The Giver Movie Processing....

This past weekend I was with some friends and went to see the movie The Giver. It is definitely one of those "I need to process this" kind of movies. It is a movie that explores (imperfectly) the question, what it would be like if we could somehow take away people's emotions and pain and control their environment?

(Spoiler alert!)

    The boy (named Jonas) who we follow throughout the movie is chosen during a special choosing ceremony to be the next "receiver" for the community. The job of the receiver is to receive memories of what life was like before and experience pain. His mentor (called the Giver) gradually gives him memories of what things were like before the environment was controlled.
     Jonas eventually learns about what his father does and is horrified. His father sends people to "Elsewhere" which is another term for euthanasia. Anyone who doesn't meet the correct standard is euthanized and his father (because he has no emotion) just does it like he would do anything else. It's another job and another thing to take care of and he does it with a smile on his face. It's unnatural and Jonas' reaction is appropriate.
     He values life and people being able to experience life. I agree heartily with this idea as it is portrayed in the movie. I think that life should be valued and that people should be allowed to make their own choices even if those choices are bad ones.
     I do not agree with all of the ideas portrayed in the movie. In this film (and I imagine in the book as well) it is assumed that man is basically good and if we just control his environment there would be no war or fighting or stealing or lying. It is assumed that everyone will be nice to each other, there would be no competition, and no covetousness whatsoever. I do not agree with this idea.
     I believe that man is at his core basically bad (Psalm 51:4) and that even if you do control his environment he is going to want to do things that are wrong. I don't think you can medicate that out of someone by removing his emotions.
     It is true that people were doing wrong things because it was their jobs. Maybe it's harder to see the wrong that people were doing because they did it without feeling guilt. But then they could feel fear somehow. I'm still trying to work this whole thing out. Like I said its an "I need to process this" kind of movie.
    Obviously this is an imperfect attempt at trying to answer a "what if" scenario. But that is all that we are going to get from stories like this because they are written by imperfect people. This just goes to show that even a very good attempt still falls short of being perfect and that's ok. It got me to think and I hope it gets others to think too.
     This all being said. I thought that the value of life and the messages that we should be free to feel, think, and make our own choices were a good ones and would encourage those who want to see this movie to go and see it. Just realize that you may not agree with everything and that's ok. Discuss it with others and figure out what it is that you don't agree with and why.