Why I will be showing my future children “City of Ember”, 2008. -an unhinged, unorganized rant
SPOILERS, SPOILERS EVERYWHERE
This book/movie was one of my favorites as a child. I constantly checked it out from the library. At the time, it was the most popular sci fi book series I was permitted to read (hunger games, twilight, etc. were banned in my household), and it had me in a chokehold. But now as an adult who has witnessed and continues to witness apocalypse adjacent events unfold across the world, I think The City of Ember has a lot to offer children and young adults who live in our times filled with pandemics, corruption, war, and climate change.
Hot take: I like the movie more than I do the first book. I have not re-read the other books in the series yet.
Here are my reasons:
1. Lina’s parents’ answering machine. What a brilliant narrative device! Not only does this device add a common language between the two sisters (Yoo-hoo!) and offers a very sweet example of care and shared history between them, it connects almost all of our main characters together in a deeper, more meaningful way than in the books. It also shows another example of the people of Ember’s will to survive (something I feel you cannot have too much of). The way the device works (Jerry rigged together with what looks to be an old sewing machine to make it run) also adds another layer to what Ember once had and the ingenuity of how they are trying to preserve themselves.
2. The mayor and his henchman do not wait a couple days to act on Lina’s tip off about the food bunker. I never understood why the mayor and his cronies waited so long after Lina told them about the food bunker in the book. With the immediate action taken in the movie, it really kicks the sense of urgency into gear and eliminates the need for the “we don’t want to tell our parents or any reasonable adult about what we’re doing because we want the game and glory of telling everyone at the Great Day of Singing!” Arc present in the book. My understanding of why this is present in the books is that Duprau wanted the main actors in the plot to be children, because the book is for children. As soon as any adults get involved in a major way that’s somewhat tampered with. And I know Clary was told in the books, but she was kinda useless. Reading the reviews of this movie, it seems one of the main criticisms of it were that it felt rushed/didn’t know what it wanted to be. So maybe most people would disagree with me on this point.
3. Sul. This guy is hilarious. He adds another example of what people do in dire situations “It’s not my job” and he serves as another mentor figure/connection for Doon which he is sorely lacking in the books. In general, I appreciate the relationship between the young and the old in this movie. It’s a connection that is so important in real life, and I want kids to realize that.
4. No exposition dump journal at the end. I get why the journal is there in the book. It gives us a lot. But it takes me out of the story at the end of the book and, honestly, I like the mystery of everything being preserved at the end of the movie. I feel the book would be stronger if they just mentioned the journal had important information in it and didn’t read it until the next book.
5. This story really does just fly off the screen in a visual medium in a way you just can’t in a book. One of my favorite examples of this is the scene where Lina delivers a message to a woman washing clothes. They are handwashing clothes right next to washing machines that no longer work and are dressed in what looks like old shower liners! That is such a strong visual message of decay and necessary re-use to me.
Another example, although I don’t feel it necessarily makes sense in a logistics sort of way, is that we get to see the decayed room where the builders hatched their plans and can compare it to the beginning of the movie. It really hit home just how long it had been. In general, the visual style of this movie is amazing, and feels so real and unique to me. The only other media that comes close that I have encountered is maybe Stray, which makes a lot of sense.
6. I like the way out of Ember better than the book’s, walk down to ledge, yeet boat into water, go down the river no problem. While it is simpler, makes more sense, and is practical, I am a huge fan of action scenes and cool mechanisms and having the escape route unfold like a puzzle box produces so many cool visuals. I cannot tell you how badly I wanted this end sequence to be an amusement park ride when I was a child.
Things I do like about the book:
1. There are adults protesting the mayor’s inaction. this is something that I really do wish the movie would have included. There are always people taking action against wrong in the world and in the movie it seems like Lina and Doon are the only ones actively doing that.
2. The babies in the journal being named Star and Forest. I imagine that a lot of those first parents of Ember named their adoptive babies after things in the world outside as a way of passing down memories of things that their descendants would not have words for otherwise when they got back.
3. The library filled with books that the people of Ember wrote themselves. It does seem that the builders were very careful about what information they allowed/provided to the people of Ember. I remember imagining that at first, the library was very nearly empty, and then as the years went by, humans did human things and felt the need to write what they knew and what they imagined and filled the shelves little by little.
4. Lina’s pencil temptation. Girl really chose buying 2 colored pencils instead of a coat to keep her grandma warm. It really helped me as a kid to appreciate that being good is hard and that even those who act or are good are not flawless. It also illustrated just how desperate things were in Ember.
5. Doon’s bug collection.
Things that were very 2008 and before of both stories.
1. Diversity who? There are a total of two Black actors in this film who speak. I could not find any Asian actors, nor indigenous, nor anyone outside of these races, even in the crowds. Also all of the founding builders are shown as white. I would hope, if this movie were made today, things would be cast differently, especially seeing that this city is supposed to be the last ditch effort “for the good of all mankind”.
2. It’s giving white/western supremacy. Did we really have to erase all knowledge of the outside world? Presumably erase all religion? History? Science? (I mean do God’s sake poor Doon didn’t even know about candles in the book) Languages other than English?? Mr. Builders I have some concerns.
3. Portrayal of disability. I love disability representation, I do not love that almost all of those with a disability, or who look different in this film, are portrayed as the bad guys. For example, Looper and the Mayor’s #1 henchman. Granny I think may be the only exception as she is working through severe dementia.
4. The fat mayor. I am not a fan of fat shaming. All people have inherent dignity and worth and should be treated as such. In this story, the mayor is fat. It makes sense why he is fat and everyone else is skinny in this story. There are food shortages. The mayor is a terrible person who hoards food. I get that. I just… given the climate of fat shaming this movie was made in (looking back at 2000s media is wild y’all) and the moralization of weight that still exists today, it feels very icky to have your villain be fat and use that fat as an illustration/result of why your villain is bad.
Things I like for the children:
1. Our main characters. What extraordinary examples for kids. Lina and Doon are curious, resilient, brave, smart, responsible, and have no issues speaking truth to power. They are also complex and falter in their paths at time. Their will to survive is very strong. I cannot help but hope that my future children are a little like them.
2. The examples of what people do in a crisis. When I watched this movie as a child I had a hard time imagining that people could be so selfish like Lizzie and Looper, corrupt and greedy like the mayor, oblivious like Sul, scared into stasis like Doon’s dad and Clary, and as delulu like Mrs. Murdo. But having witnessed Covid and everything else, I feel like I can sit down with my future children and say yes, people do and will act this way, but also see how much they care for each other, how kindness affects the characters in this story, how seeking the truth and taking action can change everything around you. Ask what you can do to make things better, and then do it. That’s what I hope this movie and this book give to my children.
3. Miscellaneous things: I love that even though religion seems to be absent in this city, humans still love their magic and had their faith in the builders. I love the big bugs and animals in the movie. I love the random little robots we see. I love granny’s yarn shop and Doon’s house. The empty warehouses and long lines at the warehouse make my heart ache, knowing what that looks like in the real world now and how scary it feels. I love that humans will cling on to any little bit of hope you give them. Why are the trash piles near the greenhouses in this story? The bent and disrepair es instruments crack me up. I wish there was more history given of what happened in Ember. Was the great day of singing given by the builders or did the people of Ember create the holiday? What were the first couple decades like in the city? Did anyone ever make it out before Lina and Doon?
There’s so much more that I love and notice about this story, but these are the main points. Have a great day!
