Unwind and the Island: Man’s Desire to Be Fully Human

Unwind and The Island: man’s desire to be fully human

Successful dystopian stories challenge us with themes and topics that should cause us to examine many aspects of our lives that we may take for granted. Whether through literature or film, dystopian stories present situations taken to an extreme. In this way, we are left questioning the status quo, wondering ¨what if?¨. In some cases, the present may be horrific, and it is only when man asserts his need for freedom that the dystopian nightmare is exposed. A dystopian vision, whether in literature or film, may deny man his individuality, his privacy, even his right to choose a mate. Two visionaries that explore these issues are Neal Shusterman, in his forward thinking novel Unwind and Michael Bay, director of The Island. Both works feature a dark and hellish reality where forces created by advanced technologies impact privacy and human relationships. More specifically, three characteristics of dystopian literature that populate Unwind and The Island are privacy and the lack of private space, love and the inability to form human relationships, and the impact of technology on human progress.

The first dystopian characteristic present in both Shusterman’s novel, Unwind, and Bay’s motion picture, The Island is the impact of technology on human progress. Throughout Shusterman’s novel the advanced technology poses a major threat for children under the age of eighteen. In this society the parents of unwanted teens are allowed to decide if they live or die, “‘I’m being unwound?” “Dying is a little bit more than a ‘change’” (Shusterman 23). Technology has become so advanced that it can literally take away someone’s life and grant it to someone who is considered ‘worthy’. Advances in technology are also used for beneficial purposes in the ability to receive “pigment injection[s]” (Shusterman 3)-this allows for a change in eye color. Although this advancement has a positive effect, the use of extracted pigments from ‘unwound’ teenagers is a horrific reality these characters are forced to face. Technology also poses a huge threat to the agnates in Bay’s picture-the purpose of their creation is to function as an individual’s “insurance policy” (Lincoln). From the time the agnates are ‘birthed’, they are programmed to focus only on what they know-the military bunker where they are held is disguised by a hologram. This hologram keeps the agnates blissfully ignorant, it causes them to be content with and never question what could be beyond the area they inhabit; ignorance is the ultimate form of control.

Another dystopian characteristic present in both Shusterman’s novel and Bay’s picture is, love and the inability to form human relationships. With the constant threat of being unwound presented in Shusterman’s novel the characters are never truly granted the freedom to form healthy, or functioning human relationships. Connor is affected by this issue when the girl he likes has a different fate than he, “‘I’m about to be unwound, in case you forgot.” “I know. But I’m not’” (Shusterman 9). In this moment Arianna realizes the reality of the situation at hand, she decides not to run away with him because that would mean the inevitable unwinding of both of them. The inability to form functioning human relationships is shown after the ‘unwinds’ escape, “Let him go, then run in the opposite direction. Lev could survive on his own now” (Shusterman 133). Even though the character Lev considers leaving behind is a fugitive, like him, he is consciously on high alert for anything that could be a potential threat. Human relationships-well lack of- are also examined throughout Bay’s picture. In the beginning portion of the film there is a recurring scene where the ‘guards’ repeat the word, “proximity”, if the agnates are too close to each other. The purpose of this action is to keep the agnates at a fifteen year old’s mental capacity, this ensures that the agnates will continue to stay immature and somewhat afraid of authority. The effect on relationships is also shown when Lincoln and Jordan meet Lincoln’s