tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post2198580475451593287..comments2023-10-06T20:40:16.011-07:00Comments on Scientist Gone Wordy: The Children of Men by P. D. JamesRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-51036448404218959172010-06-25T23:32:43.804-07:002010-06-25T23:32:43.804-07:00Ah yes! heheh, I never took the info as reliable s...Ah yes! heheh, I never took the info as reliable since it was a joke. No reason it wouldn't be though... just my brain at work, I guess. :)<br /><br />Late July sounds great! Success in your move!Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-30439477065119178982010-06-25T15:40:08.274-07:002010-06-25T15:40:08.274-07:00Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate your point, as well. Th...Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate your point, as well. There is a brief reference to it being the female in the movie by a remark by Jasper:<br /><br />"<i>Ok, the Human Project gives this great, big dinner for all the scientists and sages in the world. They're tossing around theories about the ultimate mystery: why are all the women infertile? Why can't we make babies anymore? So, some say it's genetic experiments, gamma rays, pollution, same ol', same ol'. So, anyway, in the corner, this Englishman's sitting, he hasn't said a word, he's just tuckin' in his dinner. So, they decide to ask him, they say, "Well, why do you think we can't make babies anymore?" And he looks up at 'em, he's chewin' on this great big wing and he says "I haven't the faintest idea," he said, "but this stork is quite tasty isn't he?"</i>"<br /><br />Yes, for A Scanner Darkly in July. Better later in that month as we'll be renovating and moving hopefully ;-). Thanks, Rachel.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-9643981105259356882010-06-25T15:18:43.276-07:002010-06-25T15:18:43.276-07:00M - Hope and altruism were definitely scattered th...M - Hope and altruism were definitely scattered throughout the movie but are virtually absent in the book. The midwife might be the closest thing you'll find to altruism in the book. However, the book is not completely devoid of compassion... it's just rare.<br /><br />Good point re making your own decisions. The book makes a very clear point about how people usually make their decisions. Me first... until the bitter end!<br /><br />Up next may be A Scanner Darkly. I know we've talked about it. Is 28 Days Later based on a book? I liked the movie.<br /><br /><br />lp13 - <br /><br />1. I thought Jeff (comment below) had a very nice point about this. Also, does the movie say explicitly whether males or females are sterile? I don't ever recall that it is made clear. I could have missed it though. The book leaves no ambiguity but I don't remember the film ever pointing a finger in either direction.<br /><br />2. I thought it hindered it. I needed something to anchor me in the story (like Theo in the film) but I felt like I was adventuring around with a bunch of unreasonable scumbags which made it very hard to care if they survived.<br /><br />3. Theo is quite philosophical and some of his theories on why various types of people react the way they do to the crisis is pretty interesting. That's something you can't really do in the film but it was a nice touch in the book.<br />(btw, my type, he says, has no imagination:)<br /><br /><br />Thanks to you, as well! A Scanner Darkly next?<br /><br /><br />Jeff - Excellent point re sterility. I'll pose the question to you as well as to whether or not the movie actually explains who is sterile. You've seen it almost as many times as me so you might remember this better than I do.<br /><br />I also agree that whoever proved to have the agile swimmers would not have been treated so poorly.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12471937819219493034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-34847477872116225832010-06-25T11:55:39.638-07:002010-06-25T11:55:39.638-07:00Nice reviews, and big thanks to both of you!
To l...Nice reviews, and big thanks to both of you!<br /><br />To le0pard13's first question, I wonder if it has less to do with any specific gender preferences of the author/director of each work, and more to do with the scientific practicality that Rachel references in her review. Sperm banks are plentiful and well-stocked, while egg storage is pretty uncommon and a bit of a dicey proposition. Plus, clever scientists could probably get offspring out of a combination of two eggs (which carry the vast majority of what is needed to get the whole embryo-phase kicked off), but good luck making anything out of a couple of sperm! Overall, the story might just make more sense if the females were infertile...sad to say that I think the ladies would have a better chance of getting along without us gents than vice-versa.<br /><br />Though I agree with you both that it seems odd you'd find the single fertile person on Earth and not treat them as awfully precious. In the now-defunct television show Sliders, there was an episode where the heroes visited a version of Earth in which 99% of the world's men had been killed by a Y-chromosome specific chemical weapon. The remaining men were kept in facilities (often against their will) because they had become too valuable a commodity to allow them freedom. That seems like a more realistic outcome (for admittedly a highly unrealistic situation) to me than casting aside the lone fertile person left on the planet!Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05923563285849534610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-58892858734456097382010-06-24T19:50:21.452-07:002010-06-24T19:50:21.452-07:00One excellent review of this book, Rachel. Since I...One excellent review of this book, Rachel. Since I've not read it, I appreciate the detail you provide, and the differences of the two works. My first thoughts are:<br /><br />1. I wonder what drove each work to choose the gender for the reason of the infertility? In the book, it's the male's sterility. For the film, the female's. It doesn't matter in the final analysis--you need <i>both</i> (the sperm and an egg) to produce offspring. Could it be so simple as the gender of the author (female) and the director/writer (male) picking their opposite?<br /><br />2. Does Theo being less sympathetic in the novel help drive the narrative, or hinder it? The film's Theo is definitively becomes more agreeable and serves it storytelling very well. A less sympathetic film protagonist, for me, would have sabotaged the end affect.<br /><br />3. I love the philosophical point Theo in novel brings to the crisis at hand. The "<i>... but not in a world with no future where, all to soon, the very words "justice," compassion," "society," "struggle," "evil," would be unheard echoes on an empty air.</i>" quote really drove that one home.<br /><br />The novel and film make for some profound concepts (and discussions) about human nature and society. BTW, I love the way you handle your spoiler text. Elegant.<br /><br />Thanks very much for inviting me into this endeavor, in general. And this novel/film, specifically, Rachel.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-60395796554982651212010-06-24T19:40:20.703-07:002010-06-24T19:40:20.703-07:00oh, and what's next? more dystopian UK? '...oh, and what's next? more dystopian UK? '28 Days Later'? another super depressing film...M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07498466631016466048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856065630155928814.post-57440050712225419742010-06-24T19:39:05.604-07:002010-06-24T19:39:05.604-07:00sounds like a really grim book.
the altruism angl...sounds like a really grim book.<br /><br />the altruism angle is really interesting, especially given the extreme altruism practiced by two of the movie characters (no idea if they're in the book as well) - <br />the midwife character who sacrifices herself for the in-labour mother (and what a horrible sacrifice it was) and the scientist in the woods character who sacrifices himself for his senile wife and the title characters (sacrifice equally horrible but quicker). Neither hesitated. For me, it was almost like a pivotal moment in 'The Crying Game' - here, some people refused to lose their humanity no matter how soul-destroying the politico-social environment because, and in TCG, the protagonist refused to descend to terrorist level 'The end justifies the means' logic no matter the cost to himself. In both cases, it seemed like the message was: when it comes down to the crunch, you make your own decision, regardless of which way the peer pressure goes.M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07498466631016466048noreply@blogger.com