The book The Giver by Luis Lowry was written in 1993 and won the Newbery Medal the following year. In 2014, a movie was made about the book that sold more than 10,000 copies. I admit that I had mixed feelings about this book. I read the book until Jonas's father unknowing killed one of the twin babies who didn't qualify for a family unit. Knowing now what I wish I had known last year I wish I would've continued reading.
The Giver stars a boy named Jonas who is twelve in the book, and in the movie you can definitely tell Jonas's age is changed to sixteen. I guess the producers thought that a twelve-year-old cannot make ultimate life decisions in this day and age. It follows Jonas on his journey through the inquisitive job that is chosen for him called The Reciever of Memories. As you go further into the book/movie you slowly realize how life would be if we had no memories, no choice, and the inability to see colors.
The supporting cast, Giver, and Asher, and Jonas's love interest, Fiona, show that even in a world without differences and originality personalities do exist to a certain extent. The community members in this book are forced to have good grammar, proper words, and basically no fun. There are no cars so they travel around by bike, given to them at the age of nine, electric motorcycles and drone-like plane. Babies are basically bread for the family units by Birth Mothers which I find intriguing because they go straight to the Nurturing Center and then to their assigned families they don't get a chance to be loved by their true family instead they're placed with strangers. The community doesn't know or understand the meaning of love or compassion. They have no knowledge of the crulty, beauty, and true joy that is experienced in our world. They find dancing perplexing, have comfort objects, like the "hippo", and everything is the same as the last.
The unoriginality of the book and film reminds me of the show I used to watch as a child where Timmy Turner wished for everything to be the same and they all turn into grayscale blobs. I honestly would rate this movie as a seven out of ten. Though Jonas showed courage, chivalry and a sense of right and wrong which made him unique, the lack of creativity when it came to the movie could be seen. I am not saying that even in a bland world we should have something different and exciting, I just think they could've shown more detail about not only Jonas's job of being The Reciever but they could've explained more about how he was chosen and the characteristics that The Receiver possesses.
Please comment, I would love to hear your opinion on the story as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment