The Topic of Hope
I’ve been giving hope a great deal of thought lately and so, naturally, I cued up the movie I am Legend last night. I’m becoming more fascinated with dystopian stories because they wrestle with the idea of hope in what looks like overwhelming darkness.
The story begins after a cure for cancer goes sideways and turns into a lethal virus that turns most humans into vicious zombies. A few people are naturally immune, and our story focuses on Robert, a military virologist, who lives in Manhattan with his dog. Sam is his only companion.
Robert has worked out a healthy daily routine. Each day, after conducting experiments to find a cure, he drives the streets of the city announcing via radio broadcast that he will provide food, shelter, and protection at a specific location.. He spreads hope to any survivors.
As long as he remains in the daylight, he’s safe. The Darkseekers are the zombie types who can’t tolerate light. The movie uses symbolism of darkness vs. light.
At this point in the story, Robert exudes hope in a city savaged by the effects of the virus.
When Sam dies after an encounter with Darkseekers, our hero exchanges hope for rage. He gives up. His experiments aren’t working. His companion is dead. He’s plunged into despair.
The Revenge Plan
Robert puts together a clumsy revenge plan, aiming to kill as many Darkseekers as possible before they kill him. Of course, he unleashes this plan at night.
He’s rescued by a woman and boy who heard his daily radio broadcasts and came. Anna becomes the new hope in the story. She and Ethan are on their way to a survivors’ camp in Vermont.
Robert has now decided hope is useless. He’s sure no one else has survived. He rages at her: she’s a fool for thinking otherwise. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, as far as Robert can determine. There is no hope.
Back in 2007, when I first saw the movie, I am Legend was a horror/zombie story to me. But now I see through a different lens.
My Changes in Life
I’ve endured a lot of loss since that time. Some things I assumed would be a part of my future are now gone. I understand Robert’s loss of hope when his companion died and his experiments kept failing. He wanted to fix the world by curing the virus. When Sam died, the future abruptly dimmed to black. The darkness looked to have won.
But that’s not the way of hope. It impressed me when Anna credited God for guiding her to Robert. In the end, she was the one to declare to other survivors that there was still hope.
A dystopian story can illustrate movement from darkness to light, from loss to life, from revenge to renewal. Bleakness does not get the last word for a Christian who believes in God’s renewal and light and life.
Hope is the confidence that the light wins. That God wins.
