The film’s Soylent Corporation begins to release a new nutritional product called “soylent green” and in the course of investigating the murder of one of the wealthy scions of society, a detective discovers that soylent green is made from humans. The middle class has disappeared and what remains is the ultra-rich, who are able to continue to live luxurious lives while the rest of society barely scrapes by. In Soylent Green, 2022 sees a world with severely limited resources due to overpopulation, which is at 40 million people in New York City alone. This theme runs rampant throughout the film, but perhaps even more telling of this dystopian future is the treatment of the female characters in the film and how this degradation is considered so commonplace, it is barely even discussed. In fact, according to Alberta Energy, about 5500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into Earth’s atmosphere every year due to human activity, which in turn is contributing to the progression of climate change. Though there are some additional environmental protections in place now versus when the film came out, the problems of overpopulation and global warming are more critical and threatening than ever. With extreme class division, environmental ruin, food shortages, and overpopulation, viewers will find much to empathize with, especially in today’s world. She currently lives in Chicago with her two pet turtles, Franklin and Roy.Īlthough Soylent Green premiered over 40 years ago in 1973, many of its environmental and political themes are even more applicable today than they were then. Her hobbies include cooking, doodling, and finding local shops around the city. Maria Violet is a writer interested in comic books, cycling, and horror films.

Harry harrison soylent green