It's really interesting to compare the common elements of the dystopian franchises inspired by the success of The Hunger Games. Many of them followed the Hunger Games formula in one way or another...especially The Maze Runner and Divergent.
Not correct. Actually, the "formula" of THG is hardly original or unique. "Battle Royale (BR)" is a Japanese dystopian horror novel by journalist Koushun Takami published in 1999. The novel is about junior high school students who are forced to fight each other to the death in a program run by a fictional, fascist, totalitarian Japanese government known as the Republic of Greater East Asia. In 2000, BR was adapted into a manga series and a successful feature film. The BR novel was translated into English by Yuji Oniki and released in North America in early 2003. The 2008 American young adult novel THG by Suzanne Collins has been accused of being strikingly similar to BR in terms of the basic plot premise. While Collins maintains that she "had never heard of that book until her book was turned in", Susan Dominus of The New York Times reports that "the parallels are striking enough that Collins's work has been savaged on the blogosphere as a baldfaced ripoff," but argued that "there are enough possible sources for the plot line that the two authors might well have hit on the same basic setup independently." I can't speak to "Divergent" since it's been some time since I watched it, but "Maze Runner (TMR)" is clearly inspired by the ancient Greek myth of "Theseus and the Minotaur," "The Lord of the Flies," and an examination of the criminally inhumane Nazi medical experimentation programme of WW II. TMR's hero is a tragic hero, and the story the trilogy tells is a tragedy. TMR explores several themes, but the primary theme of the trilogy examines whether "The ends justify the means." This is a principle often associated with totalitarianism, and the phrase has its origin with Machiavelli, although the idea is much older. The principle is part and parcel of consequentialism, a teleological theory that says whether an action is morally good or bad depends on its outcomes. The more good outcomes outnumber the bad, the better/more moral the action. Under this rubric if WCKD finds a cure, then WCKD is very good, indeed. It's clearly rooted in Utilitarianism. It's also worth remembering that all heroic stories generally follow the same pattern. In his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949)", Joseph Campbell describes this narrative pattern as follows: A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. This is the basic framework of TMR.
The "Maze Runner" films are very good and very deep. They're adult films and not YA at all. The following is a short explanation: If you know your classics, the "Maze Runner" is a pretty close retelling of "Theseus and the Minotaur," of course. Naturally, Thomas is Theseus, the hero. Turns out, Thomas, in his pre-Glade life, was also Daedalus, a creative genius. Daedalus created the Labyrinth for Minos, just like Thomas created the maze for WCKD. Daedalus went into the Labyrinth, just like Thomas went into the maze. There are other parallels between Daedalus and Thomas. The Glade and the Gladers are Crete and Athenian youth of the myth, respectively. The Grievers are the Minotaur, the monster that feeds on the Athenian youth who have been offered as sacrificial victims. The Minotaur is half-man, half-bull. The Grievers are half-organic, half-machine. The WCKD mechanism that's found in the crushed Griever is Ariadne's thread, the key out of the maze. WCKD, as noted above, is King Minos. In the myth, 7 youths and 7 maids are sacrificed to the Minotaur every year. This strongly implies the existence of an all-female maze. The number 7, which has significance in the film, is undoubtedly an allusion to the myth, too. The maze motif is repeated in the "Scorch Trials" and "Death Cure." The Glade's Crete is, however, more like "The Lord of the Flies (LOTF)" than classical Greece. The Glade is, after all, an island inhabited by boys in the midst of an ocean-like maze. Who can forget the pig that arrived with Thomas, either? Themes in that well-known classic include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. Things which we do see play out in Thomas and the Gladers. Thomas seems to be a combination of LOTF's Ralph and Simon. His Simon attribute leads us to believe that at some point in the trilogy Thomas will die. Gally, in the first film, probably represents LOTF's Jack. The Gladers eventually split between Thomas (Ralph/Simon) and Gally (Jack) just as in LOTF. Late in the film, Gally proposes to make Thomas an offering to the Grievers/Maze. In LOTF's, Jack proposes to make Ralph's decapitated head an offering to the beast, which represents darkness/fear/the innate primordial savageness of the boys. Despite his sometimes impulsiveness, Thomas represents rationality, individuality and morality. Gally denotes groupthink and emotionalism. The significance of the names that are the closest surrounding Thomas' on the wall will become clear