All is Not Lost in “9”

Upon waking, the “stitchpunk” 9 realizes that he’s in a Tim Burton film. The dark, Gothic landscape, the general feeling of despair, and Danny Elfman score all pointed to the inevitable conclusion that Burton was behind it all. Nonetheless, 9 leaves in search of his destiny, meeting others like him along the way. Later, it’s revealed that the scientist who made them gave them parts of his soul. This allowed them to be alive, and each had the scientist’s leadership, protective, heroic, etc. (up to 9), natures that represented his personality. It’s going to take all of them working together to wipe out the machines that destroyed humanity. Somehow, they are the key to bringing humanity back from extinction.

During their fight to end the domination of the machines, disagreements, egos, and altruism clash as the different parts of the scientist’s soul interact with each other. They run from, fight, and sometimes best the deadly machines that are hunting them down. 9 inadvertently reboots the big machine that was the brain behind the decimation of all humanity, and it has the power to suck the souls out from each of the stitchpunks. One by one, a soul is taken. One might think that the remaining heroes would find a way to retrieve these lost souls, but by the end of the film they do not. Each loss was deeply felt, as each person lost had immeasurable qualities that could have contributed to stopping the machines.

Similarly, each of us alone may not be able to accomplish what we can do in community. The loss of a family member or friend is a loss to the whole. We need each other, perhaps not to fight against bloodthirsty machines, but to find our purpose, love, and meaning in life. We are all different people with unique personalities that sometimes clash, but the collective whole can accomplish what one person cannot. This was exhibited so well in “9”, as well as the cost of loss. No one is replaceable, and when someone’s gone, they are gone, leaving a hole that will never be filled in quite the same way.