The Theme of Death in The Film "World of Tomorrow"

Death is an overwhelming notion to many people all over the world. There’s so much mystery associated with death. While some are very confident about an “afterlife” and what beauty it will have to offer them, others believe the afterlife is a very dark and plaguing place or that there is none at all. This is why the majority of people cannot come to terms with their inevitable exit from this world nor the inevitable deaths of their loved ones. To die is the last thing on the calendar of every humans lives. That is, unless, someway and somehow science and technology discovers a way to extend life indeterminably.

In the short film “World of Tomorrow” directed by Don Herzfeldt, the life of the character Emily Prime was extended by the process of cloning. The film depicts the clones experiences as she evades death throughout the years using scientific advances. It is evident that even though she was able to physically achieve eternal life the quality of that life just was not that of a real human. In essence the clone of Emily was just a robot moving through the world aimlessly and should have never been considered a human. By the end of the short film, it is apparent that Herzfeldt is sending Harris the message that death should not be avoided but embraced because what makes us truly living beings is the fact that death is at the end of the equation of all life. There’s a widespread interest to live as long as possible. This is due to the fact that humans have an intense fear of death and letting go. In the year 2018 it seems, to be on earth in any minimalistic capacity would be more highly preferred than to die. In the short film this ideal is demonstrated through the cloning process that Emily underwent to create the third generation of herself. Emily’s clone also demonstrated the option to either receive a “full digital transfer of consciousness”(Hertzfeldt) from the body and into an object as well as the option to peel off, preserve, and stretch the face of the deceased over a robot head in order to still have a presence on earth. This superficial extension of life is reminiscent of leaving a person who is brain dead or in a vegetative state on life support because of the fear of letting go.

Through Emily’s clone, Hertzfeldt tells the unfortunate truth which is that the refusal of humans to succumb to the unknown is stronger than the knowledge that the life is no longer viable. Hertzfeldt makes it apparent that to live a full life is to move about the world with intentions to affect it in some way. It could also mean finding oneself and ones calling or a career that brings meaning into ones life. Humans need to feel emotions and come to terms with them whether happy or sad. They also need to build memories of their own by using their own mental capabilities in order to feel fulfilled. Emilys clone speaks about her first job supervising the solar powered robots on the moon. Her task was to keep the robots walking into the light and the tactic she used was to “program them to Harris 3fear death and what lies on the dark side of the moon”.

. Their fear of death was so intense that even after she left that job the robots continued to walk into the light because they believed that the “light was life”. Emilys clone proclaimed that as the robots continued to walk and avoid death, they had “no work to do, no more tasks to accomplish and continued living in constant fear of death”. Hertzfeldt will open many viewers eyes to the fact that If humans lived forever the dynamics of life would change and that there’s an allotted amount of time on this earth to do all of the meaningful things that humans are meant to do. If humans lived forever there might be less motivation to accomplish goals. Humans also would not take the time to make the best of every moment and memory they have on earth. That is where the importance of death lies. Without death humans would be just like Emily’s robots on the moon, just walking and walking avoiding death with no purpose on earth.

Hertzfeldt short film “World of Tomorrow” not only highlights the fear and disdain that some humans have toward death but it also leaves behind a message for those people to takeaway. He’s trying to encourage others to appreciate life on this earth in the present and not to live for the future, live for now. This message is best proclaimed in a quote from the end of the film which states, “Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead”. Hertzfeldt leaves his viewers with the realization that there is no life without death because the two go together unconditionally.