The Mission, a film set in 1507, reflects on a Jesuit mission settlement, torn apart by Spanish and Portuguese government. With the papacy caught in the midst of this turmoil, conflicting ideas of injustice and moral sense drive the significance of the film. In relation to the Enlightenment, an epoch of modernized philosophical ideas from the 1400s through the 1600s, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas of individuality, human nature and corruption are best represented through government, religion, and war in the film.
An acclaimed philosopher in France, Rousseau fixated heavily on human nature and what influenced human beings to change. From innocence to malfeasance, Rousseau believed people metamorphosed into corrupt being because of society; their sinful actions resulted from societal…show more content… He says, “Force is a physical power; I do not see what kind of morality can result from its effects. (2)” For Rousseau, all forms of higher power were depraved organizations, manipulating the people with excessive authority. This continuous confinement, generated by society, would then guide people towards nefarious acts, even if it went against their morals. Furthermore, Rousseau's theory of a corrupted human race is displayed through the war scene in The Mission. In essence, the native Indians in the Jesuit mission had lived harmoniously prior to the Cardinal’s visit. During their gathering, the Cardinal, who stood directly below the Pope in power, announced his decision to the Indians. With little remorse, he told the Indians to leave the mission, the only place that had been their sanctuary and home, protecting them from the cruelties of slavery. Because authority tested the Indians, who once lived peaceful lives, they resort to war. War, in the eyes of Rousseau, lacked rational and virtue, only provoking barbarous bloodshed. The film underscores Rousseau's idea that man was not made to kill, but if it was the only way, he would.
