In Everything Before Us, we are introduced to a world where everyone is categorized and ranked by their EL scores, projections of how well they can handle and maintain romantic relationships. On their own, they might not seem like much in our world, but when you realize that everyone's life depends on their score, things get a little intense. Hard-working people who have strived for the greatest to learn all they can and be an amazing candidate for a job can get rejected, or even lose their job if they have too low a score or develop a lower one. Bank loans, workplaces, living spaces, even things as simple as bars are divided by EI scores.
At the beginning of the movie, we see Ben working hard to get a job, but with his score so low, he can't. His friend tries to set him up with a high EI scored partner, but as soon as she knew he wasn't very high, she backed out of the date set-up, admitting "she'd never have anything to do with a sub-40".
Once Ben has gotten his life "back together", he goes to an EI 80+ bar, and meets Ana there. Originally, she'd planned drink with her friends, but "they're a bunch of sub-40's anyways, so what would [she] do there?"
Constantly throughout the movie, we are reminded that people with low EI scores can't do anything, and are judged for having low scores... And much like class, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and so many other determiners, it's scary to see how a single name or number can change a person's life entirely...
No comments:
Post a Comment