Blindness

I heard a review of the movie Blindness, which opened the Cannes Film Festival this year. Blindness is based on the book by Portuguese writer, Jose Saramago. Not all the reviews are great, but thinking about storyline of the film has kept me up late into the night--and at times terrified at the thought that something like this could actually happen.

In the movie and the book, thousands (perhaps millions) are suddenly stricken by a mysterious contagious blindness. The victims aren't lost in darkness, but in a terrible whiteness. There is a horrible attempt to quarantine those with the disease, but as more and more become blind, society begins to fall apart and an even more horrible sightless, chaotic anarchy takes over.

Imagining what would happen if all the world actually became suddenly blind is chilling. I thought about how I would tie a rope linking Amado, Wendy, and I so we could grope for food and water without the fear of losing each other.

But, of course, the story is an allegory. Maybe a hint reminding us of that which we have already lost sight of. But you don't need me to tell you that.