The Island

This film was such a box office disappointment that Michael Bay had to take twenty minutes out of his commentary to explain. According to him, it's Warner, who had the domestic marketing rights. Apparently, they tried to sell it as an intelligent sci-fi mystery. Have those guys never even heard of H.L Menken, who said you can never lose money underestimating the taste of the American public?

The film did much better internationally, where it was marketed as "a typical Michael Bay action film". He also said that, with DVD sales, he still expects to make a profit. A lot of the expense did show up on the screen: beautiful crane shots, mile long sets, elaborate tank rooms, I'm sure Scarlett took a big cut.

I found the film quite thought provoking. At first I thought it was a spin on 1984, how a future society would operate when Big Brother has even more control. Then we find that the social structure is more complex, and hasn't really changed much from the way it operates now. While organ-carrying poor disappear off the streets in China today, tomorrow we can look forward to the rich having their own personal clones to provide organs, babies, or whatever parts might be needed.

The CEO in charge has no problems with inventory, he made them, he strips them for parts... no moral problems there. The middle becomes a standard thriller and at the end, it falls apart, even by Bay's own admission. I love any film that makes people think about the information they are being given and helps them develop a more questioning attitude. This film brings up issues about cloning, organ donation, immortality, ethics, media, mind control, economic inequality and what that entails.

It also, for me, brought up issues about religion, heaven and hell. You see how the clones are led to accept their dreary, mind-numbing lives by the promise of a bright future once they win the lottery to paradise. They try to make sense out of the random nature of who is rewarded and who is not. Despite the senseless, illogical nature of their world, they don't revolt or even question.

Are these clones really any different from the average person today? I don't think so. Most people have routine lives and are very happy to have them. I see very few people who question the prevailing view of those around them. We may quibble about minutia but few question the basic assumptions presented by the mainstream media or our friends & neighbors. We all live for that week we can go to the island while we work away the other 51 weeks.

Content Is King

In the eighteenth century the huge demand for cotton led to the enslavement of many, who were needed to get that soft stuff from it's prickly pod. We still want clothes, and gadgets and cars, and people will always accumulate this stuff. But the capacity to consume this stuff pales by our ability to consume information and entertainment.

So, the previous predominant COMDEX has been gone for two years, maybe forever. What's the big, big show now? CES, consumer electronics, and what was that really all about? Content and it's delivery. Google wants in. We now have them selling CBS catalog, sports and jumping into the fray looking for user generated content, paying producers 70% of the take. Try getting that from a record label or studio. It's what Indieflix charges, but they put you on CDs they sell through the mail. Movielink allows movie downloads via the web, but not if you have a Mac, and they deal only with the studios and sell only stuff copy protected by Netcos.

Google will allow an optional copy-protection feature and will accept content from all comers. Will they pre-screen everything in order to make sure there's no copyright infringement? Cause, that's quite a job, they'd have to look at every frame to make sure T-shirts, art on the walls, snippets of songs, stock footage, etc. contained in the film is not by someone other than the filmmaker. Magnatune and the other music websites do this and haven't been sued out of existence.

In a few years, the content you'll be able to find, buy & sell on Google will certainly be as good as the average TV show is now, probably much better. Best of all, we will be able to take a more active role in searching for appropriate content instead of channel surfing through a random and limited selection of channels.