In The Purge, America is depicted as a dystopia that is sustained by an annual holiday known as the “Purge”.The government officials allow all crimes to be legal for a total of 12 hours. Poor people are targets, because they don’t have the means to defend themselves.The demonstration of human nature without laws can be related to Thomas Hobbes’ theory of the state of nature.
The Purge aligns with Thomas Hobbes’ theory of the state of nature. Hobbes believed that before there was any form of government the world was chaotic. It was like survival to the fittest. This was a time where all men were equal and had their own natural right to do anything to maintain their own life. The state of nature was just a prediction by Hobbes, but he theorized that in this world humans are fearful and selfish. This idea correlated with The Purge when there were people locking up their homes and fearful of violence or even murder. The group purging was selfish by preying on innocent people such as the poor or homeless. There is a difference between Hobbes’ state of nature and the film’s definition. Hobbes’ definition is used to demonstrate survival and power to have security. On the other hand , The Purge is based on self stature.
I find it very shocking how people were allowed to do anything they wanted without any legal actions being taken. The Purge is used as a cleanser in this film to get rid of the people that are not beneficial to society. The rich individuals in The Purge feel that they have a sense of entitlement and view the poor as less than them. Human rights shouldn’t be taken from anyone. Having human rights is based on the idea that every individual has morals and rationality and should treat everyone with dignity and respect. So that brings me to my next question. How is it right to take the life of an individual that is doing no harm to other persons? This makes the film a dystopia ,because they are taking people’s innocence from them and robbing them of their life .It is a right to live. This is an ongoing issue in today’s society. We don’t have purges, but we have riots, shootings, and other causes of sudden death. This film is a representation of modern day society, because it shows how human rights are often ignored.
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