[Movies] Thoughts on the new movie "The Purge"

[GennGreymane]

So most people are in unison with thinking it's a terrible idea? Good.

still was an interesting concept when i first heard about it. The movie failed to deliver though.

---------- Post added 2013-06-10 at 05:00 AM ----------



Meh, V for Vendetta is overrated. Hunger Games series did an awesome job. Can't see how you ruled that out.

I assume the reverse. I feel Hunger Games is very overrated. V for Vendetta has a lot of roots in Orwellian thought.

[THE Bigzoman]

Never played FF13 >_<

Basically two worlds hate each other, (Pulse and Cocoon) And theres these demi gods (fal'cle) that delegate humans to carry out tasks. (Called l'cle)

The Fal'cle on Pulse delegated L'cle to destory cocoon. They get close to acheiving this, but fail. (War of Transgression)

1000 years later Pluse L'Cle reemerge, causing worldwide panic on Cocoon. Resulting in the theocratic government to "purge" anyone in contact with the 'Lcle.

An overview of what I was referring to.

[Underverse]

I feel like you picked up a thesaurus just to use words that sound impressive so you'd sound better with this. Shame that you're so very wrong, though.

Well, I always like it when people explain to me why I'm wrong, instead of just telling me that I'm wrong.

[Grummgug]

What would actually happen?

There have been a few social experiments conducted on human cruelty. The most famous of these is the stanford prison experiment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

Twenty-four male students out of seventy-five were selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. The participants adapted to their roles well beyond Zimbardo's expectations, as the guards enforced authoritarian measures and ultimately subjected some of the prisoners to psychological torture. Many of the prisoners passively accepted psychological abuse and, at the request of the guards, readily harassed other prisoners who attempted to prevent it. The experiment even affected Zimbardo himself, who, in his role as the superintendent, permitted the abuse to continue. Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days.

The transformation of college students into cruel, inhuman monsters took less than 6 days. 12 hours, however, would probably not be sufficient make the transformation. If the Purge lasted two weeks, you would likely see some unbelievably horrific deeds towards the end.

A purge would be an experiement in cognitive dissonance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

" the discomfort experienced when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. In a state of dissonance, people may sometimes feel "disequilibrium": frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc"

[THE Bigzoman]

I assume the reverse. I feel Hunger Games is very overrated. V for Vendetta has a lot of roots in Orwellian thought.

Which is precisely why I didn't like it. I felt it just copy and pasted from 1984

[GennGreymane]

The game Dishonored also does a good job.

you have steam punk industrial England...ish setting. A rat based plague. Political intrigue, etc. A whole nation destroyed by greed rather than plague, which basically becomes an after thought as you go through the game.

[Grummgug]

No.

The movie assumes that humans are naturally violent and bloodthirsty, and also assumes that there is no innate moral code.

Wrong on both accounts. Distorted view of reality intended to justify governmental and religious control of a populace.

Dislike.

If humans are put in an environment where being violent and bloodthirsty is condoned, they can QUICKLY transform into monsters. That was what the Stanford Prison Experiment sought to understand. They ran that experiment in part because they wanted to understand how the Nazis could be so inhuman and brutal towards the Jews. It turns out that ANYONE can become that way if put in such an environment.

[GreatOak]

I'm fairly certain that the implications of this would go well beyond national boundaries or the 24 hours allowed. Someone or a group of people who have direct access to a bunch of nukes can say 'fuck you, Canada' and go all willy nilly with their payload or some hippy dumbasses could drive bus full of explosives in to a nuclear power plants and make North America glow in the dark for a while.

The movie said all weapons below class 4 were legal so I would imagine no nukes or bombs

[GennGreymane]

Which is precisely why I didn't like it. I felt it just copy and pasted from 1984

While I see where you come from, it is the most likely of dystopian futures. Orwell was right when it came to Communist countries. I do think though, that Huxley was the most accurate of the two. Orwell said fear would allow for these futures to unfold, but Huxley said it was the pleasures of life. Brave New World was a good insight.

