Written by Levi Jublet. Media by Steven Potter.[divide]
Greenville College students flocked over to the Globe Theater on March 11 to a viewing of In Time shown free courtesy of CC@GC. This was the first CC@GC event of the semester and students were eager to head on over for a night of fun and entertainment
CC@GC stands for Cinematic Conversations and is run by Jake Amundson. It’s a time when students come together to watch fun movies and have a discussion on what they saw. To those who are unaware of the movie selection process for CC@GC it seems that the movies are picked at random. They are not centered on a particular theme or message. In part this randomness is true, but Nolan Osmond, former CC@GC committee member explained that there is a bit more to the process. The process is fairly simple and it begins with the members presenting movie trailers they believe are worth showing. After this it is just a matter of voting on which of the movies presented would be best. The choices may be subject to the personal preference of the committee, but if past movies have shown us anything it is that CC@GC members have pretty good taste.
The movie of the evening was In Time; a dystopian action film that works around the premise that humans are genetically altered to stop aging after 25. The catch though is that they only live for a year after that. Thanks to the magic of science, everyone in this movie has a time counter on their arm that reads one year and starts counting down when a person reaches 25. Once that number reaches zero they die. However, time is also the currency of this universe. When you work you get time added to your clock and when you buy things time gets taken away. You can give and take time as you please. Essentially one could live forever if they are able to accumulate enough time. Of course there are also ‘time police’ who regulate the amount of time that is flowing through the system. This foundation sets in motion the entire plot of the film.
Professor John Brittingham led the discussion after the film. When asked to give his one sentence opinion on In Time,
Brittingham answered, “It is a good idea in search of good execution.” He thought that the idea was super cool, but the movie itself just fell flat. I couldn’t agree more. The more pertinent discussion topics dealt with the underlying themes and concepts in the film. Well, the most obvious theme of the film that is shoved down your throat is that time is money. We all know that phrase and this film turns it into reality. The more interesting ideas discussed were those concerning the importance we place on time, Social Darwinism, and the real villains of the film. Social Darwinism in general holds to the idea that the strong should see their wealth and power increase while the weak see it decrease. In Time has different districts based on wealth. Those in the upper class districts continually see their wealth, businesses and life increase while those in the poor areas have to live day by day and ration their time. Through this the film brings up some frightening parallels between the ways that world works and the way ours really does. There are many other interesting concepts in this film that are hidden below its surface if you’re willing to look.
