Jason Ryoo

Professor Arnold
INTL 3111
25 November 2018
Effects of Colonialism and Inequality
Historically, colonialism created an inequality between classes in many parts of the

world. As elite class become used to European culture and owns majority of wealth in the

country, inequality between rich and poor increased to the level of extreme compared to era

before colonialism in many African and Southern Asian countries. Colonialism also created

slave-trade system that forced many innocent people to be sold as slaves. Some dystopian films

give us important message that history of inequality and colonialism should not be repeated.

While animals are used to entertain humans with the circus show and zoo in reality,

humanized apes uses humans for their benefit in “Planet of the Apes”. Just like Europeans

treated Africans as slaves, apes treat humans as slaves, and humans fight to bring freedom to

their lives. This film criticizes how barbaric Europeans’ idea of enslaving Africans was by

making people to think in the opposite direction. Making humans slaves instead of apes helps

people understand how Africans felt while they were slaves, which can be the best way to

describe the violence of slave-trade system.

Another film called “Elysium” criticizes inequality that has been increasing by telling

people what would happen if inequality increases to the level of extreme. While rich people can

extend their lives indefinitely with advanced technology in the planet of Elysium, citizens of

Earth live in poverty and do not have access to advanced technology that cures all diseases.

While inequality itself is not related to colonialism, it is the colonialism that created inequality

between people in many African and Southern Asian countries. It also criticizes inequality that
has been increasing constantly in modern society that made top one percent own majority of the

wealth. In addition, influence of European culture led many people in Africa to move to Europe,

which also exists in the film. Just like many people in Africa wants to move to Europe, residents

of Earth want to become a citizen of Elysium to enjoy better treatment of diseases and to live

better life with advanced technology.

“Elysium” and “Planet of the Apes” both describes the negative effects that inequality

and colonialism brings in the long term effectively. Just like in the films, inequality divided

people by class that resulted in a very different lifestyle because of concentration wealth to rich

top one percent in the modern society. It gives us message that history of inequality and

colonialism should not be repeated.