in the later movies. When Thomas and the others arrive in the Glade, they're symbolically born into it. The water is the amniotic fluid, the glass cylinder represents the placenta, and the person is the foetus. The lift is the birth canal. Like newborns, the Gladers arrive as brand-new persons. They have no identity except a name, which they were christened with by WCKD. So, when Alby says that the creators only let them remember their name, he's not exactly correct. They don't remember their actual name, only their WCKD assigned name. That's why no two Gladers have the same name. You want to be able to distinguish your test subjects for analytical purposes. Since we saw in this film that WCKD can monitor brain function of the Gladers remotely, we can conclude all the Gladers have brain implants of some sort. Clearly, they also would have an implant that would track/geolocate them. You'd want to be able to follow your subject. It's also safe to conclude that an implant is what affects their memory, and it can presumably be turned both on and off. The average Glader is reluctant to answer Thomas' questions from ignorance and fear. The people who know answers, albeit very imperfectly, are the runners, Ably and Newt, and perhaps some of the other keepers. Alby maybe reluctant to answer Thomas because he's afraid of what Thomas might do. The runners function as a sacred priesthood in the Glade. Their map-hut is off-limits to the average Glader. Only when Thomas is anointed runner does Minho reveal to him what is known of the maze's secrets. Why is Newt willing to answer Thomas' questions? We see from the get-go, there's an attraction, a closeness developing between Newt and Thomas. Thomas and Ava Paige tell us the maze is an experiment to stress and test brain function in order to find a cure for the Flare. The "Maze Runner" trials mean to develop, isolate and produce a curative enzyme that only occurs in immunes' brains so humanity can be saved, even if it means killing the immunes. The Flare is the trilogy's MacGuffin. In any experiment, you need a treatment group and a control group. The control group is the benchmark against which you compare the treatment group. The control group must be non-immunes, the treatment group immunes. Some of the Gladers are immune, others are not. The immunes are naturally immune to the Flare. The Griever sting cannot be Flare because all the Gladers have to be at risk of death for the sake of the experiment. Griever sting is similar in effect to the Flare, but it's 100% curable by WCKD. Also, it can't be communicable since WCKD would not want all the test subjects to die if one were stung. Thomas is clearly bothered by Ben being banished. He doesn't approve at all. In fact, it's a triggering event for Thomas. Our tragic hero, Thomas, is super intelligent, very curious and completely selfless. He is so selfless we might consider him impulsive. After Ben's fate, Thomas has decided there'll be no more maze deaths if he can help it. That's why he jumps into the maze after Minho and Alby. Which brings up the question of why Minho is bringing Alby back if he's been stung. The three rules of the Glade make no reference to being stung. There is no punishment for being stung per se. We know the Gladers holds court to decide punishments since Gally prosecutes Thomas for entering the maze in front of such a court. Ben was banished by a court because he tried to kill Thomas, not because he was stung. Minho was bringing Alby back to the Glade out of duty and affection. A court would later have to decide if Alby was deserving of banishment or some other sentence arising out of the second rule. On the other hand, Minho was not obligated to commit suicide to save Alby. He should have left him when it was obvious they couldn't both make it out of the maze, but he waited too long. Later, of course, fear takes over, and Minho abandons both Alby and Thomas to their collective fate. Teresa is an anomalous figure in the first film. She's a girl, her arrival is untimely, and she heralds the end of the Gladers' supply lifeline. She completely breaks the Glade's paradigm. Thomas is ambiguous, too. Is Gally right about Thomas? It's not clear what to make of his dream-visions. Is he an agent for good or for evil? It's certainly his nature to be a catalyst. We know he was WCKD's favourite, the best at solving challenges. Why is he in the maze? Alby wondered the same thing. Also, why are he and Teresa able to recall snippets of their past? None of the other Gladers can do that unless they've been stung. Both Thomas and Teresa are clearly mysterious. Thomas was a high-ranking member of WCKD before he went into the Maze .... There's a reason why Thomas and Teresa remember things, and it has to do with WCKD. After Thomas and Minho first open the #7 gate using the Griever key, they trigger a reconfiguration of the maze which will funnel the Gladers to the #7 gate. This means the experiment is entering its final phase. Common sense tells us the sequence the runners noted previously, but starting at 7, will be the correct