CWID Fall 2015

1. The Movie (2013)

2. Table of contents: Questions to be addressed

3. What’s wrong, and how did we get here?
• Just a generation ago, Earth was nearly destroyed by an alien race trying to invade.
Seeking to harvest our planet for their own use, we narrowly escaped utter destruction.
• Because of the potential threat, the government has had to make major changes.
• Directing all attention and resources to preventing another such threat, the government
focuses inward to create a stable and powerful society.
• Some freedoms have been a necessary sacrifice in creating such a society. Government
now has control over the family unit, including how many children parents can have, and
military can bypass authority of parents on children. (E.g., Colonel Graff confronts Ender
with the decision to continue training at the military academy, he tells Ender’s parents
they have no say in the decision)
• The military has questionable ethics
• They begin raising their future leaders from early childhood, exposing them to war.
• Authorities have agreed that the only way to prevent future destruction is to strike the alien
enemies preemptively, before they’re ready to respond.
• They never tell Ender that he’s actually engaging in war until after he’s annihilated an entire race.

4. Who is the hero, how can he save us?
• Ender Wiggin
• Strategic Genius.
• Shows strategic throughout the movie
• When Attacked by two bullies in separate incidents: Stilson and later Bonzo
• “Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones, too.”
• When playing strategic games shown in the movie: defeating Stinson in a battleship game,
and later when playing a puzzle game with mice.
• Playing war games in the academy
• His family is well acquainted with the academy
• Both his brother and sister failed the program in which he’s enrolled.
• Not phased by emotional aspect of conflict. He is humble, not driven by his
own ego.
• Ender is the man for the job.

5. Does Ender cure the Dystopian State?

7. What does our culture fear as revealed
in Ender’s game?
1. War on a grand scale.
1. Okay, (mostly) everyone fears war. It’s common sense to say that
a culture would fear war. But in a story like this war adds
intensity to our decision making. It’s easy to say what we would
do in a given situation. But including unpredictable chaos can
hinder our ability to think clearly.

8. 2. Leaders that compromise.
1. The government in Ender’s Game was corrupted because they had
compromised standards of morality. They justified their compromise with
the threat of destruction. “It’s them or us.”

9. What is the warning we are to receive about
where our culture is headed?
1. There is a standard of right and wrong to which we must heed.
1. The standard remains when life is complicated by some kind of disaster.
2. The standard remains when society becomes corrupt.
2. Don’t “shoot first and ask questions later”.
1. Count the cost of the decisions you’re making. Even if you’re pressured to
move fast, try to be as aware as possible when entering conflict or
difficulty.
After defeating the enemy and learning the truth, Ender had to deal with the
reality of genocide. Even though circumstance and society seemed to demand
the death of the enemy, Ender stood firm in his conviction that everyone
deserves a chance to live.

10. 1. The debate about how to handle ISIS.
1. We’re faced with a hard decision. Our time for pondering is limited.
Everyone is yelling answers.
What are we to do?
a) Intervene in a controversial conflict, resulting in huge loss of life.
b) Let things continue the way they are, resulting in huge loss of life.

11. Where is this problem in relation to our
culture? (2)
2. Questions about personal morality.
1. Who has authority in our lives?
1. Am I autonomous? Am I sovereign over my own decisions?
2. Am I under the authority of the government? What do they have the right to demand
from me?
3. Is there a God who has authority over me? What would he want from me?
4. Is the answer a mix of answers 1-3? If so, how do we define each party’s jurisdiction?
Ender’s life causes us to question who should have authority over
family, war, etc. These are common controversial topics we face as we
consider questions like abortion, sexuality, war, and others.

12. How can our culture avoid becoming the
dystopian culture in the book?

13. The End