This might be a little far-fetched, but maybe the infertility could be somewhat, if at all, similar to the 10 plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians due to the Pharoah’s mistreatment of the Israelites. Maybe there is a higher power telling the people of the world that if we cannot treat each other in a certain manner, whether that be with respect, decency, kindness, or something else altogether, then we do not deserve to have more children. The plagues inflicted on the Israelites were the Pharaoh’s punishment. I might be forcing connections here, but I viewed several similarities between the 10 plagues and some of the events in Children of Men. The 10 biblical plagues are: water turning into blood, hordes of frogs, a lice epidemic, wild animals destroying livestock and crops, diseased livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally the death of the firstborn. Clearly, not all of these happened in Children of Men, but I do however see some similarities. Although there was no blood in the water, in the few shots of the water we did see, for example when the pipes were letting out the liquid or fluid on the side of the road, the “water” was clearly not potable. It might have actually been contaminated with blood (from the piles of dead cows in the nearby area). Which brings me to my next comparison. Diseased livestock was the fifth plague. Periodically throughout the film, I noticed various piles of burning livestock animals. This could be symbolic of the diseased livestock mentioned in the plague. The plague exterminated the Egyptian livestock. It seemed like the majority, if not all of the livestock, of the U.K. had been exterminated as well. The ninth plague was three days of total darkness. Clearly, there was night and day throughout the movie, but the overarching theme of the movie, or the main color scheme seemed to be dark or gloomy. I related this to the plague of darkness. I would also go so far as to equate depression with darkness. There were definitely feelings of depression, melancholy, and hopelessness. There is even a drug in the film that helps people commit suicide due to the dire situation that is their world. It seemed as if darkness and gloominess are both literal and metaphorical themes throughout the movie. And finally, the tenth plague was the death of the firstborn. This does not happen in Children of Men. In the beginning of the movie, Diego Ricardo, the world’s youngest person, died. His death was very significant because he was the last born of the entire world. So it is a bit backwards, but I think the sentiment is still there. Also, in Children of Men, there is no opportunity for a firstborn to actually be born. “All-borns” are killed before even having the opportunity to exist.