Harrison Bergeron

Even though the film takes place in the future, it is an interesting and frightening look at our own times. It's a combination of 1984 and MATRIX with a 50s-style movie. The fact that we allow ourselves to be told what to think and do is played out in an interesting fashion. The Thoreau-like character sees the facade and learns how to break through. Sean Austin does a great job as the naive innocent who sees into the darkness behind the facade. Christopher Plummer is very effective as the "big brother" who actually has a soul. The film makes us confront the dilemma of whether we want to be "normal" or to be who we really are.

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...

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.

This is one of my favorite movies because it makes you think of the "what if" to the nth degree. It ranks up there in my mind with Matrix in terms of challenging your imagination to think outside the world as we know it. It is too bad it was only a made-for-TV movie because I think it would have done as well at the box office as many movies that are much less interesting have. The movie puts us in the future, where the not-so-intelligent have risen up against the intelligent and forced the government to create a mechanism (a head band) for ensuring that all citizens stay at the same level of intelligence - average. Our main character, Harrison, is, much to his family's dismay, above average and, despite the band, cannot contain his intellectual gifts.

It's easy to imagine Mike Judge's hilarious film "Idiocracy" as a dumbed down version of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron". "Harrison Bergeron" is both darkly humorous, and at the same time frightening. This is intelligent science fiction, that extols the belief that mediocrity for everyone should be the goal of society. The government implements control over citizen's brains with electronic headbands. This diabolical system is overseen by Christopher Plummer, one of a few privileged citizens, not controlled by a headband. Sean Astin is Harrison Bergeron, a rebellious intellectual who tries to overthrow the system. The film has dark comedy, an excellent and appropriate soundtrack, and top notch acting. Recommended sci-fi viewing. - MERK