The reason Elysium is so realistic is because it captures so well the economic disparities of the rich and poor; that the separation between the “haves” and “have-nots” might as well be a chasm as distal between the Earth and space, between the “first” and “third” “worlds.”
The long awaited debut of “Hard N.O.C. Life” is finally here! Last night, N’jaila, ‘Shawn, James, and Jenn joined Keith for a rousing conversation looking back at all of the N.O.C.-relevant movies that hit theaters in the Summer of 2013. … Continue reading It’s a Hard N.O.C. Life…
Strange. All I remember from Elysium is sand.
Sand without end. Sand that cakes upon people and things, children and toys, mothers and baby bottles. Sand on the productive and listless alike. Desert sand. Sand that obscures hope and defines poverty. The opening scenes of Elysium, director Neill Blomkamp’s recent sci-fi thriller, center the viewer in a ruined Los Angeles, circa 2154, populated by an undifferentiated brown stuff only George Orwell could appreciate. American Marrakech. Quickly, we learn that the only people who live in this God-awful Depression postscript are those without means; an undeveloped protagonist dreams of Elysium, where poverty, war, sickness, and even death have been vanquished by man. Heaven, not on Earth, but above. The nun who listens with ancient grace cautions the roguish boy. “That place is not for us.”
We’ve heard this refrain before. Know your place.
