It is often the everyday issues that matter to us most when engaging with a visual or oral text.
Mark Romanek’s cinematic rendition of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a tragic tale of three clones Kathy, Tommy and Ruth as they struggle to find meaning in their lives and overcome their own personal struggles. Although the film is science fiction, Romanek separates it from the typical connotations associated with the genre by not focussing on the errors of Never Let Me Go’s society, but rather concentrating on the lives affected by the way society operates in that world and the very relatable everyday issues the clones face. The common issues that the characters are faced with that engage the audience are the love triangle between Kathy, …show more content…
The clones, having grown up in the near idyllic Hailsham, are aware generally of where they came from and begin questioning how this affects who they are in terms of their personalities. Ruth remarks, “We all know it. We’re modelled from trash. Junkies, prostitutes, winos, tramps, that’s what we come from. We all know it, so why don’t we say it?” The clones become fixated on finding their “originals”, the people of society from whom the necessary DNA to clone was obtained. The clones are certain that by finding their originals, they will gain insight into their personal lives. The clones believe that knowledge of who their originals are will tell them who they are. Much like how people in our society who are adopted yearn to know where they came from, the clones question how different their lives would have been had they been raised in Never Let Me Go’s proper society. At the same time, knowing the lot of people they were modelled off, the clones question their worth. If they come from the lowest of society, do they reflect this? Does coming from “trash” make you trash? In our society, people often have such personality crises, in relation to their social standing or background. The struggle of self identity and purpose displayed in the clones is another way Romank uses common human struggles to engage with the
Mark Romanek’s cinematic rendition of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a tragic tale of three clones Kathy, Tommy and Ruth as they struggle to find meaning in their lives and overcome their own personal struggles. Although the film is science fiction, Romanek separates it from the typical connotations associated with the genre by not focussing on the errors of Never Let Me Go’s society, but rather concentrating on the lives affected by the way society operates in that world and the very relatable everyday issues the clones face. The common issues that the characters are faced with that engage the audience are the love triangle between Kathy, …show more content…
The clones, having grown up in the near idyllic Hailsham, are aware generally of where they came from and begin questioning how this affects who they are in terms of their personalities. Ruth remarks, “We all know it. We’re modelled from trash. Junkies, prostitutes, winos, tramps, that’s what we come from. We all know it, so why don’t we say it?” The clones become fixated on finding their “originals”, the people of society from whom the necessary DNA to clone was obtained. The clones are certain that by finding their originals, they will gain insight into their personal lives. The clones believe that knowledge of who their originals are will tell them who they are. Much like how people in our society who are adopted yearn to know where they came from, the clones question how different their lives would have been had they been raised in Never Let Me Go’s proper society. At the same time, knowing the lot of people they were modelled off, the clones question their worth. If they come from the lowest of society, do they reflect this? Does coming from “trash” make you trash? In our society, people often have such personality crises, in relation to their social standing or background. The struggle of self identity and purpose displayed in the clones is another way Romank uses common human struggles to engage with the