Thursday, November 3, 2011
1st practice posting - due 11/15 @ 3pm
After watching the movie The Island, consider and share your take on the film's purpose. How is this purpose revealed through the plot? (Consider messages about humanity, ethics, and science.) You are encouraged to build on postings from your peers as you fashion your own response!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1st
ReplyDeleteI find that, so far, this movie shows the selfishness and gulibility of humanity as a whole. The whole purpose of Lincoln and Jordan were to "help" their originals live longer-that is quite controversial and wrong. It is selfish of their originals to want a longer life, yet I can see where they are coming from.
ReplyDeleteGiven the opportunity, I would probably be one of those selfish people, yet I would never want others to be killed for the sake of my happiness and longevity. I believe that the celebrities and people who gave money for their clones to be created would feel the same way if they found out they were truly human.
It doesn't matter if someone is created from cloned DNA or not. They are a living, thinking individual that has their own hopes and dreams like everyone else. If "true" humans were to kill a clone just for parts, then I believe they would be lower than the clones.
Going on with gulibility, this movie shows how easy it is for humanity to trust practices that keep them healthy and secure. If the cloner's true practices were revealed, the company would collapse. Furthermore, the gulibility of the clones to follow every order that is given to them is crucial to their existance. If they were given knowlege greater than a child's, they might find out what they truly are and revolt.
3rd
ReplyDelete4th...
ReplyDeleteAnd I sorta agree with Kathy. I just dont know if its gullibility that they are showcasing. I dont think humans are gullible by nature. I think its more showing that we just trust or put trust into things that benefit us. Lincoln began to feel like the society didnt really benefit him. They didnt give him the food he wanted, and he just seemed fed up with having to go with the daily activities. That made him lose his trust. On the other hand, he trusted the Human character (I dont know his name, but he worked in that other sector) because he taught him things and they had conversations that Lincoln liked. He felt like the guy was his friend, so he put all of his trust into him. Maybe Im just going waaaaay off, but just my $0.02
His name was McCoy I think.
ReplyDelete27th
ReplyDeleteSam, I'm gunna borrow ur words 4 a sec. "I just dont know if its gullibility that they are showcasing... I think its more showing that we just trust or put trust into things that benefit us." As long as you're implying that we're trusting things that benefit us too easily ur just contradicting urself. If ur not, then the 2 ideas r still basically the same. And i get wat u 2 r saying with tht and agree, so im gunna try not 2 just regurgitate wat u both alrdy said. 1 thing tht i wanna bring up is whether this movie is completely anti-cloning or is it somewhat pro-cloning but warning of what could happen. I think tht evry1 can easily and readily understand the anti-cloning standpoint is but not so much the other side. The thing is, it does shine a negative light on cloning, but it also shows that they successfully cloned humans without any complications regarding health and function. All of the clones have the ability to think on their own but are restricted from doing so. It shows Lincoln and Jordan (whom Jesus loves very much) as actual ppl and makes the viewers want for them 2 live and end up being given the same rights as actual humans, erasing any distinction between the originals and clones. Maybe the movie is saying it would be awesome if we could clone ppl as long as they r treated equally. Or, maybe, the movie's saying that cloning is just a terrible idea and would ultimately become detrimenatal to humanity even if, initially, it seems beneficial.
And i agree w/Ahmed 2. good point
I agree with you all, however, there is a point I'd like to add. This movie highlights the general population's want for convenience, and their self-centered natures. Maybe I can understand the want for extra organs, but paying millions of dollars just so you don't have to get pregnant is just lazy. Creating life is part of being alive (obviously) and shouldn't be artificially done; keep in mind the clones' originals don't know about the clones and believe that their children are being birthed from an oblong biological mass. Dumping off the job of life on some science experiment instead of doing it yourself shows not only peoples' laziness but their willingness to throw around money. That and their cowardice; too wimpy to make your own kid, eh? And when it comes to selfishness, the scientists who made the clones continue to do so illegally and immorally because of their own greed, ignoring the consequences of their actions for not only themselves but for their clients. I think I would have a heart attack if I learned that the company I invested in was illegally and immorally producing clones (My reputation! It's ruined!).
