THX 1138

THX 1138 primarily concerns itself with the idea that people will soon be made identical and stripped of identity.  The movie achieves this in multiple ways.  The first and most obvious is the color choice.  Almost the entire city is either white or grey, and the clothes that everyone wears are also all white.  Having everyone look the same, skin color included, makes them seem subhuman and without purpose.  This is confirmed by the scene in which the explosions at the factory kill a bunch of workers who were ordered to stand there and not try to evacuate.  This shows that they are disposable and have no use beyond work.  It is ironic that they are making robots, but they are in a way themselves manufactured to be robots.  The pills they are forced to take is another way that they are made robotic.  They are purged of their emotions and, combined with their letter and number name, forced to work and live in strange conditions.  In a way, it seems like Lucas could have been referencing concentration camps and the number ID that the prisoners were known by. One idea pointed out in the reading is the idea that nature represents freedom in the movie.  The only time we see anything outside of the underground city is the very end when he escapes.  There isn't much nature, only a large sunset and some rocks.  Literally, nature is his freedom because he's out of the city, and also figuratively because there are no trees or plants in the city.  The sunset is the most profound of the scene because it is the most amount of color scene throughout the movie.  Since the entire city, except for the yellow production area, is grey, the orange sunset is a nice change of pace, and considering that it was the final scene of the movie, a very unique conclusion.  The movie also does a nice job of leaving the ending open to speculation.  The audience is left wondering if thx manages to survive outside the city or if he will die.  Seeing as how he escaped all the guards and maze design of the city, he probably could live for a while, especially if the world has any above ground cities.  Although some of the redone special effects detract from the atmosphere, the film is a successful portrayal of what could happen if society is micromanaged and controlled to no end.