The Island
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
By Michael Bay standards, The Island was everything I expected: lots of stuff blew up, the bad guy was formidable, and in the end, the good guy walked away with the girl (okay, sailed away…) But this movie was more than that, because included in it were questions and commentaries about our society: What would we do to prolong our lives? How do we measure what our life is worth? How do we define “human?� I think that it does succeed on asking these questions, but if you are looking for exact answers, then you better skip this one.
O
ur hero, Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) has many questions but few answers are provided by his ‘supervisor,’ Dr. Merrick (Bean). Lincoln serves as our prototype for adolescence, as he comes into consciousness of his situation within the Institute. He wants more than to wait for his number to be called so that he can leave for “The Island,� and to leave his meaningless existence working in the “Labor Department.� You see (and if you’ve heard any buzz on this one, you know), Lincoln is a clone and his life is about to get turned upside down.
Soon, Lincoln rises through the lower levels of the Institute, chasing a butterfly…Lincoln rises in his awareness, his own self-consciousness, as a caterpillar leaving his ‘safe’ cocoon. Along the way, he receives wisdom from Max (Buscemi), who tells him that Merrick has a “god complex,� and defines “god� as the guy who ignores you when you wish for something that you really want. While a very unfriendly view of God, this deity per se fits the experience of the folks who live in the Institute (especially once they leave) and those who work there, even those who know the truth.
When Lincoln and his ‘buddy,’ Jordan Two-Delta (Johannson) flee the Institute into the real world, they discover in a Truman Show sort of way that everything they’ve been taught so far is false. Each clone we see die has a strong desire to live that is squelched for the financial wellbeing of the Institute, and the benefit of the sponsors who have paid for them. These sponsors have the clones made for $5 million each, for spare parts as they fail or new skin grafts when they start to look older. Lincoln and Jordan flee this end but no clones aid them: their awareness has not been changed and they still yearn for the Island. The gospel of life and truth has been withheld from the clones for so long, that a severe break must occur before they believe in real life.
As the two ‘aware’ clones flee, other clones who were friends of Lincoln’s start asking questions that reflect their elevated consciousness. In contrast, Max implies that the clones were better off in their ‘perfect’ situations without regret and pain. Our awareness to the social situation grows as well: we find that sponsors don’t know that their clones do feel pain and do grow mentally, because Merrick tells the world that the clones are comatose and thoughtless. Merrick’s worldview is driven by money, as an example of Max’s belief that people will do anything to save themselves. Max’s own actions contradict his own beliefs—he is the first example of sacrificial love we see.
And so the opposing worldviews collide repeatedly by the end of the movie, as the car chases, explosions, and suspense climax back in the Institute. Lincoln and Jordan choose to ‘free’ the other clones, rather than walking away with their own freedom. Merrick at the same time expresses his ‘God’ complex fully—because they are the only two powerful enough to create life and because he can take it as well. At the same time, Merrick struck me to be more like Hitler than God, as he sent ‘defective’ (i.e., conscious) clones to the gas chambers below the Institute. The other interesting comparison I have to slavery/extermination arises from Djimon Hounsou, a black man who plays a slave hunter to Merrick. Fortunately, he comes to a John Newton-type revelation and turns his energy to freeing others.
S
o, I leave you with more questions than answers…What right do we have to create life and for what reasons? How do we determine from a birth perspective what is human and what is not? How do we define God, or godlike qualities, and can they be different for different people? We each have the opportunity to seek out the truth and to share those truths with others, freeing them from the darkness we’ve escaped ourselves. The escape has its price but the alternative seems hopeless without it. The answers are worth searching for, and the way can be lit by explosions, and much more.
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
By Michael Bay standards, The Island was everything I expected: lots of stuff blew up, the bad guy was formidable, and in the end, the good guy walked away with the girl (okay, sailed away…) But this movie was more than that, because included in it were questions and commentaries about our society: What would we do to prolong our lives? How do we measure what our life is worth? How do we define “human?� I think that it does succeed on asking these questions, but if you are looking for exact answers, then you better skip this one.
O
ur hero, Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) has many questions but few answers are provided by his ‘supervisor,’ Dr. Merrick (Bean). Lincoln serves as our prototype for adolescence, as he comes into consciousness of his situation within the Institute. He wants more than to wait for his number to be called so that he can leave for “The Island,� and to leave his meaningless existence working in the “Labor Department.� You see (and if you’ve heard any buzz on this one, you know), Lincoln is a clone and his life is about to get turned upside down.Soon, Lincoln rises through the lower levels of the Institute, chasing a butterfly…Lincoln rises in his awareness, his own self-consciousness, as a caterpillar leaving his ‘safe’ cocoon. Along the way, he receives wisdom from Max (Buscemi), who tells him that Merrick has a “god complex,� and defines “god� as the guy who ignores you when you wish for something that you really want. While a very unfriendly view of God, this deity per se fits the experience of the folks who live in the Institute (especially once they leave) and those who work there, even those who know the truth.
When Lincoln and his ‘buddy,’ Jordan Two-Delta (Johannson) flee the Institute into the real world, they discover in a Truman Show sort of way that everything they’ve been taught so far is false. Each clone we see die has a strong desire to live that is squelched for the financial wellbeing of the Institute, and the benefit of the sponsors who have paid for them. These sponsors have the clones made for $5 million each, for spare parts as they fail or new skin grafts when they start to look older. Lincoln and Jordan flee this end but no clones aid them: their awareness has not been changed and they still yearn for the Island. The gospel of life and truth has been withheld from the clones for so long, that a severe break must occur before they believe in real life.
As the two ‘aware’ clones flee, other clones who were friends of Lincoln’s start asking questions that reflect their elevated consciousness. In contrast, Max implies that the clones were better off in their ‘perfect’ situations without regret and pain. Our awareness to the social situation grows as well: we find that sponsors don’t know that their clones do feel pain and do grow mentally, because Merrick tells the world that the clones are comatose and thoughtless. Merrick’s worldview is driven by money, as an example of Max’s belief that people will do anything to save themselves. Max’s own actions contradict his own beliefs—he is the first example of sacrificial love we see.
And so the opposing worldviews collide repeatedly by the end of the movie, as the car chases, explosions, and suspense climax back in the Institute. Lincoln and Jordan choose to ‘free’ the other clones, rather than walking away with their own freedom. Merrick at the same time expresses his ‘God’ complex fully—because they are the only two powerful enough to create life and because he can take it as well. At the same time, Merrick struck me to be more like Hitler than God, as he sent ‘defective’ (i.e., conscious) clones to the gas chambers below the Institute. The other interesting comparison I have to slavery/extermination arises from Djimon Hounsou, a black man who plays a slave hunter to Merrick. Fortunately, he comes to a John Newton-type revelation and turns his energy to freeing others.
S
o, I leave you with more questions than answers…What right do we have to create life and for what reasons? How do we determine from a birth perspective what is human and what is not? How do we define God, or godlike qualities, and can they be different for different people? We each have the opportunity to seek out the truth and to share those truths with others, freeing them from the darkness we’ve escaped ourselves. The escape has its price but the alternative seems hopeless without it. The answers are worth searching for, and the way can be lit by explosions, and much more.—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
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