Interesting series of events—IMHO. One night while in the hospital this fall, I was busy channel surfing and came across a TCM showing of Soylent Green. Now I'd seen it when it was released in 1971 and not been terribly impressed, but—what the heck—at that moment I was in a hospital and, compared to the other channels I'd checked, ol' Soylent Green was lookin' pretty good. So I watched it. And liked it. Oh, Charlton Heston discovering that "soylent green is people" was still pretty hokey, but what intrigued me was the background against which the mystery was set. So I decided to investigate.
First thing I found out—maybe this info was in the movie credits; I can't remember—was that Soylent Green was based on a science fiction novel, Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. Assuming, correctly it turns out, that my husband, a sci fi nerd who never gets rid of book, would have the book, I asked him. Said book was produced. He loaned it to me, requesting that I be careful because it was really old, and—sure enough—I had in hand a 60-cent paperback, published in 1966. I think my husband thought each page would tear out once I read it. (Actually none did, but I'm sure glad he doesn't know that's exactly what happened when I read his 50-cent, 1950's copy of I Am Legend.)
As in the movie, what held my interest was the world Move Down! Move Down! presents. It's set in 1999 New York City where the population is 35 million. Food, water and living space are close to nonexistent. Oh, there are wealthy people who manipulate crime and politics (sound familiar?), but there aren't many. The protagonist, Andy, is a cop—played by Charlton Heston in the movie—and it is casually mentioned at one point that his salary is taxed at 80%. Life in this book is 'way beyond hard, except for the elite. (Bush's base, perhaps?)
Having finished Make Room! Make Room! late last night, I found myself wondering: so, which is better—the book or the movie? Usually that for me is an easy question. Except for To Kill a Mockingbird, I invariably choose the book. In this case? It's harder because Soylent Green and Make Room! Make Room! are so extremely different. The major story of the movie, Andy's discovery of what soylent green is, isn't even in the book. The book captures the horror of overpopulation much better, but this aspect of the story leads to speeches about birth control, which are straight propaganda. At least the movie didn't force those upon its audiences.
I don't think I'd recommend either the book or the movie alone, but when they're seen and read close together, doing so creates an interesting picture of how Hollywood handles its material.
