So, I finally got around to watching The Purge. When trailers came out for the film, I knew straight away I would hate it. Of course, that means my view while watching it was biased, and I will fully admit to that. However, let's talk about facts.
The only really large problem I have with this movie is its portrayal of humanity. Honestly, it is as if the screenwriters knew nothing of being human when they sat down to write this. Or maybe, they are living in a very delusional world.
The premise of this movie is based on humanity being able to suppress the urge to commit crime except for twelve hours a year.What is so beautifully stupid about humanity is that we do not commit crime to commit crime-- we do it because in the moment we have deluded ourselves into thinking it is right. When you are doing 20mph over the speed limit, in your mind you've a justifiable cause. When someone robs a convenience store, they have convinced themselves that it is okay because they need the money. You can make an excuse for any crime that has been committed. There would be no way to eliminate, or even mostly eliminate crime because crime is not acted upon in order to be as such.
Essentially, the movie relies on the premise that people are repressed and need to take out their anger. In my world, most normal people manage their anger daily without the urge to murder, steal, rape, pillage, etc. A night for "purging", in the real world, would only be permission for mentally screwed up people to do as they please for their own reasons, while putting countless innocent people in danger. Tell me-- would you agree to this?
To live in absolute terror for twelve hours can induce incredible PTSD and can completely screw up children in the head, who then get the idea what crime can be okay. Within time, you would have generations of horrid people walking the Earth, devising ways in which to hurt and punish. You can see part of this in the movie where the people act as packs of wild animals, making plans, killing for pleasure, to "purge themselves" so to speak.
As a country, as a species, I doubt our government would ever agree to this, and I doubt the people would continue supporting representatives who did. When I first voiced my views about this film, I was told "well it's just a work of fiction. What makes this any different from, say Harry Potter?" I answer, portrayal of humanity. You can have seven-headed trolls spitting slime, but as long as those trolls exhibit actions and emotions characteristic of humanity, they become a very believable entity. The characters in The Purge are not believable. You don't just shoot someone because you don't like what they say, or try to murder a child just because the opportunity has presented itself.
You cannot say humanity can act near perfectly for 364 days out of the year, because we can't. As a writer, my biggest asset is creating characters that readers can connect with. They need to be believable, relatable, and act in accordance to what we as a species have developed. Without properly built and relatable characters, any fictional setting and plot fall to pieces. '
What I don't understand, is how this move made enough money to have a sequel coming out. Not only have I begun losing fate in Hollywood but also in people. Maybe this movie was such a success because we are more like the characters of the film than we know. Maybe we are packs of animals who wish to hunt and kill each other for fun. And that is sad. Way to go humanity.
~E J Royson
No comments:
Post a Comment