The Purge

The Purge is a 2013 American social science fiction horror thriller film written and directed by James DeMonaco. It stars Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane and Max Burkholder. It is the first installment in DeMonaco's Purge film series.

Despite mixed reviews, the film was commercially successful, grossing $89,328,627 during its run, far surpassing its $3 million budget. It was the lowest budget film to hit the top of the box office charts in 25 years before its release. A sequel, titled The Purge: Anarchy, was released worldwide on July 18, 2014 to even greater success.

Premise

In the early 2010s, "The New Founding Fathers of America" have established a new totalitarian government and a police state, following economic collapse. Using the 28th amendment of the U.S Constitution the government has established one night a year - called "The Purge", which occurs on March 21 to 22, in which all crime is legal, and all police, fire and medical emergency services remain unavailable for 12 hours, from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day. The only rules are that no government officials with authorization levels of 10 and higher are to be disturbed, and all weapons above Class 4 (explosive devices such as grenades, rocket launchers, bazookas, etc.) are forbidden. The purge has resulted in crime and unemployment rates plummeting to 1% and a strong economy. Although it is thought to be used as an act of catharsis for the U.S. populace, in reality, it is used as a method of artificial population control, as the unemployed poor in slum neighborhoods are usually the main targets. If weapons higher than class 4 are instituted for use or if high government officials are attempted to be harmed, the offenders would be publicly executed by hanging.

Purge

In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, from their team owners, or from society as a whole. A group undertaking such an effort is labeled as purging itself. Purges can be either peaceful or violent; with former often resolved by simple removal from office, and latter with the imprisonment, exile, or deaths of those purged. Restoring people who have been purged is known as rehabilitation.

Historical use of the term

The earliest use of the term itself was the English Civil War's Pride's Purge. In 1648-1650, the moderate members of the English Long Parliament were purged by the army. Parliament would suffer subsequent purges under the Commonwealth including the purge of the entire House of Lords. Counter-revolutionaries such as royalists were purged as well as more radical revolutionaries such as the Levellers. After the Restoration, obstinate republicans were purged while some fled to New England.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V is an open world, action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 17 September 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, on 18 November 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on 14 April 2015 for Microsoft Windows. The game is the first main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series since 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three criminals and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a government agency. The open world design lets players freely roam San Andreas's open countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.

The game is played from either a first-person or third-person view and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Players control the three lead protagonists throughout single-player and switch between them both during and outside of missions. The story is centred on the heist sequences, and many missions involve shooting and driving gameplay. A "wanted" system governs the aggression of law enforcement response to players who commit crimes. Grand Theft Auto Online, the online multiplayer mode, lets up to 30 players explore the open world and engage in cooperative or competitive game matches.

Lena Headey

Lena Headey (/ˈliːnə ˈhiːdi/ LEE-nə HEE-dee; born 3 October 1973) is an English actress.

After being scouted at age 17, Headey worked steadily as an actress in small and supporting roles in films throughout the 1990s, before finding fame for her lead performances in big-budget films such as the fantasy film The Brothers Grimm (2005), the action film 300 (2007), portraying Gorgo, Queen of Sparta, and the adventure and biographical film The Red Baron (2008).

Headey is best known for portraying Queen Cersei Lannister in HBO's hit fantasy series Game of Thrones since 2011, a performance that has earned her two consecutive Emmy award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for playing the titular character Sarah Connor on Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the villainous drug lord Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal in Dredd.

Early life

Headey was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, the daughter of Sue and John Headey. Her father, a Yorkshire police cadet, was stationed there at the time. She has one younger brother, Tim. The family moved to Somerset when she was five, and then relocated to Shelley, West Yorkshire when Headey was eleven. As a child, she took ballet lessons for a time before being told to discontinue.

James DeMonaco

James DeMonaco (born 1969) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on the films The Purge,The Purge: Anarchy, The Purge: Election Year and Little New York .

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links