Alternative Culture: Battle Royale Review

A band of school girls discuss how to survive the slaughter

One of the greatest things about being adult is that I can watch all the films that were previously restricted to me when I was a child. I wanted to watch many films as a youth such as Saving Private Ryan, The Passion of Christ and Battle Royale.

Thus when given a chance to watch the 2000 film Battle Royale recently, I jumped at it.

Premise
In alternate future of fascist Japan, delinquency rates skyrocketed. In response the government picked a class of high school students each year to dump them on an island. The students have to kill each other, and the last remaining student will be allowed to return to society. If they fail to do that within three days, their collars would detonate and kill them all. Yes, the Hunger Games took inspiration from this film.

The reaction of the students differ. How do you respond to such a horrible situation?

Response 1: Play the game

Mitsuko, one of the female students decided to play the game. Using her assets like her good looks and acquired weapons, she sees no wrong in attempting to win the game by killing as many as possible. After all if she refuses to win, there was nothing to stop others from killing her.

Response 2: Avoid reality

Another female student, Megumi refuses to engage the game and seeks refuge into her own little world. In doing no harm, she hopes in vain. She forgets that there are people out there who are willing to kill her to ensure their well-being.

Response 3: Find another way

Some of the students like Yukie is determined to find a way to defeat their captors non-violently. They attempt find a flaw within the captivity system and save as many as they can.

How do we respond to the world?

I am not sure what the intent of creator of Battle Royale was. Yet I find similarities between my observations of real people and the students in the film.

There are many who resort to response 1 in which they seek to gain as much from the world in terms of power, wealth or any other gain. These are the high achievers we admire in our mundane lives.

Yet there are others who seek response 2 because they reject real truth for the fantasy of comfort. These are the hedonist aka the pleasure seekers.

But both response 1 and 2 cannot save us.

Yet Jesus offers us a way out of the struggle of everyday life.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

-- Romans 3:22-24

So why not choose response 3 and explore Christianity?