Know your rank?

“Limitless” written by Leslie Dixon (script), Alan Glynn (novel)

directed by Neil Burger

The riff below is a subjective reaction not so much to the film itself as to a certain uncomfortable feeling after the screening. It could be the result of the film itself or a mind set of the viewer. Here we go:

“Limitless” despite its forgettable script enters an intriguing area of the power of the mind as the latest commodity, the key in a new division between brilliant people, the smart ones and the rest. That division replaces the earlier distinctions in social ranks based on blood line, wealth or popularity. The story makes clear that the achievements in social status or wealth are (or will be) a direct result of the power of the mind or another words - of intelligence.

According to the film a superior mind power blends total memory recall with the ability to connect its elements in order to analyze, predict and select the best action for a given task. Either by design or because of the haphazard scriptwriting, the conclusions of the story are a bit worrisome.

Regardless of the source, the lessons pouring from the screen seem to make the viewers resign to their own mind limits. Trying to exceed them would result in death or a major handicap (a fantastic episode with the sister of the hero), so folks - stay where you are, do not rock the boat. Accept your IQ and let others who are smarter rule over you. This governing conclusion finishes the film in such a blatant way that there is no doubt in the superiority of our elected officials. Since unfortunately this is not the case in the real world one wonders what was the basic emotional/world view premise of the entire storytelling here.

Of course the “Limitless” anecdote is a tech fairly tale, but underneath each fairly tale lies a specific worldview. Could it be that in this case this worldview is build with the following conclusions: “accept the oppression, let others decide your life, know your limits, since we are not equal”? There is something disturbingly opressive in the vibe of this flick.