How do you read the final scene in Children of Men? Are we witnessing a symbolic re-birth? Why does Cuaron choose Theo and Kee as the “key” figures for potential renewal? How might the story be changed, for example, if the fountainhead of the human race was imagined as a white woman from a Western nation? What does Kee’s pregnancy (and the rest of the movie) tell us about the power and limits of science and technology?
3 thoughts on “Children of Men–Group 2”
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I think the final scene of children of men somewhat symbolizes a symbolic rebirth since we witness the birth of a baby in a world that has collapsed because of the human race becoming infertile. However, the world’s societies remain in ruins and the only remaining functioning society is that of the UK which is in jeopardy itself. The situation that humanity finds itself in the movie goes to show us that no matter how far technology was able to advance, we are still limited by being human, which is highlighted by Theo and Kee’s treacherous journey in which Theo is in his final moments of life and teaches Kee how to burp the baby. As the soldiers temporarily stop fighting, they are struck by witnessing another baby and are reminded of their fragile humanity at this point in time. Although it may not mark a complete rebirth of humanity, it still resembles hope that the human race will be able to persevere through this crisis. If the fountainhead of the human race was imagined as a white woman from a western nation, there may not have been as much hope for the society moving forward in this situation. With the only functioning society being from the UK which has grown dangerously nationalist and hostile to immigrants, the next generation of humanity beginning from a white perspective may continue these hostile trends in what remains of society.
The movie Children of Men premise shows how fragile the human race is. Although we have made so many advances in technology if everyone become infertile there would be nothing the world could do about saving the human race at the moment. This premise in some ways shows us that at the end of the day no matter how much we have advanced technologically and culturally we are still animals who need to reproduce in order to live on.
The movie itself shows the slightly futuristic UK as deeply nationalist and racist. Although with the decision to pull out of the EU the movie may have been predicted well. Either way it is important that Kee is a black women originating outside the UK. It implies the legacy of the world will start from her. Also because Kee is not a citizen we see how hard it is to find a safe place to give birth . I also found it unnecessary for Theo to be the main character of the movie. He is there to protect Kee, but I think it would be a more empowering movie if Kee were to protect herself more. In addition, near end of the movie the juxtaposition of Kee running with the baby in the middle of the battle scene was comical when all the soldiers stopped. For that brief moment it seemed that everyone remembered their humanity.
I think the final scene of Children of Men signifies a symbolic rebirth of society, as after so many years another baby is finally born. This signifies that within their world, there are some who are able to reproduce, which will allow for life to continue on for more generations. I found it important that Theo baptizes the baby boy, as this symbolized that the baby is being integrated into their society as “one of them” and not being shunned from all those who have lived before the baby was born. I found the final scene of the movie to be a great ending, as Theo was badly wounded while killing those who are trying to capture Kee. Theo is badly wounded in the process, and is close to dying, but he instills as much wisdom and knowledge into Kee before he dies. He teaches her how to burp the baby, but sadly dies before help arrives. This is crucial because Theo is doing everything possible to help prolong the lifespan of mankind, even if he can’t be there to witness it. If this movie was portrayed from a woman’s perspective instead of a man’s, we may have gotten an entirely different outcome. One thought is that at the end, the woman would not have been as helpful as Theo was. Theo wanted for humankind to continue on, and was willing to sacrifice his life for it. If there was a woman protagonist, maybe she would have been unable to stop the attackers from hurting Kee and the baby, or maybe she would have found a different solution. Maybe, the woman would have had a baby herself instead of Kee, which would make for an entirely different ending. There are many “What if’s” that could be explored from the female perspective. Kee’s pregnancy tells us that there are indeed limits to technology, and that some forms of human evolution are uncontrollable.