Harrison Bergeron

In the year 2081, the United States enshrines absolute equality via the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments. The law mandates that no one can be smarter, more beautiful, or more capable than anyone else. To enforce this, citizens are fitted with devices meant to blunt talent and charm.

The regime uses 'handicaps' to suppress excellence: ugly masks to hide beauty, ear radios that interrupt thought, and heavy weights to curb strength. These measures are life-long, administered to all who diverge from the standard. They are a constant, visible reminder that sameness is the goal.

George Bergeron’s intelligence and physical gifts are routinely blunted by handicaps, while Hazel’s keen mind is dulled by the same system. Their 14-year-old son Harrison stands out as a rare blend of brilliance and power in this society. The family lives under a delicate but oppressive balance.

The government quickly recognizes Harrison as a threat and strips him away from the Bergerons. Hazel’s and George’s minds are dulled further, making the separation something they scarcely register as it happens. The family is disrupted as the state intervenes to eliminate exceptional potential.

The Bergerons sit to watch a televised ballet, a calm scene that conceals the regime’s grip. Dancers perform under masks and with weights, while the announcers’ speech is intentionally muffled and stilted. The broadcast serves as a public reminder that even art is forced to conform.

George’s mind is continually broken by the handicap radio fixed at his temple, producing a chorus of disruptive noises. He struggles to focus on the televised pageantry, and Hazel urges him to lie back and rest his burdened head. He refuses to remove all his weights, staying within the law's limits.

A news bulletin on the screen announces Harrison’s escape from custody, accompanied by a full-body photograph and exaggerated measurements. The announcer narrates Harrison as a dangerous beacon of raw potential. The public framing reinforces the regime’s fear of exceptional talent.

Harrison storms a television studio and proclaims himself emperor, tearing off his own handicaps and those of the masked ballerina who aids him. She accepts his leadership and becomes his Empress in a symbolic rebellion against sameness. The spectacle signals a direct challenge to the regime.

Harrison and the Empress share a defiant kiss as the studio’s musicians push their best performance. The moment embodies freedom and danger, a spark of genuine feeling that the regime cannot tolerate. The room becomes a stage for rebellion within a controlled broadcast.

The Handicapper General bursts into the studio, fatally shooting Harrison and the Empress. The moment collapses the rebellion, and the musicians are ordered to reapply handicaps. Silence returns to the broadcast as control is restored.

George returns home with a beer, seeking normalcy after the violent disruption. Hazel, tearful, asks why she is crying and discovers she cannot remember what happened on television, a memory erased by the day’s events. The society moves on, leaving memory casualties in its wake.

The tale closes as a cautionary meditation on how equality without freedom erodes memory, love, and individuality. The narration by Rance Howard frames the story and leaves the audience contemplating what is sacrificed for uniformity. The world remains solemn, its future uncertain.