Encephalosponge » Harrison Bergeron http://encephalosponge.com Soaking Up Life Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:26:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Harrison Bergeron Review http://encephalosponge.com/2009/01/01/harrison-bergeron-review/ http://encephalosponge.com/2009/01/01/harrison-bergeron-review/#comments Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:21:23 +0000 Jonathan Blackhall http://encephalosponge.com/?p=482 Continue reading →]]> The dystopian short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is an interesting tale of life in the year 2081, when all humans have been made “equal.” They’re equal because anyone who is exceptional is given government-issued handicap devices: masks for the beautiful, constant weight for the strong, and mind-numbing noise for the intelligent.

The premise in this story is an interesting one. It makes you think about some arguments for “equality.” The premise is reminiscent of Atlas Shrugged for me, although the dystopia was not as fully developed. The story is being made into a (short) film called 2081, which is how I first heard about it. I am a big fan of Vonnegut, so it’s always nice to get to read some of his work. I’m hoping that the film can expand the dystopia and make it more tangible for non-readers. Keep an eye out for it in the future, and read the story today. See the first link for the full text.

4/5

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