Comparison and contrast essay. Pozniakova Maria

For many years philosophers and writers were wondering what like our future will be. They asked themselves, will it be worse or better than present, will the feelings and human relations still be the same. Nowadays utopia and even more likely, distopia is one of the most popular themes used in cinema art. A large number of such films appeared in 20th century, beginning with Metropolis (1927) and finishing with Hunger Games (2012). I assume that the best movies about the ways of resistance  are Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and Equilibrium (2002).

The action in both of these films takes place in abstract totalitarian states where all possible material which could stimulate emotions, is prohibited. All people are warned that everything that ruins their happiness and brings them to some bad emotional condition, is not only dangerous for them, it is the straight threat to the state. Both societies have special groups of officials who destroy every possible thing that can cause emotions. The aim of those special groups is to serve conformity and punish the resistants. At the very beginning the main protagonists in both movies belong to such groups and serve their state faithfully until tragic incidents turn their world upside down. Inspite of sharing those similar features, those films differ in several ways. 

Montag, the main protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, is an ordinary member of the society. He serves as one of the Firemen, people who burn books to keep the society calm and emotionally stable. When he rebells, it is first of all  a personal revolt against the system. After an accident, he simply escapes from the city and the way of life he hated, to the woods, where he joins the commune of people like himself. Speaking of this commune, the best words to describe it will be 'peaceful' and 'quiet'. Resistants live unnoticeable lives of 'living books' and wait for someone to come and change the society for them.

On the other hand, John Preston, the main hero of Equilibrium, is a high ranking official in a special police organization of Lybria. He belongs to Grammaton Clerics who destroy things that stimulate emotions and execute people who keep those things. A line of specific events causes his revolt which is personal only at the beginning. He does not escape from the city, moreover, he creates a plan how to rapidly change the society he lives in. Another author of this plan is the Resistance leader Jurgen. The rebels we see in this film are highly organized and are decidedly prepared to change the world. And they do so.

So, watching both of the movies, Fahrenheit 451 and Equilibrium, might appear to be equally interesting and didactic. To summarize, those two films are similar in plot features, yet the fate of the main heroes and the result of the resistance movement differ. Those of the spectators who like calm old movies without any large-scale battles and special effects might prefer Fahrenheit 451, and those who are more accustomed to the contemporary cinema and all its benefits - Equilibrium.