Children of Men Discussion Questions
What message does this film relay about immigration and xenophobia?
The government in Britain feel that immigrants are terrorists, because they are coming from ruined countries. They want to protect their country from the immigrants as Britain is the only stable country in the world after global corruption.
What effect does Cuarón’s use of long takes have in the scenes where this filming technique is used?
These long takes make the film seem more realistic and more like a documentary. It makes the audience empathize with the characters.
How plausible is the future world depicted in Children of Men?
The world probably won’t go infertile unless a new disease breaks out causing this. But there is a possibility of something else occurring which can cause global corruption, like war.
How has the lack of children changed society?
The lack of children in society has caused worldwide depression. It has taken the joy out of the world, and it has made people go crazy out of fear of the world ending as soon there will be no people left on Earth.
What role does religion play in the film?
Religion wasn’t very prominent in the film. Although it is not very projected in the film, but in the real world it plays a large role. The film hints at some sort of religion as the devil is mention in a few scenes but it doesn’t have a heavy presence.
Luke is consistently portrayed as the "bad guy" throughout the film. Is he
sincerely a bad person? Why or why not?
Luke isn’t a bad guy, he is just trying to help get the world back to how it was before infertility and corruption. He wants to create an uprising, and so he is doing it in a way that he thinks is suitable.
How was a totalitarian government able to emerge in the wake of the infertility crisis in Britain?
They were able to control immigration because everyone is scared of the end of the world, and therefore they will believe anything the government says. The government calls immigrants terrorists, and so citizens believe they are immigrants too.
How does Kee develop over the course of the film?
Kee becomes braver as the film progresses. Her mother instincts kick in, as all she starts to worry about is her baby and her safety. She becomes more trusting of Theo and relies on him compared to when they first met and she was very standoffish towards him. She was more reserved at the start of the film because she didn’t know a lot about pregnancy and so she was afraid.
How does Theo develop over the course of the film?
At the start of the film he isn't very compassionate or motivated as he had nothing to live for, as he has lost his parents, his wife and his son. Meeting Kee gave him hope, hope that the world might go back to the way it was. Meeting Kee and helping her get to safety reignites his activist mindset. Seeing two of his loved ones be taken away from him made him want to accomplish his quest with Kee and do it for them.