ReplyDeleteThis movie, along with arguing the pros and (mostly) cons of cloning, shows that no matter what scientific developments we make and no matter what we do to improve our well-being, human nature will screw it all up. People want convenience, so they turn to inhuman answers. People want money so badly that they are willing to go against nature to get it. Like what Tyler said, it would initially seem beneficial, but people would just screw it up.
I think both Kathy and Sam have valid points, and I would like to expand a bit on the "selfish" aspect of Kathy's explanation.
ReplyDeleteThe originals in the movie seem very vain and act like they would do anything to be able to live longer just because they have the money to; however they believe their clones never reach consciousness. The Director person (sorry, I don't remember his name) told this to the the group of potential customers of his. So I don't think it is the originals who are showcased as representing humanity's selfishness but rather just vanity, and it is the Director who will do whatever it takes including lying to the originals and the clones to make a profit.
With that being said, the man who helps Lincoln and Jordan escape (I'm not sure of his name either) would be the foil to the Director. He risked everything to help them and ended up paying with his life for his unselfishness.
In a way, I felt like "ignorance is bliss" was a huge part of the movie's purpose. The idea that your organs can be cloned in a tube; that you could potentially become immortal, sounds like the future that I would give anything to live to see. However, none of the clients knew that these clones were becoming sentient; were developing hopes and dreams.
ReplyDeleteI kept asking myself while I watched "Why are they teaching them awareness; giving them jobs, giving them identity?" If they simply never knew there was anything for them in life, would it make a difference to die?
The company simply kept it under wraps and kept making money off of immortality; "who needs to know?" Clients weren't willing to look into the process before going through with it, nobody investigated far enough to know the difference. The shot at a miracle was too good to be true, but they just took it without a second thought.
i think that the movie shows how there is no such thing as a perfect society, because not everyone will be satisfied with it.
ReplyDeleteTo continue: The originals are living in blissful happiness thinking that they will live forever. However, the clones are not happy. Lincoln shows that their mundane routine leaves them wanting more in life. He wants to find his purpose in life, but unfortunately, that is death in order for others to live. The movie shows that although the originals are happy, the clones are not. The company only satsified one groups needs, without even considering the other group. This shows that the perfect utopioa they were striving for failed, and could never exist. So since everyone has a different idea of a utopia, one can never successfully exist.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kayle Ellis. The "ignorance is bliss" theme was prevelent. As long as the clients thought that their clones were kept unconscious in a tube, everything was fine. However, the movie also shows the selfishness of humans. When Tom Lincoln (the real one) found out that the clones were living, he didn't care whatsoever. He was willing to sacrifice Lincoln-6-Echo's life for his own.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of humanity's selfishness is also seen by the scientists, director, and especially the securtiy guards. They didn't care that they were killing conscious, working humans for the sake of money. The guards laughed at the terror and death of the clones. They didn't care because their greed was much higher than their morality.
To go on a somewhat different tangent than the previous comments, I believe the movie demonstrates how power bestowed on the wrong person can corrupt him/her and cause him/her to commit atrocities that he/she would not otherwise do. For example, the doctor (I can't remember his name) said that they began with non-conscious 'beings' at the beginning of the company, but eventually discovered that the organs failed in those 'beings'. There are many people who find this form of cloning amoral and disgusting, such as people view abortion of an unborn, non-conscious fetus today, but the doctor takes another step into amorality when he begins using real, conscious human beings to harvest organs. With this choice, the doctor was given the option to be God and choose who lives and who dies. His value on human life was twisted because he believed it was okay to sacrifice one human being for another (a clone for a child with leukemia). But does he really have the authority to make that decision; especially when he is tempted by the thought of millions of dollars lining his pockets? No, he isn't, because, as a corruptible, self-centered human being, he convinced himself that the clones did not have souls, feelings, or lives. He sheltered himself from this truth behind glass walls and an army of guards to enforce his every rule. Perhaps he enjoyed playing God? I'm sure he did; there are so many dictators in history that were delighted to hurt, kill, and maim people because of the thrill it gave them. What else is the doctor than a dictator over a complacent, docile, misguided hoard of citizens who are forced to live their lives the way the doctor wants them to?
