2. In the world of 2081 the arts still survive, in some form, despite the handicaps and radical equality of the population. What do you think would happen to art in our world if everyone were equal?


For as long as humans have been telling stories, we have been inspired by tales

of one person setting out to change the world by defying a large and oppressive

group. Whether it is Prometheus stealing fire from the ancient Greek Gods so he

can give it to humanity, or Harry Potter standing up to Voldemort, we like the

thought that one person’s actions can change the world for the better.

The film 2081 presents us with a dramatic portrait of an individual resisting

tyranny. In the year 2081, we are told, everyone is finally equal. But that equality

has been achieved through extreme measures. Beautiful people wear masks to

make their appearance equal to others. Athletic and graceful people wear

weights to slow their bodies down to average levels of skill. And smart people

have unpleasant noises played into their ears, decreasing their ability to think

until they are only as intelligent as the average person.

While this short film doesn’t give us a look at the world that Harrison Bergeron

and his family inhabit, we can be fairly certain that most people in the America of

2081 are like Harrison’s mother. They may have some sympathy for friends and

family members who are heavily handicapped in order to achieve equality. They

may even have some small suggestions about how to make them more

comfortable. But on the whole, they quietly acquiesce and don’t think much

about what’s happening.

Harrison’s mother, Hazel, for example, suggests replacing the unpleasant sound

effects that Harrison’s father, George, hears with chimes on Sunday, “kind of in

honor of religion.” She further suggests that Harrison’s father find a way to rest

his handicapping weights on some pillows, or to secretly lighten them. She is

not, in other words, without sympathy for how her husband suffers. But she

Explanation:

what do you mean.

do we have to write a essay?