Saturday, October 13, 2012

28 blogs later dystopia


So for my dystopia blog I chose the movie "28 Weeks Later".  This movie is the sequel to "28 Days Later".  In the original movie, “28 Days Later”, a group of ignorant scientists start the spread of the rage virus from laboratory test monkeys, the virus spreads across Great Brittain leaving zombie like creatures roaming the streets with a thirst for blood and wanton violence.  “28 Weeks Later” picks up in the post-apocalyptic time period after those infected with the “rage virus” infected have died off.  The U.S. army has secured a small area of London for the 15,000 survivors to repopulate and start again.  However, not everything goes as planned.  They do not have a protocol for minors in their secure zone at this time.  A lack of supervision provides the children an opportunity to embark on an adventure to their old home.  In their home they find their mother who is still alive and “partially” infected.  While she does contract the virus, she remains free of the symptoms associated with the disease.  Upon her arrival to the secured area, the mother undergos a process of decontamination.  She is quarantined to protect the other survivors since she is a carrier of the virus and can infect others.  When her husband learns of his wife's arrival to the facility he is surprised because he thought she had been killed.  His reaction is impulsive and in a lapse of judgement, he kisses his wife.  Unfortunately, this exchange causes him to become infected and then turns on his own wife.  This encounter initiates the spread of infection to the survivors.  The objective is to save the two children whose blood may contain the key to an antidote.  I feel as though dystopia is an interesting concept among audiences who perceive a post-apocalyptic world as both frightening and possible.  Everyday we face risk of infection from diseases that are life threatening and have no cure.  There are constant threats of warfare involving nuclear weapons from foreign nations that have the potential to kill an entire population of people.  A virus that spreads at such a rapid rate and consumes the vast majority of the population is not necessarily a foreign concept.  It provides a glimpse into a world without the structure of rules and laws.  These dystopian movies and stories continue to hold popularity because compared to the world we live in, such chaos would present a survival of the fittest type scenario.  As they say history repeats itself.  So, whether it be a zombie-like apocalypse or a civil revolution, by rendering our government non-existent, we will have to adapt to the lack of structure and laws.

3 comments:

  1. This is an interesting way of looking at this movie. I'm curious as to how you came to the conclusion that our present is "a perfect seeming world"...what with the Colorado movie theater shootings, the Libyan revolt, etc. Do you think that history is already beginning to repeat itself? Are we possibly already in survival mode for the future apocalypse?

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  2. I had the same question as Meredith. It's difficult for me to find any perfection when I read the national or international news. That being said, I don't think we are living in a dystopia.

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  3. To clarify what I meant, I realize that we are not in a perfect world, but I feel like we try to make ourselves feel that the world we live in lacks the need for change or at least thats how americans act. Many are so content with their status that they just do not care for change. I mean isn't it apparent that the majority of our current society is so absorbed into technology that many of these people choose to warp there mind with Facebook farm animals while complaining about everything thats wrong, but continue about their daily routine. I mean this strictly in a sense of our country, as of coarse we have seen countless times in other countries (i.e. libya, GB) that when they have a problem they fight for it until they are essentially stopped by force, or they win. The colorado shooting, was a single event by a lunatic. Im not saying he is the only one, because colombine is another example of some crazies. No I don't believe we are living in a dystopia, but I feel as though in the near future, we may see some dystopian characteristics unravel. So, to sum up my point, this country is not perfect, but aside from sporadic incidences, everybody continues their daily routine regardless of the way they feel about change. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time." People in our society are to lazy to make changes, they are just to content.

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