ReplyDeleteI'd have to disagree that the purpose in this movie was to illustrate the theme "ignorance is bliss". Although it is relevant and somewhat supportable, the main and overlying purpose I felt was something more along the lines of individuals need to act in their own self-interest. From Lincoln-6-Echo, the Dr who runs the cloning facility, Tom Lincoln, even the mercenaries, the common thread is the fact that all of their actions are a result of what they think is best for themselves. Even Licoln-6-Echo says "people will do anything to survive" (may not be the exact quote but thats how i recollect it). The main purpose of The Island is that humans are going to act in their own self-interest, no matter the cost to society or others.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Alli and Kayla. The clients didn't look deeper into the company and they just accepted the fact that their organs were coming from an unconscious, unfeeling being. In another respect, the clones (in the client's perspective of being unconscious, etc) closely resemble the situation of abortion. The clones (to the clients) were, yes, unconscious and unaware of feeling, emotions, and their surroundings, but they were still living. And the same thing happens with abortion. Even the clients resemble women who have abortions. The clients and women (of course not all women, due to certain circumstances) are selfish and are only thinking about their own lives and not the lives of their clone/child. They do not realize or at least care that there is something living that they are going to kill for their own selfish purposes.
ReplyDeleteI would have to disagree with Chris. For the most part, I felt the movie was based on the fact that ignorance is bliss. The clients were happy because they had no idea their "vegetable" clones had feelings or were even alive. The clones were happy because they believed they had been one of the lucky ones saved from the contamination of Earth. Even the people directing the cloning and running the business were happy because they were reaping the benefits and notoriety of curing illness and basically cheating death. Every character in The Island had the same purpose and mindset: to survive in any way they knew how. I think the purpose of The Island is to show the selfishness humans are capable of and how it can severely affect and warp society..
ReplyDeleteI think that part of the purpose of the movie is to realize that all life needs to be valued. Even though they might be a clone, they are living, breathing human beings and need to be protected. They should not be killed so that the original person can live longer and evade death. They are bound to die eventually, there is no need to prolong their life on this world.
ReplyDeleteI understand that killing the clones in inhumane and selfish of the wealthy people of the world to want to live longer, the wealthy can't be blamed for the killing of the clones. They had no knowledge of the fact that they were killing actual thinking humans for transplant organs. They were tricked into believing that they were getting the organs from an unconscious vegetable of a human. The people at the cloning facility are the ones that are to blame. In the end, they got what they deserved. Death.
I noticed that quite a few people commented earlier saying that the purpose of the movie was to show human selfishness. I;d have to say that I disagree with this. In my opinion, it's unfair to say that all of humanity is selfish based off of the actions of an antagonist group in a story. I agree, that taking the life of any human for any reason, especially just to generate an income, is disgusting and selfish, but you have to consider the fact that the people who bought into the clones had no idea they were free thinking or even concious.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite point in the movie was when Albert Laurent (the guy that tracked Lincoln and Jordan) and the Director were talking. The Director said in 2 years he would be at the point of treating children’s Leukemia and started talking about how powerful that is. Then Albert said only the Director and God held that type of power. This sheds light on the idea of fate and immortality.
ReplyDeleteShould humans really hold the power to live forever? And to what point is science moral? Death is hard to face and accept; however it is essential to humanity. Life would hold no value without death. In the wrong hands science becomes very immoral. Because of the amount of money put into science the opportunity for greed to overcome morality grows.
I also think it is interesting that money is used to buy clones because you can’t put a price on life. The amount of money a person has says nothing about their character, and wealthy people seem to have a negative connotation. The idea of immoral, greedy, and selfish people being able to buy immortality bothers me. And in the case of the real Lincoln, bad life choices led to his kidney failure and in that respect he didn’t deserve immortality.
I don’t believe immortality should be an option. No one is God, and it is wrong for our race to hold too much power. We are very good at abusing what we have, being greedy and taking for granted everything we are given.
It seems that people are great at finding the bad, but often over look the good. Though this film shows some of the uglier parts of human nature, it also presents the caring and unselfishness we have too. McCoy (the janator's name, I think) shows he cares by helping the clones even though it led to his death. Had he been selfish, like the movie tries to make people appear, he would have reported the situation immediatly to save his skin. He might have even been selfish enough to use the capture as blackmail, saying he would go public with the information of an escape and intellegent, reasoning clones being made if he didn't get some cash. As we all know, though, he is unselfish helping not a clone, but a human being and a friend.
