The Giver: Modern Brave New World or Cautionary Tale?

Two trailers (posted below) have been issued for The Giver, the movie based upon the book of the same name from Lois Lowry that is scheduled for August 15, 2014. From the opening sequence, we see problem-reaction-solution paraphrased perfectly; finalized by the shift to the New World Order’s spoken mantra: “Ordo ab Chao” – order out of chaos.

High-powered actors Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep give face to the ongoing battle between individual freedom and top-down centralized control. In the second trailer, the emphasis is on the tech solutions that are to be offered in order to bring about the “harmonious community” sought by the technocratic elite headed up by Streep’s character. It’s a world of limits – real and metaphysical – which Bridges’ Morpheus-like character of “The Giver” seeks to undermine.

The symbolism of the red pill of knowledge is offered in this film through a restoration of color – beginning with red – into a grey, emotionless, manufactured world. The red apple appears to symbolize that knowledge is power; or, if Streep’s character is correct, that “when people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong,” that same red apple becomes symbolic of original sin and evil from her perspective.

While some might see elements of predictive programming similarly contained in such works as Brave New World, it also could be argued that the world portrayed in The Giver is so close at hand that this film/book is more intended to be a social commentary prepared as a cautionary tale.

What do you think?