actor connection between Black Mirror and NLMG

hi everyone! some of you may have heard me talking about this in class the other day, but I still think it's really cool (and a little freaky) so I'm posting it here too. the actor who plays Ash in Black Mirror is the same actor that plays Rodney in the Never Let Me Go movie. coincidence? not a coincidence? you decide!

The actor's name is Domhnall Gleeson. Some of you may recognize him from the Harry Potter movies (he plays Bill Weasley).

Here's the link to the Never Let Me Go movie trailer, in case you don't believe me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXiRZhDEo8A

The Matched Trilogy

Below is a link to a book review of my favorite book collections.  "Matched", by Ally Condie is a trilogy about a dystopian society, where officials decide the entire life a person will live.  Officials of the Society determine their occupation, their spouse, their diets, and when they will die.  The main character, Cassia, believes completely in the society until her grandfather "dies".  She then begins to realize flaws in the system of the Society once her match is chosen for her.  In connection to "Never Let Me Go", Cassia has her entire life mapped out for her, similar to the clones, yet she decides to find more flaws in the system and continues to go against it in her own small ways.  The Society is all Cassie ever knew, just as the donation system was all Kathy ever knew about.  Kathy never thought of going against donations or running away, but once she saw Tommy and her had the possibility for a life together she decided she would attempt to get a deferral.  In both situations, the loss of a loved one triggered an attempt at rejecting what they were meant to do, or in the cases of the donors, what they were made to do.  In many scenarios throughout life we see people doing anything for the ones they love, even if it means going against all they know. 

https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/5691/Matched

Black Mirror

Black Mirror makes a statement about humanity similar to Never Let me Go.  They each address what makes us human but they use different mediums.  Never Let me Go uses a dystopian society filled with clones that aren't quite human.  However, the clones have memories and experiences that give them humanity.  With Never Let me Go, it depicts a Utopian society with perfect technology.  When a robot born form this perfect era tries to emulate a human, it can't.  It lacks the memories to identify as a human.  Each shows the importance of memory to humanity by showing two different sides of the story.

What is Black Mirror saying about technology?

Of course Black Mirror sees technology as flawed and imperfect (what with the cyborg Ash not representing real Ash, them being addictive, etc.) but many times it shows it's beauty and advancement, like the drawing board that Martha uses. I think that in this sense, Black Mirror acknowledges the beauty of advanced technology, but also shows it's downfall in the sense that it cannot truly replace the elegant yet imperfect design of a human being.

The Science of Nostalgia

As I was thinking about my thesis for my essay on Never Let Me Go, I began to question what the science behind nostalgia was. Why do some people have more or less nostalgia, and why do we feel nostalgia for certain moments rather than others? According to Alan R. Hirsh, author of "Nostalgia: a Neuropsychiatric Understanding," nostalgia is not an emotional state, it is "a longing for a sanitized impression of the past." From this article, I learned that nostalgia comes from a sort of filtered memory, where we choose to rid our brains of certain negative parts of a moment and remember it as being entirely positive, or sometimes perfect. One other interesting fact from the article is that nostalgia has not always been viewed as a good thing. In the 17th century, a Swiss physician named Johannes Hofer used the term nostalgia to describe yearning for the past; he considered it to be a cerebral disease. I would suggest reading the article if this at all interests you! It is a very interesting read.

Telling Stories/Narration

This entire book of Never Let Me Go is just Kathy remembering what has happened in her life, separated into three parts: she tells the reader first about her time at Hailsham, then at the Cottages, and then what has happened during her time as a carer. This is similar to many other books, the one that I'm thinking of being one of my favorites, Looking For Alaska by John Green. The format of that book is unique because there are not chapters exactly, just sections with labels like "thirty days before" or "five days after" (which are centered around the pivotal event in the book.) There is a difference though, in how they approach this story telling. In LFA the narrator, Pudge, mostly sticks to telling the reader about what happened at that time, like normal chronological stories, however occasionally he will mention a regret that he now has about something that happened. In NLMG Kathy often jumps around in time or references something that she hasn't fully told the reader about yet. I usually prefer to read something chronologically, like LFA, because when something happens it makes more sense because I have already read about all the past events that have led up to and affected it. However, it can also be interesting to read a book written like NLMG, because at first I'm confused until the narrator explains something that they mention, but if I reread the book then I understand the references and make more connections about what caused certain events.
P.S. Looking For Alaska is a good book and I would highly recommend it

Below is the link to the trailer of divergent. In this movie their are many connections to Never Let Me Go. In Divergent all of the characters are separated into different factions just like the different schools, such as Hailsham. Each faction has designated jobs and roles in society just like the jobs of the clones like being a carer. Also in divergent they have no control over their life, and in Never Let Me Go the clones have no control of their life. I think this a major connection between the two of these stories becuase both of the main characters try to do, or do the unexpected. Kathy tries to get a deferal, and Beatrice Prior, the main character of Divergent joins a new faction different than the one her family is in. This means that Batrice is no longer aloud to see her family on a daily basis, and has to rely on the people around her for help and support because she is different than them. This is much like Tommy in Never Let Me Go because at the beginning it is clear that Tommy is a little different than the rest of the clones because he lacks creativity. Tommy also does not have family with him, and needs to look for support from the people around him like his guardians and friends. Also the main character in Divergent is very curious just like Kathy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sM

