Reading Movies

Imagine you and your 9th grade class mates are sent to a deserted island. Each of you are given a random weapon. You have two days to kill everyone else. The last man standing survives the game. If there is no winner after two days, everyone dies.

Each student must wear an explosive collar. Every few hours, survivors are given a new list of zones that will become "forbidden zones" after a few hours. Entering a forbidden zone, or being in a zone when it becomes forbidden, will make your collar explode. So you cannot hide.

This is the premise of the book and movie Battle Royale.

What would you do?

Could you kill your best friend? Your secret crush? Your lover?

I could hardly watch the movie in one session as the players in the Battle Royal are no faceless killers, they are 9th grade children. They don't want to kill, don't know how to handle the pressure, but in the end the stress of the situation usually wins over.

What would you do?

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

This post was edited by Jaz on Jul 13, 2003.

Sounds interesting, but more as a portrayal of people in a truely desperate situation.

What would I do? Dunno. Your only option might be to at least die with dignity and kill yourself. Maybe let the dice decide.

Is the film only about how those children react or also about why they are put into this situation in the frist place?

(Btw, sorry for being a smart ass, but if you look for this movie try searching for "Battle Royale" with an 'e' at the end).

'Repent, Harlequin!' said the Ticktockman. 'Get stuffed!' the Harlequin replied, sneering.

Sounds interesting, but more as a portrayal of people in a truely desperate situation.

Interesting is how differently the students try to deal with this bizarre situation. Some form groups to increase their chances of survival, some commit suicide, some hide, some engage in bloody killing frenzy.

Is the film only about how those children react or also about why they are put into this situation in the frist place?

Sometime in the future, recession and unemployment sweeps over Japan. The youth has lost all respect of the grown ups, stage protests for the sake of it, no longer attend school, etc. The Battle Royale Act gets passed in order to scare off the boldness of the young.

It's basically generation conflict cubed and may be more understandable in Japan, where social etiquette, codes and obligations are still much more actual (we would have to ask Orchid for details).

The film more or less deals with the whole prehistory in a short introductory text displayed in the first few seconds. As soon as I have some money left I want to buy the book which will maybe give some more insight.

Btw, sorry for being a smart ass, but if you look for this movie try searching for "Battle Royale" with an 'e' at the end

Another reason why repeated exposure to the McDonalds menu is bad for your mental health (I fixed the typo).

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

This post was edited by Jaz on Jul 13, 2003.

So null and I finally watched the movie today - in one session. :) It really had its shocking scenes. Especially women were quite cruel ;) Well that's what you expect, right? ;) But I have to admit that I didn't get anything.

What would I do? It's really an interesting situation. You can't handle this by common sense because everyone wants to survive, right? I think I'd kill but I'd spare my friends of course, "hoping" they are killed by someone else. Well this sounds really cruel. Maybe we'd form a group first, but you saw it in the movie: One thing and everyone freaks out. If I'd be one of the two only ones left. Huh, difficult. But if I'd love the person I'd maybe provocate him or she to kill me pretending that I am about to kill him. Maybe I'd also kill myself. If we're not friends, it'd probably end like that: The faster one wins.
Jaz, what would you do? You didn't tell us, yet :)

It's basically generation conflict cubed and may be more understandable in Japan, where social etiquette, codes and obligations are still much more actual (we would have to ask Orchid for details).

Well, if you ask me, I have to answer, right ;)
Hmm, I'm in no position to judge that but from what I've read for my studies I think the youth sometimes really is a problem. The respect towards adults seems to be less than e.g. in Europe. Social problems in general seem to be worse over there.
Take the high amount of old people and the miserable isurance system or take karôshi (death through overwork), an expression we don't know.
But that's a topic of itw own. There are many more examples but I don't want to bore everyone. Anyways, it can't be a coincidence that the idea of BR came up in the mind of a japanese man.

"Sie wollen nichts anderes. Sie wollen kämpfen! Sie sind Soldaten! Fucking Wahnsinnige!" - Noel G.

This post was edited by Orchid on Jul 13, 2003.

Jaz, what would you do? You didn't tell us, yet :)

I'm afraid I could not tell. People change under extreme stress. With extreme stress I don't mean working overtime, I mean situations when ages old instincts kick in. I once had an experience that wasn't close to a Battle Royale, but enough to discover a part of me that I hadn't known of before.

That's probably why I'm so uncertain about how I would deal with the situation. Ask me now and I'd say I would probably run and try to find out a way to cheat the game. But what would happen in the real world? Maybe we would all go bonkers.

The respect towards adults seems to be less than e.g. in Europe.

For some reason I wouldn't have thought that. I always believed Japanese parents had a pretty tight grip on their children.

Looks like I ought to seriously reevaluate my knowledge of Japan in general.

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Wow... It's a question that noone can decide while sitting in a soft chair in front of a pc, slurping some coce (tm) and eating potatoe chips...
It's a matter of old, animalish instincts that will reduce you to a deadly and selfish animal, right? That's what we are?
I can't give the answer but i don't hope we are like this... Why do we have friendship then? Because it's helpfully in daily life?... Is this just the reason?
As well as jaz i think, i learned one something of my animalish ego, but i can't think of a single situation in which i would kill one of my (best) friends... And what's life after u survived it, knowing the further existence of you is build on blood of good friends... I'm in doubts what may be better...

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.

Could you kill your best friend? Your secret crush? Your lover?

