The Island

Work Title: The Island
Medium: Film
Episode Title:
Year: 2005
Writer(s): Caspian Tredwell-Owen
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): Alex Kurtzman
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

from amazon.com. Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid 21st century. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the "The Island" - reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually human clones. Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Johansson). Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives to literally meet their makers.

  • Self-Written?:
  • Source Name: Amazon
  • Source URL:
Era/Year of Portrayal: near_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

People can be cloned. trains are super fast. it is the year 2019.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: hologram
  • Description of the technology: the clones live in a facilty that is supposedly a self contained place, free from the contamanation in the outside world. However, the outside they see is really a hologram, and not real at all. The hologram makes the people in the facility think they are high up, above an ocean. In reality, they are underground. It is extremely vivid and believable.
  • Nature of task or activity: Everything within the facility.
  • Performance of the Technology: It works well.
  • Description of creator(s): A middle aged scientist, a white man. Greedy for profit.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): To keep the clones secluded and away from the rest of humanity.
  • Description of users of technology: Clones of wealthy people, all ages, male and female. With the education level of eight grade, kept in confinement.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: spatial_presence
  • Description of presence experience: The hologram tricks the clones into thinking that they are some of the few survivors after a horrific accident, secluded from the rest of the world. They think they are geographicaly trapped in the facility, when in reality they are not. Eventually, the deception is revealed by the shutting down the power source for the projection.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: unaware, until the end of the movie.
  • Valence of experience: pleasent, in that they are unaware.
  • Specific responses: Just a sense of physical detachment from the rest of the world and thinking that nothing else exists.
Long-term consequences:

The realization of the false hologram (and other things) sets the clones free. happy ending.

Other:

Coder name: Amanda Scheiner
Coder email: amandags@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University