I had never seen the film “Michael Clayton” before our little English class. And if one is being honest, I loved it. The film delivers a thrilling interpersonal plot while simultaneously commenting on notion of “what is a meaningful life?”
The film may not focus directly on the environment, but I feel that it does cleverly shed light on some of the real life issues the world is faced with every day. Major corporations are not as honest as they should be when faced with the facts/consequences of their actions. It seems that a large portion of the world focuses image and profit, while a very small, often ridiculed percentage focus on the reality of detrimental actions. The company uNorth, while fictional, shows the depravity that eventually rears its head during the pursuit of saving image and profit. An individual who is established to be human can be twisted into a monster in the face of fear. The fear of losing wealth, or material items(Tilda Swinton’s Character). Truth is vital to the overall survival of our society and or species.
My favorite aspect of the film was the transformation that Michael Clayton goes through. His transformation is complete in the face of growing threats in his life. When his car explodes he finally realizes how destructive the world he lives in is. The companies, the firms, hell even the bars, all of these institutions consume and destroy. One must attempt to rise above it, even if only to catch a breath of realization. The realization that we as individuals are being shaped into the cogs of a destructive machine. The blind pursuit of profit or high social standing comes at the cost of the world around us. We are dependent on this world, not the other way around.
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Zach, I think you tackled the film's subject matter quite thoroughly. When you stated "The company uNorth, while fictional, shows the depravity that eventually rears its head during the pursuit of saving image and profit", I think you summed up the film's message quite thoroughly. Nice work. I liked that you talked about Michael's transformation at the end of the film. Though I think it's strange you didn't mention Arthur, who is such a precursor for this moral about-face in the titular hero that it isn't funny. I think he deserves something of a shout out simply for keying Michael in on the toxic, destructive state of the UNorth's environmental raping spree.
ReplyDelete"The realization that we as individuals are being shaped into the cogs of a destructive machine. The blind pursuit of profit or high social standing comes at the cost of the world around us."
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, up until this point. I do not believe that the blind pursuit of profit or high social standing automatically comes at the cost of the environment. There are plenty of careers in the world that rake in the cash and has very little to do with destroying the environment: actors and actresses.
I personally think Bill Gates is in blind pursuit of profit - good examples are when his company came out with the Zune (iPod competitor) and the X-Box. They saw both as a great market which could be broken into for more dollars, and yet Bill Gates has donated more money than anyone else. He practically built Washington University in Seattle.
Not all rich people have dollar signs dancing in their dreams.