Introductions

This episode we are going to be looking at the 2006 film Children of Men directed by Alfonso Cuarón (qwar-on, lol). This episode will include spoilers, so if you’re itching to watch the film and haven’t yet, I suggest you do so before listening. 🙂

Episode Goals

First, let’s refresh our memory on the basic narrative of the film, as well as go over some key plot points and themes. Next, we’ll give a bit of historical and production context, then go into a bit of analysis on some particular scenes from the film, and talk about why these contexts are matter to the film as a whole

Narrative Summary

• Briefly summarize the story. What is the opening scene/situation? How does the story develop? What happens at the end of the film? What are the three most important scenes in the film? Why? What is/are the main theme(s) in the film? What scene constitutes the climax? Does the film leave any disunities (loose ends)? If so, what does that suggest?

– In the year 2027, all women have become infertile due to unknown causes, resulting in a world where no children have been born for 18 years. Britain has become one of the only remaining civilized societies, leading to a huge wave of immigration that resulted in the nation ‘s violent, militant state placing immigrants in inhumane refugee camps.

-Theo, an ex activist, once again finds himself involved with the dangerous revolution against these harsh immigration policies, to try and save the last pregnant lady on earth, in hopes of delivering  her and her infant to an unknown program that may be able to  find a way to bring children back into the world. Throughout the film, we watch as Theo loses everyone close to him in his efforts to deliver this woman, only for he himself to die just before the woman and her child make it to their destination.

Personally I would say the most important scenes in the film are:

-LONG TAKE  Julian was killed in the beginning, her last words were “cover kee”, I think this moment specifically really set up the world around them. There is no guarantee these characters are going to make it to their goal, or even stay alive. The film is set in a world where every moment is dangerous, and everything is so unpredictable that death looms over them all constantly. Julian’s death emphasises this, you cannot be attached to the characters as individuals. There is a common theme of Theo leaving behind or losing everyone that is important to him, or has the potential to be later on. (Lady and the boat for example, Jasper)

-after Kee gives birth, which seems like an obviously important moment. Though more important than that I think is just after, when the resistance takes Kee and the baby despite the obvious danger they are putting them in. It shows the desperation of these people, since they are willing to risk the life of the most important and simultaneously helpless person in the world. (The baby Dylan)I would definitely say this is the climax of the film, as not only is this the most important plot event, but the intensity and energy in this scene is much more dramatic than any other point in the film. Especially as the people fighting saw the child they fell into awe, some even started praying, (Theme hope)

-Finally, I would say the ending scene,  Theo dies just before the boat comes to hopefully take Kee away, just after she tells him she will name the baby Dylan.( I loved that detail, as Theo lost a son named Dylan, and that little element gave Theo’s character some resolution before he died, since he couldn’t save his own Dylan, he saved this baby  Dylan, who can help fix the world that . ). The ending was so striking to me, I think the open ended nature of the films ending is important for the overall themes of loss and hope and being able to move on despite the difficulties. In a way, this lack of resolution felt almost like closure. Seeing Theo finally die, as he had to watch so many of his loved ones go throughout the course of the film sort of spun that theme of loss into one of optimism and hope as a result of the hardships faced by the characters.

Cultural and Historical Background

• Where is the story set? When is the story set? Is the setting important for the development of the main theme(s)?

The film is set in the year 2027, this future setting is important to the storyline as it shows that this infertility plague they have been dealing with has been going on for a while, but is still close enough to the time the film was released in 2006 that the setting looks is similar to the world as it did at the time of its release, but with a dystopian twist as the world had fallen into  a violent, warlike state with some elements of futuristic technology.

• When was the film released? Which events, philosophies, etc. influence this film, and what do we need to know about them?

The film was released in 2006, and though it is based on the 1992 novel of the same name, the terroristic and war  elements of the film seem influenced by contemporaneous world events,  such as the Iraq war and the several London terrorist bombings in the year before the films release.

One of the heaviest elements about this film is the topic of immigration, many of the visuals in the film are symbolic imagery of events such as the holocaust, this idea reinforced by a particular scene in which an eldery, German speaking immigrant woman is held in a cage packed with other refugees. The means by which the immigrants are hunted, detained, and even killed is allusive to the round up methods implemented by Nazis.

• What do you know about the culture or society for which this film was created?

The culture and society at the time of the film’s release.

• Are social ideologies, historical events, personal experiences, etc. influencing the film?