Ishiguro vs Salinger

I was thinking about Never Let Me Go and how it related to Nine Stories and The Catcher in the Rye and I realized many significant similarities and differences between Kazuo Ishiguro and J.D. Salinger. First, I looked at what each emphasized in their writing. It is clear that Ishiguro focuses most on character development, as Ruth, Kathy, and Tommy have unique backstories that help readers relate to them. Salinger focuses more on the plot and little bits and pieces that come together to make the overall story more significant. An example of this is in Nine Stories when the Glass family is mentioned throughout the stories it is a significant connection when you understand it in the end. One way Ishiguro and Salinger are similar is that they both remain ominous about parts of the storyline and allow the reader to look back and infer what has happened and what will happen. In Never Let Me Go, you are not sure at the beginning what kind of world these children live in but as you start to pick up information the predictions of ideas such as why the art is being taken and why they can't reproduce come up again and again. This idea is also evident in Nine Stories as you don't know why Seymour killed himself or why he is so paranoid about his feet. These little ideas eat at your mind as you rationalize the answers to your questions. Both Ishiguro and Salinger excel at the idea of keeping the readers immersed in the book by being quite ominous about the story. Therefore, Ishiguro and Salinger have both similarities and differences in their writing styles.

Savior Siblings

Is it ethical for one life to be created for the purpose of saving another?  Here is a link to an article about the morality behind the concept of savior siblings.  Using PGD, an embryo is genetically designed to be compatible to the sibling in need of a donation, creating a baby that can be used for blood transfusions, organ donation, or cell transplantation. This embryonic modification is usually a much faster and reliable process to find a predestined match for the recipient as opposed to waiting for donations from another suitable candidate.  This organ or cell transplant is mostly used for a child afflicted with a fatal disease, most commonly Fanconi anemia or cancer.  The use of savior siblings is a highly controversial one, especially for means of morality concerning the savior child, as dealt with for the donors of Never Let Me Go.  Much of this controversy stems from the lack of legal protection that the savior sibling has, thus not limiting the extent to which these babies can be used in attempt to save the other child. While this extent may mean donation of minor organs for savior babies, it is the donor's life in the context of the novel. Another concern is the psychological health of the child subject to donation, since it can be mentally damaging to be aware that one's own existence is to preserve another.  Because savior babies are minors, their legal guardians must give consent, whose judgement can be interfered by emotions.  It also complicates the right to bodily autonomy, which states that a person has a say over how their body is used.  Even a dead body still has this right, therefore, their organs can't be removed without legal consent from the human before their death.  This offers the question: does a dead body have more legal rights than a living baby (as in the case of a savior children)?  This can also be applied to Never Let Me Go regarding the rights of donors.  They, in similar, are genetic creations who were made in order to provide the need of an organ donation of an arguably prioritized human.  While this fate is much more normalized in the eyes of the clones, it doesn't take away the sensitivity around being wanted for much more than physical contributions in life.  The end of the article touches upon how these babies are viewed, whether this be as real people or harvestable parts.  The same can be asked about donors in setting of the novel, in which Ishiguro allows readers to question humanity of these organizations, and if life has any less meaning to the characters because of their predetermined circumstances. Is who we are influenced by our perception of our individual purpose in life? To contend with the larger perspective of the psychology behind savior siblings, are we as humans a product of how we live, or why we believe we are living?

Fate and Free Will in Harry Potter

As I was thinking about Harry Potter, as I often do, I was struck with the thought that both Harry and Kathy’s lives are predetermined by the choices of others. In Kathy, Tommy, Ruth, and the other clones’ cases, they have been literally created, made for a singular purpose, without any voice. Their path in life has already been set before them. Harry is scarred by Voldemort (both in a material and figurative sense) in much the same way, losing his parents and relative autonomy in the process. I think that free will is always relative, which is why I qualify it. I suppose it depends on your concept of life. If you have to live a life without even some illusion of free will, without some hope, however false, is that life worth living at all? In the Half-Blood Prince, Harry, upon discovering the inevitability of either his death or Voldemort’s, he remarks that there is a “difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew - and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents - that there was all the difference in the world.” I think that choice is what defines a life. A life in which one enters no mortal battles with evil wizards or is not created for the sole purpose of organ donation, but in which nothing is accomplished, is worth less, I would say, than the opposite. We can’t influence destiny; Harry can’t halt the prophecy that drives him and Voldemort into conflict; Kathy and the other clones cannot avoid the loss of their organs. However, the decision of how we face the inexorable march of fate, that is what makes us human.

