“What Happened to Monday” is an enjoyable, plot-twisting dystopian film in which overpopulation results in a one-child policy. Though the movie takes place in the future in 2043, its not as far from reality as it seems.
My parents and I immigrated from China when I was two years old. Only recently did China adopt the two-child policy. At this time I was born, China’s one-child policy was strictly enforced. Though there’s more a stigma against having daughters in China, as educated individuals, my parents were overjoyed to be having a daughter, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to have a son. Half a year after I was born, my parents found out my mother was pregnant again. In other circumstances, they would have happily had the child. Unfortunately, this pregnancy was not received as a blessing. When you have more than one child in China, the children do not have citizenship, healthcare, and also are unable to attend school. My parents thought about the kind of life the child would have and decided against having the kid and had an abortion in China.
Thankfully, we moved to America soon after and my mom became pregnant two years after with my little brother. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a bigger family and thought about the what-ifs.
I also find this topic interesting, as an international student from China, I don’t have any siblings due to the one-child policy. I can see the reasoning behind this policy, yet it effects a whole generation of children in China, as many people loss their jobs due to their second child.
That’s a really interesting take of the movie, especially since you have your own experience that you are taking from.