SciFi Saturday: Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron, Free eBook and Movie

Harrison Bergeron PDF
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Have you read Kurt Vonnegut's short story Harrison Bergeron?  It's an eerily brilliant short story which takes about 10 minutes to read.  It was also made into a move in 1995 (watch for free below).
The book is set in a world where smarter, stronger, and prettier people are required to wear 'handicaps' to make sure that everyone is equal.
'Equality' is the norm and 'Competition' in any sense is punished. People are forced to wear masks to cultivate equality among the ugly and the beautiful.

A boy named Harrison who is superior to all others decides to flaunt it. The story shows the dilemma and confusion of his parents who have lived in this world for too long to take notice.

If you enjoyed the thought-provoking ideas of Orwell's 1984, you might enjoy this quick read.  Download at the link above or read the embedded document below.

The movie is worth a watch as well though it never made mainstream and quite few people have ever even heard of it.  You can stream it on YouTube here:

The cast of this movie includes  Sean Austin (Rudy and Lord of the Rings), Howie Mandel, Christopher Plummer (National Treasure and A Beautiful Mind) and Emmanuelle Chriqui.  These are well known talented actors with long credits lists. This movie also won multiple Gemini Awards including Best Direction, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, and Best Production Design or Art Direction. 

Jack Spirko from The Survival Podcast makes the following remarks to ponder when watching:

"Watch this movie and as you do remember that everything in movies and stories must be adapted to modern times.  With that in mind, as you watch consider…

• The bands (or handicaps) we have today, are not physical but “information bands”, radio, TV, wifi.  Pop culture has dropped the intelligence of the average person while more information is available then ever.
• The goal in schools in the movie is to make every student equal.  We call it common core today.  In fact, the architects of common core have said it is intended to “remove the advantage” some children have due to things like stable families.
• When people in this movie, children are considered to have “not fit in” they are sent to the doctor for help.
• The name of the recession following the cold war that NEVER REALLY ENDS is called THE GREAT RECESSION, which was the name given to the recession of 2008, which I say hasn’t ended, again the movie was made in 1995.

Personally I feel this movie should be seen by every American, uploaded to every and any video site, etc.  Sure many have their bands adjusted way too high to comprehend it, but perhaps what we need are some modern day “head houses” to inspire a positive insurrection vs. the disastrous revolution predicted in this movie.

What is a head house you ask?  Watch the movie to find out."

Here are some of the most chilling lines from the movie as we look at our future, remember this is from a 1960s novel adopted into a 1995 movie.

John Klaxon – “Television, well, it is the thread that holds together the fabric of our society”.

John Klaxon – “Every time I listen to great music or watch a great film, I know society will never produce another one.

Harrison – “I know the [new] constitution says its the responsibility of government to render all people equal”

John Klaxon [Speaking about Executions on Television] –  Oh majority of those are reruns, we don’t advertise the fact it would hurt the ratings, and we want people to watch, for the deterrent value.

Harrison’s Teacher – I am going to recommend to your parents that they take you to see Dr. Eisenstock.  You know four years ago when I started teaching, my pupils had the second highest academic scores in the state.  I was very nearly fired, he altered me tremendously.

And Possibly the most chilling exchange with the year 2018 changed to say 2028, only off by say 10 years.

Teacher – “What do we call the period after the end of the cold war” –  Harrison –  “The Great Recession” – Teacher – “And what made this recession different from all recessions before it” Jeanie – “It never really ended, it just kept going“.

Teacher – “Why?” ..Class doesn’t know.. Teacher – “Harrison?”  –  Harrison – “Well in all previous recessions once the economy bottomed out and production increased, unemployment decreased.  Um, but in the great recession because of new and improved technologies, fewer and fewer workers were required in all sectors.  With so many people forced from their jobs, the traditional economic recovery was impossible.

Teacher – Exactly by the year 2018 only 15% of the population had jobs.  America was divided into two camps.  A highly skilled and prosperous elite and an unemployed destitute majority.  What happened next, Garth?”

Garth – “Well the people who didn’t have jobs were very unhappy.  And they started making trouble.  Like they bombed buildings and had riots and killed people and stuff.

Teacher – “Right and that was the beginning of what we now know as?” –  Class – “The Second American Revolution”

Teacher – “Right and we’ll stop there for today”.

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