Harrison Bergeron (film)

Plot

The film is set in the fictional suburban town of Madison, Rhode Island, in the year 2053. After the second American Revolution, which began during an economic depression caused by technological advancement and a widening gap between rich and poor, a mandate was established requiring all people to be equal in all things. Society enforces dystopian egalitarianism, pushing citizens toward equal wealth, intelligence, athletic prowess, and social status. Through selective breeding and arranged marriages, humanity aims to perfect the average person; technological aids include mind-numbing television shows and a headband device that modulates intelligence to a perfect IQ of 100.

Harrison Bergeron is a student who consistently receives A's, though C is the desired grade. Despite being held back four years and having his headband repeatedly modified to dampen his intelligence, he continues to excel, causing embarrassment for himself and his family. He visits a doctor, and tests reveal that his synaptic connections reroute themselves after each adjustment, overcoming the headband's inhibitions. He is told he will need a lobotomy-like operation to permanently lower his intelligence.

On his last day with a fully functioning brain, Harrison goes to a "head house," a parody of a bordello where men pay for intelligent conversation with women who are not wearing the headband. His first intelligent conversation, with a "mind whore" named Phillipa, is interrupted by a police raid. During the raid, Phillipa speaks to a hidden camera, saying she likes him and asking not to take him away. While held at the police station, a special agent offers Harrison an alternative to the lobotomy: joining the secret elite that runs the government.