Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men is during the onset of the apocalypse film, as it takes places in the middle of human extinction due to global infertility. The film can be related to a multitude of things but a connection with a quote of Jay Gould and how the protagonist develops creates an interesting discussion on what matters, if anything matters. Theo is basically a nihilist when the audience meets him but by the film’s concussion his life has found a meaning that makes living in a world where things just happen a little more tolerable. “Scornful of the jeremiads of the moralists, a rational and humane scientist proposes the minimum consolation: an apocalypse that doesn't have any meaning. AIDS is a ‘natural phenomenon,’ not an event ‘with a moral meaning’ ”. This quote by Jay Gould reminds me of several scenes in the Children of Men. The first is when Theo and Jasper make jokes about groups of people …show more content…
He describes most days as “Woke up, felt like shit. Went to work, felt like shit”. He is a man that has lost everything, he lost his son to an unknown cause, as a result he lost his wife, and he lost his meaning in the world. Then finally he is reunited with Julie to help her transport a Kee to the coast. Not long after their journey begins they are attacked and Julie is killed. Then later, it is reviled to him that Kee is pregnant there is an awakening in him. He finds his meaning in life and he fights for her life, the life of the baby she carries, and through them the fate of all of mankind. The events of the film culminate with the death of Theo but his mission was complete he saved Kee and her baby. Even if he did not believe the world could be saved in the beginning, he gave his life trying to save it. Theo transitioned from seeing the apocalypse as an event that lacks moral meaning to finding a personal meaning despite the end of the world looming
Monette recalls his thoughts after reading the first serious report about AIDS and not finding any signs of the disease in himself at the time. He felt “relieved” and “safe” and thought that he and his friend were not in immediate danger even though they were in one of the high-risk social groups. For several years after that report, he subconsciously denied the possibility of becoming sick, reasoning that AIDS killed “them,” gays from different social classes or leading promiscuous sexual life. Monette thought he and his friend were different.
“Since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic, 1.7 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than six hundred and fifty thousand have died of AIDS.” (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). AIDS is a serious disease that needs to be treated from an early stage so that it helps long-term health from deteriorating. There are many scientists that have tried to form a vaccine for AIDS to help people around the world that suffer with it. Helen Epstein worked as a scientist in Africa in search of an AIDS vaccine. “AIDS INC” is a chapter from her book The Invisible Cure where Epstein observes different prevention programs in Africa. Its hard for the individuals in Africa to trust scientists coming from other countries and talk openly with them and that contributes toward social cohesion. Despite the fact that social cohesion has many different definitions Epstein focuses on talking openly with
In the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” FRONTLINE examines the outbreak of AIDS since its first diagnosed case in 1981. The film investigates different medical, political and social environments under AIDS pandemic in the US and worldwide. The film not only focuses on the scientific research and progress in treating the disease, it also looks at the social stigma, government strategies and public campaigns around different countries.
Some peoples morals are being changed and molded throughout the story but not always lost in totality. Many of the population are becoming more focused on themselves and their families and less focused on the people around them. Starvation is starting to take effect leaving many feeling lost and make them do things they wouldn't have done before the apocalypse. Fin is one of the victims of changing morals, his circumstances have changed and he is now starving and hungry.
inevitable that AIDS would be defined in political and cultural terms as well as medically, and
“Children of Men” Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Is set in the year 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, Theo Faron a former activist, agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman, Named Kee, to a sanctuary located out at sea, where her child’s birth could help scientists save mankind. In the film Children of Men, there are many crucial scenes to help convey the idea of the film, however I find one of these scenes particularly important; namely the apartment scene. In this scene Theo is being driven through the streets of London to the Ark Of Arts to visit his cousin Nigel. The director uses a number of techniques to help portray the themes and ideas, such as music, setting, lighting
In 1992, August 19th in Houston Texas, Mary Fisher, the HIV positive speaker, gave an inspiring outlook on her and countless others lives. Fisher speaks about a prevailing issue in her life, her diagnoses of AIDS. At the Republican National Convention Address, Mary teaches the audience the lesson “If you believe you are safe, you are at risk.”
“Two hundred thousand Americans are dead or dying” Two hundred thousand Americans, two hundred thousand brothers, friends, loved ones, all fighting a war; this war is not fought in foreign countries, this war is HIV/AIDS (“American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher”). Sadly, Mary Fisher is one of the many victims that are crushed by the heartbreaking diagnostic of being HIV positive, however, this was her alarm to the severity of the virus. As a result, Fisher dedicated her life to spread awareness of HIV and AIDS. In addition to the jaw-dropping speech, Fisher, has dedicated her whole life to the awareness of AIDS, through her store, biographies, non-profitable organizations, and many more. However, “A Whisper of AIDS” is the first domino in her line of work to break the “shroud of silence” known as AIDS (“American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher”).Fisher spoke from the heart, and as well as the mind in “A Whisper of AIDS”, which effectively touched the hearts of many and did exactly what she hoped it would, turned the whisper of the word AIDS into a shout spoken from numerous to prevent fear in the hearts of many. In order to show the dire importance of awareness of HIV/AIDS, Fisher, Effectively uses heartbreaking pathos, strong logos, and persuasive ethos.
