Blog on one or both of the following:
Blog Option #1:
According to director Alfonso Cuaron, "We wanted the end to be a glimpse of a possibility of hope, for the audience to invest their own sense of hope into that ending. So if you're a hopeful person you'll see a lot of hope, and if you're a bleak person you'll see a complete hopelessness at the end." (http://storyfanatic.com/articles/story-analysis/children-of-men-analysis)
What did you see? Why do you think the director chose to end the film in this way? Does it work? Besides the ending, what do you believe the purpose was of the movie and what is the biggest critique that you believe it makes regarding society?
Blog Option #2:
Read the following passages:
Luke 2:1-7 (New International Version, ©2010)
The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while[a]Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Luke 2:25-38
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[a] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[b] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Matthew 2:13-23
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”[b]
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died,
an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Based on these verses, who in the movie represent which characters in the story? What similarities do you see? If the new child come into the world represents the Christ child, what does that mean for the world?
The ending of Children of Men did seem to offer hope, particularly with the laughter of children during the closing credits, which suggests that more children are born. Just as Alfonso Cuaron said, the conclusion is open-ended; it does not offer much insight into that future. I thought it worked very well because it forces the viewer to think about the entirety of movie in order to anticipate what they would expect to happen next. The movie critiques modern society in many ways, notably for the way governments use fear and force to herd citizens and noncitizens to aquiesce to their demands. It points out the pettiness of our priorities and how they are marketed. It also exposes the different sides of valiancy when people engage in group-think, whether it be on the sides of the soldiers or the different sides of the rebels and rogues. I thought it was a fantastic movie with as much to say about our society as the future one in which it takes place.
ReplyDeleteBlog One:
ReplyDeleteThere was definitely a lot of hope in the ending. Although there was a lot of sacrifice involved to get there, Key and her baby were found by the Human Project right after the city was blown up, indicating that they were saved just in the nick of time. I'm not really sure what the purpose of the movie was; however, with the way society is today, women are putting off having children until late in life or deciding not to have children at all. Eventually, if we continue this way, the population may die out (you never know), and when that happens we could be stuck the way these people are.
Blog Two:
ReplyDeleteBased on the verses above, the baby symbolized Jesus, Key symbolized Mary, Theo symbolized Joseph (neither was the father, but both took care of the mother), and the Hispanic woman with the dog could symbolize Anna. In a time of chaos and occupation, the birth of a child would significantly change the world. The fact that this child would represent Christ means that she would be a turning-point factor in the world, a hope for the fallen world, maybe even a kind of salvation.
Blog One:
ReplyDeleteI definitely saw lots of hope for Kea and her baby, Dylan. Just seeing the boat arriving was such a relief to know that after all the terrible happenings there was hope for safety and well being of her little family. I feel like the author did this maybe to represent that even though life can be filled with tragedy and the world could go corrupt that there is a possibility of escaping to a safer place for some time. It really makes you think that’s for sure and definitely makes the viewer think good things when the look on kea’s face becomes a look of relief and a glimmer of hope.
I feel like much of the purpose behind the movie was to remind people that the economy is becoming a big problem for society and each day we seem to have less and less in some aspects and things begin to cost more and more. Before we know it it’s almost like we will be fighting each other for what little bit we do have left and the society will become a place filled with mass chaos, with people going after each other. Like in the movie there were groups against each other and all they were after was benefit for themselves. They were not at all worried about who they hurt as long as there was something good in it for them. That is not a reassuring idea as society seems to continually be gaining problems even worldwide, from gas prices, to natural disasters, to the attack on 9/11, the economy slipping, government funds being cut, all seem to just be the beginning of a world that does not look good at all. But in all hopefulness we can tell ourselves that something will change and we will not live to see the day that something so terrible happens to the world. What a scary thing to think about.
I believe that the movie ends on a positive and uplifting note. I believe that the reason he chose to end the movie in this way was to leave people with that sense of hope. When you watch a movie like that has a lot of violence and death in it, it was nice for the ending to show that all of that was not in vain. I think that the point of the movie was to show how we look at life. What it meant to me was that we are so quick to take life, or to prevent it from coming that we don't take a chance to look at what that life means. It really shows how one life can change the world.
