Children of Men

Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, is a film that illiterates a time where infertility has caused the the world to fall apart. It takes place in the UK or one of the only civilized country left in the world. Throughout the beginning we see lots of people in cages, being dragged around by police, or in transport buses; these people are the refugees that are trying to sneak into the UK. The story follows Theo Faron a former activist that has turned cynical. Theo meets Kee a young and PREGNANT refugee. His ex-wife Julian find him and tries to force him to help her get to the Human Project. Throughout the movie Kee and Theo encounter many obstacles on their way to freedom.

This movie was very symbolic. There were many small details that may have been looked over but are crucial to understand what is happening. During the entire movie we see animals. There are cows or dogs in many of the scenes. At first thought they are nothing. They just animals in the film like they are in any other film. But when thought about at length, why are there so many? Dogs have a shorter life span than humans. Wouldn't the dogs die in the eighteen years that there has been infertility in humans? The dogs show us that humans can't reproduce. Dogs are having puppies and cows are having calves. These animals are not infertile. There is always a human caring for a dog. In the opening scene, when there are people watching the news about the death of Baby Diego, there is a women holding a puppy in her arms. Because humans can't have children of their own their dogs are their children. They are protective and loving in a way they can't be with baby humans.

Along with the symbolism behind some aspects of the movie, the actaullu filming of the movie was amazing. There were scenes when the camera would linger in one point after the main characters would leave. These are interesting moments of the movie. Why would anyone want to watch something of no interest? Maybe because these moments have purpose. In the beginning when Theo is walking from the train, there are many refugees in a cage. He walks out of frame, but the camera is still on the cage of people. During this lull we can see all the different people trying to escape their nation. This shows us that the UK might be the only civilization left in the world that is able to function. Then there are scenes that are shot in one take. This technique is very hard. The set took five hours every time they wanted to reshoot something. In takes like these everything has to be in the right place at the right time and everyone has to be prepared to do exactly what was rehearsed.

Sammi and Her "Loving" Predator

In the book Life As We Knew It, author Susan Beth Pfeffer creates Sammi one of the best friends of Miranda. Sammi is introduced into the story when Miranda says that she has a prom date, and Megan follows with a speech about having sex before marriage. This let readers assume that Sammi is having sex in high school. Later Miranda writes "Sammi had lunch with this week's boyfriend..." Throughout the beginning Miranda sets up that Sammi has gotten around and doesn't care what people think about her. Then the world changes and we lose sight of Sammi and what is happening in her life. Then she comes back in during Summer. She came back to tell Miranda that she was leaving and a forty year old guy named George. At first Miranda was skeptical and with good reason. The idea of her best friend with a forty year old away from her parents and in a strange city is not a concept commonly grasped, but times were different. Sammi's parents gave permission because times are tough in the book. And like Miranda's mom, with one less child there is one less mouth to feed. But it doesn't accuse the fact that a sixteen year old and a forty year old are having a relationship.

The RAINN or Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network work to combat things of that nature. They try to get the information out about victims and predators. 1 out of every 6 women is raped. Though the book doesn't specify what would happen to Sammi in the future there are many stories like hers that don't end well. Girls run away from home with men that say they will protect them. Then they end up being raped or sex trafficked. Every 107 another American is sexually assaulted. It's because men find young girls vulnerable and girls like Sammi that throw themselves into the arms of men don't keep the statistics down.