‘Repo Men’ compare to today’s society
Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre, which is identified by artificial intelligence and artificial body parts. Technology controls many aspects in society, and corruption is also a theme.
Repo Men is a science fiction movie from 2010. This movie is characterized as cyberpunk because of its themes such as futuristic, replacement of body parts with technology and a world controlled by technology and corruption. According to what ‘Techopedia’ says about cyberpunk, the future society ‘… is largely controlled by computers, at the expense of daily life and social order…’ (Janssen 2010, p. 1). New technology is a way for the big companies to earn money and limb the ladder of social ranking.
This is the case in ‘Repo Men’ where the company sells artificial body parts to buyers on credit, and kill the persons who cannot make the payment on time. It shows how hierarchy are given power when those who do not have the money, can easily be killed. Human life is not a big a loss as money and power.
The corrupted system is somewhat similar to what we know today. We have leaders on the top who set the rules, and if the rules are broken, the person who committed the crime will be punished. Sanctions are an efficient way to get respect. The sanctions in the movie were to be severely injured or killed. They were spreading the message about the consequences of not paying on time. ‘…sanctions are a way to signal official displeasure with a certain behavior’ (Haass 1998, p. 1). They use murder as a sanction, which in today’s society would be a worse crime.
‘Repo Men’ is a movie that also brings up the differences between rich and poor. It shows how credit can seem like an easy way out if money is scarce, and how the richer people in control of the system take advantage of desperate people.
Today as well, economy is an issue for many. If you need medical attention and have enough money, you can buy yourself more time, skip ahead of the line. If you do not have that kind of money, you risk having to wait in line and may not get help until it is too late. Research done by ‘MSS’ says that ‘Money has grown in its power and productivity not because society has accorded it ultimate value, but because it has become an instrument and medium for fulfilling human aspirations and elevating people’ (Mother’s Service Society, p. 1). Just like today, money is the key to almost everything.
The movie portrays a future where family relationships are like we know them today, however, the business relationships are often based on status and power. People act normally towards each other, but with computers and technology in control, human life and relationship is, for some, a second priority.
Pyramid systems and corruption are also important themes. The information goes from one corrupt sender and out to thousands of people, and many of them have no choice but to be a part of the power game. According to ‘Global Issue’, ‘…corruption can flourish and exacerbate the conditions of people around the world who already have little to say about their own destiny…’ (Shah 2006, p. 1). What seems to be a well-organized and smart system violates human rights, still the products are being sold with huge convincement.
The western economic world today is similar to the movie to a certain extent, where corrupted companies gain people’s trust and money. Economy is what makes the world spin, and corrupted companies are controlling the economy.
The way we are living today, a cyberpunk future like the one in the movie may not be so far away. Humans are gifted with great minds, and our technology is a proof of that. Humans, have through time, made magnificent things like mobile phones, computers, GPS and a lot more. Our technology develops in a fast speed, and it becomes more and more advanced.
Today, we have already started replacing our body parts. Whether you have lost your leg in an accident or just want to change the way you look, money can get you what you need. Your leg can be replaced with a prosthetic leg, and if you are not pleased with the size of your breasts, you can get silicone.
Still, it is not only your limbs that can be fixed. Your vital organs, such as your heart, can also be replaced with the help of technology. ‘…when there is irreversible heart muscle damage and your heart can’t recover, the artificial heart stays until you can have a heart transplant. If no other options are available, an artificial heart may completely and permanently replace you heart’ (Heart Foundation 2010, p. 2). If your heart is not working, you can pay for somebody else’s heart or an artificial one.
‘Repo Men’ is a science fiction movie, and whether this is what we are moving towards, we do not know. However, this movie is set in near future, and it is quite like our world today in many aspects. Even companies with artificial body parts does not seem unrealistic. What does seem unrealistic is the actual repo men. Killing is, by law, a crime. However, in many cases it is justified by the government.
The world, as it is today, suffers from corruption. Like the movie, people are victims of big systems controlled by a few. If you have enough money, you have the answer to everything: status, power, certain business relationships, important contacts and, if needed, artificial body parts and a longer life. And it is not getting better. A corrupted economical system, like in the movie, might be a realistic future, where human life has lost its value to new technology. The normal people do not have the power to do anything about it, hence the society will keep developing in the wrong direction.
The western world have a lot of money. Still, the money are not divided equally. Poverty is an issue both today and in the movie, and the way money keep being earned by corruption, it will probably not have changed in the future. The future will look just like in the movie, with the rich leaders on the top, and poor people living on the street.
When it comes to the social world in the movie, it is similar to the way it is today. We still fall in love, we still separate and we still fight about our children. We still go to work and form normal relationships to others. Again, economy plays a part in this theme. How much money and power you have, and what your status is, affects whom you get in contact with.
Economy also affects our moral. Today, job and money are so important, that a person can be willing to sell out their friends and colleagues to favor himself. People betray each other and value their career and money more than friendship, like in the movie.
In a way, we are already living in a world like ‘Repo Men’. We do exchange our body parts with artificial ones, however, we do not have special trained people sent out to kill those who are unable to pay. Today, humans are “killed” in a more discreet and innocent way. If they cannot pay, they cannot get help. ‘Repo Men’ portrays an extreme version of our economic and social world today. It portrays a world we might be facing in a near future.
The technology is always developing into something smarter and better. No sooner have they come up with something new and innovative, than they start improving it. Technology will always be renewing, but also rewarding, as we are able to save lives with it.
The theme in this movie is that we should be careful with spending money we do not have, but it is also meant to show how the world could look not many decades from now. It is a warning against exploitation and misuse of power, and how it can easily get out of control.
Repo Men
This is a picture of an artificial heart.
References:
Janssen, C 2010, Cyberpunk Definition – What does Cyberpunk mean?, viewed 19 September 2013, <http://www.techopedia.com/definition/2392/cyberpunk>
Shah, A 2006, Global Issues Corruption, viewed 19 September 2013, <http://www.globalissues.org/article/590/corruption>
Mother’s Service Society, The Role of Money in Society’s Development, viewed 20 September 2013, <http://www.gurusoftware.com/GuruNet/Social/Topics/Money.htm>
Heart Foundation 2010, Artificial Hearts, viewed 20 September 2013, <http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Artifical-hearts-information-sheet.pdf>
Haass, R N 1998, Brookings Economic Sanctions: Too Much of a Bad Thing, viewed 20 September 2013, <http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/1998/06/sanctions-haas
Images:
Hart, H 2010, Review: Squishy Repo Men Sticks Shiv in Organ, viewed 20 September 2013 <http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/03/review-repo-men/>
Kunzemann, Thilo 2009, Open Knowledge Medical Breakthroughs, Artificial Heart, viewed 20 September 2013, <http://knowledge.allianz.com/demography/health/?696/medical-breakthroughs-gallery>
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