MovieChat Forums > Voyagers (2021) Discussion > uh.... the writing...

uh.... the writing...

posted 3 years ago by maximmm (3085)
6 replies | jump to latest

was pretty darn shitty.

Kids seemed quite normal, and then went totally went berserk when off their meds which reduced their sex drives/emotional urges. I suppose it's possible that meds might cause long-term negative effects and that may explain why they all went berserk. Having said that - kids also displayed total lack of critical thinking - and most of them possessed absolute sheep mentality. When the evil kid was proven to kill their leader via video footage, his explanation was so bananas that even a 5 year old kid, in the normal world, would know that he's lying - yet, the sheep went along with it, which ..... was such a blatant plot device, that I had to conclude to myself that I'm watching one of the dumbest films ever written.

Having said that, I do like the general criticism of the sheep mentality that I think the author is attempting to tackle here. I think this covid/political situation of the world shows the danger of the sheep mentality from both sides of the aisle.

[–] Ripkens25 (1911) 3 years ago

(Spoilers)......

You're coming from the frame of mind of a person with a normal upbringing, education, socialization....and who was raised to think for yourself, critically, and given enough autonomy to act on your own choices.

These kids (in the movie) were essentially "bred"...from birth....to walk the line, have very few thoughts that stray from their objective. They were fed stories (including about the "alien") to serve that objective, and they had no other context in which to doubt or challenge what they're told.

History has shown us....even smart, civilized people devolve....very quickly, when society, law and order...resources, etc. begin to break down and dissolve. People begin to horde...and show a lack of concern for the well-being of others...when chaos creeps in and takes over the safety they once felt protected by. I was just watching World War Z the other day....and I think it's a perfect depiction of this. A complete breakdown of calm, rational thought.....as people devolved almost overnight to their primal, basic instincts.....which can (in extreme situations) turn savage. And I'm describing people with normal upbringing and childhoods...who know right from wrong, understand compassion....etc.

The kids in the movie had NONE of that normalcy and socialization that would create stable, well-rounded individuals...whom you'd presume would remain calm, measured and rational in dire situations.

Another great example of people turning on one another and devolving into savagery pretty quickly is The Mist. And when that starts to happen....people look to SOME kind of leadership...ANY kind....to guide them out of their situation and make them safe. That is where a demagogue will take advantage of the situation and gather followers.

I think the way things broke-down among the kids on that ship were a scary reminder of a very real concept. We're all just one or two disasters away from devolving to something rather ugly and desperate.

[–] maximmm (3085) 3 years ago

Once again, as far as everyone going mental, we can also allude to the medicine withdrawal symptoms being the cause.
I've singled out one specific moment where I realized that the writing was extremely bad - or perhaps it's the director's fault?
Either way, when the evidence of a wrongdoing was presented via video footage, it was quite clear that the antagonists were toying around when flipping switches, and looked quite shocked when this led to a short circuit and death of their leader. It would be quite evident, even to a 5 year old child, that in no way shape of form did they plan to kill any alien and for them to later claim that they really did kill their leader, but only because an alien 'infected' him would lead to a lot of questions and doubts from any of the would be followers.

If you do not agree that this moment in particular, and what followed, was written/acted/directed extremely poorly, then we clearly differ in our assessment.

As far as the devolution of society during dire circumstances is concerned.... I can easily imagine how the 'survival of the fittest' scenario might play out and where leaders might be picked not due to their intelligence but due to strength and dominance. We are all, I suppose, moments away from turning into zoo animals, after the electricity stops working and food/water resources run low.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 3 years ago

I think you underestimated the power of religuous needs of humans. People don't want to be wrong. Even when evidence showed that they chose the wrong "lord" they will double-down on defending their choice and rationalising their decision or belief no matter what.

Because if we admit our lord / leader was wrong that we also admit that we're wrong too, and stupid for believing him in the first place. We hope that the evidence was fake, and we're actually right and ultimately very clever to not swayed by the fake evidence. And boy, hope is a really powerful idea.

The movie really wanted to show this that's why it should look silly to us how they justify their leader (and their choice to follow him) because that was how it actually feels in real life, to an outsider of your chosen belief.

[–] cyguration (3887) 3 years ago

Because if we admit our lord / leader was wrong that we also admit that we're wrong too, and stupid for believing him in the first place. We hope that the evidence was fake, and we're actually right and ultimately very clever to not swayed by the fake evidence. And boy, hope is a really powerful idea.

You hit the nail on the head here.

It reminds me so much of the people still wrapped up in the COVID nonsense, still thinking that it's a "deadly pandemic" when all the basic science has been settled and proven that it's no more dangerous than the common flu. Yet there are people still supporting vaccine mandates, booster mandates, and lockdowns, because some disreputable test showed there was a couple of new cases (viz., and new cases doesn't mean anything, because people get sick all the time, doesn't mean they will die).

Even still, with the data showing that more kids are dying from the vax than COVID (with 91% increases in heart failure of kids between 16 - 19 after getting vaxxed):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QT2uUC4j9I2cVpsD1prkScBg0gUqI52x/view

(more info here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NZ9Y4kD2qk&feature=youtu.be)

It's even been proven that the vaccines reduce the efficacy of your immune system:
https://www.cure-hub.com/post/sars-cov-2-vaccines-breakthrough-infections-and-lasting-natural-immunity

And they're filled with deadly toxins that will kill you if they get into your bloodstream:
https://archive.is/Pl7pH

...Yet people are still supporting this ridiculous tyranny. So yeah, the sheeple mentality is sadly more common and prevalent than a lot of people might like to admit.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 3 years ago

Yep. Spot on. Those people are silly. But it also works the other way around. People like you look silly too to them.

Pretty much just like in the movie. This is simply how human minds work.

[–] cyguration (3887) 3 years ago

Sad but true.

I'm not really sure how to fix a problem like this.

I guess some people will just have to learn the hard way that science, biology, and reality doesn't care about propaganda.