----A Movie Review on "The Island"
It is a science-fiction with an intriguing plot that will stun all reviewers
It undertakes a depiction of future that both awes and frightens me
It is a revelation on a conduct of technology that goes beyond ethical norms.
"The island" is a wonderful movie which takes you to the future. The plot is set in 2019.
In the previous one-third of the movie, wiewers are deliberately miss-leaded. Suspence is created when all members in a special shelter all wearing the same white uniform universally longed for winning the first price of a lottery---to settle down in The Mystery Island. Viewers see these people conduct a very strict, but health diet, do physical exercise on visual-reality machines--ganranteeing them free of physical damage while ensuring the right intensity and portion of excercise. Viewers also see them learn to read and do work in a lab. Reasonably, conjecture is formed by viewers that thus is the healthy future life style after the alluged "Big Contamination".
This early assumption is overthrown as the story propels. The bold, horrible truth gradually reveals. The Mystery Island turned out to be utterly a conspiracy and those "future human" turned out to be duplicants--products of a technology firm. Viewers proceeds to discover that in 2019 or so, wealthy people have the priviledge to take full advantages of cutting-edge technology to sponsor a duplication of themselves. The "products" are claimed by the firm to be vegetables-- a complete system of organs of human body deprived of brain-- which justify humanity of the operation, hence the firm founders and the customers are rendered free from the accusation of disrespectance of human life. If "sponsors" are in need of organs implantation,the duplicates will be the organ providers and this will be the cessation of their lifes.
The movie put me in meditation on the real meaning of life, existence and identity. The duplicates are considered as "products" by laboratory workers, since technology at that time failed to develop vegetables from which organs, skins or reproductive capability could be directly harvested or harnessed. their sponsors are genetically the same as them, who are unaware of their existence. There are thousands of duplicates. Their existence is kept a secret, their identity is deprived at the beginning of embryotic stage. However, they get from "memory implantation" a certain message, a notion that justifies their being, that gives
them self-accpetance, that "You are very special. You're born for a reason."
This could be understood scarstically in two ways.
First, human assume that their being conveys a special evangelic significance. Indeed, they are born for a special reason. They stick to their uniqueness. But what human being put to those duplicates are cruel and inhuman. Duplicates are indeed also born for a reason --that is, for the mantenance of health and the convenience of their sponsors. Yet these duplicates have the same consciousness and emotions as normal human. The bravery and willingness to fight for their own survival is impressive and respectable. It taught me that it might be necessary for us to win identities through fights and struggles. Even when it comes that I AM a real being. I have mother and father and ancesters. But acknowledgement of my being depends on my attitude, my way of living.
Another connotation of "You are very special" associates with the prevalentg American notion. Children, specially American kids, are taught in an early age that they are unique. This is considered to enhance their self-esteem and to build up their coompetence, which is to some extent in the juxtaposition of the philanthropic notion of "We are not so different after all." I admit that I am influenced by the "self-conciousness of uniqueness" by a considerably large scale, like I've undergone some memory imprint. But as I enter my adulthood and get to know people a bitter more, I start to question this. I AM special. But that won't wipe out the characteristics in me that also belonged to my generation. We have similarities. We understand each other.None of us is isolated though sometimes we are hit by the paroxysm of egocentricity. I am aspired by those duplicates who earned their own identity and value independent from their sponsor. If they can discover the true value of theirs, why can't I, without clinging to the illsion of extreme feeling-good uniqueness, work and live whole-heartedly to discover and dignify my own identity and value.
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