Talk:Soylent Green

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Soylent Green was a good article, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these are addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

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[edit] Source of the bodies

It's been a few years since I watched the movie, but I'm fairly certain that the only confirmed source of the bodies was from the euthanasia clinics. Thorn follows the truck that takes Sol away from the euthanasia center and sees that it winds up at the food processing plant. There are riot scoops that appear early on in the film and scoop people up into the backs of trucks, but it's never hinted that those are the primary source of meat. Since they're called in by the police, presumably the people scooped into them go to jail. --4.246.9.180 09:13, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, I just watched it, and I did not see any implication that the people picked up by the scoops were taken to the processing plant. A recent edit reinserted the statement that they were. I'm going to revert it. -- LonelyPilgrim 22:59, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Well since the riots start with a food shortage and end when the supply of soylent rations is back, then the goverment would have to have recived a large influx of ingredients during the riot. it would make sense to utilise all the extra meat they could get, and the rioters could be that extra meat. 84.67.150.114 15:38, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

That's conjecture, and not allowed see WP:OR. Mallanox 00:47, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Conjecture or inference?

Conjecture. The movie makes no reference to the fate of those scooped. I'd suggest that it would make sense for the government to use all people who died in government custody, but nowhere in the story do they even suggest that. If you can find a credible movie reviewer (i.e. movie reviewer that either Wikipedia has an article on, or that IMDb links to) who says that the bodies that are used for Soylent Green come from the scoops, then I have no problem with including it.
Honestly, have you ever heard of food riots? They start when food is scarce, and they end when food comes back. The fact that the food comes back has nothing to do with the fact that people were rioting. In the case of the movie, the food comes only on appointed days, and there's rioting because the people want the food. Soylent Green only comes on Tuesday, and they run out every Tuesday. That's why there's rioting. superlusertc 2007 July 30, 04:33 (UTC)
It's been a while, but having just watched the movie, the claim is that the Shortage is due to a "transportation" problem, and not a production shortage. TheHYPO (talk) 03:35, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cultural references

Does anyone else feal that the 'Cultural references' section is getting out of hand. -- Solipsist 08:32, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Yes. —Morven 17:11, Apr 17, 2005 (UTC)
In fact, looking at the list, I can't think that any of it adds value to the article. I think it could all be replaced by a simple paragraph stating that "Soylent Green has been referenced in numerous movies, TV shows and songs, including <very short list>" —Morven 17:22, Apr 17, 2005 (UTC)
Keep the the list: it's interesting and entertaining, and gives reasonable detail to allow understanding of the points. More information on the plot would be welcome, it's obviously very different from the book. - dave souza 20:08, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

some of those don't have anything to do with soylent green other than cannabalism so they could be removed but the list should stay.

"Soylent Green is people!" has become such a staple of pop culture that to make a list of every reference to it would be ridiculously unmanagable. I have replaced it with a shorter paragraph called "Cultural impact" that, I hope, explains this phenomenon easier than a list of jokes from various television series could. Captain Yesterday 18:15, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Wish there were some way to get Xenogears in here without being massively spoilerific. Those who've played that game will know what I mean. 65.190.52.238 09:04, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Gah! I JUST started playing Xenogears :O!!! 24.116.172.29
AAARRRGGGH!!! *slaps with a stick* --LonelyPilgrim 17:43, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

It seems we're letting a list of references creep in again. Are we going to allow this? I tend to think it's going to get out of hand again. There are probably hundreds of references out there, and people are going to list even the most minor. If we're going to list references, I think we ought to vote on which are most significant. —LonelyPilgrim 13:17, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Regarding the list of references: it should also be expanded to include today's current usage, specifically regarding how people derogatorily refer to stem cell research as Soylent Green. This is important as it pertains to a current issue. Gemini79 18:45, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

A citation was requested for usages of "Soylent Green" regarding stem cell research. Here are several examples taken from various blogs and forums, commonly discussing the matter of Stem Cell research & relating it to Soylent Green: [1] [2] [3] Gemini79

[edit] Connection to Nazi propaganda film?

Skywayman added:

When Sol is "going home" the background score on the film is Beethoven's Symphony #6. The same musical piece was used in the Nazi propaganda film Der Führer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt (The Führer grants the Jews a town). The film was an attempt by the Nazi regime to portray the Jewish ghettos as happy suburban communities.

How exactly does the fact that Symphony No. 6 was used in Nazi propaganda relate specifically to Soylent Green? Does the reference Skywayman cites ("The World at War") actually relate this to the movie? I don't see the connection. The use of the symphony in the "going home" film is not propagandistic. Symphony No. 6 is the "Pastoral" symphony, and so is directly related to the imagery of the film. Symphony No. 6 was also used in Fantasia, but I don't think it's relevant to mention that here. Can anyone justify this addition? —LonelyPilgrim 04:09, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

Is there any relation between this movie and the one presented here (The Führer Gives a Village to the Jews) Concentration_camp_Theresienstadt#Used_as_propaganda_tool ? 85.204.119.88 11:29, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

It is the same film User 85.204.119.88 points out. Beethoven's #6 is probably used in lots of pieces and it's merely a coincendence in most of them. I remember a Simpson's episode used it once, I'm sure there's no connection. Maybe it is just a coincidence as well but the symbolism of a character clearly identified as Jewish being disposed of by the state strikes me as not coincidental. It may have been done deliberately by the film makers to hint at this. I noticed the score was identical when viewing Thames Television production of The World at War which came out around the same time. They included a scene from that propaganda film so I listed that as my source since I do not have access to the original film. SkyWayMan 21:47, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] References in Futurama

The show mentions Soylent Green ALOT, maybe it should be noted? MikeyB! 16:29, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm torn on this because other users are correct that if you list every reference it would go on forever. Then again both are set in New York of the future which could explain the writers using it "ALOT". SkyWayMan 22:14, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Why should it be mentioned? It's made later and has nothing to do with the movie or its production, it should rather be made note of it on the futurama page and redirect to the soylent green page.

