The Worst Aspects of Humanity in Snowpiercer Film - Essay Example

Snowpiercer Science Fiction and Social Construction Philosophy Snowpiercer Science Fiction and Social Construction Philosophy Snowpiercer (2013) is a film about a dystopian future in which all that remains of society has been put onto a train in which there is a small population of the elite who are served by a lower cast population which is placed under extreme social conditions. The workers starve, have few comforts, and live in extremely crowded conditions. The elite have education, live in a state of perpetual parties if they choose, and have enough space on the train to move about freely. The film discusses the outcome of a society that is constructed on disparities in privilege and class. The film Snowpiercer is an exploration of the deepest disparities in society and how people manage classism under authoritarian, rule that occurs in the very confined space of the train. Summary Snowpiercer, which stars Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Song Kang-ho, and Jamie Bell, as well as appearances by John Hurt and Ed Harris, was written by Bong Joon-ho and Kelly Masterson. Produced in Korea, the film is also directed by Bong Jooh-ho. The plot is based on a dystopian narrative in which humanity has had to go to extremes in order to survive a relentless winter environment. In response to global warming, humankind released a chemical into the air that was supposed to bring the temperature down. Instead, new Ice Age took place and in order to have humankind survive the last of humanity is on a train that never stops. Two cultures have emerged, an oppressed working class and privileged elite. Curtis Everett played by Chris Evans, takes a journey from the back of the train up to the front of the train in an attempt to revolutionize the society that has been created on the train. This journey takes on the nature of a quest as he overcomes obstacles in order to get to his final destination. As in many quest adventures, when he finally reaches his destination, it is not what he expects. He has learned that the protein bars that the workers eat are based on a bug protein and that children who have been stolen from the back of the train are not educated to become a part of the elite class as promised, but are used to replace parts in the engine as they begin to fail. After taking a journey through the train, learning about various aspects of society that was previously not known by him, Curtis is one of the few who understands the social system on the train that has been created by its creator, Wilford through the efforts of a man known as ‘the designer’. Wilford, played by Ed Harris then tells Curtis that he has been selected to be the new overseer of the train. Curtis declines, finding the latest child who was taken and being used to work on the failing engine while protesters light a bomb. As the explosion rocks the train, an avalanche is triggered outside and the train is derailed. Curtis has not survived, but Timmy and Yona, the daughter of the train’s security system designer, emerge from the train to see a polar bear proving that life still exists outside of the train. Dystopian Futures In a dystopian narrative, the future reflects what is often shown as an oppressive government organization with tensions in terms of their worldview. Aspects of current society are evaluated and usually exaggerated so that these elements can be examined for the dangers that they present should they become a dominant feature in society. In Snowpiercer, classism is an extremely important feature of current society that is examined in this film. In addition, income and resource disparities are also closely examined for the effects that they would have should these aspects of society begin to be dominant features. Oppression In the film, class is divided down a harsh line between the elite and workers. The viewer meets the population through first seeing the conditions in which the workers live. The cinematography is designed to have a fairly monotone palette, the dead blue tones suggesting an oppressive, prisonlike atmosphere. The faces of the workers are slightly filled with dirt, while the faces of the soldiers who hold the guns and wear helmets are clean and bright. In the first scene of the film, the soldiers ask for someone who can play violin. An older man answers that he and his wife both play, but they inform him they only need one player. He says he will refuse to go, but the soldiers grab him, hitting his wife in the face and smashing her hand. This becomes symbolic of the problems of a military state where power becomes a control over people who become expendable in the eyes of the soldiers. The film uses symbolism through action, coloration, clothing, make-up, and atmosphere. The scene feels like one from a movie about concentration camps, developing a story that is unfamiliar and new through familiar visual and story symbols. Through commonly understood visual and action elements, the oppressive atmosphere is very quickly recognized by the viewer. Education While Curtis is about halfway through the train, he encounters a classroom filled with children of the elite. The classroom is very clean, with children