Soylent Green’s Chilling Message Still Hits Hard

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Science fiction continues to be a groundbreaking film genre, creating immersive worlds that feel both imaginative and believable. Although the genre has seen huge advancements recently, some of its most iconic movies were made decades ago. A prime example is the 1973 film Soylent Green, a disturbing vision of the future that sadly feels even more relevant today.

Classic science fiction movies often feature thought-provoking and memorable lines, and Soylent Green is no exception. The film’s most famous quote, “Soylent Green is people!”, perfectly captures the story’s terrifying premise and sends a shiver down your spine. Equally disturbing is the journey to this shocking realization, and the unsettling implications of what the protagonist discovers.

Soylent Green Features an Apathetic World with Exploitative Overlords

Harry Harrison’s 1966 novel, Make Room! Make Room!, surprisingly foreshadowed many of the major issues we face today. The book explored the problems caused by rapidly increasing population, imagining a world with 7 billion people by the year 2000—a number close to the actual population of 6 billion in 1999. However, the novel dramatically exaggerated the situation in New York City, depicting a population of 35 million, far exceeding the city’s current real-world count of around 8.5 million.

Although we never see the world outside in Harrison’s story, the entire narrative unfolds in New York City. The film Soylent Green is based on the novel Make Room! Make Room! and follows a similar plot, though with key changes. The film dramatically increases the tension by adding cannibalism, a consequence not present in the original book, and culminates in the shocking revelation that defines Soylent Green.

The film opens with old black-and-white photos showing how America changed over time – starting with farms, then cars, and eventually airplanes. These photos gradually become more and more filled with cars, buildings, and people. As the images switch to color, they reveal a more troubling picture: overflowing landfills, severe pollution, war-torn areas, and, strikingly, people wearing masks – a foreshadowing of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The film Soylent Green updates the story’s setting to 2022 and increases New York City’s population by five million. The opening scene shows a busy street with a green filter, hinting at the importance of the film’s namesake food. Throughout the movie, the dire circumstances are revealed not through direct explanation, but primarily through how the characters respond to the chaotic world around them.

Okay, so I just finished watching Soylent Green, and wow, it really hits you with how bad things have gotten. The film doesn’t pull any punches showing how pollution and overpopulation have spiraled out of control. That opening sequence, with all the news footage, really sets the stage – it’s not just about warming temperatures anymore, it’s a full-blown environmental disaster. Basically, nature is getting wiped off the map. And the worst part? While the wealthy live comfortably, everyday people are struggling just to find basic things like a place to live, food, and clean water. It’s a bleak picture, to say the least.

As a film buff, I’ve noticed a recurring theme: the ultra-rich living in their own bubbles. They’re not just comfortable, they’re actively protecting what they have – think gated communities, security details, the whole nine yards. It creates a really messed up imbalance in society, where money basically buys power and can rewrite the rules. Honestly, it’s disturbing how detached these people seem from the rest of the world, and the way they treat others – like the casually awful way some exploit vulnerable people is just shocking. It’s a bleak picture, and sadly, one we see played out on screen a lot.

People living in poverty are forced to rely on dirty water and live in overcrowded slums with terrible sanitation. Like many large corporations, this industry profits from the growing gap between rich and poor, keeping these groups separate. Most also suffer from frequent power outages and are treated with a shocking lack of respect – even after death, their bodies are simply thrown away with the trash. While the full extent of the problem is even worse, the fact that people are discarded like refuse is horrifying.

Today’s viewers might recognize a similar social split happening in real life, with the shrinking middle class creating a wider gap between the very wealthy and those struggling with poverty. This is a stark contrast to the welcoming message of Emma Lazarus’ poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, which speaks of embracing immigrants. The film Soylent Green presents a different picture, seemingly ignoring those “yearning to breathe free” and instead depicting them as unwanted and disposable. But the story raises a critical question: what happens when these desperate people are left with nothing to eat?

Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow Were Upstaged by Soylent Green

A disturbing connection drives the unsettling themes of the film Soylent Green. This is immediately established in the opening scene, which begins with a television broadcast sponsored by Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow – advertised as energy-rich vegetable supplements.

The wealthy enjoy a plentiful diet of fresh meat, fruits, and vegetables, which are too expensive for most people. In the film, Robert Thorn, played by Charlton Heston, finds these luxuries – like beef, apples, and lettuce – in a wealthy apartment, highlighting how rare they are. While the rich can overeat without worry, the poor are forced to rely on cheap, processed foods made by the sinister Soylent Corporation.

Named after soy and lentils, the ingredients used to make the Red and Yellow wafers, a single company is responsible for keeping millions of people alive. Soylent Green introduces its eponymous food in the aforementioned broadcast, referring to it as “delicious Soylent Green, the miracle food of gathered from the oceans of the world.” The TV announcer mentions the new food wafer’s “enormous popularity” and its “short supply” before stating that “Tuesday is Soylent Green day.”

As a movie fan, one of the most unsettling things about ‘Soylent Green’ is how quickly people become obsessed with it. The film doesn’t really explain why everyone goes crazy for it, but it’s clear Soylent Green blows the other two Soylent products – Red and Yellow – out of the water. You see these huge lines on ‘Soylent Green Day,’ and it really highlights just how popular it becomes. Then, when the supply runs out, things get really scary – riots break out. It’s like Soylent Green immediately takes over, completely overshadowing everything else.

“Soylent Green Is People” Is the First Step of a Slippery Slope

The film Soylent Green centers on a murder mystery – a sadly common occurrence in today’s world. The Soylent Corporation, desperate to conceal a dark secret, arranged for the assassination of William R. Simonson, a member of its own board. The company understood the risks of revealing this information, but prioritized profits over addressing a possible food shortage.

The story follows Robert Thorn as he uncovers the horrifying truth about Soylent Green, a food source made from people. After being fatally wounded, Thorn desperately reveals this shocking secret with the words, “Soylent Green is people!” In the film’s final moments, he pleads with his boss to warn everyone, fearing that this is just the beginning and that humanity will eventually be farmed for food like livestock.

The movie Soylent Green couldn’t have realistically been made from plankton because the oceans were already failing. Now, the one person who knew the horrifying truth was dying. As medical personnel carried him away, Thorn weakly raised his injured hand and shouted his final revelation, but the people around him barely paid attention. It appeared Thorn was the only one who understood – or even cared – about the fact that Soylent Green was made of people, making him a last reminder of a more compassionate time.

The protagonist found themselves in a disturbing world, one where those in power committed horrifying acts against their own people. While it’s possible Thorn’s final plea sparked widespread protests that ultimately shut down the Soylent Corporation as punishment for its wrongdoing, the evidence in Soylent Green strongly suggests a deep-rooted and pervasive corruption within a fundamentally unequal society.

A wave of propaganda on television, combined with the assassination of Thorn – both tactics we’ve seen before in this story – would likely calm the public. It’s possible humanity is headed toward a brutal future where the powerful exploit and ultimately destroy the many, eventually collapsing when there’s no one left to support their lifestyle.

One of the most dangerous things oppressive governments do is strip people of their humanity, treating them like livestock – as if they’re mindless, helpless, and only good for consumption. The more our world resembles the grim future of Soylent Green, the closer we get to destroying ourselves from within.

Thorn understood the tragic outcome was unavoidable, and the audience accepted it, turning his desperate plea into a chilling condemnation of right and wrong. A point of no return had been reached. His words – “We’ve gotta stop them somehow” – felt as hollow as the image of his injured hand at the movie’s end. Nothing could be more deeply disheartening than the revelation that “Soylent Green is people.”

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2026-01-08 06:38