average day as he, Woke up, felt like shit. Went to work, felt like shit,(Children of Men). This is significant because it gives the impression of a gloomy and dark setting with no love and happiness supporting the fact that this is a dystopia. Society had lost its meaning and fell into despair, and would mourn the absence of children. Mariam an ex-school teacher recalls the days of children and described it As the sound of the playgrounds faded, the despair set in. Very odd, what happens in a world without childrens voices,(Children of men). This supported the fact that the world was missing a crucial aspect of life, which was the innocence of children that when taken away, resulted into collapse of the moral and social fabric of society. Further supporting this notion is due to the violence, and destruction the world resulted in, caused citizens to fear their outside chaotic world. In the bleak and chaotic world illustrated by Children of Men, the citizens have a fear of the outside world. The world had collapsed into a post-apocalyptic state with no children, no hope, chaos and destruction infrared into the citizens daily lives, which has caused humans to jet towards their extinction. For instance, this is evident, during the first scene of the movie. Theo the main protagonist nearly escapes a violent bombing. After that he gets up he brushes off the dust, and continues walking. This scene portrays the violence which has become a part of their daily lives. Moreover, the fact that as all nations foundered, immigrants fled expeditiously to London for a better life, only to find that London itself had lost its moral meanings and fell into despair. Immigrants who came from the outside world, were feared by the citizens and the government, resulting in the locking up of immigrants in cages, as if they were trying to contain a disease which when let loose could abolish the whole population. The immigrants who were allowed to live in London had to be put aside to refuge camps, away from the citizens, for they feared the outsiders as viscous animals. Further supporting this notion is citizens are living under strict bureaucratic control. The outside world and everything that came from it was feared by the citizens of London. As the world edged towards insanity in the film, the government attempted to pull the world together, resulting in strict bureaucratic control. This is clearly shown through numerous encounters with the militants. The militants are portrayed as very arrogant and egotistical people. This is evident throughout the film of at one point where Kee is in pain, the militants demand the reason for her pain instead of coming to her aid. When Mariam speaks out of turn in an attempt to protect Kee, the militants aggressively take her away to be possibly killed. This is one of many scenes all to characterize the fact that when the world becomes corrupt, everything revolving around it also becomes nefarious. In todays world we see militants and police as a symbol of security and protection. In Children of Men this adds to a gloomy setting, because even those who we see as heroes in our world today, have turned into highly strict, arrogant figures of fear. This dystopia warns us, that removing one thing from the natural world can result in a chain reaction leading to chaos. Alfonzo Cuarons has truly portrayed a wonderful example of a dystopia as he portrayed the fear citizens felt of the outside world, the natural laws of nature had been abandoned and disturbed under the strict bureaucratic control by the government. Children of Men is a dystopia because the citizens have a fear of the outside world, the natural world is banished and disturbed under strict bureaucratic control. Citizens felt threatened by the collapsed outside world and caged immigrants as if they were trying to trap a disease from spreading. People having nothing to live for, no one to carry their name and memory into the future left. London seemed to have give up hope as they cycle of life had been banished. The government tried to implement strict laws and used oppressive control in an attempt to bring back the torn society, but it only resulted in misfortune and mistreatment of the immigrants who came to London searching for the light at the end of the tunnel. The final scene shows Theo the main protagonist dyeing, Kee is just about to loose hope, but as she holds on her child for support, a boat named Tomorrow comes their way. The tomorrow represented hope for the future. In a bleak world where everything has collapsed, a powerless child is the mere hope for the future. Children of Men illustrates that once the innocence and playful laughs of children is removed, we soon forget who we were and who we are. Mankind would loose hope and morals if we had nothing greater to live for.