"Never Let Me Go" -- Wake Up!

[Woodsman]

[Mod's edit: SPOILER ALERT]

This film http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334260/ is a love story set in an alternative-history Earth where, starting in the 50's, humans began to be artificially grown, raised for later harvesting of their organs. It's not an adventure story and it doesn't have a happy ending. Bruce Willis doesn't charge in with a shotgun to save the day. It runs through to the bitter end, and you are invited to do a lot of thinking along the way. The question of whether or not the clones have souls is part of the exploration and by the end, one begins to really understand just how like livestock we all are.

In any case, sometimes these media-delivered metaphors are very thin. This one struck hard.

Aside from being a lovely bit of film-making, and a heart-breaking story, it also showed me another way to understand the content from the first session with the C's.

A: 94 per cent.
Q: (L) 94 per cent of what?
A: Of all population.
Q: (L) What do you mean?
A: All are containers; 94 per cent use.
Q: I don't understand.
A: Will be used. 94 percent.
Q: (L) Used for what? You mean eaten?
A: Total consumption.
Q: (L) What do you mean by consumption? Ingested?
A: Consumed for ingredients.
Q: (L) Why?
A: New race. Important. 13 years about when happens.
Q: (L) Why are humans consumed?
A: They are used for parts.
Q: (L) We don't understand. How can humans be used for parts?
A: Reprototype. Vats exist. Missing persons often go there and especially missing children.
Q: (L) Do we have any protection?
A: Some.

In 4th D, the option of not having to consume other beings is very appealing after seeing this film.

Recommended.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

This movie is based on the book and there was a small discussion about it here

I look forward to watching it. :)

 

[Woodsman]

I've been hit lately with a number of stories which focus on the same subject matter; that of genetically manipulated humans living in highly controlled environments.

Over December I read the book, "Shades of Grey" (mentioned in the sci-fi books section http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=5781.30 a couple of weeks ago), which was filled with many similar themes.

Also, a friend of mine told me about a TV series called, "Tower Prep" which is apparently an adventure story, about a group of genetically different kids who wake up and find themselves in a mysterious school from which there is no escape. Sort of "The Prisoner" meets "Lost" but aimed at teens. I downloaded and watched several episodes over the Christmas break. (It was meant for a younger audience, but the writing is pretty good and the themes kept me alert). Anyway. . .

All three of these stories feature the same elements, including. . .

1. Genetically manipulated humans.
2. Ultra-controlled environments with strong fascist overtones.
3. The characters in Shades of Grey and Never Let Me Go are strangely lacking in either conscience or awareness in a manner which is clearly deliberate on the part of the authors, and which is suggested to be a result of genetic tampering.
4. Walls which seem real but which are primarily psychological in nature. (The children in "Never Let Me Go" explain early on how they cannot cross past the fence of the school territory.)
5. The ultimate secret being linked to human slavery and manipulation of some sort.



When messages like this hit me in clusters, I find it useful to ask why.

My gut feeling is that it is a reflection of the situation we all occupy on Planet Earth, and perhaps a warning from the subconscious or other quarters to get mentally prepared.

 

[anka]

After finding this thread i downloaded the movie and decided to watch it a few days later. In the meantime, i forgot the plot almost completely. Can't say whether i would have felt better remembering it but going "blank" through it i had to stop in the middle of the movie because it had a devastating impact on me. Finished it only the following day which is today.

I am usually quiet easy to fall for any well-done film and go through emotional development of characters, unless i am particularly interested in a technique of the film-making, e.g. when recommended by friends. But here it was the idea, not new and quiet simple, that simply put me off along with a strange (brilliantly 'painted') coldness of the characters' way of thinking in their situation (they did not think to change anything about it, with exception of the couple wanting to postpone the donating time in favour of spending few extra years together), and i was half horrified and half-crying. While i knew i was watching a fiction, at the same time it was clear that things like this, and much worse as well, are happening in the society we live in and we tolerate evil and sacrifice others for our own luxury and comfort of living "happily blinded".

Reading the book written by Kazuo Ishiguro might be another experience but if you read slowly and want to go for the movie then i think it is very well done and worth watching. Very sensitive people should not watch it alone (i tell you :O) - better to see it with friends and have a chat after to lift up the mood.