20 bucks says I'd be the Nobu character.

Owned before anything even starts.

Thbbbbt

While I'm sure the hours and hours of Wolfenstien, Doom, Quake, Battlefield 1942, Rogue Spear, etc would give me a definite advantage over my plump, dull witted 9th grade peers, my idealistic morals tell me I should do otherwise. Set the example: go somewhere where you know you’ll be seen, throw your gun down and put your hands up. See which of your friends are able to shoot you when you’re defenseless. No doubt you’ll likely take a bullet in the back of the head. But who knows, maybe the others will follow your example.

If you don’t die and the others follow your example, you’re now a group of armed, angry, angst ridden teens seeking blood-soaked revenge on those who attempted to punish you. But damn, you’ve got explosive collars on, don’t you? What then? Mass suicide? Maybe your captors would be touched by your show of morals, much like your peers were and realize the folly of their ways.

My morals tell me this is the only option.

Realistically though, this would never work. There would be one retarded asshole who takes one shot after people started dropping their guns. One shot would be all it took for everyone to grab their guns again and plow each other down. This is why it’s so hard to be an idealist.

Your only option might be to at least die with dignity and kill yourself.

I don’t think there’s any dignity in that.

It's a matter of old, animalish instincts that will reduce you to a deadly and selfish animal, right? That's what we are?

If you can, sneak up behind someone, put a gun to their head and tell them to drop their weapon. When they do, turn them around and hand them yours. Look them in the eye and tell them they can kill you if they want. Do you know anyone that would be able to? Even in that situation? You have to remind them what separates us from the animals. You have to remind them somehow what makes us human.

The problem is, how do you do that quickly enough not to get shot?

Yes, and even if you turn everyone around, there's still the problem of your captors killing you all anyways, but that's basically the same issue.

I think if you put yourself at the mercy of your class and still got shot that would be dying with dignity. Likewise, if the entire class put itself at the mercy of it's captors, the entire class may die with dignity. Or who knows, maybe all along it was a test. Maybe the captors are trying to get you to realise that killing each other isn't the right way.

It's a question that noone can decide while sitting in a soft chair in front of a pc, slurping some coce (tm) and eating potatoe chips...

You make a good point. I may very well be talking out of my ass.

One more fact about the game: Neveryone gets a gun. What you get is a random "weapon", which can be pretty much anything (Uzi, hub cap, axe, GSM device, binoculars). I suppose this is done to deliberately create imbalance in the game.

Set the example: go somewhere where you know you’ll be seen, throw your gun down and put your hands up.

In BR two students attempt that on the first day. They received a megaphone as a weapon, went up a high hill and asked everyone to drop their weapons and think this through together.

One shot would be all it took for everyone to grab their guns again and plow each other down.

Exactly. Again there is an incident like this in the movie, where a terrible misunderstanding made a whole group of teenagers who had banded together butcher each other.

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Neveryone gets a gun. What you get is a random "weapon", which can be pretty much anything (Uzi, hub cap, axe, GSM device, binoculars).

Shit, if they give you a GSM device, all you would have to do is start making some phone calls. Perhaps the kids could have gotten some help that way.

This movie sounds like a gruesome reverse-ageist fantasy if you ask me. There's a clear Golding (Lord of the Flies) influence in the plot line, but without any apparent useful commentary or intriguing allegory, judging solely on the descriptions here, to my Western ears. It seems like shocking and gratuitous violence, and as the old adage goes, "crap in, crap out." In other words, I have no desire to fill my mind with such images, of children participating in the very adult game of mass murder.

Last, I have to fit in a political angle: The Battle Royale follows the same model as Capitalism, of pitting one person against the rest, of being a trap, of being driven by fear instead of love, of destroying cooperation in favor of competition, of having some people at an unfair advantage over others (gun versus megaphone) and of having few winners and many losers. If all the kids were on the same page, even if one of them misbehaved and started killing, they could have gotten rid of him or her as a group, rather than flying into a panicked killing frenzy of self destruction.

Ewige Blumenkraft!

Shit, if they give you a GSM device, all you would have to do is start making some phone calls.

GSM, Battle Royal, I'm really getting to show off my mad typing skills in this thread.

I meant a GPS device that reveals to you the location of all other students on the island. Which might beat making a phone call.

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion

Actually, that's the best weapon you could have if you were a pacifist or a killer. I would just try and avoid everyone until the damn thing was over. If they did come for you, you'd be prepared.

Ewige Blumenkraft!

Has anyone seen the movie The Living Dead, i think id take a lawnmower and turn it sideways, Or a forklift being drivin by Klaus.

i dont have a dream "I HAVE A SCHEME"

Well as for me, my class has no girls, were the only boy-class in the school, so no secret crush there and no love either.

Well because everyone has different devices it's best to kill a lot and gather equipment, but on the other hand waiting till they kill each other and avoiding the others till there's only one left and than kill him might be an other possibility, so I don't know which i would choose.

Well, there are very few in my class wich i would have to think about killing them in an extreme situation like that.

And because most of em would either be afraid or think about ethics, it raises your chances if you work totally cruel.

Hmm when you win the battle, do you only get free and may live on as before or is there a reward...and wouldn't there be a lawyer who brings you to a judge for killing ppl?

I'm thinkin about organising a Netalive battle royale, anyone interested? :D

cya Magic

"The wise have always said the same things, and fools have always done the opposite"-Schopenhauer