Harrison Bergeron 2
"Everybody was finally equal. They were not only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else." This is a short, but powerful excerpt from the short story Harrison Bergeron. Not only does it make you wonder why everyone is equal, but as well makes you wonder how did everyone become equal? In the short story and the movie, Kurt Vonnegut presents a scary view of human society in the United States in the future, in which United States citizens are all uniform. This then leads to their loss of individuality, and therefore to the absolute deformity of humanness. Both the movie and the short story share these themes; they also have a multitude of other similarities, but also have just as many differences. These differences, irony and the symbolism between the two, are what I will be attempting to explore. The first apparent difference between the movie and the short story is that the short story takes place in 2081. In the story the government regulates everything, not just intelligence, but strength and beauty as well, and handicap people appropriately. Th
There is also a bit of irony prevalent in the movie as well as in the short story. In the movie, Harrison is mocked and branded as an outcast for his intelligence, yet he is secretly being monitored by the secret Administers organization. It is also ironic that there is a necessity for highly intelligent persons in such a perfectly equal society. In this society the public only can see what the have been allowed to see, by this secret, non-equal, organization in this so-called "equal" country. The next instance of irony appears in a scene where Harrison illegally takes control of a broadcasting station and plays unedited and uncontrolled movies and music to the public, while he asks them to take off their mind controlling head bands. This scene gives hope for the future of American culture, and makes one believe that the time for change has arrived. Unfortunately, Harrison later learns that only 1.3% of the public actually heard the true meaning of his program, which was a scream in the dark for an up rise to revolt against this tyrannical government, and removed their bands for good. Disparity descend upon the movie and Harrison is stopped and urged to tell the people of the country that it was all a hoax, in order to preserve order. He does this but, in perfect irony, commits suicide on live television to demonstrate the reality of the situation to the people. Finally, in the story, the "Handicapper General" has more of a police status in this futuristic country; the "head" Handicapper General is a woman, by the name of Diana Moon Glampers. With her swift decisions and severe actions shows resemblance to that of a dictator. She does not have to wear any handicaps of any kind, but is responsible for the regulating all the handicaps. In the movie, the handicappers' generals are far from being portrayed as a police authority. They are
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Approximate Word count = 1257
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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