The Book of Eli

Primary Focus: Religion

Above is a trailer for the 2010 film 'The Book of Eli'

The Book of Eli is set in a post apocalyptic world where very few people are left and resources are scarce. The main character, Eli, is on a journey going west to deliver his book to a destination he does not even know of. We later find out that the book he is to deliver is a bible; the last remaining copy of the bible in the world. The reason that it is the last copy being that all other copies were destroyed after the nuclear apocalypse because people blamed its teachings for the war. Eli says that a voice led him to the bible and also that the same voice told him to keep heading west to deliver the bible. Eli faces many challenges and fight scenes throughout the movie which brings to the big plot twist at the end when we find out that he's actually blind, and that is he also able to recite the whole bible by memory. This plot twist brings up the theme of faith. Eli had to have enough faith in the voice of God who told him to find the bible and go west even though he was blind. In the movie religion is what is said to have driven the world to the apocalypse but it also shows that for Eli at least, religion is what kept his faith. You don't need to be religious to have faith but the movie does question if having faith is what it means to be human. Faith does not necessarily need to mean to have faith in God - it could mean having hope, having trust, being sure of your goals and dreams, or any other personal definition one might have. For a lot of people though, faith does come from and for their religion. I believe having faith is one of the things that makes us humans and in the movie that is actually well portrayed. The people in movie are essentially dehumanized and live in a very animalistic society. When the world is in ruins and only their survival instincts are at work the people lost all their humanity but by Eli was able to stand out from the rest of society with the little humanity he had left by having faith in the mission he sought to complete throughout the movie.