NEWS

News
ENG4U-01 Mr. Noble

=
“You are special. You have a very special purpose in life. You have been chosen. The island awaits you.” That’s the beginning of //The Island//, an American science fiction film in 2005 directed by Michael Bay and starred by Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. =====

=
The film is set in 2019, “the survivors” are lived in a self-contained city while their only hope for the future is to be the next lottery winner, which would afford them a one-way ticket to the last uncontaminated place on Earth, The Island. Lincoln Six Echo is one of the residents but always asks a lot about the society. During him following a live moth, he sees two lottery winners being killed so he escapes with Jordan Two Delta, who recently wins the lottery. They learn that they are clones of wealthy sponsors from James McCord. Meanwhile, Dr. Merrick hires Albert Laurent to catch them even kill if necessary in order to cover up the fact. During the journey to Los Angeles, Lincoln and Jordan are attacked by Laurent’s mercenaries. Lincoln’s sponsor agrees to expose the truth of organ harvesting but informs Merrick secretly. Lincoln cheats Laurent into killing Tom and then poses as Tom in order to liberate other colons with the help of Laurent, who feels disturbed of treating colons as if they are not human at last. The film ends by all of the colons seeing the outside world on the hill. =====

=
First of all, people from //Anthem// and //The Island//, whose happiness are in charge live in groups, just like communes. In //Anthem//, man keep saying “we” as “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE. One, indivisible and forever”. Once Equality sings and then is reprimanded by the one of the Home Council. While in //The Island//, citizens have the united clothing, habits and lives and are designed without consciousness, human experience and emotion. Accurately, they are considered as vegetative. =====

=
Secondly, both residents are controlled by fear and punishments. In //Anthem//, people are not allowed to mention the Unspeakable Word or they would be burned in the City Square. Once Equality is sent to the Palace of Corrective Detention and lashed for he refuses to say where he was. Meanwhile, people in //The Island// are told that the outside world is contaminated and cannot live any more by the overseers so they never escape and talk about the outside. It is obvious that both the Uncharted Forest and the outside world can be treated as the forbidden area. =====

=
Thirdly, Equality finds the truth because of his curiosity, so does Lincoln. Equality discovers the dead frog moving while electricity is sent to the copper through the brine of frog’s body by many tests. Similarity, Lincoln finds a live moth in the ventilator, which makes he disbelieves the idea of Contamination so he follows the moth. Consequently, he sees two lottery winners being killed and realizes that The Island never exists. =====

=
The last, men have happy ending of liberty finally, which means they are reborn. Equality and the Golden One lead a life without control after entering into the Uncharted Forest. Equality finds him individual and understands the word “Ego”. In //The Island//, all the colons run out of the basement and stand on the hill with excitement. The smile among Lincoln, Jordan and Laurent foreshadows the idea of living for us. =====

=
However, there is difference between //The Island// and //Anthem// in terms of technology as a great comparison. In Equality’s society, which called “Great Rebirth”, all facilities are worse than the Unmentionable Time. It takes the scholars about 50 years to discover. There are high-technologies everywhere in //The Island//. For example, Dr. Merrick’s desk is auto-touched and he finds information by only touching the scream. =====

=
According to //The Island//, the statement of “People will do anything to survive” makes me think deeply. Why Lincoln and Jordan exist? As we know, people want to live forever and maybe this is the perfect answer to the question. As James McCord said, “Some hag trophy wife needs new skin for facelift or one of them gets sick and need a new part, they take it from you.” There is no doubt that cloning technology will help people in many ways but it also brings us the moral question---whether colons are people or not? In the film, Dr. Merrick treats colons as money-spinners, which means he never respects lives of colons. In order to keep his business operating, he hires people to kill the two escaped products. It is wrong that saving one by killing the other one, which violates the original principle of cloning. Cloning is the main topic in the future and there must be an approximately way to solve it. =====

=
I have seen The Devil Wears Prada twice in three weeks. It mainly told us a story which happened during the period of a graduated girl, Andrea Sachs, was hired as an assistant for the chief editor, Miranda Priestly of Runway coincidently. In fact, the leading role, Andrea Sachs experienced a lot and things happened on her made me think deeply. =====

=
We have to choose anything and anywhere because that’s our lives. Andrea couldn’t bear doing trifle so she changed her attitude passively into bravely. She always made herself finish things Miranda ordered perfectly even though they were impossible and crazy. At the same time, she had to give up a lot, friendship and love, but she still believed that she was compelled and involuntary. For example, she went to the Paris show instead of Emily, her partner because Miranda ordered her and said that’s a good way to improve herself. Finally, Andrea was quit while she found that Miranda sacrificed someone to hold her job. At that moment, she knew that work was important but it couldn’t be compared to friendship and love, which we always emphasize and the prime condition before decision. =====

=
He was wondering in the street, without any purpose, as a person who loses his soul. He tumbled because of the banana peel, and suddenly burst into tears, sitting on the floor. People who passed through the street all stopped their pace for curiosity, surrounding him one by one. It seemed that the man was a baby, who was still crying, without any words. Passersby started to discuss the strange man for weeping. Consequently, the man giggled and left away. One of the onlookers unexpectedly found that he was Thomas Smith, an outstanding painter in the USA, who always looked for inspiration through bizarre behaviors. =====

=
My 68 years old grandfather, who has helped me a lot in many ways, is the important person in my whole life. I have lived with my grandfather since I was born. Even though my grandfather just studied at primary school for about three years and no long back to school because of poverty, he knew a lot and helped me so much. Once I was taught to ride the bicycle by my grandfather. However, no matter how hard I learnt, I still couldn't do it well. I barely wanted to give up. It seemed that grandfather knew what I was thinking and left me a sentence No one can control destiny except yourself. I couldn’t get the meaning until I finally learnt the way to ride it on my own. This was an important lesson that my grandfather taught me in my life: with positive thought and strong mind, people can do anything well. Even now, I can’t forget the lesson he told me. I just appreciate him a lot and love him very much. =====