Introduction: Clash of Civilizations

Abstract

This chapter introduces Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men, which was loosely based on the 1992 novel of the same name by P.D. James. It analyses Children of Men's dramatization of a world in violent turmoil with humanity hurtling toward extinction after eighteen years of infertility. It also mentions the plagues, environmental degradation, violent rebellion and war that have shattered the world into a battleground of military rule, ethnic tribalism, high security Green Zones, and internment camp Red Zones seen in the film. This chapter points out how the Children of Men novel from 1992 seems to have been torn from today's headlines, noting the shock of Brexit, the U.S. election of nationalistic fear-monger Donald Trump, and the spread of xenophobia in reaction to the global immigration crisis. It talks about how Children of Men offers up resistance as a means to fight oppression and despair amid injustice and brutality.