ReplyDeleteOption 1: At the end, Key and her daughter find a ship that should take them to safety from a dismal and apocalyptic world. In my eyes, I did see a glimmer of hope from the ship coming and Key looking up at it. I would like to believe that even in a world where everything is falling apart, there is some good to it because if there is no hope, then there is nothing to live for. And Key, who has given birth to a miracle, deserves to be presented with hope because of all of the hardships she has gone through and the people that have died for her baby to see the light of day. I think that the director ended the movie abruptly to make the viewer think about what they saw. And I think that it’s true, that the ending can be differently interpreted by different people, as mentioned in the prompt. But a part of me wants to believe that something good can even come from the absolute worst situation.
ReplyDeleteI feel that there is hope for Kea and her child. Throughout the whole movie there were a lot of bad things that happened but Kea and Theo always seemed to escape them, until the very end when Theo had been shot. With that happening there was hope because the boat arrived shortly after to bring Kea and Dylan to the rescue. I think the director chose to end the movie this way to show that there is always hope. Through the worst of times there always seems to be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. As for the rest of the movie, I feel that is shows that anything can happen. Kea was struggling throughout the whole movie and look where she ended up. Also if we don't watch out this is what our counrty is going to end up like. People fighting over everything. You can already see people nearing their breaking point with the rising prices and the dropping wages. It just goes to show that you can make it through anything but if you don't give the effort you will have a rough time finding the light at the end of the tunnel.
ReplyDeleteBlog Post #1
ReplyDeleteI believe that the ending was hopeful for Kee and Dylan because they were discovered by the Human Project, despite all the obstacles and death that they had faced in the past few days. While the ending did predict an optimistic future for society it was not the most important moment. The scene that really stands out is the scene before as Kee and Theo were walking out of the dilapidated building during the battle. I believe that this moment really displayed the purpose of film and the greatest flaw in that society: that the lack of innocence and hope had turned everyone against each other and led to horrible violence. Once people had discovered a child, a miracle amidst the blood and hatred, the fighting stopped because everyone, regardless of what side they were on, all had sympathy for the crying baby. In all cultures, a child still represents the same concept: hope and innocence, two traits that this society was missing. What makes this movie apply to real life is the fact that despite having a baby, the cease-fire only lasted for a moment and everyone resorted back to fighting. Like in our world, we tend to overlook children and what will happen to them as their world gets destroyed by poverty, war, and famine.
Question #1
ReplyDeleteThe ending of the movie it provides a lot of hope for the people of Theo’s society because, not only, did the woman give birth but also she gave birth to a girl. Maybe the baby girl, Dillon, can be able to give birth in the future. I believe the director decided to end the movie that way because will after everybody died, it would be nice to end the movie in a pleasant way. The movie gives us an insight on how the world would be like if the world became infertile. We take advantage of giving birth. In a sense we are inconsiderate by taking birth control and having abortions. Moreover, we take advantage of what it means to have children. What if The Children of Men came true? Would our society be in the same state as Theo’s? Would we have thought twice before injecting ourselves with birth controls or vacuuming out our unwanted babies? Only time can tell.
Blog 1:
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the movie, I definitely was left with a sense of hope for Kee and her baby's survival in the dystopian world they live in. I believe the director ended the film the way he did, with so many unanswered questions and possible outcomes, because he wanted the audience to form their own conclusions. Either the world could continue to crumble and humans will eventually cease to exsist or Kee and her baby could be the beginning or the rise of humankind again and the world is resurrected. With the way Cuaron ended the movie, it can have whatever conclusion the viewer would like it to have, good or bad. I believe the purpose of the film was to show people how special the ability to procreate is and that people should not take it for granted. As for the biggest critique it makes regarding society, I believe it was our society's obsession with youth. Everyone wants to stay young or look years younger then they actually are. With youth come opportunity.
Blog 2:
ReplyDeleteBased on the bible verses, Kee would be Mary, th baby would be Jesus and Theo would be Joseph since he was the man protecting Kee and her child until he got her to safety. The woman at the end of the movie with the dog could be Simeon or the prophet Anna, both of whom believed Jesus Christ to be the savior. Another similarity between the verses and the movie, would be Herod's hunt for the baby, Jesus, and then the order to kill all boys in Jerusalem two years old or younger. Herod's "manhunt" could be compared to Homeland Security's extreme measures taken to keep refugees and illegal immigrants out of Britain. If Kee's baby were to be the Jesus Christ of the story, it would mean he would be the saving grace of the human population and the world. He would be the start to a new beginning.
