History Headscratchers / TheBookOfEli

So, Solara shows Eli where [[Carnegie gets his water from, hoping that he would let her travel with him. When they get out, he says he forgot his glasses inside, sends her to get them, and locks her in. He insists that he isn't a liar, because he never said he would take her with him. So, telling her that he forgot hi glasses when he actually didn't isn't considered lying.]]

** The guy has a freaking iPod!...that depending on its date of manufacture, may not be usable with between 80 and 90% of the computers that existed prior to the apocalypse (I can't tell if it's a second generation model or not) and accordingly, 80 to 90% of computers that might still exist. Assuming, of course, he could find the necessary cable, computer, and electricity to start with.

** Alternately, hand tremors might be something that's merely become ''associated'' with cannibalism in the popular imagination, without any factual basis. People in post-apocalyptic fiction tend to be paranoid and ignorant, after all.

** Do we even know for sure whether Eli's Bible was complete? If all other copies were destroyed and the post-war generations don't even know what praying is, let alone what the Bible's contents are, who'd even be in a position to call him out on it if he only gave them part?

** The guy has a freaking iPod!- that in all probability he only found recently, for the reason above. Plus he doesn't have the tech to upload anything else onto it (even if he found a laptop, the Internet is down and there is no electricity to power either, so unless the computer already has both batteries and happens to have the texts he's looking for, it would be pretty useless; plus he's nearly-blind, so he also won't be able to see what he's doing, and he might have walked by dozens of them without noticing).

* [[DidNotDoTheResearch There already is a]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_King_James-_Version New King James Version.]]

** I thought they were only pointing out that the version he had was the New James King Version. Why would they call his version ''new'' anyway?

**** To put it simply, Eli ''meant'' the New King James Bible; he probably either made a mistake, or just omitted the "New" bit for quickness.

** If by "town," you mean Carnegie's, apparently not, as he burns all books that aren't TheBible. If by "town," you mean the colony where Eli and Solara end up, a Qu'ran and Torah can be seen on the shelf at the end.

** It ''looked'' like a great big burning sun but I don't recall anyone talking about how hot it was. It could have been winter, if all the multiple layers of clothing everyone is wearing is anything to go by.

* The death, this troper knows we were supposed to see it as a peaceful rest, now that his mission was done. But, there was no reason for it. It wasn't even [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Redemption equals Death.]] It was more like success equals Death. I know he was an old man for his world but the way it was filmed it was less "I've fulfilled my mission, now I can die happy" and more "You're reward for carrying God across the desert is getting your divine protection withdrawn five minutes after you stop serving."

** The Bible's a culturally important work and worth preserving.

** Firstly, nuclear armageddon probably went a long way towards destroying a lot of copies of the Bible, and most books (which are pretty rare). Second, it could just be that its not to be taken literally, and others do exist that just haven't been found yet. How organized the purge of bibles was might be a factor too, and the lack of modern communications might have made it harder for believers to get the [[IncrediblyLamePun Word]] out that their books needed saving, or more likely the believers might just have hid them better. And those not got by the purge might have decomposed; ''all'' books are rare, after all, not just this one.

** Interesting. I can see why someone would think that, given the similarities between Oldman's office above the bar in this movie compared to McShane's office above the saloon in Deadwood. However, to me it seemed like Oldman was doing a more toned down less campy version of some of the previous bad guys he has played. Specifically, Zorg and Detective Stansfield, from The Fifth Element and The Professional. Both of which predate Deadwood.

** Isn't that exactly what they did, but missed one?
*** Exactly, which made Eli's text so valuable...
*** I just don't think it would happen. Too many people would save them. I'm not a very religious person, but I could never destroy a bible, or the Kuran for that matter.

** Indeed, he was already dying from the moment Carnegie shot him. God kept him going long enough to complete his mission. And he was able to die peacefully, which in the [[strike:FallOut]] BookOfEli Universe, is rare. And he's in Heaven, which is pretty good too.

* Do you know what bugs me? That this movie was Fallout with Fundamentalism mixed in.The world has ended and the BEST book to save is the Bible?Really?No history of science?No the complete history of the World,What about Adam Smith? Plato? And, no the collection in the end does NOT compensate, actually that makes it worse, because we didn't see a movie about any of these book we saw a movie about the Bible. Oh and by the way, I agree with Carnegie, that book would be a tremendous advantage for conquering because it has already used for that countless times. And the Torah and Quran. Really, I hate book burning, but if 2-3 books have destroyed the whole planet in the wrong hands again and again, I would at least lock them up,somewhere really really safe. NO REPRINT THEM AND START PREACHING AGAIN!

**** In 1978, some bans were lifted and the present day equilibrium 32 years later is less than 20% in ''a time of peace''. The [[BannedInChina banning]] of ChickTracts and other materials as acts of sedition in the past, exclusion of the Koran from the Olympic grounds in more modern times, and the continuing policy of outlawing and quashing any would-be religion that isn't "well-established" seems like a pretty long-lasting success that has seen even better(?) days in time gone by.

***** Actually, [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel there is also a true human prion disease caused by cannibalism]] (and not just [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creutzfeldt-Jakob_Disease new variant Creutzfelt-Jakob Disease]], which is what happens when humans eat cows infected with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_Spongiform_Encephalopathy Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy]]. It's called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_%28disease%29 Kuru]]. Cannibalism does cause Mad Cow like symptoms in humans, and it's just as fatal.

* Is this troper the only one who sees how freakin' valuable Eli's iPod is? I mean, the movie makes it pretty clear that most of the population was wiped out, most books and art are gone, and any remnents of culture from before the war is quickly dying. That iPod contains one of the most powerful expressions of culture and zeitgeist that has ever existed: music.

** Interesting. I can see why someone would think that, given the similarities between Oldman's office above the bar in this movie compared to McShane's office above the saloon in Deadwood.

However, to me it seemed like Oldman was doing a more toned down less campy version of some of the previous bad guys he has played. Specifically, Zorg and Detective Stansfield, from The Fifth Element and The Professional. Both of which predate Deadwood.

** Also it is strongly implied that Carnegie is a lapsed Christian himself. While he wants the book primarily for power, he probably wants a bible specifically because of the impression it once made on him. Even when he's dying and he can't use it for what he wants, he still wants to hear it, an almost Luciferan lament for the glory of God that he turned his back on.

* The guy has a freaking iPod! He could have recorded the whole bible to it as an audio file.
* The guy has a freaking iPod! He could have saved a text file on it with the whole Christian, Jewish and Muslim canons(not showing preference, just alphabetical order.) Probably even Buddhist and Shinto and so on if it was 60GB.
* The guy has a freaking iPod! And he walked across the country...and never found a laptop?

* The guy has a freaking iPod! ... he has to deal with the DRM.
* The guy has a freaking iPod--that breaks down and runs out of battery juice, with no certainty that either can be remedied.

** Someone's ComplainingAboutThingsYouHate.

* The guy has a freaking iPod! ... he has to deal with the DRM.

**** I just don't think it would happen. Too many people would save them. I'm not a very religious person, but I could never destroy a bible, or the Kuran for that matter.