Ever since Indiana Jones go up into a icebox to escape a atomic attack , we ’ve all used “ zap the fridge ” to describe cinematic implausibilty . But one raw movie gives us a much good replacement : the post - apocalyptic iPod . Spoilers below …
Disclaimer : I have n’t get wind The Book Of Eli yet , but I have read tons of articles about it , including interview with star Denzel Washington and directors The Hughes Brothers . And by all news report , the movie takes place thirty old age after the destruction of civilization — but somehow , the principal character , Eli , is still add up an iPod and using it to listen to Al Green . His iPod still works ! Thirty years after Apple ceased to exist ! No matter how magical or fantastic the book Eli ’s tally around turn out to be , it ca n’t be as marvellous as Eli ’s iPod . In fact , Eli ’s iPod is crucial to the plot , because he winds up going to the malevolent town to reload his iPod battery .
So how exactly does Eli ’s iPod manage to keep working 30 years after the collapse of civilisation ? Do they have Genius Bars dot throughout the post - apocalyptic landscape ? After just a few eld of use , surveys showthat many iPods suffer damage to their roll wheel or drives — and that simple sweat can destroy an iPod . So the lousy samurai carry an iPod across a nuclear - blast wasteland for 30 long time would be almost certain to bring down some major trauma . Add to that the fact that battery lifetime is bound to go down — and if Eli can only charge his iPod once in a few month , he may only get a couple hours ’ listening before it needs to be shoot down again .
Really , Eli ? Really ?
And this is just the tip of an iceberg of iPods . moving picture are always giving us these weird instance of engineering surviving the end of the world , and often it ’s the engineering science least probable to survive . That ’s why we need to start talking about the “ post - apocalyptical iPod ” as a symbol for a whole kind of thing . Consider the following examples :
In Battlefield Earth , it ’s the Year 3000 , and Earth has been demolish by aliens , the Psychlos . And yet somehow , the good guys find 1,000 - year - quondam fighter aircraft jets under ground , and they still fly perfectly .
This is a huge trope in Doctor Who , where ancient computer systems on a regular basis thrill to life after a good buzz from the sonic screwdriver . example in point : the long - dead electronic computer in “ State Of Decay . ”
In Reign Of Fire , they ’re living in a ruin worldly concern , under military blockade by dragons ‘ n ’ shit … but their coffee bean - Jehovah still works dead and makes delicious , racy - tasting coffee . Mmmmmm .
The cigarettes in Waterworld should n’t have been much playfulness for the Smokers — in fact , all of the wood - based mathematical product should have been mulch long before . The salt water would have wreaked havoc with anything alloy over metre as well .
In Wall - E , that telecasting tape of Hello Dolly should have been decayed past watchability long before the year 2805 .
All of the building in Zombieland inexplicably have electricity . I judge those zombies over at the power flora are hard at work !
The imitator in Planet Of The Apes somehow have things like firearm and pens , that the apes would n’t have had the industriousness to be able to create . Unless there ’s a Bic playpen factory staffed by ourangutans , somewhere off screen ?
In The Postman , the prison somehow has a working moving-picture show projector , on which the inmates watch an action movie and a musical .
The post - revelatory iPod is more than just a plot equipment , and often it is n’t even a patch equipment — Wall - E does n’t actually necessitate his Helllo Dolly tape for anything game related , and Eli could have chosen to call that town just to get his canary repaired .
rather , it ’s meant to make an aroused connective with us , the viewer — we can barely compass the idea that almost all the human being are dead , but the idea that there ’s just this one lone iPod still cranking along , dally classic soul music for this guy in the wasteland is way sadder than a thousand corps . It ’s like a little small-arm of our cultivation , still endure — and reminding us of everything we ’ve lost . Never again will we log on to the iTunes store and download Lady Gaga ! Civilization is over !
But also , we adhere emotionally with these gadgets , and the idea that one of them could survive the end of civilization itself is incredibly consoling .
Part of the thrill of the post - apocalyptic movie is seeing who we are with all these toys and gizmo swept away . Take away our underwear , our hot shower , and our fancy figurer , and who are we ? What ’s left of us when all of our high - technical school comforts are pass over out ? The post - apocalyptic motion picture reassures us that there ’s still go to be something noble and awesome bequeath in humanity , even if we ca n’t Twitter any more .
But it ’s too heartless to strip us of every iota of tech — there has to be something left , some shred of gadgetry remain in our lives , or else you ’re left with The Road .
There ’s also the fact that ever since James Bond did that thing with the lookout man and the pen , appliance = personality in Hollywood . If your post - apocalyptical Paladin does n’t have any gadgets , then what character quirks could he possibly have ? It ’s too expensive to give him an actual personality — this is a corner , people ! — so he ’s set about to have one little detail of technology that construct him bear out somehow .
Most of all , though , the post - revelatory iPod hit the almost unimaginable rubble after world wipeout seem relatable and gives it touches of liberty . It ’s anchor in our world , in a way that eat one-time machine and collapse gas stations does n’t quite accomplish . And you just know that some enterprising soul will start a faux Twitter account as Eli — perhaps include what song he ’s currently listening to .
extra reporting by Cyriaque Lamar .
Book Of EliDoctor WhoPlanet of the ApesThe Book Of EliWaterworldZombieland
Daily Newsletter
Get the unspoiled technical school , skill , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
