The Purge (2013 film) was written by James DeMonaco. The movie is about what events occur on the day of “the annual purge”. After an economic collapse, the “New Founding Fathers of America” are voted into office. The “Purge” which is an annual event where everything is legal (including crime) and emergency services such as ambulances and fire trucks are suspended. The “Purge” lowered the crime rate in the United States because it allowed people to wild out one day a year. James Sandin owned a security system company so he was assured that him and his family would be safe during the Purge. They also lived in a wealthy gated community, so they were not as worried as people of lower class. Sandin activated the security system as soon as the Purge began. Charlie, Sandin’s son, noticed a homeless man crying for help through the security system. He turned off the security system temporarily to allow the man in which sparked chaos. Suddenly, the stranger disappeared in the Sandin’s home. Later, a gang appeared at the Sandin’s house. They demanded that the Sandin family gave them the homeless man that Charlie allowed inside, or they would break in and kill everyone. James admits that the security system is not strong enough to withstand invasion. Eventually the gang broke in and attempted to kill everyone in the family. James was the only one injured and the homeless man helped protect the rest of the family. James’s neighbors make an appearance after the gang left and tried to hurt the Sandin family since their wealth was due to the neighbor’s expense since they purchased security systems from James’s company. The neighbors were forced to wait out the purge with the Sandin family peacefully by Mary, James’s wife, and the homeless man. Once the purge ended, it was revealed that the stock market was booming due to the increase in sales of weapons.
Based on my understanding, the U.S. is a dystopian society for the lower class. The upper class can afford expensive surveillance equipment and protection services. Although in the movie, the Sandin family was affected by the purge, that was only because the younger son invited a person of lower class into their home. Violence which is one of Young’s Five Faces of Oppression is a perfect example of the purge. For example, The Polite Leader (leader of the gang) is a psycho individual in the movie who wants to rid of homelessness and the lower class in America by killing them. He wants to hurt and kill people who never did anything to him. Another example is how the proles are thought of in the novel 1984. They had the most freedom compared to the other classes because they were thought of as dumb and incompetent. They were also not allowed to receive an education. Overall, the lower class in 1984 and The Purge were treated differently.
One specific dystopian element within The Purge were the specific laws that must be followed. First, government officials who were ranked 10 or higher remain unharmed. Second, the use of weaponry above “Class 4” is forbidden. Third, police and emergency services are suspended. Lastly, anyone who didn’t follow the above rules were executed. The above laws left the lower class unprotected which is why they’re considered dystopian.