ReplyDeleteLincoln 6 Echo shows unselfishness as well. After the death of Tom Lincoln, Lincoln 6 could have taken over his original's life. Lincoln 6 could have gone off in the boat to start a whole new life, but he didn't. Lincoln showed he cares for his fellow clones by going back. Lincoln went back and made sure that no more clones would be murdered by greedy, corrupt, corporate executives. Lincoln risked his own new life and freedom so that others could live and also enjoy freedom. The same is true of Jordan, who was with Lincoln the whole time.
Even though there is so much evil and wickedness in the movie, there is also the good and right that goes with it and that should and does win out in the end.
I agree with Chris, the movie emphasizes that individuals will do what they need to do to survive. This is shown through Lincoln when he is running away from the place he was held, and also through Tom Lincoln because he got an insurance policy to protect his own life. I also agree with Raeanna because the movie is also emphasizing that what you don't know won't hurt you. This is also shown through Lincoln and Tom Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteThe major hole in the "ignorance is bliss" theme is that Despite having the knowledge that Lincoln 6 echo was a fully conscious and functioning individual, the real Lincoln still wanted to use him for his organs, and knowing full well that many other clones would have the same fate if he turned Lincoln 6 echo in, and he still did. If the point of the movie had been ignorance is bliss, then the real Lincoln wouldn't have tried to turn them in after he was enlightened. He was willing to let thousands die so that he could cheat death, which leads me to believe that the main theme is greed and the tendency of humans to act in self interest without regard for others.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the movie demonstrates a balance of good and evil, but it also demonstrates some basic ideas about the importance of keeping the masses uneducated in order to subjugated them. In north Korea, people are kept uneducated and isolated from The rest of the world, so that no new ideas can spawn or filter in from the outside. The "contamination" serves this function in the movie. It stops free thought.
ReplyDeleteI had a third comment, follow but I just can't remember it. First it was the greed, then Korea/subjugation of the masses, and and then ummmm umm u- I can't. Oops.
ReplyDelete#rickperry2012
In my opinion the purpose of the film was to highlight the necessity of disorder to maintain an orderly society.
ReplyDeleteIn the society presented in the movie, there;s absolutely no disorder whatsoever. Food, drink, and even physical contact is monitored to a tee. Which, clearly, didn't work out to the benefit of society.
We, in modern society tend think about crime and violence as the bane of all functionality, yet when presented with a society like the one depicted in The Island, where law order rampage throughout every crevice, we judge it saying that it's weird and dysfunctional.
After watching this movie and comparing the controlled group to the group of people that functions the way we do, it;s clear to see that dis-function is is an absolute need to not only appreciate, but to accommodate all of the different types of people their are in the world.
One set of rules and morals can never satisfy an entire civilization of people because what is viewed and positive and wholesome by one person isn't always what works for another.
25th
ReplyDeleteI'm agreeing with Chris on this one. In the movie the saying "Ignorance is bliss" definitely plays a prevalent part, however I don't find it to be the main overall purpose. The clones who do not have the gift of Lincoln-Six-Echo and the select others are, in fact, content with their lives because of their ignorance to the outside world around them, however those special clones stand to be the exception to the rule. As for the clients, they aren't completely ignorant to the process of their clones. They know, to an extent, that their clones are being created purely so that they can survive and cheat death. Even when the actual Lincoln finds out a little more about the situation of the clones he doesn't really care. In the end he is still looking out for himself and his own personal benefit. Therefore showing the egotistical attitude of society.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with most of the comments above. I thought there were actually a few connected leading themes of the story, mostly lying with the nature of humans. The Island illuminates just how well power can corrupt someone (credit to Josh A.) into thinking they are God, which in turn leads them to believe that they can use science to outrun morality. Truthfully, though, science can never outlaw morality. Lincoln was a science project that was said to not be "human;" however, he could think, reason, feel, and live just as well as a human could. As said in the movie, "human curiosity" could not be conquered by the science invented to do that very thing: reproduce organs immune to feelings so that people could live forever blissfully without a guilty conscience.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of corrupting power is shown through the director's character as he tries to create and kill off life in order to gain more power in an endless cycle of madness. I think he is also used also to show how a person can really never be content with just a little power. Humans tend to keep reaching for more power until they end up corrupting themselves.
So, in a way, I think this movie was just as much of a warning as BNW was. Even though the endings are polar opposites, they both bring out the faults that often we lose sight of in our strive to achieve the American Dream. The Island questions the amount of morality any of us still hold today and warns us of what our society could fall to, or even how much it could affect another human if we lost our sense of humanity, in essence, morality.
