Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut's story turned into an intriguing movie. Not a sci-fi classic but worthy of particular praise for its grim vision of the future. Not a future dominated by machines because man has taught them to evolve (Terminator), nor a future inhabited by docile, lazy epicures who have even lost the ability to read (The Time Machine). This is somewhere in between, a future where the average prevails and where excellence is looked upon with scorn.

After a second civil war, America's leaders have realised that war is idealistic, so they look to an age where ideology was at its lowest point. The golden age of mass consumerism - the 1950s. Children are taught at school to achieve mediocrity, grade C is best, grade A is very bad. Adults are force fed tv with no stimulating content, and strive to buy the newest durable product they see advertised. All brain patterns are controlled by thought suppressing headbands.

The premise is marvellous and keeps the viewer hooked. It is darkly comic, but seriously thought provoking. Not brilliantly acted but certainly worth a look.

This is not the movie to watch right before you trust the government to do something that they say is in your best interest.

Living some years from now, Harrison Bergeron is a smart young man. So smart, in fact, that he's had to repeat grades, several times. That's because A's are bad, C's are good. Everyone is to be rendered average by a headband that moniters brainwaves and keeps intelligence level to average. Harrison, however, is so smart that the headband does not work for him. Recruited by the government, he learns that people have so much more potential than is allowed. Armed with this new knowledge, he feels compelled to act.

In a wonderfully hilarious supporting role, Eugene Levy plays the randomly selected president, who has no idea how to lead a country but loves wielding power. His conversations are little sub-gems sprinkled throughout a gem of a movie. This one is well worth the while, though quite disturbing.

I saw this movie more than a year ago by chance. I didn't even want to watch it first, but somehow I just got stuck in front of the TV. It was late at night after the Olympics, so i don't think a lot of people saw it. Though I have always loved Sean Astin this movie is certainly a good reason to love him all the more. The "utopia" idea is no new thing in a movie, and usually it's quite interesting how they figure it out eventually. Let's admit: making a good future movie is like walking on eggshells, but I think the cast and crew of this small movie has nothing to be ashamed of. They did really well. It is very impressive how the story of Harrison and of his pure heart and mind talks about life, the equality of men, the lies, the love and of course the arts. I think this movie had become a shiny little secret of the soul of the relatively few people who is lucky enough to have seen it.

I saw this movie on TV one evening, probably even missed the start of it. I had no idea what it was, and it had the familiar TV-movie feel but it also had something compelling which kept my interest so I sat and watched it through.

I was amazed by this film, partly because of the scope, partly because of the parallels I could see in the world around me (which have only increased since), partly because it was so apparently innocent and unassuming and partly because I had never seen or heard of it before. It took me by surprise. I think I realised shortly after that it was written by the respected Sci-Fi author K.V. and that I should really have read the story sometime. Oh well. You can't catch them all.

However, much time passed and I forgot the name of the movie (it doesn't exactly stick in the mind) and I forgot which of the famous authors seeded it - but I didn't forget the content. From time to time I would ask somebody 'did you ever see that film...' and always got a blank response. I just remembered the author today and traced the name, which brings me here.

All I can say is this - watch it, and at the same time think about the last time you watched mainstream television 'entertainment'. If the parallels doesn't make your skin CRAWL, well - put the band back on...

Bruce Pittman's intelligent and modest TV adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's short story is a wonderful and much under-appreciated piece of high sci-fi. Films of this kind are rarely made, simply because there's not much potential audience for low-budget science fiction - most people are in sci-fi mainly for special effects and impressive battles. Harrison Bergeron, though, is one of those few adaptations made of real philosophical sci-fi, the kind that creates an image of the future as a reflection of our own reality. And it succeeds quite well in delivering its message, and for what it is it could be enjoyed by almost everyone - though I doubt it could have done well in the theaters.

The film revolves around two wonderful lead actors - one is Sean Astin, who recently gained success and fame as Sam Gamgee in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. The other is the wonderful British actor Christopher Plummer, remembered by sci-fi buffs as the Klingon General Chang from Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country. Brilliant comedian Eugene Levy gives an eerily funny performance as the President. The story is of a future America in which equality is achieved by discouraging exceptional talent or intelligence and creating forced mediocrity. Harrison (Sean Astin) is one of the exceptional few whose intelligence surfaces despite the government's best efforts and is therefore given the chance to work for the government. There he discovers the timeless Orwellian truth of Fascist regimes - all are equal, but some are more equal than others. Astin's interplay with Clummer (the classic 'Big Brother') is wonderful, and the ending is beautiful. The script does an excellent job of expanding Vonnegut's very short story into a 100 minute film.

Harrison Bergeron is well worth watching - if you can get your hands on it. As far as I know there isn't a DVD available, but the VHS can be ordered on Amazon and the movie plays occasionally on television. If you're interested in science fiction literature of authors like Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, or Isaac Asimov, this wonderful little think-piece is a good purchase.