Ender’s Game, the movie, made me think a lot about just war theory proposed by St. Augustine of Hippo. I want to look into it. It also raised some issues about conscience and decision-making. For example, the colonel, in his perspective as a trained soldier with experience, saw the re- formation of the aliens as a future threat to Earth. The fact that they came to earth in the first place is a threat, and since they have high technology for space-travel, therefore it is very likely they also have the same power to destroy us. In the perspective of the child, he saw things differently. He was not experienced like the colonel and therefore his gut-reaction was different: as a child, he sought to understand his enemy instead of annihilate. This is partly the way he was trained, and partly his natural fighting instinct.
The moral implication of the movie shows that it was wrong to use a child to destroy a sentient species. Even if they intended to kill every human being on the planet, it would still not be right to eradicate an entire species if sentient. The reason is because God is the giver of life, and we do not have the right to take it away. We have a right to defend our lives, but all measures of compromise must first be exhausted before the option of killing is considered. There were no measures whatsoever to communicate with the alien species, no indication that communication was even attempted. Perhaps these are details touched upon in the book, but we do not know that unless we have read the book. It is somewhat ironic that humans have developed such complex technology geared toward war, but have made no progress toward communication or peace. The technology of peace is perhaps an art underdeveloped in the more prominent face of technology of war. In an age where communication is constantly emphasized within cellular and internet devices, the movie fails to show any indication that the art of communication has kept up with the art of war. And to think that it was as easy as a child playing a simulated game…dreaming...conversations with his sister…
Perhaps the most haunting line spoken in the movie is Ender’s after he discovers the simulation was real: “I will carry the weight of this genocide forever.” “But we won!” is the colonel’s weak response. “That’s all the matters.” “No,” Ender says. “What matters is how we win.”
This was a great movie, once you get past the fact that there seems to be a parallel between the simulated games that “teach” smart children tactics of battle and the video games that role-play it. Perhaps studies may show that video games may teach children how to think outside of the box; but life is not a game, and there are many social and moral skills that one can learn only in reality. It also does not seem believable that within a short period of time, these children can handle complicated tactics and strategies that take adults many years to master. Natural talent does not equate instant mastery, and Ender’s natural talent seems to go beyond what is natural. It seems…otherworldly.
