Individualism In The Maze Runner

THE MAZE RUNNER It is interesting to note that a couple decades ago the “hot teen” movie would probably be a romance or love-sex comedy with a happy ending. Currently, most teen movies have a post-modern, apocalyptic survival style of the story, dealing with uncertainty and anxiety. The Maze Runner completely matches this description as a story of survival. We enter the world of this film alongside teenagers who do not have memories about their past and live in the middle of a maze called Glade. They call themselves Gladers, who are just trying to survive and find a way out from this place. For this, they organized a rudimentary society with certain rules and dynamics, but no one knows why they are there and what they are really doing. Sometimes,

Limitless illustrates this essence of individualism quite well – it is all about me. Just like Eddie, regular people in our culture are seduced by emphasis on self-worship and narcissism, material wealth, and attention seeking. Oddly enough, the individualism (which leads to selfishness) is a product of both modern and post-modern cultures. Even though modern individualism has fostered the opportunities for economic prosperity and political and religious freedom through individual accomplishments, its achievements are ambiguous. It encouraged people to become selfish and self-centered, unwilling to contribute to the common good in a community, thus leading to loneliness and alienation. Individualism has also become one of the key elements in post-modern thinking, making the interests of the person more important when the interests of a social group. Post-modern individualism is associated with emphasis on self-expression and self-creation, as opposed to communal opinions and values. The character of Eddie Morra symbolizes both forms of individualisms and show that emphases just on individual achievements can lead us to become blind to the needs of people around us – we become selfish and we feel like we do not need community anymore. Too often, we as Christians place our identity in our talents

The film highlights courage and self-sacrifice together with humility and self-reflection. In contrast to Eddie Morra, Thomas has prioritized the common good for this small group above his own interest or safety. The Maze Runner aims toward a younger generation of viewers while outlining challenges that someone can experience under harsh circumstances. It presents audience with the question – If there is a crisis, will I look just for my own survival or the survival of others? Thomas does his best when encountering challenges while leading people to freedom. Likewise, our societies need the same type of leaders who are altruistic and able to face