Overpopulation and how a frank discussion was missed ("Inferno" spoilers included).

[Ilsa]

I recently read Inferno by Dan Brown because the movie was being released and I was looking forward to watching it after getting the whole story from the book. The novel is about an acclaimed bio-engineer who believed mankind will go extinct if something isn't done about overpopulation. The wealthy bio-engineer said he was releasing a plague he engineered, and Robert Langdon and a young female doctor race to find the plague container before the planet is infected. Intense, right?

Spoilers coming up:


In the book, Langdon fails to find the plague in time. But it isn't a plague that causes disease. It is a plague that causes infertility in a random one-third of the population. The bio-engineer figured that this was necessary to rebalance the population levels. There was a discussion in the novel by the two lead characters about overpopulation and how unwilling leaders and everyone are to discuss it, much less deal with it. There is an inherent denial reflex at work.

In the movie, from what I read online in getting reviews, director Ron Howard (and others) changed the ending. Langdon finds the plague, which is a real death plague, disaster averted, everyone goes home glad that Langdon saved the day.

Well, it was the discussion about denial playing out in reality: the director and screenwriter decided not to tackle overpopulation. Unlike The DaVinci Code, there was no public discussion of the topic, whether it was reality-based, supported by evidence, etc. It was another opportunity missed to discuss the topic, even if it was just from the perspective of ordinary movie-goers. Ordinary people need to be talking about this, don't they?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

1. It's been my big soap box for a long time.

Only now am I seeing occasional positive responses.

In the past I got more outraged responses.

But even still, no one dares bring it up, for the most part.

Yet to me, there is no sustainability without reducing human overpopulation.

The GOP are trying to kill off people, though. Maybe that will help.

and yet, a grain of seriousness....

[TheMastersNemesis]

2. The Malthusian Scenario Lurks In The Shadows. We Will Face The Dragon Eventually.

[Ilsa]

3. I can remember when people would

discuss it (not here, necessarily) just to aggravate those who agree with every word of every pope. Although the current pope has stated that people don't need to be breeding like rabbits, there still hasn't been any public discussion. I think tackling climate change and sustainability will be wasted efforts if overpopulation is ignored. I don't understand the lack of interest.

Yeah, I wonder if the GOP's lack of interest in saving people from poverty (starvation, disease, etc) isn't a reflex to perceived overpopulation.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

4. Omg that's a lonnng discussion for me! Or monologue,

To be honest.