Revisit Soylent Green Film

Republished courtsey of Emmett Manley: Over the past 40+years, I have submitted letters to the editor of the Memphis Commercial Appeal and they have been routinely published.  However, the current editor refuses to publish any letter that is even remotely critical of Obama or any of his policies.  Two of my recent letters have been rejected; this one, and another letter which pointed to the fact that Obama's mother was white, thus he is as white as he is black.

For a view of the possible future of healthcare, readers may wish to revisit the classic 1973 film, Soylent Green. At the time, this movie, starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, was classified as science fiction, but now...?

Soylent Green presents the United States in the year 2022 as a decaying government -dominated society. The country is overpopulated from immigration and the food supply is severely compromised, with only the rich being able to enjoy fresh vegetables and fruit. Most of the population is forced to survive on wafers supplied by the huge Soylent Corporation, which has government ties.

Edward G. Robinson reaches the point in life where he is suffering from debilitating illnesses and he is sent to a government clinic where it is suggested that he “go home.” The arrangements are made for him to drink a fatal beverage while resting in a room filled with pleasant music and beautiful visual effects.

In the climatic ending, Charton Heston discovers that bodies are removed from such clinics and taken to a processing plant where they are made into Soylent Green wafers, the high protein supplement which keeps most citizens alive.

I am not a science fiction nut, but there are many similarities in the direction our society is moving and what has been predicted in the books, Brave New World and 1984, and the films Soylent Green and Robo Cop.