code. Only those subjects who successfully exit the maze are candidates for the second trial. Thomas is the archetypal tragic hero. Tragic heroes are characters of elevated stature, both in birth and morality. Like most heroes, he has above-average intelligence, which means he has situational awareness; he's determined, which means he is firmly set in opinion or purpose; and he has a loyal close friend who guides, advises and helps him as he faces his trials. In the films, Newt clearly fits the role as Thomas' helper, his Ariadne. The Theseus myth also emphasizes the power of love. Ariadne helps because she has fallen in love with Theseus. Likewise, Newt is in love with Thomas. As a tragic hero, Thomas is subject to a collective fate, the will of the gods, if you will, which had precipitated the solar flares that scorched the Earth and indirectly brought about the Flare virus. A common attribute of the tragic hero is that he once held a lofty position from which he has now been cast down. Thomas' hamartia has visited his own individual fate upon himself which prompts his present adventure-journey. His moral choices while part of WCKD led him to immoral behavior, the torture and deaths of the test subjects. In this way, Thomas assumed the role of a god over the Gladers. That's hubris. Humans, even if they're heroes, have to be taught they are not a god. Nemesis prompted Thomas' downfall from WCKD and the tragic course his subsequent life followed. Tragic heroes suffer, and Thomas will suffer throughout the films. Another aspect of the tragic hero motif is that those nearest and dearest to the hero often wind up either in some sort of deadly peril or just plain dead. Most often, it's dead. The trilogy manifests several themes. One that runs through all the films, and is the main theme, is the question of whether the end justifies the means. The principle is part and parcel of consequentialism, a teleological theory that says whether an action is morally good or bad depends on its outcomes. The more good outcomes outnumber the bad, the more moral the action. Another theme which we see in this film in particular, is the question of how do different people deal with fear/unknown? This is also very much a theme in LOTF.
@@KurticeYZreacts I Agree I like the First one better to I like Death Cure but I rewatched the First Maze Runner more then the Second and The Third one
It's really interesting to compare the common elements of the dystopian franchises inspired by the success of The Hunger Games. Many of them followed the Hunger Games formula in one way or another...especially The Maze Runner and Divergent.
Not correct. Actually, the "formula" of THG is hardly original or unique. "Battle Royale (BR)" is a Japanese dystopian horror novel by journalist Koushun Takami published in 1999. The novel is about junior high school students who are forced to fight each other to the death in a program run by a fictional, fascist, totalitarian Japanese government known as the Republic of Greater East Asia. In 2000, BR was adapted into a manga series and a successful feature film. The BR novel was translated into English by Yuji Oniki and released in North America in early 2003. The 2008 American young adult novel THG by Suzanne Collins has been accused of being strikingly similar to BR in terms of the basic plot premise. While Collins maintains that she "had never heard of that book until her book was turned in", Susan Dominus of The New York Times reports that "the parallels are striking enough that Collins's work has been savaged on the blogosphere as a baldfaced ripoff," but argued that "there are enough possible sources for the plot line that the two authors might well have hit on the same basic setup independently."
I can't speak to "Divergent" since it's been some time since I watched it, but "Maze Runner (TMR)" is clearly inspired by the ancient Greek myth of "Theseus and the Minotaur," "The Lord of the Flies," and an examination of the criminally inhumane Nazi medical experimentation programme of WW II. TMR's hero is a tragic hero, and the story the trilogy tells is a tragedy. TMR explores several themes, but the primary theme of the trilogy examines whether "The ends justify the means." This is a principle often associated with totalitarianism, and the phrase has its origin with Machiavelli, although the idea is much older. The principle is part and parcel of consequentialism, a teleological theory that says whether an action is morally good or bad depends on its outcomes. The more good outcomes outnumber the bad, the better/more moral the action. Under this rubric if WCKD finds a cure, then WCKD is very good, indeed. It's clearly rooted in Utilitarianism.
It's also worth remembering that all heroic stories generally follow the same pattern. In his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949)", Joseph Campbell describes this narrative pattern as follows: A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. This is the basic framework of TMR.
The Maiz Runner! I've never seen these but it looks like a fun movie.
