I decided to watch the movie Equilibrium (2002) because of its dystopian themes, as I wanted to delve deeper into the dystopian genre now that we have begun this unit. This movie connects with the themes explored in the book Brave New World. The film had many thematic parallels to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Both works depict societies engineered for artificial stability, where emotional suppression and societal control reign supreme. Equilibrium portrays a world devoid of emotion, maintained through mandatory mood-altering drugs, which was similar to the artificial happiness and societal conditioning in Brave New World. Both narratives highlight the dangers of sacrificing individual freedom and emotional expression for the illusion of a perfect society.
I gave the movie four out of five stars. I do not usually enjoy dystopian media, however, I liked the way Equilibrium set the scene. Also in contrast to the book Brave New World, Equilibrium did not have any sex related aspects which I found to be much more comfortable and made it more enjoyable. The movie features one of my favourite actors, Christian Bale, which was also a factor for my high rating.