Harrison Bergeron (film)
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| Harrison Bergeron | |
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| Directed by | Bruce Pittman, |
| Written by | Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (story), Arthur Crimm, Jon Glascoe (uncredited) |
| Starring | Sean Astin, Christopher Plummer, Eugene Levy, Miranda de Pencier, and Howie Mandel |
| Music by | Louis Natale |
| Release date(s) | August 13, 1995 |
| Running time | 99 min |
| Language | English |
Harrison Bergeron is a 1995 made-for-cable film loosely adapted from Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 short story of the same name.
[edit] Synopsis
The film takes place in a dystopic future in which the US government mandates total egalitarianism in all things, by having everyone attach wearable mind "handicapping" devices to their heads and showing only mind numbing shows on TV. The story centers on a a high school student named Harrison Bergeron whose extreme intelligence makes him something of a pariah. He is ultimately recruited by a secret organization whose purpose is to operate the functions of society that cannot be handled by the average-I.Q. general public.
While there, he meets up the head of the secret society and the randomally selected president (from Texas), that is selected so to ensure equality, but his orders to bomb everyone that threatens the US must be followed. While he thrives in this environment for a time and even meets a girlfriend there, he ultimately pays a personal price and comes to see the true social structure as unethical and immoral, and thus rebels - even if it means making a sacrifice.
[edit] Plot summary
Harrison Bergeron lives in a typical suburban town in the near future. We are told that after the second American Revolution, a war begun due to an ongoing economic depression that was a result of a combination of technological advancement and a widening disparity between the very rich and the very poor, it was mandated that all people be equal in all things. To this end, the social norm of this society has become egalitarianism. Citizens strive to be of equal wealth, intelligence, athletic prowess and social status to all around them. Through a process of selective breeding, mankind is perfecting the perfectly average human being. What is not accomplished through arranged marriages is made up for through technological means, the most prominents of which are only showing mind numbing shows on TV, and a headband device worn by all citizens which moderates intelligence, dialing up or down a person's IQ in order to arrive at a 'perfect' 100.
There are limits to the success of the devices, however, and Harrison Bergeron is one such case. He is a total failure in school, consistently receiving A's (C is the desired grade). Even though he has been held back two grades and his headband is consistently modified to dampen his intelligence, he still continues to excel to the embarrassment of him and his family.
Harrison goes to see a doctor about his intelligence problem, and after several tests it is determined that the headband is unsuccessful because Harrison's synaptic connections reroute themselves after each adjustment in order to overcome the inhibitions the headband is designed to place on the thought process. He is told that he will have to have an operation akin to a lobotomy in order to permanently lower his intelligence.
In his last day with a fully functioning brain, he goes to a whore house - a house where illegal device-free women are paid to play chess and conduct intelligent conversations with the clients. Unfortunately, there is a police bust while a "mind whore" and himself are having his first intelligent conversation ever. While being captive in the police station, he is approached by a special agent who offers him an alternative to the lobotomy - to join what turns out to be the secret elite that runs the government. He chooses the latter option and meets characters such as the head of the secret elite and the randomally selected president (from Texas), that is selected so to ensure equality, but his orders to bomb everyone that threatens the US must be followed.
Harrison also finds a girlfriend there, but when he illegally impregnates her and she pays the ultimate price for it, he feels he can no longer keep betraying his values and decides to take action. He breaks in a TV studio and reveals the truth about the secret society to the viewers. Eventually, the guards break through and later on he is forced to show up on TV again and pretend what happened before was not real. Instead, he uses his chance and commits suicide in front of the viewers. Sadly, even his own parents aren't capable to be shocked by that. However, the movie ends as we learn there is some hope, as some people did realize what just happened on their TV.