🤣
Green means someone who is new and inexperienced
The "Maze Runner" films are very good and very deep. They're adult films and not YA at all. The following is a short explanation:
If you know your classics, the "Maze Runner" is a pretty close retelling of "Theseus and the Minotaur," of course. Naturally, Thomas is Theseus, the hero. Turns out, Thomas, in his pre-Glade life, was also Daedalus, a creative genius. Daedalus created the Labyrinth for Minos, just like Thomas created the maze for WCKD. Daedalus went into the Labyrinth, just like Thomas went into the maze. There are other parallels between Daedalus and Thomas. The Glade and the Gladers are Crete and Athenian youth of the myth, respectively. The Grievers are the Minotaur, the monster that feeds on the Athenian youth who have been offered as sacrificial victims. The Minotaur is half-man, half-bull. The Grievers are half-organic, half-machine. The WCKD mechanism that's found in the crushed Griever is Ariadne's thread, the key out of the maze. WCKD, as noted above, is King Minos. In the myth, 7 youths and 7 maids are sacrificed to the Minotaur every year. This strongly implies the existence of an all-female maze. The number 7, which has significance in the film, is undoubtedly an allusion to the myth, too. The maze motif is repeated in the "Scorch Trials" and "Death Cure."
The Glade's Crete is, however, more like "The Lord of the Flies (LOTF)" than classical Greece. The Glade is, after all, an island inhabited by boys in the midst of an ocean-like maze. Who can forget the pig that arrived with Thomas, either? Themes in that well-known classic include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. Things which we do see play out in Thomas and the Gladers. Thomas seems to be a combination of LOTF's Ralph and Simon. His Simon attribute leads us to believe that at some point in the trilogy Thomas will die. Gally, in the first film, probably represents LOTF's Jack. The Gladers eventually split between Thomas (Ralph/Simon) and Gally (Jack) just as in LOTF. Late in the film, Gally proposes to make Thomas an offering to the Grievers/Maze. In LOTF's, Jack proposes to make Ralph's decapitated head an offering to the beast, which represents darkness/fear/the innate primordial savageness of the boys. Despite his sometimes impulsiveness, Thomas represents rationality, individuality and morality. Gally denotes groupthink and emotionalism. The significance of the names that are the closest surrounding Thomas' on the wall will become clear in the later movies.
When Thomas and the others arrive in the Glade, they're symbolically born into it. The water is the amniotic fluid, the glass cylinder represents the placenta, and the person is the foetus. The lift is the birth canal. Like newborns, the Gladers arrive as brand-new persons. They have no identity except a name, which they were christened with by WCKD. So, when Alby says that the creators only let them remember their name, he's not exactly correct. They don't remember their actual name, only their WCKD assigned name. That's why no two Gladers have the same name. You want to be able to distinguish your test subjects for analytical purposes. Since we saw in this film that WCKD can monitor brain function of the Gladers remotely, we can conclude all the Gladers have brain implants of some sort. Clearly, they also would have an implant that would track/geolocate them. You'd want to be able to follow your subject. It's also safe to conclude that an implant is what affects their memory, and it can presumably be turned both on and off.
The average Glader is reluctant to answer Thomas' questions from ignorance and fear. The people who know answers, albeit very imperfectly, are the runners, Ably and Newt, and perhaps some of the other keepers. Alby maybe reluctant to answer Thomas because he's afraid of what Thomas might do. The runners function as a sacred priesthood in the Glade. Their map-hut is off-limits to the average Glader. Only when Thomas is anointed runner does Minho reveal to him what is known of the maze's secrets. Why is Newt willing to answer Thomas' questions? We see from the get-go, there's an attraction, a closeness developing between Newt and Thomas.
Thomas and Ava Paige tell us the maze is an experiment to stress and test brain function in order to find a cure for the Flare. The "Maze Runner" trials mean to develop, isolate and produce a curative enzyme that only occurs in immunes' brains so humanity can be saved, even if it means killing the immunes. The Flare is the trilogy's MacGuffin. In any experiment, you need a treatment group and a control group. The control group is the benchmark against which you compare the treatment group. The control group must be non-immunes, the treatment group immunes. Some of the Gladers are immune, others are not. The immunes are naturally immune to the Flare. The Griever sting cannot be Flare because all the Gladers have to be at risk of death for the sake of the experiment. Griever sting is similar in effect to the Flare, but it's 100% curable by WCKD. Also, it can't be communicable since WCKD would not want all the test subjects to die if one were stung.
Thomas is clearly bothered by Ben being banished. He doesn't approve at all. In fact, it's a triggering event for Thomas. Our tragic hero, Thomas, is super intelligent, very curious and completely selfless. He is so selfless we might consider him impulsive. After Ben's fate, Thomas has decided there'll be no more maze deaths if he can help it. That's why he jumps into the maze after Minho and Alby. Which brings up the question of why Minho is bringing Alby back if he's been stung. The three rules of the Glade make no reference to being stung. There is no punishment for being stung per se. We know the Gladers holds court to decide punishments since Gally prosecutes Thomas for entering the maze in front of such a court. Ben was banished by a court because he tried to kill Thomas, not because he was stung. Minho was bringing Alby back to the Glade out of duty and affection. A court would later have to decide if Alby was deserving of banishment or some other sentence arising out of the second rule. On the other hand, Minho was not obligated to commit suicide to save Alby. He should have left him when it was obvious they couldn't both make it out of the maze, but he waited too long. Later, of course, fear takes over, and Minho abandons both Alby and Thomas to their collective fate.
