Warning:
This contains spoilers for those who have not yet seen the movie
or read the book!
The Road, directed by John Hillcoat based on the Cormac
McCarthy novel of the same name, is an extremely powerful film
because it explores the fundamental human condition and the
basic struggle between good and evil.
The imagery in the movie provides the perfect backdrop for
a stunning exploration of the greatest threat to our civilization
- barbarism.
The near future post-apocalyptic landscape serves as a physical
embodiment of the spiritual decline of humanity we see unfolding
all around us today.
To emphasize this theme and to achieve a disturbing realism,
the film makers used images and video from events in recent
history including billowing smoke from the aftermath of 9/11
and the ruined landscapes of New Orleans after Katrina. Thus,
although the viewer will not consciously be aware of it, they
will already be familiar with the devastation they see on the
screen.
The boy in the film represents innate goodness, the ultimate
truth if you will. He has never known an existence other than
the dangerous and savage waste land that exists before his eyes,
yet he has a deeply held desire to help his fellow man, in the
shape of whomever he comes into contact with as his journey
unfolds.
The doting father character strives to protect his son from
his own altruism, which is pitted in a struggle against a total
degradation of empathy and morality in the world he is born
into.
This is never more evident in the film than when the father
and son's meager shopping cart of supplies is stolen by a scavenger.
They catch up to the thief and the father takes back the cart,
along with everything else that the man has, including his clothes.
Despite the scavenger's wrongdoing, the boy argues with his
father that it is not right to leave him to freeze to death,
it is not something "the good guys" would do. Eventually
the boy's persistence with his father pays off as they turn
back and leave the man's clothes for him to find, with a can
of food. This theme is revisited several times.
The father is intent on passing on to his son what he refers
to as "the fire" he is carrying inside. The soul,
the spirit, the will to survive, creation itself, a greater
enlightenment and understanding - call it what you will, it's
desperate fight against darkness and dehumanization, reflected
in the cannibal savages, is the central theme of the film.
A common theme in dystopian fiction is the break down or the
deliberate destruction of the family. This is because the function
of the family is a microcosm of human civilization itself. The
virtues of the family - trust, loyalty, togetherness, love -
are at the core of the human condition, in constant conflict
with suspicion, jealousy, selfishness, and hate.
In The Road, the family is devastated in the opening
scenes by the suicide of the mother. The father's slow prolonged
illness and eventual death also mirrors that of society. In
the end, however, there is hope, as the boy, still carrying
the fire, is adopted by another family - a father, mother, boy,
girl and a dog.
The boy's adopted family represent civilization itself, and
the message is clear - we are all interconnected and if we are
to survive and progress as a species we must recognize our social
responsibility to love one another and protect ourselves from
the barbarians that threaten our survival. Only love can save
us from such a barren desolate future.
Watch Alex Jones' review of The Road and how the movie's themes
tie into the struggle against the New World Order being implemented
around us:
Warning:
This contains spoilers for those who have not yet seen the movie
or read the book!