Poet Warsan Shire of “Home” and director Alfonso Cuaron of “Children of Men” had both revealed through their texts perhaps the most dangerous form of oppression that the world chooses to ignore. The “marginalization” of vulnerable groups from society. Marginalisation is the treatment of a person, group or concept as insignificant or peripheral. In the poem “Home”, Warsan Shire writes about “marginalization” of vulnerable groups from society. She does this from a perspective of a person marginalizing the vulnerable groups by saying “ go home blacks..refugees.. dirty immigrant.. asylum seekers sucking our country dry, niggers with their hands out, they smell strange, savage”.
With headlines in the news such as The Sun dubbing AIDS as the ‘gay plague’ it was an irresistible red rag to the bull for the media, even though in Africa other populations were infected right from the beginning. (Dowsett, W, Gary. 2009) In an excerpt from Simon Garfield’s The end of Innocence Britain in the time of AIDS, Roy Greensdale the assistant editor of the Sun from 1981 to 1986 recalls that ‘AIDS appeared to be just desserts for being involved in deviant sexual behaviour. It was quickly realized that it came about due to anal sex, and heterosexual executives on the Sun thus fed in the fact that it was a gay plague. AIDS tended to suggest that it might stop all that kind of behaviour, and might lead to fewer gays being about.’ The gay community has always been an easy target for hostility throughout history and when the controversy surrounding the AIDS panic began to surface it became another way in which to ostracise them for their ‘wages of sin’. (The Daily Telegraph). 1983).
When a fatal disease becomes known to a society but lacks explanation our instinct as humans is to jump to conclusions, whether they are logical or not. We bargain with our faith, we search for any evidence to support our conjectures, we deny the truth of the disease, and we place blame on each other. All of these desperate acts of justification are driven by fear—fear of the unknown. The combination of fear and ignorance that pushes people to make conclusions is readily notable in the AIDS epidemic of Haiti. Haitians reacted to AIDS in a similar manner as other cultures, but there are also differences that are specific to their community. Like many cultures, Haitians reasoned the occurrence of AIDS with explanations beyond the scope of medicine, with diseases that were known to them, or were instead in complete denial. The uniqueness of the occurrence of AIDS in Haiti was that there was no direct cause that could be addressed. Thus, while under significant scrutiny as the origin of AIDS, Haitians reacted to the epidemic by blaming the existence of AIDS on poor socioeconomic status, on sorcery, and on other people or countries.
Children of Men is set in the not too distant future, which makes the ideas stated in it even more frightening. London in 2027, according to the film, is one of the last inhabitable places on Earth, but it seems like the society will not be functioning for much longer due to the longstanding issue of infertility. With this very issue looming over everyone’s head, chaos ensues, leaving everyone to fight for themselves. Refugees are shown being forced into cages like circus animals, being heavily guarded by soldiers with guns. Another contributing factor in the post-apocalyptic atmosphere is the pollution and fog seen in the air throughout the movie. These and many more social issues are represented in the movie. Among the many other social issues illustrated in Children of Men, the normalization of abortion in today’s society can be argued as prevalent to the main plot of the movie. The film uses infertility and impending human extinction as a metaphor for the normalization and acceptance of abortion in today’s society.
In Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, I believe the movie's design has a unified feel. By understanding Anderson's approach to cinematography, we can tell that the costume and visual designs ensemble a true Wes Anderson's film. In fact, he is indulged with patterns and lively colors. His plot mainly reflects an old- fashioned, nostalgic feel and he is a bit playful with camerawork. On the other hand, the Grand Budapest really feel like a lively, happy hotel. The use of colors and contrasting hues made the setting almost looks like a painting. For example, the frame narrative where the Grand Budapest Hotel became the setting, the mise-en-scène and the lighting of the film become almost too symmetrical and mannered, especially during the
This essay analyses how mise-en-scene informs both what is seen and how we are invited to see it, in Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men (2006), a dystopian science fiction thriller. The film is set in England in 2027 and humanity has become infertile. Every other society has collapsed due to dwindling populations with many migrating to England a former activist, Theo Faron (Clive Owen), agrees to help, Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore), to get Kee a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea. The aim of this essay is to investigate the power of mise-en-scene, specifically in the use of ‘setting’ and ‘staging’ in key scenes that frames the state of affairs in this imaginary society and the use of omnipresent media in the film and how audience is invited to see it by resembling their own reality. Using close textual anlysis of Children of Men, combined with an ideological critique of post 9/11 global, this analysis will demonstrate how Alfonso Cuaron’s uses the techniques of mise-en-scene show the audience a perception of reality in ways which invites them to debate the nature of contemporary society or politics .
Mary Fisher’s speech entitled “A Whisper of Aids,” is an appeal to the emotional and political moods of the Republican National Conference on August 19, 1992. In this speech she talks about her disease, but unlike most people, who become depressed when they learn about contracting the disease, Mary Fisher stands up and fights for everyone who has AIDS as well as bringing the statics of HIV and AIDS to light. Mary Fisher’s speech can be analyzed from three different standpoints: structure, delivery, and appeal.