I believe that the purpose of this movie was to show that while humans are self serving by nature, they can also serve others. Yes, it is true that we are shown that man kind will only look out for himself in times of trouble through doctor, all those who have had clones made, and the real Lincoln. However, we are also shown that people can put others before themselves as Lincoln Six Echo and Jordan do when they go back to save all their friends when they could easily escape and live their lives. We also see compassion in the character at the beginning (can't remember his name...) who gives them clothes and money at a great personal risk. I think the movie has a powerful message about overcoming the norms of society, in this case, overcoming ones ego and caring about others.
ReplyDeleteI kind of saw the purpose of the movie as something a little different. I believe that the purpose of The Island was to show that humans and human nature cannot survive in any society, without experiencing the pros and cons of life.
ReplyDeleteTowards the middle of the movie, the director was explaining that the "clones" organs could not survive in their hosts body unless they were "living" before they were harvested. This shows experiencing the events of life, even if unfortunately they are bad, is part of the risk humanity takes to preserve human nature. Emotions and feelings are a vital part of any society, and without these no "human" society can prevail.
I agree with most people in saying that the movie shows the self-centered nature of humans and the greed that they have. I think that a purpose of this movie was to show how greedy people are and how they will generally do anything to benefit themselves, like Lincoln said humans will do anything to survive. The people would have a clone of themselves created just to make sure that they live longer. Even though they do not know the clones are living, when Tom Lincoln found out that Lincoln-6-Echo was alive and needed help, he did not care because he knew that he would need a new liver soon. This really shows how greedy people can be. The movie shows how people do things to benefit themselves like with the Doctor/Director covering up what was happening so he could make a profit and of course when Tom Lincoln turned in his clone.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I also thought the movie showed the natural curiosity of humans. For example, it showed how Lincoln questioned his surroundings and life and always wanted to know more. I think it shows how it is only natural for people to question and how we always want to know what is happening. It also showed how this curiosity would need to be stifled in order for people to conform to others/society, which is sort of like what Brave New World was about.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everybody else when they say the main purpose of the movie was to show the natural greed in most human beings. The humans in the movie wanted to live life for as long as they were able to do so, and in part, insurance companies produced clones of their clients. With everybody growing old and needing organ transplants, the clones were tricked into believing they would be sent to an island. Instead they unknowingly gave away their vital organs to their clients. Everybody wanted to live forever and didn't really bother to care for others. The competition for living the longest lead to the major greed in the movie
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the idea that selfishness is the main purpose of the movie. The two main characters risk having a free life in the end to go back and save all of the other insurance policies. Also that one guy gave echo and the girl, i forgot her name, his credit card and helped them get to LA so they could find their sponsors. The man hired to kill Lincoln and Scarlett Johanson also ends up helping the insurance policies in the end as well. I think the message is that as long as their is curiosity and belief in the world society can find its way
ReplyDeleteI deem that the purpose of the movie was to expose the reality of cloning/stem cell research in a moral aspect. It touches base on the concept of killing a clone capable of feelings and emotions to save a life of a human. The clones are just as human as the real humans, so it could be considered murder. They briefly mention God in the movie and how death is a natural part of life. The client is supposed to die because it is a natural part of life. Furthermore, the client is cheating death by using the clone which was not "Gods" will if that makes sense. Not saying I necessarily agree, but just an observation.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the purpose behind this movie was to show the importance of questioning ideologies and rules if you do not fully understand what their purpose is used for. Lincoln essentially questions the entire organization throughout the entire movie. Many are not very important, but the repetition of his constant questioning is. First, he questions why he can't have bacon just because the institution believes that he has too high of a sodium concentration in his blood. He also continuously asks where everybody comes from and why they are still able to save people from the contamination, which proves to be very important. For a third example, Lincoln poses the question to the real Tom Lincoln of whether it bothers him or not, knowing that the clones are actually alive. By asking this, the clone Lincoln is questioning the believes of the director to allow the clones to live and whether or not this is morally correct. There are many more questions that Lincoln poses, but I felt like these were good support and correctly depicted that the questioning of authority in a society often leads to a positive outcome (the clones escaping).
ReplyDelete*beliefs.
