Blindness

October 3rd, 2008 | by Scott |

If you haven’t read José Saramago’s 1998 novel then you really should pick it up. It is a harrowing account of an inexplicable plague of blindness that hits a large city. The result is an uncomfortable look at the easy descent into depravity that comes through helplessness and desperation.

The movie version releases today (except not in Ponca City. I’m not bitter.) Although the reviews are largely middling it still seems intriguing to me. The first 5 minutes have been released and they look largely faithful to the novel.

  1. 4 Responses to “Blindness”

  2. By Greg Brooks on Oct 4, 2008 | Reply

    OK, what’s the deal with that story? The National Federation of the Blind is <a href=”http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20081001172835397″planning huge protests because they say this movie portrays blind people as savage and violent. Are they mistaken? I mean, I imagine if I was suddenly blind, I would be terrified and close to helpless. If everybody was blind too, we’d all be terrified and close to helpless. It doesn’t seem like a stereotype to me.

    So does the novel/movie portray some stereotype of blind people, or does it portray a fantasy of what would happen if nearly all sighted people were suddenly blind?

    I think the NFB feels it’s the same as if a movie were made in which all white people were suddenly black, and they all totally lost their minds and went savage.

    It’s an interesting controversy to me.

  3. By Greg Brooks on Oct 4, 2008 | Reply

    sorry my mad html skillz failed me there

  4. By Scott on Oct 4, 2008 | Reply

    It’s the latter. Blind people are not portrayed as savages in the book. It is a disturbing look at the base nature of the human condition. In a community where everyone is stricken blind the propensity to act in a reckless and desperate measure is the subject.
    It’s a manufactured controversy.

  5. By Winston on Oct 4, 2008 | Reply

    A sex-trade worker sacrifices her seemingly less than existent worth for the welfare of others.

    Perhaps, after her tireless efforts of selflessness in a circumstance of unrelenting selfishness, Moore unconsciously blinded herself.

    The trailer and the opening scene suggest the film is far more Orwellian than it actually is.

    More at: http://winstoninwonderlandart.blogspot.com/2008/10/blindness-2008-julianne-moore-mark.html

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