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteI see hope. He chooses to end the film this way because it leaves you with suspense. It leaves you with the feeling to me of hope because she has the baby which is an advantage. It relates to the society because soldiers put their life on the line for us just like he put his life on the line for kee.I think the ending was hopeful because she sees the boat coming.
Blog 1:
ReplyDeleteI think the ending of the movie offered hope. The fact that there happened to be a boat there at that exact time was too perfect to be a coincidence. The fog was so thick that the only way the boat would have been in that area, or seen her is if someone was looking for them. Personally I don’t like endings that just leave everything to the viewer/reader. If I wanted to come up with my own ending, I would write it myself, I think that it is the writer’s job to finish the story he started.
I think the purpose of the movie was to point out that as a human race, we will not withstand the test of time if we do not make the effort to preserve life. The world has weapons now that are capable of destroying mass amounts of people, and if we want to survive as a whole, we need to make more effort to protect our lineage. In the movie, infertility was absolute, but instead of making every effort to preserve life in this time of crisis, the British government hunted down those that were not citizens threw away the dwindling lives that remained on the earth. Ironically it was one of the lives they wanted to destroy that ended up preserving the human race.
-Stephanie Tucker
I definitely see hope in the end for Key and her baby. The part towards the end where everyone stops the war just to catch a glimpse of baby Dylan completely radiated a sense of hope for that dystopian society, and not gonna lie, it had me tearing up a bit. And I agree with Heather, I don't believe that the ending credits would have opened up with the sound of children's laughter if it wasn't supposed to give the audience a sense of hope, in this case the cessation of infertility. I think that the director probably chose to end the film that way in hopes of us really thinking about our own society and the problems that we are facing
ReplyDeleteBLOG 2:
ReplyDeleteKey obviously symbolizes Mother Mary and and baby Dylan is also clearly baby Jesus. Joseph kind of symbolizes Theo in that he cares for Mary when she births baby Jesus. Simeon though reminds me of Theo as well when he said, "“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[a] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation". When Theo died at the end it was after he had led Key and Baby Dylan to salvation and it was like he would not leave this world without doing that job/ seeing them reach safety. The angel to me symbolizes the old woman and the dog because she was the the one who warned Key and Theo that the man in the hotel (or wherever they were)wanted to harm the child and she led them to the boat where Key and Dylan reach salvation.
Blog Option #1:
ReplyDeleteAccording to director Alfonso Cuaron, "We wanted the end to be a glimpse of a possibility of hope, for the audience to invest their own sense of hope into that ending. So if you're a hopeful person you'll see a lot of hope, and if you're a bleak person you'll see a complete hopelessness at the end."
The ending of the movie was a real downer. Basically everyone you developed some compassion for in the story dies, leaving you broken hearted as the Theo dies from a bullet wound lying helplessly in the boat. Although it was such a sad ending, the director's purpose may have been to show viewers that sacrifice is necessary to have the things we want. Freedom, liberty, LIFE. As Kee sits there in the boat, we are left hoping she gets rescued, while the director leaves us with a gloomier picture. Kee may never get picked up. Maybe the director is trying to show the importance of procreation. How precious and cherished it should be because we may not have it someday, and our race will cease to exist.
The biggest critique it makes on society is what I said earlier. Life is precious, procreation is a to be cherished, and we just need to take time to slow down and look at the world around us. The movie really broke down society to a point where no one was concerned about anything else other than the simple fact of giving childbirth. This is highlighted when Kee walks with the baby past all the soldiers and refugees fighting, and they all just put down their guns and watch, because what she is holding is the most beautiful, important thing in the world.
Blog Option #2
ReplyDeleteJoseph is definitely Theo. Mary is Kee,(except Theo wasn't going to be married to Kee). The baby is Mary's child. Anna is probably the Miriam, and Herod is probably Luke (because he was planning to take the baby). The similarities were basically the plot and characters, both have a newborn that is the chosen one of the world. And both include a journey to get this newborn to a safe place.
As for the newborn being the Christ child, this most likely means that all of people's sins will be cleansed. The newborn represents a rebirth of man, where they can start anew and fix the horrible, dystopian society they were living in.