ReplyDeleteEverybody seems to have valid points. I think the real purpose was to show how selfish the human race is becoming. I think the director and writers if the movie wanted people to take a long hard look at how selfish they are and that they wanted to send a message if change. People cannot be cloned. The clones would develop thoughts and feelings like Lincoln 6 Echo and Jordan 2 Delta and would ultimately become their own person. As shown in the movie, the clones have different thoughts and views than their original people (Lincoln 6 Echo and Tom Lincoln). I believe the movie also shows a good side to humanity when Lincoln and Jordan go back to the facility to free the rest of the clones. Without people like them in the world, the world would be a mean and horrible place. I believe that the movie used the original people to show the bad aspects of society and the cloning facility to show the nice aspects. The nice aspects were, as stated, the kindness to go back and help the rest of the clones. The mean aspect was the greed and the need to live longer by the human race. Overall, I thought this movie was so awesome! I love stories and movies with sci-fi aspects like these!
ReplyDeleteThe clones are very young. They are almost like innocent children that provide a contrast to the greed of society.
ReplyDeleteSYMBOLISM SLAM
Overall, I think the main purpose of the movie was to show that the more power the people are given, the more self interested they become. It seems that as a person becomes higher up in society they realize the power they have and things they can do with that power. The clients, who are most commonly members of the rich elite, are mainly out to think for themselves. One might say that the clients do not know how humanlike the clones are, but when the real Tom Lincoln discovers his "insurance policy", he doesnt care about the true human emotions the clone is showing, he is still only interested in the things the clone can do for him. Another example is how the man in charge of creating the clones is only in the business for the things he can do for himself, like when he says that he will soon be the only man alive who can cure children's lukemia, which therefore compares himself to god, showing how all of this was for his own success
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments that people will do anything to survive and I saw that as a major topic throughout the movie. The characters repeatedly demonstrated this throughout the movie with the overall production and purpose of the clones to even Lincoln 6 Echo when he puts the ID bracelet on the real Tom Lincoln. People will risk whatever they can to hold on to what they love (life, people, money). I also think a major part of the movie was the element of emotion. The director/doctor said that the clones without emotions or thoughts quickly failed short after and were not useful. This shows that humans or organisms need emotion and will always strive and fight to have emotions and individuality. Lincoln had emotions even though it was not necessarily "right" in his society, which proves that emotion and human connection/individuality cannot be restrained or eliminated completely. The clones needed emotion to survive similar to "real" or original people. They needed emotion to feel the fear of dying or growing old or not being able to have children which in turn created the clones. They purchased the clones to survive because of emotion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those that stated the theme as being that of self-interest and greed. Throughout the movie, it was clear that those who had invested in there clones had little to no care for them. This is best shown through the use of Mr.Lincoln. As Mr. Lincoln is approached by his clone ,Lincoln-6-Echo, he ,as soon as possible, contacts the doctor of the cloning factory. Once he has made contact, Mr.Lincoln reports to the doctor about his encounter and were to find his clone. It is fair to say that Mr.Lincoln sets up his clone in hopes that he were to be captured. Fortunatly he was not. But beside the point, it was clear that Mr. Lincoln had no emotion toward his human clone. All he was concerned with was that Lincoln-6-Echo was to be returned to the lab and "mined" for his healthy traits, which were to be used to save Mr.Lincolns life. This demonstrates the low moral standards with which the investors carried for there clones. They had little desire to understand and even care for there human counterparts and as a result were willing to pay large sums of money to guarentee a longer life.
ReplyDeleteI would also agree with those that had a theme along the lines of the danger of Technological advancements. Though the idea of cloning yourself in hopes of living a longer life seems surreal, it was not to long ago that cloning itself was deemed far fetched. It would not be unorthadox to eliminate the possibility of living in a sociaty, such as the one in the movie. If humanities moral values were to decrease and technology continue to sky rocket, our human race could possibly be in trouble. We as humans must draw a line at some point, in hopes of continuing the human race and its success.
