Wednesday, March 18, 2015

'Divergent'

In March 2014, 'Divergent' was a movie that was released in theaters, based off the novel by Veronica Roth. The theme of this film was Utopia/Dystopia, which is very common in pop culture today, with similar movies such as 'Hunger Games' and 'Maze Runner', which attracted a large audience of teens and young adults. 

What I liked the most about the movie, it is set in Chicago, but in the near future. As a Utopian/Dystopian fiction, it challenges social and political structures. In the movie, the population is split into groups or 'factions'; 
Abnegation, the selfless 
Dautless, the brave
Erudite, the intelligent
and Candor, the honest

They are each sorted into each faction and are expected to conform to the rules and expectations of each. 

The movie uses a lot of imagery and foreshadowing

Although the movie is set in Chicago, it doesn't look like it does in the present day. It includes important monuments such as the Willis Tower and the Navy Pier, but they are obviously worn down from an assumed war. This is an example of imagery, and also pathos. Chicago, being one of the most important cities in the USA, being seen as torn down and broken can bring out emotions of sadness, or worry of the possibility.

Since this is a Utopian/Dystopian fiction, foreshadowing is common and it shown to cause suspense and indicate the problems that will be later introduced in the film. The main character, Tris is born into the faction 'Abnegation', but when she finds out the she is Divergent, (more than one faction) , and leaves her faction for Dauntless, it is foreshadowing her fate, and what the future holds for her since she rebelled against the faction system. 


1 comment:

  1. Can you re-write the post so that the application to this class is clear? How is it that the movie gets its message across? What are its rhetorical strategies? What cues can you take from it for your own future communications?

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