{SPOILER ALERT}
In the movie The Box, the mysterious alien presence is running tests on humanity to see their worthiness to exist as a species.
Each time a couple decides to press the button, they will end up in the situation in which they have to decide whether the husband will kill the wife in order to save their child from the fate of being blind and deaf, or if they'll let their child stay blind and deaf without the husband having to kill his wife.
If the husband and wife decide that he will kill his wife to save their child, then that coincides with someone else pushing the button (which fulfills the prophecy that someone will die because the button was pushed - but also they'll get $1 million cash).
It's kind of like the husband and wife facing the dilemma of whether to leave their child in the blind and deaf state are connected to the other couple who are faced with the dilemma of whether to push the button or not. And this way the cycle continues by the button being continually pushed, and subsequently the button-pusher being shot by the spouse (in the movie, both times it was the wife who was shot because they were the ones who actually pushed the button - so I think it's the button-pusher who has to be killed).
Anyway, so how is the cycle broken? I'm thinking that if a couple decides not to push the button, and the other couple they don't know about decide not to kill the button-presser and to leave their child in the horrible state of blindness and deafness - then this would end the cycle?? It's good for the first couple because they restrain themselves and won't have to face the dire consequences. But for the second couple, although the button-presser is not killed, their child who had nothing to do with the whole situation and is innocent - is left to suffer a terrible life of not being able to see or hear. So, for the button-pushing couple, I think there is no real forgiveness. Once the button is pushed, they will either decide to continue the cycle by killing the guilty button-pusher and saving their child, or they will decide to sacrifice the faculties of their innocent child and the button-pusher will have to live with the life-time shame of knowing that they caused their innocent child to live the horrible life of being both deaf and blind.
So, it seems throughout this whole alien experiment, in order for the cycle to be broken, there will be a lot of innocent children who succumb to the undeserved fate of becoming blind and deaf. It can also further be postulated that these children will not grow up to marry and have kids of their own, and so 'their line' of people (button-pushers) will die out and the world will be left with non button-pushing type of people (which it seems the aliens would view as a pass for this test).
Do you agree with this assessment? I'm just a bit shaken by the harshness of the punishment handed down by the alien presence to the innocent children of the button-pushing couples.
In the movie The Box, the mysterious alien presence is running tests on humanity to see their worthiness to exist as a species.
Each time a couple decides to press the button, they will end up in the situation in which they have to decide whether the husband will kill the wife in order to save their child from the fate of being blind and deaf, or if they'll let their child stay blind and deaf without the husband having to kill his wife.
If the husband and wife decide that he will kill his wife to save their child, then that coincides with someone else pushing the button (which fulfills the prophecy that someone will die because the button was pushed - but also they'll get $1 million cash).
It's kind of like the husband and wife facing the dilemma of whether to leave their child in the blind and deaf state are connected to the other couple who are faced with the dilemma of whether to push the button or not. And this way the cycle continues by the button being continually pushed, and subsequently the button-pusher being shot by the spouse (in the movie, both times it was the wife who was shot because they were the ones who actually pushed the button - so I think it's the button-pusher who has to be killed).
Anyway, so how is the cycle broken? I'm thinking that if a couple decides not to push the button, and the other couple they don't know about decide not to kill the button-presser and to leave their child in the horrible state of blindness and deafness - then this would end the cycle?? It's good for the first couple because they restrain themselves and won't have to face the dire consequences. But for the second couple, although the button-presser is not killed, their child who had nothing to do with the whole situation and is innocent - is left to suffer a terrible life of not being able to see or hear. So, for the button-pushing couple, I think there is no real forgiveness. Once the button is pushed, they will either decide to continue the cycle by killing the guilty button-pusher and saving their child, or they will decide to sacrifice the faculties of their innocent child and the button-pusher will have to live with the life-time shame of knowing that they caused their innocent child to live the horrible life of being both deaf and blind.
So, it seems throughout this whole alien experiment, in order for the cycle to be broken, there will be a lot of innocent children who succumb to the undeserved fate of becoming blind and deaf. It can also further be postulated that these children will not grow up to marry and have kids of their own, and so 'their line' of people (button-pushers) will die out and the world will be left with non button-pushing type of people (which it seems the aliens would view as a pass for this test).
Do you agree with this assessment? I'm just a bit shaken by the harshness of the punishment handed down by the alien presence to the innocent children of the button-pushing couples.