[edit] Spoiled Plot Twist Leading to Popularity?

I do not understand how a movie trailer that spoiled the film's plot twist could have enhanced the popularity of the film or its title as a popular culture term, as suggested in the article. Perhaps this idea could be explained and also referenced - I cannot find anything on this subject, although an analysis on why the term is so often referenced would benefit the article greatly. --ChrisJMoor 00:41, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Well, when you think about it, a movie that has nothing going for it but "in the future, this one kind of food is, like, really popular" isn't going to garner nearly as much interest as cannibalism. People are interested in, say, the identities of murderers for its own sake, or of ghosts, and even the last words of fictional tycoons, but Soylent Green is an interesting case where the twist is almost its only hook. —Lenoxus 19:23, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Delisted GA

I have delisted the article as a GA, per the following (copied from WP:GA/D)--Konstable 00:02, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

There are no references what so ever. Also, the article only contains a plot summary, trivia, and a small paragraph on the cultural impact. If this is all it takes to make a good article then the Clerks. page i've been working on should also be a good article. Andman8 20:50, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Delisted I'm not sure what the guidelines are for the plot summaries, probably no references are necessery, but there are other things that need references on that article - for instance the cultural impact and the trivia sections.--Konstable 23:59, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

"New Orleans Sludge-metal Band Soilent Green" - this is un-encyclopaedia-like. I could change it to "splash-metal" and it would be just as meaningful

Un-encyclopaedia like? You mean, writing for dumb people? Dumbing things down by using incorrent terms, or in this case, not the right terms, is rather "un-encyclopaedia like". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.218.164.114 (talk) 13:09, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Soylent Green

I have not heard anything substantial about Soylent Green since 1973 when I first saw the movie as a child of nine years old. I remember scenes. Oh, I remember scenes. I remember my parents saying it was a shitty movie, but we were working class. Paradoxos 04:23, 26 March 2007 (UTC) (apparently someone hates me)

[edit] Trivia reference: National Public Radio

On April 1, 2007, the National Public Radio show "Weekend Edition", as an April Fools Day prank, added a tag line indicating that it was "... sponsored by the Soylent Corporation, manufacturers of Soylent Green. Soylent Green is people."

The spoof was admitted on their April 8 show.

I'd post this text directly, but want to check the actual quote before I do so.

Typofixer76 12:44, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Interesting, but I don't think it's appropriate to add mention to the article. This article used to have a giant section filled with many, many references by other works. It was removed as an unmanageable list. See #Cultural references on this page for some of the discussion. The movie is a pop culture thing, and as such gets referenced frequently. Every such reference is thus not automatically notable. See Wikipedia:Avoid trivia sections in articles and Wikipedia:Notability for the rationale behind this. Thanks for taking the time to post about it here, though. —DragonHawk (talk) 14:10, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
Well, I'd never heard of this movie so I specifically looked for the references section and found none... it would be nice to see a few that aren't the sci-fi genre just self-referencing. NPR is prime. Potatoswatter 08:08, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Redundant spoiler tag

This is one of many articles on Wikipedia that contain a redundant warning after the clearly labelled "Plot synopsis" section heading or something similar. I have removed this unnecessary typographical element because the meaning of the heading is clear. --Tony Sidaway 01:52, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

However the first paragraph contains a significant spoiler (i.e. the lasts line of the film) without actually having a spoiler warning - please can this ee reinstated. CheShA

A "Plot Synopsis" or "Summary" is by definition a "plot spoiler". This is not a movie review site or IMDB, it should be assumed that the article will give a more or less complete rundown of the important elements of the movie. Think in terms of Cliff Notes. The whole idea of having to "warn" someone that a WIkipedia article on a movie "might" contain plot details is just silly. WiccaWeb 02:52, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] color or black and white?

Why are the IMDB photos sometimes in black and white? Are there two different versions of the film?

Because it was the early 1970's, and most hollywood promotional images back then were done in black & white photography. It was just the times, and the way hollywood did things back then. Xaa

[edit] Spoiler or not?

Because of the film's cult popularity, the term "soylent green" and the famous last line "Soylent Green is people!" have become catch phrases in English. Many subsequent works refer to Soylent Green for either dramatic or comedic effect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.218.164.114 (talk) 13:07, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Intro

The intro says "Soylent green is the supposedly natural, but really artificial, plankton food product at the center of the story." If Soylent green is people, doesn't still make it natural? Either way it's not a very good introduction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.185.185.164 (talk) 16:10, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

Futurama has an episode where there's a mock "Iron Chef" cook-off, and the main ingredient is Soylent Green. Not sure if this should be in, but it's the type of thing you'd find in a lot of other movie articles currently on Wikipedia. --Scottymoze

[edit] Plot synopsis

I'd like to redo the synopsis as it seems to contain a lot of original research information and assumption, and is a bit overspecific. The thin yellow smog, the "malthusian catastrophe", the government encouraging euthanasia (I didn't see encouragement)... etc. I'd like to par it down to stuff actually explicitly said in the film. Any objections? TheHYPO (talk) 03:40, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi, maybe the government wasn't encouraging euthanasia in the same way that the fictional UK government does in some dystopian films (e.g., with propaganda ads and posters), but the film does depict a government euthanasia clinic.OnBeyondZebrax (talk) 21:18, 1 June 2008 (UTC)