America's Future?

"Just remember all the good The Purge does." — Mary, "The Purge"

Last Summer, amid the blockbusters, was a smaller movie about the future. It wasn't a terrible or dystopian future, exactly, but it wasn't a future we should get excited about, either. I didn't see "The Purge" when it was released in May 2013, but I read about it and I was curious. Thanks to HBO, I finally watched it and, even after a few days of thinking about it, I find it fascinating and frightening.

One of the things I enjoyed about "The Hunger Games" is that it felt like a cautionary tale. It was set in a future that we may, or may not, see. But it was grounded in some of the alarming trends that are happening right now.

One could argue that "The Purge" is an even more realistic vision of a future that could be grounded in some of the issues our country is grappling with now. It's set in the future, of course. America is enjoying economic prosperity and a low crime rate. Much of that is due to The Purge, an initiative created by the "new Founding Fathers" that gives people an outlet.

One night a year, for 12 hours, all crime is legal, even murder. People can do what they want, and they suffer no consequences. They can purge all their darkest desires and then go about their lives.

Of course not everyone is subject to this future. The highest ranking leaders are immune from targeting. And there is also an unfair bias against those of lesser means. The wealthy build gated communities and  have lavish security systems, while the poor are victimized with no recourse.

In fact, in the future the film outlines, the wealthy buy their toys to hunt the poor, particularly the homeless. The poor — who are considered less a part of society — are killed off in large numbers, ostensibly making the economy stronger.

A couple things struck me about this idea — which will be revisited with a sequel, no doubt exploring other facets of this concept, in July. First, this is about class warfare. In America it's easy to see the Middle Class is disappearing. The gulf between wealth and poverty, or just living paycheck to paycheck, is increasing. It only seems to be getting worse, and many of the wealthy don't seem to care about this.

It's a leap — but not a giant leap — to foresee a future in which the wealthy create societal norms and laws the benefit them while eliminating the lower levels. In fact, one might argue that seems likely and seems like it might already be happening. Look at recent disasters like Hurricane Katrina. One argument — an argument explored in depth in the show "Treme" — is that the government and the wealthy used that disaster to gentrify the city. That those that suffered most were those that had the least. Is it really so hard to imagine that worsening in the future?

Second, I think this speaks to some of the depravity in our culture. I think most people are decent because they fear the consequences. The Bible backs up the idea that, at the core of human nature, we're not noble and decent. But we fear the consequences of evil deeds, so we toe the line.

But what if there were no consequences? What if you could do anything you wanted for 12 hours with no reprisals? Would you kill someone?

We'd all like to answer no, and for some of us that's probably true. But we have a society that's built its popular entertainment on brutality and violence. Consider video games. Consider the "torture porn" genre in film. Even consider the best show on television, "Game of Thrones," which features some of the most graphic depictions of violence ever seen on TV. Is it really so hard to imagine people acting out their darkest fantasies if the law of common decency and society was suspended? Is it really so hard to imagine that the government, in order to create a more admirable society for 364 days and 12 hours, would permit 12 hours of savagery a year?

I would like to say it is hard to imagine. But I look at the world, and I can't help but wonder if "The Purge" is more of a reflection of where we're headed than we'd like to admit.