Think about it. You have T.V, fast food, the internet, comforts, and luxuries. It is easier for the government to control happy people, then scarred people. Are you going to riot? Or will you watch the GOT season finale? Watch that show this week with your friends, or go to a protest?

[Underverse]

If humans are put in an environment where being violent and bloodthirsty is condoned, they can QUICKLY transform into monsters. That was what the Stanford Prison Experiment sought to understand. They ran that experiment in part because they wanted to understand how the Nazis could be so inhuman and brutal towards the Jews. It turns out that ANYONE can become that way if put in such an environment.

In a culture that exemplifies violent competition and individualism

[darkwarrior42]

I feel like you picked up a thesaurus just to use words that sound impressive so you'd sound better with this. Shame that you're so very wrong, though.

Really? Which words did he use that seemed unusual to you? "Innate"? "Distorted"?

I'm half sarcastic, half serious.... because I really cannot fathom how someone could look at his post and think that the only way someone would come up with that level of vocabulary is through the use of a thesaurus.

On topic, interesting premise, but one I'd never want to see in real life... might go to see the movie, but I'm far more interested in "Catch Me if you Can".

[Xothic]

They haven't had a good dystopian future movie since V for Vendetta. Before that, they hadn't had a good idea for a dystopian future since Orwell and Huxley passed away.

Harlan Ellison still exists. Basically every bloody short story he writes is dystopian.

[Grummgug]

In a culture that exemplifies violent competition and individualism

The communists in Russia were anything but individualistic, and they also exhibited the same brutal behavior, with mass concentration camps in Siberia, slaughtering many of their own citizens.

[Underverse]

The communists in Russia were anything but individualistic, and they also exhibited the same brutal behavior, with mass concentration camps in Siberia, slaughtering many of their own citizens.

But they had a culture of violent competition and deep corruption that tainted their version of 'communism' (which was a totalitarian dictatorship labelled as communism to appease the masses)

Edit: A simple thought experiment.

Do you think humans could have evolved and survived if they did not cooperate by nature? Do you think we would have become social animals if the moment the law stopped watching, we turned on one another, killed each other, took each others' possessions?

[Frah]

The movie in itself was bad in quality on storytelling, but it's setting made me think.

For those that don't know, the film takes place in a future America where crime is at an all time low and unemployment is at 1 percent (there actually was a decent explanation to why that is). The catch? For one night every year, all crime, including murder, is legal.

Three main questions that came to mind while watching this:

1. If allowing evil deeds for one night actually reduced crime all year long substantially, would it be an ethical thing to do?
2. What kind of social divisons would this create? (Obviously those who have the money to protect themselves would be able to while lower class people would be screwed.)
3. If something like this were ever implemented for real, what would actually happen? (Obviously wouldn't create a damn near perfect society like the movie suggested)

What do you guys think?

the answer to 3 is simple. We didnt always have laws. So really the situation they describe is exactly the situation we have as a society created for ourselves! What happens when there are no laws? We create them.
So for 2 what kind of social divisions? Exactly the ones you see in the world now.

[Wells]

unemployment is at 1 percent

This is arguably a bad thing.

[Grummgug]

Edit: A simple thought experiment.

Do you think humans could have evolved and survived if they did not cooperate by nature? Do you think we would have become social animals if the moment the law stopped watching, we turned on one another, killed each other, took each others' possessions?

No. But that's not the parameters of the Stanford Prison Experiment, nor the Purge. Both cases involve social acceptance of violent behavior.

[THE Bigzoman]

This is arguably a bad thing.

It's a movie (From the same guy that was involved with paranormal craptivity) Don't try to over-think it. They probably put that in there to make their society seem more perfect for those who don't understand economics.

[Lolcraft]

This is arguably a bad thing.

How would that be a bad thing?

[Rotted]

Thinking this is a good idea really needs to look in a mirror and think about the consequences. It's stupid.

Did the Great Jedi Purge bother you?

AHAHAHA + internetz to you sir, that made my morning


Anyways, lets face it, we would all be to pirate bay