I must admit that I do not find myself to be a fan of the film Children of Men. While I respect the production qualities such as the script, acting, set, costumes, and directing; I just did not find this movie to be one of which I enjoyed or cared about. Part of this is probably because of my own personal bias of not liking sci-fi movies. I find them to be boring, obsolete, and I can never connect with the characters. I cannot seem to help but mock them the entire time that I am viewing them.
Although I did not appreciate this movie, it did create self-awareness that I am glad was brought to my attention. During Children of Men, I kept thinking about how ridiculous the plot-line was. I ignored parallels that could be made between this sci-fi world and the world in which we live. It was later, during class discussions of the film, that I was able to understand the gravity of this film. Classmates piped up with examples of present-day corruptions and what-if scenarios about our government. I did not say anything, mainly because I could not think of anything. Why is this? I neglect to watch the news and pay attention to what is going on in the world.
I cannot stand watching the news because I find that it creates stress over situations that I have no control over. Yes, I understand that one person has the power to create a change, but with so many gruesome stories, it is simply impossible to be a hero in every unfortunate situation. I also try to stay out of news and politics because of the ridiculous arguments and unnecessary tensions they can cause between people.
I choose to focus on the people around me that I can have an influence on. There are enough issues that are put in your path everyday by those that you know. I like creating personal relationships and having open lines of communication so that I can help these people. I also know that the news is extremely biased and twists stories. I had multiple family members in Katrina who told me first-hand about what happened and the twists that the news had put on it.
I know that I will probably choose to stick with my “help-those-around-me” philosophy, but I do believe that this movie had an effect on me. I will make more of an effort to pay attention to issues in the news. I understand that by withholding the gift of being informed, I am making myself vulnerable.
