-
Essay / The idea of Apocalypse in Children of Man and Snowpiercer
The word “apocalypse” refers to the destruction or end of the world. It is also a theme often explored in science fiction films because it can pique audience interest. At the same time, the apocalypse is an important idea in the Bible, but the details of the end of the world are not clearly mentioned, making the subject more mysterious. So science fiction films like to use certain biblical elements to explore the idea. in order to increase the mystery of the films. Children of Men and Snowpiercer are two apocalyptic science fiction films that use biblical elements to talk about the destruction of the world. Both Children of Men and Snowpiercer use biblical elements to represent the idea of purging human sin and the symbol of Adam and Eve. However, the idea of God's salvation is approached in different senses in two films. In Children of Men, the protagonist is actually the representative of Jesus who succeeds in bringing salvation to humans, while in Snowpiercer, Wilford is a divine figure who brings destruction to humans instead of salvation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Similarly, Children of Men and Snowpiercer both use certain biblical stories to convey the message that the destruction of the world symbolizes an act of purging humanity. fishing. Purging sin is an idea from the Bible. In the Bible, the idea of purging sin is reflected in the history of the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis, the two cities Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire and brimstone because of their wickedness. The destruction of two sinful cities represents an act of cleansing from sin. This biblical element is also demonstrated in Children of Men. In the film, the world is filled with crises, including pollution, nuclear accidents, social divisions, and terrorist attacks, all of which are created by human beings. All these man-made crises are leading to the destruction of humanity. Although the world in the film is not destroyed by fire like Sodom and Gomorrah, the world will be destroyed by human extinction due to severe human infertility. These crises signify the sin of the human being because they are created from the selfishness and cruelty of man. In this sense, this type of destruction also represents the idea of cleansing sin because the world in Children of Men is full of sin. As for Snowpiercer, the movie actually uses the biblical story: "Noah's Ark." In Genesis, the world will be destroyed by a great flood of water, which also indicates the act of washing away the sin of human beings. In the film, the world is not destroyed by water but by ice as humans try to fight global warming through a scientific project. The destruction of nature is considered a sin of human beings, because it is actually created by man's selfishness. Therefore, ice is a sign of a great flood of water, signifying the cleansing of man's sin. Apart from this, Children of Men and Snowpiercer both use the biblical element to explore the symbol of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are two characters depicted in the Bible. In the Bible, after the creation of the earth, Adam is the first human being created to rule the earth, then Eve is also created from one of Adam's ribs to be his wife or mate. They give birth to human beings and also bring civilization to the world. In Children of Men, human beings become sterile for no reason; no babies are born in eighteen years. For this reason, manis facing an extinction crisis. However, a woman named Kee is pregnant. It's like a miracle given by God since she is the first pregnant woman in eighteen years. In the film, Kee successfully gives birth to a baby girl. For this, Kee serves as a symbol for Eve. In the Bible, Eve is the first woman who gave birth to the first child of human beings. Although Kee is not the first to give birth to a baby on earth, she is the one who manages to give birth to human offspring in eighteen years. As Kee is a significator of Eve, the baby girl is also the sign of the first child in eighteen years, indicating new life or new hope for human beings. In Snowpiercer, the train passengers are the last survivors on earth while other human beings are killed by the ice. However, there is a lower class rebellion inside the train as the oppressed lower class lives in terrible conditions while the elite live in the lead carriage and have the best food and resources. Finally, the rebels exploit inside the train and at the same time, the train crashes into the snow-covered mountain. All the passengers on the train die, except a girl and a boy. In the end, they get out of the train and discover that Earth can survive. The girl and the boy are the signifiers of Adam and Eve because they are the only human beings capable of giving offspring to the earth. They are like restarting human lives, bringing civilization back to the world. On the other hand, Children of Men and Snowpiercer both discuss God's salvation, but they express different views on the idea of salvation. In the Bible, salvation refers to "deliverance from sin and its consequences", Jesus sacrifices his life to bring new hope to human beings. In Children of Men, Theo is the representative of Jesus since his name refers to the Greek word "θεός", which refers to God. For example, several shots focus only on Theo's feet, which refers to Jesus' foot bath and sandals. In the film, Theo is the only one to accompany Kee and keep the baby safe, indicating that he is like Jesus who can give salvation to human beings. In the end, Theo brings Kee to the boat, he sacrifices himself and dies. In this sense, his sacrifice signifies the salvation of Jesus. Like Jesus, Theo succeeds in giving salvation to human beings by successfully bringing Kee and the baby to a human projects organization, representing that he is giving new life or new light to the human extinction crisis. As for Snowpiercer, Wilford creates the engine and train to save humans from the Ice Age. As mentioned earlier, the train is like Noah's ark, saving human beings from the end of the world. Thus, Wilford is a divine figure who brings salvation to human beings. However, this is not true salvation since Wilford creates the train out of selfishness and greed. His selfishness and greed could be reflected in his control over the people on the train. As Wilford is the creator of the train, he is like a God capable of dominating the human beings on the train. He creates a class difference because he intends to hold power and save resources for rich people like himself. The rich in the car in front can get the best treatment and food, while the poor in the back car live in terrible conditions. The poor are fed protein bars; they are also oppressed and punished by Minister Mason. As a result, the class difference contributes to the rebellion of the people of the last car since they want to fight against the oppression of the rich. We see that it is not..