Children of Men Movie Essay

The Topics

1. As noted above, Children of Men is set in England after some undetermined major catastrophe. We know that women can no longer bear children and that there are sever disruptions of all kinds. How do the people we see in the film deal with this? You might think about specific characters but also about why so much hostility is directed at the "Fugees" -- the refugees or immigrants from places that are presumably in much worse condition. 

2. Is Theo Faron (the main character played by Clive Owen) a kind of hero? Why or why not? Note that our modern notions of the hero have been largely defined by Joseph Campbell in A Hero With a Thousand Faces. You might Google "Joseph Campbell" + "hero" to learn something about that.

3. Children of Men has a very strong visual component. Choose three or four scenes and explain how they convey meaning in the film. You might think about the crowded refugee city, the deserted school, the burial scene.