To the Chicago Abyss story

rbt1985e3x09 · 1989-09-22

A man is pursued and considered an enemy of the state for simply reminding people of "the good ol' days." Directed by: Randy Bradshaw. Story by: Ray Bradbury.

9 total · 2 choice · 1 major · 5 minor

Theme	Level	Motivation
dystopia	choice	The story features a society in which all of life comforts, and food in particular, are depressingly scarce. It is unclear what has brought about this state of affairs. There was a police force, and therefore a ruling elite, but it is not made clear to what extent they have it better.
remembering bygone days	choice	A point of the story, if there was any, is that an old man threatened to upset the prevailing social order by making people recall the relative luxury of the days of yore.
what it is like to be impoverished	major	The story featured people in a fictional city that, for reasons undisclosed, had descended into a dystopian state in which virtually everyone had to eat garbage and dress in rags in order to survive.
creative writing	minor	In the introduction, Ray Bradbury shared with the viewer the wellsprings of creativity that inspire his writing.
husband and wife	minor	The stranger and his wife took the fugitive old man into their home hoping he would regale with stories of the good old days.
law enforcement	minor	Some futuristic law enforcers barged into peoples shacks and offered cans of beans in exchange for information about the fugitive whom they sought.
photographic memory ability	minor	In his introduction, Ray Bradbury boasted of having what he called "total recall" since the moment of his birth.
the nature of creativity	minor	In his introduction, Ray Bradbury gave his viewers an intimate window into his writing room, and some of the self-professed sources of creativity that lay about within it.
poverty in society	not	This theme is not used in fictional dystopian worlds where essentially everyone is impoverished, and government doesn't see it as a problem that can be fixed.