What did you see? Why do you think the director chose to end the film in this way? Does it work? Besides the ending, what do you believe the purpose was of the movie and what is the biggest critique that you believe it makes regarding society?
ReplyDeleteI saw a saw ending to the film because the main character died, but simultaneously I saw it as a very hopeful ending because it makes one think that the child – the survival of the human race – would have a fighting chance at surviving. I believe that the director choose to end the film in the way that he did because that way it would let the viewer choose how the movie ends by how we live our daily lives. In other words it makes it so that if we live our lives in a way that fixes a lot of the wrongs of the movie (being better to the earth for example and not releasing as many pollutants into the environment), it will make it so that the human race will have a fighting chance at surviving much longer and healthier. Although on the contrary if we don’t take care of things and let the world go to hell like they did the earth will surly end in chaos and hopelessness. I do believe that the ending works because it allows the viewer to choose the ending for themselves by how they live their life. The purpose of the movie – besides the ending was to show that humans can become very violent and hate filled in times of unknown and trouble. The biggest critique regarding society that it made was that the world if full of injustices that are happening all around us today and that it is our duty to pull ourselves up and take a proactive approach with it – despite the consequences.
Andrew Spaedy
Personally, I did see a glimpse of hope at the end. The fact that the child and Key survived all of that horror is magnificent, and the fact that they reached safety is ever more insane. I loved that the boat was named tomorrow. It seemed to say that tomorrow there is still hope for good, just as Key hoped the boat would be good for her. We don't really know for sure if they were good men on the boat, but I definitely see it as a source of hope. I would have loved to see Key reach a new safe home somewhere, but I did find hope in the ending. I think the biggest critique on society is our general lack of respect for life. At one point in the movie a religious fanatic said something along the lines of "God has taken away his most precious gift to us." Whether or not that man was meant to be mocked or taken seriously, I found this particularly powerful. Life is an extremely precious gift that is sometimes unwanted in forms of birth control and abortions. Maybe the writer was trying to make a statement about respecting the importance of pregnancies.
ReplyDelete1) The end of the movie to me was one of hopelessness. The world is too far gone for there to be any hope of recovery. Even with the miracle child and the Human Project, the world is a bleak dark place where it is doubtful that it could change. I think the director chose to end the movie the way he did because it allows people to think about the movie after viewing it. It makes people actually think, would humanity act like this, would I act like this? I believe that the biggest critique the movie is trying to make about humanity is the fact that humanity is very evil and very selfish. In the movie just looking at how the world turned to shit so quickly simply because no more children were being born is blatantly making a statement about human nature. About how human creatures are violent and hopeless creatures and in a world where there is no future we live more in the present than usual, and that means we are violent towards those who are different than us and live only to satisfy our own selfish need constantly throughout a day. But I also believe the movie was critiquing government power as well, and how government bodies in dire situations will enforce their power through violence, which is something that many governments do currently.
ReplyDelete2) In comparing the passages to the movies Mary would be the character Kee, where Joseph would be Theo. The old woman in the temple would be Marichka, and Herod would be the character Luke. The similarities between the passages about the birth of jesus and the movie are quite striking. They both are stories about the flight of a mother with child and the persecution by someone who has selfish plans for the child, as well as being a light of hope for the world. The bringing of this hope into the world means many things for those who believe that a christ child is actually born. It would bring hope and peace to the spirits of those who believe, but for those who do not believe it would only bring anger towards those who do believe.
Blog 1.)
ReplyDeleteI saw a sense of hope. Knowing key was able to reach the boat after all of her obstacles. I feel that the director ended this way because it potentially foreshadows an optimistic future, having the baby be a girl and all. I thought it worked pretty well because it allows us to believe that through all the bleakness that society was able to escape it. I think the purpose of this movie was to show the importance of being able to reproduce and how precious it is and what could potentially occur. I believe the biggest critique this makes regarding society would be the state of th government and how things become so chaotic. Society can't act as a whole and get a long if people are forced into direction. The system needs a better way to take care of its citizens.
Blog 2.)
Based on the verses, Key is represented as Mary. Theo represented as Joseph and the women with the dog is symbolized as Anna. I see that key is the mother of "Christ". Theo took care of Mary. The new child being a representation for the world is very important because it symbolizes as being the saviour is coming to save this fallen society.