Why are the students not aware of the Battle Royale act?
Battle Royale (2000) opens with the completion of a previous Battle Royale event, where the winner is shown to be a girl. The amount of media coverage shown in this scene is fairly extensive, showing a number of reporters, photographers and cameramen trying to cover the winner being brought out by the military. Within the context of the movie, it is then reasonable to assume that the Battle Royale event is popular (or at least well known), because of the media coverage it receives.
Later on in the movie, Kitano asks the students of class 3-B if they're aware of the BR act. All of the students look clueless at this, and he proceeds to explain what the BR act is and about the Battle Royale tournament they will be participating in. Out-of-universe, I understand that this is exposition, which is required to bring the audience up to speed on what is happening.
But within the context of the movie, why is not even a single student of class 3-B aware of the BR act?
Best Answer
Who says they weren't?
They just got drugged and woke up who knows where, their teacher is nowhere to be seen and they face a resentful guy from years ago. One's got to be a little lost.
Sure, no one answers Kitano in the first place, but once again they're waking up and taking the situation in - who wants to be "that guy" at a time like this?
Later on, from the script:
KITANO
Listen up! Because of folks like
Kuninobu here, this country is
absolutely no good anymore! So the
bigwigs got together and passed
this law. Battle Royale!
We hear a sinister music chord.
KITANO
So, today's lesson is ... you kill
each other off until there's only
one left. Nothing's against the
rules!
Boy #2, Keita Iijima, laughs. He is the class clown.
KITANO
What's funny?
Girl #5, Izumi Kanai, is puzzled. She is in the same gang
as Sasagawa, its only female member.
KANAI
Teacher, I don't understand what
you are saying. This can't possibly
...
KITANO
Actually, your teacher, Hayashida,
deeply opposed the selection of
Class B.
Kitano doesn't leave her the chance to finish, but my guess is that they knew it was a thing, just that it couldn't possibly be them who got selected. There are a lot of students in Japan, what are the odds your class gets picked? These things only happen to someone else.
But as a great piece of literature reminds us, we are all somebody's "someone else".
This is confirmed by the book, where the students are aware of the "Program", and one 3B student explicitly states he can't believe his class was picked.
"All right, all right, please be quiet." Sakamochi clapped his hands together several times to get their attention. The clamor suddenly subsided. "Let me explain the situation. The reason why you're all here today then..."
Then he said: ".. .is to kill each other."
Now no one responded. Everyone remained frozen, like figures in a still photograph. But —Shuya noticed — Shogo continued chewing his gum. His expression hadn't changed. But Shuya thought he'd caught a glimpse of a faint grin flash across his face.
Sakamochi continued smiling and resumed, "Your class has been selected for this year's 'Program.' " Someone shrieked. [...]
Every junior high school student in the Republic of Greater East Asia knew what the Program was. It was even covered in school textbooks from the fourth grade on. Here we will quote from the more detailed Republic of Greater East Asia Compact Encyclopedia: [...]
And later in the same chapter:
Some of his classmates might have been hoping that Kyoichi would provide some adequate rational form of protest. Kill the friends you were hanging out with yesterday? It was impossible. Someone's making a mistake here. Hey rep, can you take care of this one for us?
But Kyoichi completely let them down.
"M-my father is a director of environmental affairs in the prefectural government. How could the class I'm in be selected for th- the Program?..."
Pictures about "Why are the students not aware of the Battle Royale act?"
Why is battle royale so controversial?
Released shortly after the notorious Columbine massacre in the U.S., Battle Royale drew harsh criticism for its depiction of intense violence perpetrated by high-school students. In the years since it's release, the movie has become a beloved cult classic and a highly revered Japanese horror hit.What is the point of the Battle Royale Act?
The government approves the Battle Royale Act, where one class is randomly selected and the students are sent to an island where after three days, they have to kill each other and the survivor wins his or her own life as a prize.How old are the students in Battle Royale?
Despite the characters being middle school students, Aki Maeda, Yukihiro Kotani, Takayo Mimura, Yukari Kanasawa were the only four who were aged 15 to 16 years old. The other members of the cast had all graduated from secondary education, and Tar\u014d Yamamoto and Masanobu And\u014d were the oldest among the actors, aged 25.Is Battle Royale based on a true story?
Since the film's release, the term "battle royale" has been used to refer to a fictional narrative genre and/or mode of entertainment inspired by the film, where a select group of people are instructed to kill each off until there is a triumphant survivor.In This School, Low-Grade Students Are Forced To Fight Until Only 1 Survive
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