in school uniforms who are listening to a young blonde teacher in a classic modernized prairie style dress. The children speak with prejudicial ideas about those who live in the tail of the train. They have been taught that people who live back there are lazy and live in their own filth. The children are then shown a video about Wilford, their founding father who designed the train and set it in motion. This is similar to the real world in which children are indoctrinated by creating symbols and stories that define the world about them and create certain types of bias and stereotypes. An example of a real world myth is the one of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree and telling his father the truth about it. This is a myth that intends to indoctrinate children into beliefs about the founding fathers, even though this myth about George Washington is nothing more than a story. As the children in the film watch the video about Wilford, they make certain movements and verbal responses that join them together in this great mythology of the train. The children see an important symbol of one of their myths after they watch the film as the train passes by a group of frozen people. The figures are frozen in place, a living symbol of why no one should ever leave the train. The frozen monument to the safety of the train is called ‘The Seven’ because they tried to defy the importance of the safety on the train and leave into the frozen landscape. This intense symbolism of the dangers of rebellion creates a mythology that is incorporated into the education of these children. At this point, a man walks through delivering the “New Year’s Egg”, a chicken egg that each person throughout the train receives one per year as a remembrance of their past. Curtis is handed an which has a message inside, similar to the one he received in his protein bar near the beginning of the film. The word ‘blood’ is written on the message. At this point the teacher and various members throughout the train pull guns from underneath the eggs and begin to shoot people. This is a culling, a reduction in the population in order to control resources. The use of bright colors and a happy atmosphere in the classroom that is now being destroyed by the machine gun is then put into contrast with the back of the train where even more people are being killed in their dark, filthy surroundings. The scene goes back and forth between elite populations and the populations of the workers as 75% of the people on the train are put to death. Monomyth This story follows the monomyth, or the heros journey that was defined by Joseph Campbell. Curtis Everett receives the call to adventure, although there is not much of a refusal of the call because before the film begins there is a plan for the back of the train to revolt. However, he receives messages in a variety of different unusual methods which constitute supernatural aid. His first message is found in one of the protein bars that the back of the train is fed. After he takes one of the elite as a hostage, he has crossed the threshold and entered into the belly of the whale which are both trials that he must face on the elite side of the train as a continuation of the monomyth narrative structures (Campbell, Cousineau, & Brown, 2003). Even as he is killed, Wilford is apathetic, showing his disregard for the humanity that his creation had saved. As happens with many politicians and people in power, his belief was in the system rather than in the people it was intended to serve. This scene resolves the main theme, that freedom is more important than any other state of existence. Curtis’ first sacrifice is that of his hand as he liberates one of the children who were stolen from the back of the train. His final sacrifice is his life as he shields two children from the blast of the bomb. Conclusion Snowpiercer is a film in which the worst aspects of humanity are highlighted in order to put to the question whether or not it should be saved. As shown by Carroll and discussed by Shaw (2008), the film brings up certain questions about society in its narrative and then holds our attention until it reaches conclusions about those questions by the end of the film. Both sides of the system, the side of the elite and that of the workers show that power is a corrupting force. Through the use of commonly understood symbols of oppression, the filmmaker is able to tell a story of the evolution of society in face of global tragedy through the narrative structure of Campbell’s monomyth. The world that is foretold is one that holds out hope, but only if oppressive forces are destroyed and humanity begins again, this time through the salvation of two children. The development of the commentary on how society is constructed and the myths that are told to create history, the story has provided insight into the philosophies of modern society and the illusions through which they are maintained. References Campbell, J., Cousineau, P., & Brown, S. L. (2003). The heros journey: Joseph Campbell on his life and work. Novato, CA: New World Library. Shaw, Daniel (2008) ‘A Rejoinder to Noël Carroll’s The Philosophy of Motion Pictures‘,Film- Philosophy, vol. 12, no. 2: pp. 142-151. Read More