Literature & Film Final Essay
Introduction
The protagonist Erick Packer believes if he would be dead, then that would not be his end, but the end of the world. This shows how valuable characters in the movies think they are to the world, to a point of their individual losses being loss to the whole world. The situation rather shows of infiltration in the society to the point where self-war in the mind and body can mutually indicate self-war with the society. Characters in the play and novel face individual challenges that haunt their daily lives. However, these challenges do not end at individual levels even though the perpetrators think they are personal issues, they are replicated to their surroundings. This essay, therefore aims at examining reality of the phrase “When he died, he would not end, the world would end” in the novel Cosmopolis and movies Cosmopolis, the Mist and Safe.
Discussion
Don Delillo, the author of Cosmopolis novel makes a literal introduction, quoting “He speaks in your voice, America” referring to Erick Packer as the ‘He’. Don believes whenever Erick Packer, the billionaire speaks, he is not only heard as an individual voice but considered to be the whole America speaking. Packer is a billionaire who enjoys the power of his financial superiority and influence ensuring that he shows it off at every little moment he accesses to the American society (Delillo, 2003). Packer’s power and financial influence are evident in the manner at which people flows or streams in the street hang around his luxurious limo car.
This situation indicates how the private life of Packer is replicated to the whole society replicating everyone to value ordained to him. Erick Packer’s pride explodes to his surrounding to a point where whenever he spoke; it is the whole America that has spoken. This explains even the reason why Packer argues that his death shall not be his own but for the whole world, because he, Packer, as an individual has wholesomely replaced his environment, America and the whole world to his position (Dollie, 2003).
The movie Cosmopolis shows Erick Packer as a self-disturbed man, one who in himself is symmetrical to occurrences in the City. At a point when Packer begins to experience problems, right from disagreement and disunion with his wife, indicates a similar case in the city. Anti-capitalists activist begins to riot opposing the menace caused by specter that they claim is haunting the world’s economy. Speculators such as Packer cause the specter. Therefore, restructuring the world by clearing speculation would be directly ruining Packer’s life. This is shown by the fact that Packer’s life become miserable by the losses he is experiencing in the speculation market (Dollie, 2003).
Packer had prior option of avoiding the speculation losses incurred by looking for the perfect currency market, but he ignored. This situation was pictured in asymmetrical prostate identified from him by a doctor as an indication of imbalance occurrences in his life making him frustrated killing his board guard and attempting to commit suicide. Erick Packer’s financial management was directly affecting the world as shown by the demonstration of the anti-capitalist activities who want to relieve the world from the specter menace. Hence, death of Packer as an asset manager would be a relief to the world from the specter problem. This is contrary to what Packer thinks that his death shall not be his end but the end of the world (Dollie, 2003).
The movie Safe gives chronological occurrences of the city that is covered with dirt of culture and practices of individuals whose activities and greed affects the whole city. Ex-cop Luke Wright plays a central role of cleaning the town by fighting to bring reality and sanity to the city but faces many challenges beginning with the corrupt captain Wolf, Mayor Danny Tremello and other perpetrators of impunity. Luke targets to rescue the safe held by Han and safety of the town. He remains to be the only person who can save the town from the evil plans of the perpetrators of evil through the help of persons as Mei who knows the code numbers to open safe one (Dollie, 2003).
The second safe contains CDs of the recording of the wrong things done by the mayor. Having remained the only person who can rescue the town, Luke’s death would not be his end but the end of the whole town. This is relevant to Don Delillo’s novel, Cosmopolis that out-shows rote in American city caused by billionaire Packer who wants to run the whole world as an individual property. However, in Cosmopolis, Packer rates himself to the world stating his death will not be his end but the end of the world. This is ironical to Packer’s case since his death will be a relief to the whole world because his activities of speculating are ruining every one’s life. On the other, Luke’s death in Safe would be the end of the whole world since he stands at a realistic point to save the Safe community (Dollie, 2003).
According to the movie, The Mist, David Drayton, the protagonist rescues his fellows from the destruction by thunderstorm, mist and bizarre creatures, which attacked people during the mist period. David plans an escape way out from the supermarket driving to the South to a point of reduction of the effects of the mist. The obvious gaze is that if David had died at the time Norm died then everyone in the supermarket would have died since none would have stood for their rescue. This is contrary to the position taken by Erick Packer in Cosmopolis where instead of Erick rescue the city, he is the cause of the city’s mess (Dollie, 2003).
Conclusion
Just like the antagonists forerunning the movies and novel episodes, there exist a contradictory representation of characters in The Mist and the Safe as it is in the novel and movie Cosmopolis. The Mist and Safe represent the real situation where an individual’s end would not be his or her end but the end of the world because of the role they play to relieve their world from the hands of the oppressors and perpetrators of impunity. On the contrary, the novel and movie Cosmopolis gives the ironic situation where Mr. Erick Packer claims his death shall not be his end, but the end of the world. The real situation is that Mr. Packers death shall be revealed to the world. Cosmopolis indeed mocks phrase, “When he died, he would not end. The world would end.” (Dollie, 2003).
Reference
Dolille, D. (2003). Cosmopolis: Novel. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
