MovieChat Forums > Twelve Monkeys (1996) Discussion > Why wipe out the human race?

Why wipe out the human race?

posted 10 years ago by kuuul
26 replies | jump to latest

I have just watched this movie and I loved it. It is one of my favorite sci-fi movies now. Brad Pitt's character reminded me of two other characters: the Joker (The Dark Knight) and Tyler Durden (Fight Club).

The Joker was an agent of chaos. His goal was to spread chaos and mayhem in order to strip people of their ethics and morals. He started his own cult, and the cult members are all criminals. The Joker was probably an anarchist. Tyler Durden's (also Brad Pitt) goal was to demolish the capitalist society and start from scratch all over again. He also started his own cult, and the cult members are regular people who wanted to fight and they followed their leader (Tyler Durden) in his goal to demolish the capitalist hierarchy. Leftist/Socialist extremists? Maybe.

But what is the motivation behind the 12 monkeys? Pitt's character here is a genius, and also a maniac. But how did he start a cult, and why would people including the virologist scientist follow him? Why wipe out the human race, what is the point? The antagonists in other movies like The Matrix/IRobot/Terminator have the same philosophical argument, humans pose the most dangerous potential threat to the planet, but here in this movie they never explained it.

[–] cassbtt 10 years ago

It's one of the boggles of this film: Pitt's character is not involved in the apocalypse, and thus even the movie title is a red herring.

At least for the most part, as the themes of commercialism and blindly following leaders etc. is there, too. It's a twin for the other, which is that our doom may arise from a least expected place.

Because the bad guy was the long pony-tailed guy who was an assistant at the lab. He shows up early at and after Railly's book lecture, and we get a hint of his psychosis when he talks about the end of the world to her, even though she dismisses it at the time.

But it's great you just got around to seeing this classic, and enjoyed it.

Fan Fic "12 Monkeys" Trilogy of Sequels (not remakes)
www.tempesta-tormenta.ca

[–] langedor 10 years ago

"But what is the motivation behind the 12 monkeys? Pitt's character here is a genius, and also a maniac. But how did he start a cult, and why would people including the virologist scientist follow him?"

The 12 Monkeys cult was, like Cole said, a rebellious group of idiotic kids. They were activists and wanted to free the animals - they had absolutely nothing to do with the virus or wanting to destroy humanity.
The scientist with the orange hair similarly had absolutely nothing to do with the 12 Monkeys. As for his motivation behind wanting to wipe out humanity, who knows!

[–] filmmekker 10 years ago

Didn't he mention something about overpopulation?

Open the door for Mr. Muckle!!

[–] filmmekker 10 years ago

I re watched. The red haired virologist says something about compelling evidence that the human race is bad for the planet. Overpopulation, wars, damaging the environment, etc.

Open the door for Mr. Muckle!!

[–] Mickyfinn 10 years ago

How is Pitt's character a genius? I agree maniac, if not insane. But a genius?

You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design

[–] Hermies_Purrbuckets 9 years ago

The virologist is the only sane character in the film; when he badgers the authoress at the book signing by stating "the human race is bad for the planet: overpopulation, wars, damaging the environment, etc." he is entirely correct. He is the hero of the film, in my opinion. And it would appear at film's end that he will succeed in his glorious goal. Great SF with a happy ending!

[–] mxzt 9 years ago

Interesting way of looking at it. I guess in a sense the virus almost eradicated the virus that was contaminating the planet. And that virus is human beings.

[–] DrWhen 9 years ago

If you really want to dumb it down that much I guess.

[–] mxzt 9 years ago

How is it dumbing it down? Actually what he said made sense. I'd like to hear your explanation of the film.

[–] DrWhen 9 years ago

The "human beings are a virus" thing is a beat to death cliché.

[–] greg-233 9 years ago

"The "human beings are a virus" thing is a beat to death cliché."

Virtually everything in science fiction is a beat to death cliché.

[–] mxzt 9 years ago

The "human beings are a virus" thing is a beat to death cliché.

I'd still like to hear your take on the movie. And to see if it's not cliched as well.

[–] greg-233 9 years ago

The "human race = disease" theme was even used in a Doctor Who story from 1977 called "The Invisible Enemy":

The Doctor: "5000 AD! We're still in the time of your ancestors."

Leela: "Ancestors?"

The Doctor: "Yes. That was the year of the great breakout."

Leela: "The great what?"

The Doctor: "Mmm. When your forefathers went leapfrogging across the solar system on their way to the stars. Yes. Asteroid belt's probably teeming with them now. New frontiersmen... pioneers... waiting to spread across the galaxy like a tidal wave... or a disease."

Leela: "Why "disease"? I thought you liked humanity."