Production Context

• What studio produced the film? How did the come to this idea?
• Strike Entertainment and Hit and Run Productions produced the film. The film was distributed by Universal Studios. Directed byAlfonso Cuarón, the story is based off of the 1992 novel by the same name, written by P.D. James. (Full name is Phyllis Dorothy James.)
• What was the film’s budget? Where did funding come from? Did it have a large or small production crew? How/where was the film exhibited?
• The film had a budget of 76 million USD. The funding came mainly from Universal, as they would be the ones to receive the bulk of the revenue once it was released. As a feature film that was expected to reach audiences internationally, the difficult and highly stressful content, and the plethora of violence and casting, the film had a fairly numerous production team. The film premiered at the 63rd Venice Film Festival on September 3rd 2006. It was widely released in the UK, and within the month it was number one in theaters, and had grossed 2.4 million USD and had 368 screenings. It was released in the U.S. initially in only 16 theatres, in December of 2006, and had expanded to 1,200 theaters by January. By February of 2008 it had grossed $69,612,678 globally, with a revenue of  $35,352,383 to the U.S.  Although these numbers sound incredibly high, it was unfortunately considered a box office flop as the studio didn’t reach the expected revenue and lost money on the film.
• How was the film received when it was released? (nationally and internationally)
• Even though monetarily the film wasn’t that successful, the acclaim was. Rotten tomatoes rated the film 92% with the reviews of 247 critics. It was rated by numerous sources such as the NYT, the Independent, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Slate, the Washington Post, and Rolling Stone as either number one or two for best film of the year, and several as best film of the decade. Additionally, many sources have revisited this film today and stress the relevance and importance of the themes and style in our current political state nationally and globally. The film was nominated for 3 academy awards, (Best cinematography, adapted screenplay, and film editing.) It was nominated for 3 and won 2 BAFTA awards, for cinematography and best production design. The film has aged incredibly well, and is still considered by many to be painfully relevant. Here is a quote from Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (who ranked it number 2 on his list of best films of the decade): “I thought director Alfonso Cuarón’s film of P.D. James’ futuristic political-fable novel was good when it opened in 2006. After repeated viewings, I know Children of Men is indisputably great … No movie this decade was more redolent of sorrowful beauty and exhilarating action. You don’t just watch the car ambush scene (pure camera wizardry)—you live inside it. That’s Cuarón’s magic: He makes you believe.”
• Which genre/tradition does the film belong to?
• The film is considered to be a dystopian action thriller, but it feels like a sincere distant reality.

Individual Close Readings

Lost ya again but invited you back I| It looks like it still isnt recording   i paused it when you disconnected can u see the invite?

Choose a scene from the film (preferably, each group member chooses a different scene). How does this scene illustrate the main idea of the film? How/Does this scene reflect the social and historical circumstances from which the film was made?

Strawberry Cough Scene- Theo and Jasper smoking a joint and Jasper starts making a joke about the human project. Theo goes off about the project and how hopeless the world is no matter how hard they try to fix it. The part I want to highlight though is very very small, but Jasper begins talking about government handing out suicide kits and anti-depressants, but cannabis is illegal. Then goes on to say one of the buyers of his product is an immigration officer that smuggles it into a refugee camp despite his position and it being an illegal act. At the time of the film’s release, cannabis was still mostly illegal as well.

Final scene in the film: The ending scene in which Theo and Kee finally make it to the boat is one of the most impactful scenes for me. They have escaped the chaos of the riots and military warfare but are now on a tiny boat surrounded by fog. You can sort of make out the boat in the distance, but the sheer isolation of Kee and her child (especially when Theo dies) makes for a unique ending. We never see her get on the rescue boat, and the fate of Kee and the child rests uncertain, but hopeful.

• Based on the historical factors that you identified above – political, economic, religious, social, ideological – how does the film reflect the factor that you identified?

To me, this is not only  a parallel to life before and at the time of the film’s release, where people in certain positions still hold their own agenda and are not fully consumed by their jobs or the acts their job has them do. But also highlights this fact early on that a lot of people in the film are not who they say they are, and some have alternative motives to what you may think. Like Luke and his position with the resistance.

• Does the scene/film attempt to reflect historical events? Does it attempt to promote a particular idea? If so, how does the scene impact the viewer’s understanding of those historical events or that idea? If we’re looking at this film in a historical sense, no it does not directly relate to a specific event that has happened in the past. However, this film feels uncannily familiar. There is nothing that is mystical or far fetched about it. The reaction humanity has to becoming unable to reproduce is extremely realistic. The chaos and inhumanity unfortunately is something I think we’re all very accustomed to in  a sense. The intense military presence and mistreatment of refugees is something that is happening in this world today.
• What does the film tell us about the historical period with which it deals? This is a unique question for this film as it is technically set in the future. But the history of the world is still present in the film. It is historically accurate as the viewer is left to assume that the reality of the film prior to women becoming infertile is identical to ours, and the reaction humankind has is indeed very human.
• What does the film tell us about the period in which it was made/released? The early 2000s were a strange and scandalous time for politics. In the U.S. there was of course 9/11 which shook the entire world. There were also massive immigration protests due to a new change of bill that would penalize illegal immigrants in a more forceful way. This is in the US and the story is set in Britain, but there is a universal theme here of the concept of an “alien” and the mistreatment and fragility of mankind.
• Does this film hold up as a piece of historical analysis?