Teresa is an anomalous figure in the first film. She's a girl, her arrival is untimely, and she heralds the end of the Gladers' supply lifeline. She completely breaks the Glade's paradigm. Thomas is ambiguous, too. Is Gally right about Thomas? It's not clear what to make of his dream-visions. Is he an agent for good or for evil? It's certainly his nature to be a catalyst. We know he was WCKD's favourite, the best at solving challenges. Why is he in the maze? Alby wondered the same thing. Also, why are he and Teresa able to recall snippets of their past? None of the other Gladers can do that unless they've been stung. Both Thomas and Teresa are clearly mysterious.
Thomas was a high-ranking member of WCKD before he went into the Maze .... There's a reason why Thomas and Teresa remember things, and it has to do with WCKD.
After Thomas and Minho first open the #7 gate using the Griever key, they trigger a reconfiguration of the maze which will funnel the Gladers to the #7 gate. This means the experiment is entering its final phase. Common sense tells us the sequence the runners noted previously, but starting at 7, will be the correct code. Only those subjects who successfully exit the maze are candidates for the second trial.
Thomas is the archetypal tragic hero. Tragic heroes are characters of elevated stature, both in birth and morality. Like most heroes, he has above-average intelligence, which means he has situational awareness; he's determined, which means he is firmly set in opinion or purpose; and he has a loyal close friend who guides, advises and helps him as he faces his trials. In the films, Newt clearly fits the role as Thomas' helper, his Ariadne. The Theseus myth also emphasizes the power of love. Ariadne helps because she has fallen in love with Theseus. Likewise, Newt is in love with Thomas.
As a tragic hero, Thomas is subject to a collective fate, the will of the gods, if you will, which had precipitated the solar flares that scorched the Earth and indirectly brought about the Flare virus. A common attribute of the tragic hero is that he once held a lofty position from which he has now been cast down. Thomas' hamartia has visited his own individual fate upon himself which prompts his present adventure-journey. His moral choices while part of WCKD led him to immoral behavior, the torture and deaths of the test subjects. In this way, Thomas assumed the role of a god over the Gladers. That's hubris. Humans, even if they're heroes, have to be taught they are not a god. Nemesis prompted Thomas' downfall from WCKD and the tragic course his subsequent life followed.
Tragic heroes suffer, and Thomas will suffer throughout the films. Another aspect of the tragic hero motif is that those nearest and dearest to the hero often wind up either in some sort of deadly peril or just plain dead. Most often, it's dead.
The trilogy manifests several themes. One that runs through all the films, and is the main theme, is the question of whether the end justifies the means. The principle is part and parcel of consequentialism, a teleological theory that says whether an action is morally good or bad depends on its outcomes. The more good outcomes outnumber the bad, the more moral the action.
Another theme which we see in this film in particular, is the question of how do different people deal with fear/unknown? This is also very much a theme in LOTF.
Loved the reaction! It was "Amazing"...sorry..."TAXI!!!"
Nice movie and great reaction!. Please 🙏 could you react to "Poseidon" 2006?. It's a really good survival movie. I'm leaving my like 😃.
Sometimes I sure do forget that females don't pick up on stuff like how men do things and why they do it. Anyone else get that watching reactions?
I assume you had to reupload this? 😔
Is it just me or do I not remember these scenes
Might be directors cut? Which ever is on Netflix is the one I watched
2 and 3 kinda suck compared to 1 i hate to say... its just hard to beat this 1st movie it was really good..
Couldn’t disagree more. Both sequels are even better IMO, with The Death Cure easily being my favorite having the highest stakes of all three.
@@RyansChannel0203 im happy for you and i wish i could say the same, truly
@@RyansChannel0203 but for me all the stakes left when they left the maze. It was so scary and mysterious and it all just left for me..
@@KurticeYZreacts I Agree I like the First one better to I like Death Cure but I rewatched the First Maze Runner more then the Second and The Third one
I disagree as well. All three entries in the trilogy are very good.