I agree with Angel in the fact that it is unfair to say that all of humanity is selfish based off of the actions of an antagonist group in the story. The people who bought the clones were completely oblivious to the fact that they were conscious. One other thing that I don't think many people have considered is the fact that the people who bought the clones are dying, and yes, they may be kind of selfish in the aspect of wanting to cheat death no matter what the cost is, but they also have families to worry about. Also, Lincoln and Jordan are unselfish throughout the entire movie. For example, they could have just gone out into the world and started a life together, but insted they chose to go back and save all of their friends(the rest of the clones). This shows that although some people can be selfish, not everyone is, and we shouldn't assume that everyone in the world is.
ReplyDeleteGreed and selfishness were definitely the main purpose of the movie in my mind but in both positive and negative ways.. so I agree with a majority of you. While watching the movie I was happy to accept that Lincoln 6 echo and Jordan 2 delta were able to overcome this need to ‘survive at all costs’ felt by the clients and bring light to that fact that societies are capable of “finding their way” as Ashley put it wayyyy up there somewhere^. But when thinking back on it, if the selfishness of the clients and/or owner of the institute wasn’t so strong these humans (individuals complete with feelings not just products in a vegetated state) wouldn’t have had to be created only to be slaughtered for their organs, saving thousands from the emotional distress caused after learning their entire lives were merely scams. I think the director(s)/writer(s) did a great job making it clear that human greed/selfishness will either make or break a society.
ReplyDeleteThe movie did have a main point of greed and self interest. The real Lincoln didn't really care when he found his clone, all he cared about was his "insurance policy." He didn't realize that the clones were perfectly capable of feeling emotion and acting in the same ways as normal humans. Jordan (clone) even cries when she is captured. All the clients care about is cheating death, it doesn't matter matter how they do it. I also like what Josh A said about how power given to certain people with corrupt them into committing acts they wouldn't have committed.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the movie had a theme of selfishness and greed, but the main characters were the protagonists and contradicted the greediness of the plot. The man that helps the two escape also show the very opposite of selfishness. So, although the movie is bases on greediness, I think that the purpose is to show how greed is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't necessarily call the theme of the movie human greed. Be honest with yourself, if you were a multi-millionaire and were presented with a morally sound way to buy an extention to your life, you would take it. I know I would. If I was aware of what really happen I would not, but people were not told that they were taking life from life. The clones owe their lives to the people who wanted to extend their lives. The head doctor guy in charge tried to play God by creating and ending life. People really do want to extend their lives if they can, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Life is great, why not live as long as you can?
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with Alex. If I was a millionaire and I was given the oppotunity to live forever I would take it. If I had the money, I would do it. If searching for a fountain of youth was never seen as "Morally wrong" then why would this be bad? As humans, we sorta have to look out for ourselves. Its our instinct to try to survive. I see nothing wrong with it.
ReplyDeleteI also have to agree with Alex. Human instinct is to try to stay alive as long as possible. In the movie I honk he said all I want to do is live. This does not stoke me as morally wrong because if everyone had the money for it, then everyone would do it. Greed does not seem to be a part of that because not every single millionare or billionaire had a clone based on what the movie showed us. It seemed that everyone that had a clone had a medical problem that was to directly affect them in the future. This goes back to the fact that everyone is just trying to survive.
ReplyDeleteThe movie does show how “ignorance is bliss” and I agree that that is only part of what the movie tries to portray. But the others do have the ability to think like six echo does, they are just unaware of it, which is why they all have to be disposed of at the end because it was a defect in the way there system was supposed to work. And as for the clients, most of them are ignorant to the fact that there ever was a defect with the system, because obviously there was never meant to be one. They remain unaware to the problem. Once the clones started displaying actual signs of being able to think and feel, it gives them more of a sense of individualism: that they are their own person. The movie shows that even if a person is copied inch by inch, even has the same finger prints, they are still not the same person and the clones’ own sense of individualism will still be what makes that person. By overlooking that defect in their system, they have created more individual people, not clones.
ReplyDeleteI think the purpose of the movie was to show that people , no matter how collective their society is, can still find individuality if they try to find it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting, everybody! I'm very impressed with the in-depth, thoughtful comments. :) At 3:00, I checked the postings, and Rachel Q was the final person. After that, all postings are late. :(
ReplyDeleteGreat work!
I feel like the Island is portrayed as more of a work of science and humanity because it shows the differences from "our" world and "their" world. It's plot is revealed when the two escape from their society. It shows that science is not always right, and that there could be problems within the experiment. It also shows that humanity can still exist within one group of people. Does anyone else have any other theories?
ReplyDelete