divergent: this film is so important

Saturday, March 29th

I just got back from the new film Divergent. Going into the film, I had no expectations. I knew the film was an adaptation of a book series that didn't catch my interest upon its initial release. I knew it starred Shailene Woodley, a young actress whose career I've enjoyed watching develop. I knew people were comparing it to The Hunger Games. I knew my friends had all seen it and loved it, and I knew that it was being commended for being a film that gave young girls autonomy. What I saw absolutely blew me away, and I left the theater feeling so energized and excited about this film, repeatedly saying to my roommate (who saw the film with me) "This film is so important. This film is so important."

My biggest criticism of the film was the presence of a romance, inevitable in a film (and potential franchise) targeted at teenagers. But the romance in the film was brief. Tris is the main character, and she is Divergent- she encompasses all the traits of the categories the people of the dystopian society she lives in get sorted into. Everyone has a role, must follow the rules of that role. Most do- Tris doesn't. She has to keep this a secret though, because her way of thinking threatens the power structure. All Divergents do. They have the ability to see past the ideologies being pushed onto them. So that makes them dangerous. Tris chooses to become Dauntless, the brave, the protectors. Her love interest in the film is her trainer, Four. My initial objection to this pairing was the power dynamic. Four is in a position of power over Tris. He is the trainer for the Dauntless initiates, those who weren't born into the Dauntless faction. He saves her or helps her in a number of situations throughout the film, which annoyed me because I just wanted to see Tris to save herself.

But what was apparent in the film was that Tris totally could. Tris was brave, and smart, but never heartless. One of my favorite moments in the film is after Tris is rescued by her mother, whom she'd been separated from after choosing Dauntless. There is tension between the factions, with Erudite brainwashing the Dauntless into essentially gunning down Abnegation, Tris' old faction. Because Tris is Divergent, the brainwashing doesn't work on her, but as soon as it's found out that she's still under her own free will, she's chased. Tris' mother helps her escape in an awesome tag-team mother-daughter fight sequence, and it is in this scene that we learn Tris' mother was born Dauntless. Tris ends up shooting and killing one of her attackers. She's in shock afterward, guilty about it, and her mother takes a moment to comfort her, before encouraging her to keep moving. Dauntless are trained not to let their feelings come into play; they are soldiers, fighters, protectors, enforcers. Shortly after, Tris' mom is shot, but she tells Tris she's okay in order for Tris to defend them from the last of their attackers. Once Tris turns around, we see that her mother has been fatally wounded. Heartbroken, Tris openly cries, but she leaves her behind, knowing that she has a job to do.

The message of Divergent was loud and clear: You have a choice. You can think for yourself. You can make your own decisions and fight for what you believe in. Tris is a symbol of autonomy: she is Divergent, the definition alone meaning someone who "thinks differently," someone who doesn't see everything from one side. Divergents threaten those in power; they threaten the hegemony, which is why they are seen as dangerous. The mind control serum crafted by the Erudites doesn't work on Divergents, and they maintain their free will. Tris chooses Dauntless. She chooses to create her own identity when she joins her new faction, using Tris instead of Beatrice, the name she grew up with. When she and love interest Four kiss for the first time, she tells him she wants to go slow. And he listens to her. When Tris takes her final test after Dauntless training, a test that simulates your worst fears, Tris fights back against a Four who pushes himself on her. When one of Tris' friends from training double crosses her and attempts to kill her, she doesn't accept his apology. She tells him, "If you ever touch me again, I'll kill you." Tris is a strong character, and Divergent is a very important movie.