 |
General Major 
|
|
|
DISABILITY |
General
Genetic engineering |
|
NOTES |
The working
title of this film was The Eighth Day and was |
|
changed to
avoid confusion with the French film Le Huitieme |
|
jour known
in English as The Eighth Day (see Above). |
|
Some time in
the future genetic engineering has created a |
|
'perfect'
world. For the better-off that is, who can choose |
|
before birth
what their children will become. These perfect |
|
people are
called "Valids" while those who are born without |
|
the benefits
of genetics are called "Invalids". These lesser |
|
mortals have
'defects' like inferior vision and a shorter life |
|
span. You'll
be starting to guess the parallels with our present |
|
But one of
these inferior valids, played by Ethan Hawke, has |
|
ambitions
beyond his abilities. He's hates the society he was |
|
born into
and sees his escape as a navigator on a space ship. |
|
There is
only one way to achieve this and he approaches a |
|
DNA broker
who puts him in contact with a Valid who is |
|
paralyzed
and will sell his 'genes'. |
|
He's well on
his way to achieving his journey into space when |
|
a mission
director is killed and he is among the suspects. |
|
The
subsequent investigation comes close to blowing his |
|
Uma Thurman
is the love interest. She's a Valid but she does |
|
have a heart
defect which grounds her. |
|
This film
raises issues for debate. The story may seem |
|
implausible
but the film retains our belief and interest. It |
|
juggles with
blood and urine and locks of hair and even |
|
fingerprint
stick-ons so that we are never allowed to forget this is an
inferior being trying to enter a superior world. And how ironic that
he does this using the superior qualities of someone now
using a wheelchair. The implications of this are positive but
what we actually see on the screen is less so. |
|
Though the
guy in the wheelchair does appear to have a good degree of
independence. We can't say this for certain because he appears to live
in a vacuum. He has no friends.
There's no sign of what he actually does now. His whole life
appears to be assisting Ethan Hawke's character to fulfil his
ambition. This is not a life or death thing, just a guy who
wants to join the space programme.
We should note also that Hawke's character being born
naturally has in our eyes a certain superiority. This despite
his 'disability', a heart condition which is visible only to
machines and when he's on a treadmill and near to collapse.
He is also nearsighted and must wear contact lenses to pass
muster in his new environment. So the good guy, Hawke, is
disabled especially in this new society and the guy who helps
him (for money) is also disabled. Yet even that notion doesn't
rest comfortably since the paraplegic looks like a society
reject. Well provided for in those ways in which disability acts
regulate but shown doing nothing which might make his life
fulfilled.
|
|
Notes
|
|
