Living Out One's Call

Rating: 5/10 (14 August 2013)

Elysium is a true depiction regarding people living in the third world and the Western world. The movie characterizes two types of people. First those who are on Earth, poor and helpless. The second are those who are residing outside of the planet Earth in a self-made paradise, called Elysium. A Roman Catholic nun appears raising up young Max who is orphan and poor. He had a dream to go to Elysium. The role of the nun seems to be similar to the Christian churches throughout the word, which through their ministries in the developing world are engaged in ministering to people like Max. Furthermore, like the sister, these churches are also channels of hope to the hopeless. They are means of grace to the oppressed and suffering humans in making them realize that they are loved and a day will come when justice, peace and stability will rule the creation. The movie reveals the privileges of the people of Elysium who have gained prestige by the sheer hard work of people like Max. Many sociological and economical analysts argue that numerous wealthy countries enjoy exuberant luxuries at the expense of human capital of progressing world. Several Western businesses have their production projects in the developing countries. People of poor countries prepare products for the appetite and luxury of the consumers living in the wealthy countries at very low cost. These corporations, they work for, do not care for their employees as they would have cared for them in their own countries. Most of the times these laborers reflect Max who got affected by being exposed to a lethal level of radiation at his job that led him to die in five days. Although Max had limited time, he with the help of the computer genius, Spider, showed up as a messiah for the people of Earth. He liberated them from the bondage of oppressions and sufferings and made them equal citizens of Elysium. In order to save the people, Max had to fight against the systematic evil of Jessica Delacourt, a high ranking official and a member of the governmental council. She had her undercover agents in the field, whose job was to keep an eye on the uprising movements of people of Earth and if required, subdue and confront them at any cost. Kruger was the nemesis among her evil force. In my opinion, the role of Kruger and his force is pretty similar to the function of intelligence agencies and their agents in the world especially in the developing countries who work for the dominance of their countries by keeping people of the progressing world suppressed. The plot discloses Frey, who by profession is a medical nurse and a childhood friend of Max. Frey has a little daughter Matilda, who is dying of leukemia. She needs a medical treatment that is not available on Earth. As a child, the nun discerned Max's call and told him that one day he will do something great. When Max's time came, Matilda became a reason for him to live out his call, encouraging him to go to Elysium to fight against imperialism. On the other hand, Kruger kills his boss Jessica and takes over the charge of Elysium. Max fights Kruger and overcomes all his power by providing freedom and equal privileges to all people of Earth. Although Max dies while redeeming poor and underprivileged people, it provided them with salvation from their oppression, struggles and sufferings of various kinds. The movie is a reminder about such people who are suffering and are in need of a Max, who had a heart for justice and equal privileges for all humankind. The nun who raised Max taught him that he had a special call on his life that will one day influence and save many. Furthermore, he must not become weary in answering his call and carrying out his vocation, because the view to Elysium looks good from Earth, but the view from Elysium to Earth looks even better. In my view, she wanted Max to have faith in himself so being a resident of Earth he must not have an inferiority complex. The movie is a good reminder about one's call and vocation. Today, the question is how many of us answer our call and live it out. How many care for the equal rights and privileges of the humankind? How many oppose the wrong distribution of power, wealth and opportunities? How many are like Max and Spider and not like Jessica and Kruger!