The Thinning Trailer

This trailer is to a movie called the Thinning on Youtube Red. The movie is about this society where kids have to take a standardized test to control the population. If the kids fail they are taken away and eliminated. The kids all then break the system because they realize that these tests are hiding a larger conspiracy. I find that this relates to Never Let Me Go because the kids in the Thinning are getting eliminated because of population size and in Never Let Me Go people are being cloned so they can be donors and eventually be "eliminated". I find that these tests also correlate with how long the students at Hailsham are being graded or looked upon because of their creativity. I also thought that when these kids are trying to go against the system because they believe that there was no way they failed that test, they go out and fight the system. In Never Let Me Go this "fighting of the system" is shown when the kids show people that they are in love so they do not have to donate their organs. I believe that the Thinning is very closely related to Never Let Me Go.

Nihilism

Here is a video about Frederick Nietzsche and nihilism.  For Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, there seems—from the reader's perspective—no hope; their probably-false ideas about deferrals and possibles are merely distractions from the pressing nature of their fate.  However, the characters do not descend into despair.  Nihilism is a state where one believes that life is meaningless. Nietzsche says that once one realizes that "God is dead" (meaning religion—particularly Christianity—is not morally legitimate), one goes into nihilism.  Religion in the case of Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy can be equated to the "lie" told to them (and not told to them) by Hailsham as an institution.  Had Ms. Lucy not blurted out, the clones might have been kept in the dark even longer.  When they finally discover the truth, they are—per the metaphor—seeing religion for what it is.  Thus, the characters should ostensibly become nihilistic.  There are certainly instances where this seems to be the case; Ruth's outburst about being fashioned from social filth is an example.  However, the overarching movement is one OUT of nihilism.  The characters give their lives meaning even if their lives don't have any intrinsic meaning.  This manifests itself as hope and is shown by Tommy's hypothesis about art and deferrals as well as by Kathy's cassette tape.  Nietzsche is opposed to nihilism.  While he posits that life may not have any inherent meaning (given that he denounces God), he believes that one has to live life to the fullest to be fulfilled.  The characters' way of living life is to give themselves hope, even if it is ultimately an illusion.

True Love

In Never Let Me Go, growing up as clones with predetermined destiny enforced on them, Kathy, Tommy, Ruth and other students experience mystery, loss, and love with the most humane souls. "If you were a boy and a girl, and you were in love with each other, really, properly in love, and if you could show it, then the people who run Hailsham, they sorted it out for you. They sorted it out so you could have a few years before you began your donations." If the boy and the girl can prove they are properly in love, they can have three more years together. It always strikes me when it touches the concept of true love. How can we know when it's true love? How can we be certain that we are experiencing something that wars could be fought over, something that would make us smile the brightest smile and cry the saddest tears, something that would never let us go? We share more similarities with the clones than we think. We are born into the same world; we get raised and grow up into predetermined adulthood; we constantly lose precious pieces of life and loved ones till we die in a way donors lose vital organs one by one. Most things eventually fade away, even the happiest memories could drift out of memories some day. However, the truest kind of love, we never see it fading away. After all the loss, pain and despair, we can still feel the love from another time and space.

About Kazuo Ishiguro

As I was reading the book I realized I knew nothing about Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of Never Let Me Go, so I decided to do a little research on him to see how the book may connect to his other books and/or himself. I found two short biographies on him and found them to be compelling. I guess now the question I might want to explore is, how does his other books or himself connect to Never Let Me Go? One aspect of Ishiguro I found surprising was that many of his books were set in a time of war, whereas Never Let Me Go is not. Never Let Me Go contains very different themes from the themes of his other works.  One common theme mentioned in one of the biographies, is the theme of self-identity or a struggle in finding your purpose. Kathy and the other students all struggle to find their purpose and in the end they all accept their future. This pattern of struggling with imperfections and then going to accept those imperfections or struggles is present throughout Never Let Me Go and many of his other books.

(here is biography #1 and biography #2)

I also found an interview with Ishiguro talking about Never Let Me Go and himself.

National Geographic/Lizard Connection!

While randomly flipping through the November issue of National Geographic, I found an article called "All Moms, No Dads" about reproduction that reminded me of Never Let Me Go. The article is about lizards of the genus Aspidoscelis. These lizards reproduce asexually, like many organisms. The interesting thing about them is that the female lizards' eggs do not need to be fertilized, but turn into embryos on their own -- and these eggs gain a full chromosome count without any input from a male lizard. Therefore, the female lizard provides all of the chromosomes for her babies, essentially cloning herself. I thought this was interesting because of the obvious connection with the cloning in NLMG, and also because of one particular line in the article: "Because the organisms are genetically identical, they're more vulnerable: A disease or an environmental shift that kills one could kill all." This line made me wonder if it's relevant to Never Let Me Go or not...if something physical or mental will debilitate the clones at some point. Either way, I found this connection with cloning fascinating.

Cloning Research

After the last couple of classes when we had been talking about whether or not Kathy and the others could reproduce and after finding out that the kids at Hailsham are clones, I was interested in finding out about the cloning technology that exists today. I found this link to a page on research cloning, and I found out that producing reproductive clones has different requirements than producing regular clones, which might be the reason that Kathy and the others can't reproduce.

So You Think You're Creative...

I listened to this episode of Studio 360 (a great podcast that tends to focus on pop culture and the arts) the other day on my way home from school, and it seemed so relevant given our discussions of the role of creativity at Hailsham. Give it a listen (either in its entirety or in segments) if you're interested.