The Breaker: New Waves
WTF: The Purge
So lately everybody has been talking about the thriller The Purge. I have to say The Purge has perhaps the most unrealistic premise of any dystopian thriller.
For those of you who are in the dark, The Purge takes place nine years into the future where America has successfully become a nation where the unemployment rate is 1% and crime is nearly nonexistent. Well, apparently citizens are still NOT happy with their lives and so the government feels that, to release all of that negative energy, there is a day where crime is LEGAL for a 12-hour. You guessed it murder and theft is okay and that emergency services are suspended and people who don’t part take in the eponymous action will be execute Basically that society feels that is the reason why post-Obama America has been so successful. See what I mean?
I mean I am no political scientist or a sociologist, but I think everyone would agree with me that in order for there to be crime, there has to be a significant amount of unemployment. The fact that the America of the future is a economic society that is doing really well, why should people be upset (let alone force some them to release negative energy that isn’t really there in the first place. That is like forcing a person to kill their brother in order to not be angry at the family dog who had shit on the carpet)? I go by with my motto: “A happy economy equals a happy society.”
True not all crime is caused by unemployment and the causes of murder differs very greatly. Now I am assuming that since there is low crime that the administration after Obama made equality to all people on every aspect a reality (thus in consequence inequality would lead people into some serious trouble) and that gun control is dead serious and full effect. Again, why the need to purge? It would be an redundant act for the US to past.
I mean regardless of what part of the political spectrum you are on or what political party you support, if such a thing were to be purposed right now it would immediately be panned and no one would support it (especially Conservatives and not even Utilitarians, since their motto is for the benefit of the majority). Perhaps if this movie would have taken place in 209X and/or beyond where America has fallen apart and is lead by radicals who feel the need to control the population by allowing humans to hunt others as a sport (sounds like the short story The Most Dangerous Game).
I know you have to fuck logic in order to enjoy a good movie, but sometimes a movie can be really good if the logic is also pretty realistic I mean A Clockwork Orange or Hunger Games work because the former takes place in a world where unemployment is ridiculous and the latter a small, radical government wants power and control and be gods at the expense of their citizens. The Purge is basically a unrealistic paradox where everyone is doing well, the government deeply cares about their citizens and yet feel that one day of “legal” crime activity should be in enforce in order for people to be “happy” despite the fact that in reality people are happy that the crime rate is really low.
I am not saying the thrillers are not scary, the characters are not interesting, I am just saying that the premise and the realism is not great.
damn, reading this is already making me think it will be less interesting than i thought it would be.
anyways, it’s a movie, thinking about it as anything more than entertainment is kinda meh.