The Doctor: "Oh I do, I do. Some of my best friends are humans. When they get together in great numbers other lifeforms sometimes suffer."

Assuming the scientists in 12 Monkeys managed to beat the virus and reclaim the Earth, humans would no doubt have spread into space by 5000 AD. Why? Because it's there.

[–] the_la_baker 9 years ago

Doctor Who

Who cares? Oh yeah... Nerds.

[–] greg-233 9 years ago

"Who cares? Oh yeah... Nerds."

And people who know intelligent science fiction.

[–] the_la_baker 9 years ago

And people who know intelligent science fiction.

My comment was more tongue in cheek. I love sci-fi(Moon, Gattaca, Andromeda Strain, 2001, etc) but I've never seen Dr. Who and due to its length probably never will.

[–] eyeandeye-1 8 years ago

And it would appear at film's end that he will succeed in his glorious goal. Great SF with a happy ending!

I would've said the opposite is likely as the scientist from the future is seated next to him on the plane and says that she is in 'insurance' (aka an insurance policy for Cole in case he didn't take the gun or succeed).

[–] LemonTastic 9 years ago

To be honest, with the way the world is maybe wiping out humanity is a good thing.

I'd never thought I'd quote Batman but I remember watching The Dark Knight and when Alfred says "some men want to watch the world burn" it always stuck with me because their is truth too it.

I, for one, don't see the human race as a good thing and probably the best thing for the earth is either all of us or most of us to be gone. We're a shallow, selfish race. We worship the wrong sort of people and hate people who don't agree with us. We worship "Gods", that for all we know, don't actually exist and people have died because of these beliefs. To think that there are people out there who would choose an invisible man over an actual person in front of you makes me ashamed to call my self human.

[–] greg-233 9 years ago

"I, for one, don't see the human race as a good thing and probably the best thing for the earth is either all of us or most of us to be gone."

Mentioning Doctor Who again, there were some scientists who felt the same way. Rather than wipe out the human race with a virus, they planned to reverse time itself. This way, human history as we know it would never happen. The plan was called Operation Golden Age:

Operation Golden Age was a conspiracy led by Sir Charles Grover and Professor Whitaker. It included General Finch and Captain Mike Yates, who had recently suffered a breakdown that made him more open to their goals.

Believing Earth was becoming too polluted and humanity was too corrupt to change, they developed an elaborate plan to restart civilisation. After evacuating London by bringing dinosaurs to modern times with time eddys, they planned to reverse time around the planet to a period before mankind had evolved, then colonise it with a select group of people who believed they were on a spacecraft heading for New Earth.

The group of people who thought they were on a spaceship were actually ensconced in a bunker beneath London. If the plan had worked, they would have emerged from the "spaceship" to find an unpolluted, unpopulated Earth (believing it to be another planet). The men behind the scheme argued that it would be a "fresh start" for the human race, where all the mistakes and atrocities of history would be avoided. The Doctor wasn't impressed by this, of course. (The ends don't justify the means, etc.)

[–] LemonTastic 9 years ago

It's probably the pessimist in me but I'm not even sure that turning back time, ie retrying or restarting humanity would work.

We've had 100's of years to learn how to do things differently but apparently we like being at war with each other, like we have since the dawn of time.

[–] thulk01 8 years ago

Interesting view. Do you think that the desire for violence and other negative things are just inherent in humans' biology then? If you're assuming that a completely different course of history wouldn't cause them to develop differently.

Another viewpoint could be that most humans aren't that bad and it's just a fraction that are, however through some course of events the bad ones ended up being the ones in control and once they had control they were able to maintain it and screw everything up continuously. If they hadn't gained that level of control in the first place then everything might have developed very differently.

[–] LemonTastic 8 years ago

I like the idea of a different society where the good people are in power instead. There probably wouldn't be any wars etc.

[–] Interlepos (1817) 2 years ago

>> I, for one, don't see the human race as a good thing and probably the best thing for the earth is either all of us or most of us to be gone.

Lol, would you be the first in line for this idea/cause?

[–] Burk48917 (11495) 2 years ago

If any of the people on the internet that constantly parrot this idea actually came face to face with their imminent demise, they'd cry and beg to recant it. Every living species on the planet does what we do, they try to expand as much as possible. We simply evolved enough to conquer natures limitations.

[–] Burk48917 (11495) 2 years ago

I'll bet you make a lot of people think you should be ashamed to call yourself human.

[–] TheArgentinian (7251) 2 years ago

how the fuck can you miss the point of the movie? The 12 monkeys were just activists that were demonized by the media. The real villains were the scientists that developed the virus.

It happens today with people like Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion that are made to be targets of conservaties while the bad guys are in the shadow actually destroying the planet.

A great prescient film.