Gang rule

Posted on June 17, 2007
Filed Under All, Photos, Politics |

Children of Men

Linda and I watched the near-future thriller Children of Men last night, the DVD being a birthday gift from John and Julie. The premise is that it’s the year 2027, no human has been born for 18 years, and the world, including the UK, is a very chaotic place. Our protagonist is contacted by a shadowy group, and given the mission to smuggle a young, pregnant woman out of the country.

There are many twists, turns and betrayals as the gripping, gritty plot unwinds. Linda commented this morning that the shadowy group is really just a gang, and their mission seems to change every time some new hothead with a gun shows up.

I thought that a good observation: much of the film’s action is indistinguishable from recent news footage in Gaza, which got me thinking and making the comparison. The New York Times has reported that a lot of the Hamas vs. Fatah fighting has been conducted by armed groups of young men, and these groups seem only loosely under the control of Hamas’ or Fatah’ s political leadership.

So, one of the most volatile situations in the world is basically being run by gang rule -  20-something with guns who are doing awful things to their rivals in the street -  judging from reports. Children of Men is just a few steps farther down the road from what’s happening in the Middle East… scary to contemplate…

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