Children of Men is a story about hope and redemption.
Throughout the film, the character of Kee symbolizes hope for humanity in a world that has fallen into darkness. No children have been born for many years, but Kee is pregnant and the birth of her child is imminent. The most dramatic illustration of the significance of this child is when the film falls silent; in the midst of a violent battle, Kee gives birth. At the sound her baby's cries, the fighting stops. Everyone stares in awe as Kee and her child make their way through the rubble and past the fighters.
The theme of redemption centers on the character of Theo, who is charged with protecting Kee and safely transporting her to a ship aptly named Tomorrow . Theo sacrifices his life to keep Kee and her child alive. For that reason, Theo is frequently thought of as...
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a Christ figure in the film. It is through his ultimate sacrifice that humanity will survive.
The film has a lot of potential themes for you to work with. Hope and despair are two major themes that are present. The world is full of despair and hopelessness because of the infertility crisis plaguing the planet. Consequently, there is runaway violence across the globe due to the fear brought on by the very real possibility that the human species is at an end. Kee and her pregnancy bring hope into the picture, yet she has to be brought to the Human Project in order to get the care she really needs. This is where Theo comes into the picture with potential themes associated with him. There is a strong theme about redemption around Theo. Kee and her child give him the opportunity to once again do something in the world that might truly make a difference. You could design a thesis statement that allows you to discuss a couple of those things while, at the same time, analyzing a character. For example: Although the world of 2027 is filled with fear, despair, and hopelessness, Theo finds a reason to redeem himself by saving Kee and humanity itself.
The book is by author P.D. James.
Set in England during 2021, it is about a world in which women cannot conceive, and babies have not been born since 1995. Xan Lippatt, Warden of England, is the dictator of a country afflicted by a pervasive negativism and malaise, with people finding solace with dolls and kittens, which they treat like their own newborn and even baptize, one of the few remaining religious rites.
The second half of the novel is a compelling narrative of the rebels in flight, motivated primarily by the discovery that Julian, one of their two women members, is pregnant. The child’s father is not her husband Rolf, but Luke, another renegade and a former Anglican priest.
Notwithstanding their foolhardiness, pettiness, selfishness, and disunity, the rebels represent the indomitability and indestructibility of the human spirit against all odds. While P. D. James indicates through Theo that the decadence of the 1990’s led to the universal infertility, she also suggests that if faith and love prevail, deliverance may come. The Christian symbolism in THE CHILDREN OF MEN is unmistakable.