Elysium is a cautionary tale of a society divided by socio- economic discrimination which evolves into a plutocracy. This is a direct result of the wealthy members of society controlling all the resources of Earth (including human resources) , but is only brought to the current state of society depicted in the film by the silence of the empowered members of that society staying silent in the face of injustice.
The establishing shot of the film is a bird’s eye view, which pans up to show the wasteland that earth has become. The buildings are in a state of disrepair, and the open land is covered in landfill waste. All the shots of earth are in shades of brown, further symbolising the dirty, decaying earth. Later, we are shown Elysium in a way that appears much more tranquil. The panning shots show the bright, natural greens and blues of plants and water in a balanced contrast to the pure and clean white buildings. These shots both serve to establish the disparity of life on earth and life on Elysium.
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Some instrumental music is present, symbolising the ever - present hope of the common people of reaching Elysium. In contrast, the soundscape is suddenly changed as soon as the shot leaves earth, with the more gentle instrumental music dominating the scene, symbolising the easier life on Elysium - a life free of sickness and oppression. The distortions of the string sections’ parts and bleeping of machines remind us of the technological superiority of