I feel that although the film altered the intended meaning
of I am Legend, it was a fitting
adaptation of the book for a Hollywood blockbuster. First of all, Will Smith
literally goes out with a bang, which is classic Hollywood. We return to a more
human-centric view of the meaning of survival. I find it interesting that in the
film, the vampires are simply reduced to snarling, roaring beasts – they have
lost the ability for speech, which furthers the viewer’s disconnect with the
vampires. Also, in the film, Neville only researches for a cure.
However, in the novel, Neville simultaneously tries to find
a cure and researches more about the virus itself, which describes the
psychological effects. The vampires in the novel, specifically Ben Cortman,
shout personalized threats to Neville once dusk approaches. I believe that this
also reaffirms the assumption that Neville truly is the last man on Earth. By
giving psychological reasons for the vampirism and by giving the vampires a
voice, Matheson re-humanizes them, and thus gives us comfort in stepping aside
for the new race.
I like the irony of the incongruities of the film with the
novel. Viewers root for Will Smith, a decorated African-American actor, which
nullifies the “master race”/”Aryan” character that perhaps Matheson originally
intended. (To add on to Cynthia’s idea that this was supposed to be a racist
analogy, on page 160, Neville refers to the vampires as “dark men”). The film
audience also roots for Neville, viewing him as a martyr for the human race. As
a whole, the film with our reactions is an interesting piece of performance art
because our human-centric egos are put into play.
Hello Irene. I completely agree with everything you wrote here. The film was just a Hollywood blockbuster, and speaks to our anthropocentric needs in the 21st century. A movie about the complete annihilation of the human race would not be well received--we like our sources of entertainment to stroke our egos and show us that heroes really do exist. It's wildly unrealistic, but I won't deny that the film ending left me a bit happier than the book ending.
ReplyDeleteThis discrepancy, however, just goes to show the point of the book. It is unsettling. It makes me question my values and choices. The film allows me to continue going about my day without a second thought, but the book leaves me with profoundly unanswered questions.
I agree with you that the irony of the incongruities is very interesting. Will Smith is racially the antithesis of the book's Robert Neville, which could speak to a 21st century reconsideration of racial biases. This goes to show, however, that the film lacked a serious commentary there as well. While the book is about solitude, race, and the ability to give up anthropomorphism, the movie is about the eternal superiority of humans. The conflicting messages just demonstrate how difficult it really is for humans to think of themselves as anything the center of everything.