The elements of Marx’s social theory can be conveyed in contemporary film. The 2011 motion picture, In Time, written and directed by Andrew Niccol, strongly conveys elements of Marx’s social theory. In Time is a film set in a dystopian future in which time is the currency. People genetically stop aging at 25 and only have one year’s time to live. They either find a way to earn more time or die when their time runs out. In this future, regions are divided into “time zones” that can be crossed in exchange for certain amounts of time. All time zones are poor except one – New Greenwich. This story follows a man, Will Salas, from a poor time zone that obtains over 100 years of time and, after learning the truth about how the system operates, he ventures to disrupt it.
One concept of Marx’s theory conveyed in this film is the idea of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The proletariats in the film are the people in every time zone except for the one most affluent. They are the workers who sweat and toil in factories, often for extremely low wages (amounts of time), to create products. In the film, Will Salas works in a factory to produce electronic devices that act as a holding device for time, somewhat like a debit card or electronic wallet (In Time). The people who live in New Greenwich either own the means of production, the bourgeoisie, or are family of those that do. In the film, a resident of New Greenwich named Henry Hamilton travels to one of the poor time zones and acts recklessly because he is tired of living. This upsets Will because he sees people run out of time every day, yet this man is tired of having so much of it. This stark contrast is a strong example of the difference between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.
Another element of Marx’s theory expressed in this film is the concept of exploitation. The citizens in the poor time zones are being exploited by those in New Greenwich. Henry Hamilton explains clearly the exploitative tactics of the system, stating, “For a few to be immortal, many must die. Why do you think taxes and prices go up the same day in the ghetto? The cost of living keeps rising to make sure people keep dying. How else could there be men with a million years while most live day to day?” (In Time). This quote lines up neatly with the saying that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. The citizens of New Greenwich, the people with hundreds and thousands and millions of years, are creating surplus value for themselves by keeping their workers’ wages low – to the point where they are literally living day to day. One extremely affluent Greenwich resident, Philippe Weis, states, “Of course, some think what we have is unfair – the time difference between zones…but isn’t this just the next logical step in our evolution? Hasn’t evolution always been unfair? It’s always been survival of the fittest…This is merely Darwinian Capitalism” (In Time). He states himself that capitalism, in this future, and thus exploitation will perpetuate the struggle of the poor while maintaining and even expanding the wealth of the rich.
The final concept of Marx’s social theory suggested in this film is the idea of alienation. At the end of the film, Will Salas steals one million years belonging to Philippe Weis to give it to the residents of the poor zones. Philippe reacts to this by explaining, “In the end nothing will change because everyone wants to live forever. They all think they have a chance at immortality even though all the evidence is against it. They all think they will be the exception. But the truth is: for a few to be immortal, many must die” (In Time). He is declaring that as long as a capitalistic structure is in place, competition amongst the people will dominate over this one act of thievery. The alienation of a person from others is an effect of capitalism under Marx’s social theory. By this logic, eventually people will again exploit their fellow man in hopes succeeding financially – gaining “immortality.” Another form of alienation that is conveyed is the separation from the act of working. Will Salas states, “I don’t have time to worry about how it happened…I just want to wake up with more time on my hand than hours in the day” (In Time). The residents of poor zones don’t work for the pleasure of it. They work because they need it to survive – literally. They labor not for themselves but for someone else, thus alienating themselves from the act of working.
In conclusion, elements of Marx’s social theory can be seen in contemporary films such as In Time. It contains strong elements of Marx’s social theory that include proletariat and bourgeoisie social relations, exploitation due to capitalism, and alienation.
In Time. Dir. Andrew Niccol. Perf. Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. Twentieth Century Fox, 2011. DVD.