the late seventies and early eighties. It can speak so well of the entire century because the setting itself is unclear about when the events of the film are occurring. In the opening sequence to the movie, 8:49 pm (pause) somewhere in the 20th century, appears across the screen. The people are dressed in 1930's fashions using technologies, some of which are beyond the scope of today, others of which are not dateable. They are perhaps visions of the 80's as a future from an earlier time in the century.This use of technology is just one of the issues being addressed in the movie. There is an abundance of appliances, gadgets and devices that are created with the idea that they are meant to make the world easier, simpler and more fun to live in. But the majority of these devices fail to serve their purpose making things more cluttered and cumbersome. This includes elevators that don't work, automated coffee machines that pour the coffee in the incorrect place, alarm clocks that get 'stuck', miniature sized computers with magnifying glasses for viewing, and most importantly to the main character, Sam Lowry, heating ducts that don't work.Apartments in the world of Brazil are equipped with centralized climate control ducts in the walls. The walls themselves are made out of panels to access all the tubing going through the walls in all directions. To the misfortune of Sam Lowry, his heating ducts go incredibly array. When he calls to have them fixed by the proper authorities, he is disappointed to find service unavailable and then later, inefficient. Following misfortunes due to this breakdown lead to Sam Lowry's eventual demise.Brazil depicts how technology is not always a positive thing. Even products and systems that are designed specifically for our benefit can become more tedious than useful. Technology is not equivalent to progress, though much of the twentieth century has set that example. Industrialization as a whole is sw...
