My Favourite film of the summer 2014

My favourite film of the summer was 'Divergent'. Having read the book, I was aleady excited to see the transition from page to screen. The film is about a future post war society that is split into 'factions' depending on personality type and whether you are; kind, smart, honest, selfless or brave. If you do not conform to one of these factions you either live a life of poverty or you are named a 'Divergent'. These people are seen as dangerous and are hunted by society.

The soundtrack to this film is mostly made up of songs by Ellie Goulding, who as an artist, tends to write songs with an air of hopefulness to them. This fits perfectly to the film as the characters are constantly relying on hope to get them through. The choice and timing of these songs also adds to the film, making each moment even more intense, heartbreaking or even more thrilling.

As a whole, I see this film as a metaphor for our society where being different is frowned upon and those who don't fit society's view of the perfect person are riddiculed relentlessly.  As someone who does not conform to these standards set by society and has a dress sense different to the normal, I very much relate to these characters and their struggle to belong in their world. The different factions in the story can be seen as the different cliques or groups in highschools; the nerds, the jocks, the emos etc. and each group has their stereotype. In 'Divergent' Tris, the protagonist, comes from 'Abnegation' which is the selfless faction. They always put other people before themselves and are known to not stand up for themselves, earning them the nickname 'stiffs' as they just stand still and take criticism. However, she decides to transfer to 'Dauntless' the faction of the brave. To get into their home base, the new members are told they must jump from the top of a building. Due to the stereotype of Abnegation, everyone expected Tris to jump last or that she would have to be pushed - even when she reached the bottom she was asked if someone had pushed her - but she decided to break that stereotype by being the first to jump, proving that she belonged in Dauntless, that she was no longer Abnegation. This is another reason why I love this film, it shows younger viewers that they do not have to conform to stereotype and fit in, that they can be different yet still find somewhere that they belong.

One scene in particular that stands out for me is when Tris is in her 'fear landscape' where they are shown their greatest fears and try to overcome them. Their society exists in a single city that is enclosed by a guarded wall. Whilst in her fear landscape we see Tris being attacked by birds but behind her we can see the wall. The fact that she is clearly inside the wall when showing her deepest, darkest fears shows that she feels trapped and is afraid that the society will always keep her trapped inside their walls.