Harrison Bergeron Movie Analysis

Books and movies have been around for many years and lately movie directors have been making more and more movies based off of books. Most of the time, directors keep the plot relatively the same to ensure the movie stays true to the book, but sometimes they decide to change the message entirely by changing just a few key events. An example of this is the short story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut and the film 2081 directed by Chandler Tuttle. Although the short film if based off of the short story, there are significant changes to the tone, plot, and characterization that creates a more sympathetic mood then what is set in the story. The first significant change in the film is the action and dialogue of the main character,

Like most people in the story, George and Hazel Bergeron are victims of this governments cruelty and throughout the story you can sense this choppy, monotone feel when Hazel, his wife, talks about his handicaps and tries to help him, but he tried to shut her down by saying that “. . . [he doesn’t] mind [them]. . .” then continues to say how he “. . . [doesn’t] notice [them] anymore. It’s just a part of [him].” Hazel even goes as far as trying to get him to “. . . take out a few of [the] lead balls.” out of the bag he carries around his neck but the government has threatened to give anyone who removes any part of their handicapes “Two years in prison. . .” and fines. Since the handicaps are meant to make everyone equal by inhibiting people 's ability to think properly, to make prettier people seem ugly, and make stronger peoplemore weak. It makes sense why George hates talking about them and quickly shut down Hazel’s proposal. All of this is written in a way that makes the story feel robotic and boring verses Tuttle’s movie. Throughout the movie, the conversations between George and his wife is a bit more intense. When Hazel tries to ask him about “lighten[ing]” the weight, he roughly shuts her down before she finished her sentence by saying that there “There isn’t [a way].” He even went on to explain why “tak[ing] them off” will lead to him “want[ing] to keep them off. And we both know how we would feel about that.” Hazel said that she would “hate it”. He shut her down so quickly, she just agreed with him out of submission. She even tries to lighten the mood by say how it would be “interesting to hear all the different sounds” George hears in his handicap, but again he just shuts her down. Just these few differences in these characters attitudes how the different tones throughout the story versus the movie and how the movie has a much more serious and intense feeling