Elysium is Actually About Obamacare

“If the story you’re telling, is the story you’re telling, you’re in deep shit.” - Robert McKee Subtext is that element of a story which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. It is also a frequently used method of subtly inserting social or political commentary into fiction. The clear subtext of Matt Damon’s new film “Elysium” is the debate over the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare” as critics call it, as well as the larger issue of the growing gap between the rich and poor. Director Neill Blomkamp previously used sci-fi to examine social justice in his “District 9″ where aliens were a stand-in for illegal immigrants. The plot of “Elysium” revolves around the segregation of classes in the year 2154. The wealthy live on a space station called Elysium (the ultimate gated community) while everyone else struggles on an overpopulated, ruined planet Earth. On the station, the technology is so advanced that medical pods can cure diseases (and even reconstruct body parts). People who live on the planet’s surface are deemed “illegals” and subject to being shot down by missiles if they attempt to reach Elysium. Ex-con Matt Damon works for an evil corporation that makes the robotic police that harass him and other Earth-bound people. His character, Max, is simply trying to make the best of things and rebuild his life, even though the parole system and his boss essentially make him a slave of the system. I won’t give away the whole plot, but Max is hurt in an industrial accident and will die in five days unless he reaches Elysium to access one of the medical […]

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