Dystopian Motif in British Cinema/Art

[Martinus]

Although I agree that perhaps my claim that this is more of a British than an American phenomenon was a bit of an exaggeration. I mean, I just thought of X-Files. Still, if the show was British, the heroes would probably be the people running away from Moulder and Scully.

[I Killed Kenny]

Japanese also have a very dystopian fiction.

When you think about both nations they are very similar. Both Islands that one time in history was pretty much destroyed (WWII) I believe those were very dystopians moments that are still in those nations imagination

[Agelastus]

:childish grumble:

So it looks as if people are starting to suggest that it goes back to the traumas and increased restrictions of the world wars in comparison to the pre-war world.

As I suggested...

:childish grumble:

[Eddie Teach]

*WHO THE FUCK CAST NATALIE PORTMAN? V IS OBSESSED WITH MUSICALS, HAS A BITING, CAUSTIC WIT AND DRESSES FABULOUSLY IN A DRESS: HOW THE FUCK DID THEY HAVE STEPHEN FRY IN IT, AND NOT CAST HIM AS THE BRILLIANT, SARCASTIC, VERY OBVIOUSLY GAY SUPER HERO?!?!?!?!

Cause they wanted to sell tickets.

[Queequeg]

Yeah I guess you are right (btw, you are familiar, I hope, with "Master and Margaret" by Bulkhakov? It's one of the best books ever written - of course in case of Russia, if you want to set your story in a dystopian totalitarian world, you just describe reality ).

I just think that this is more pronounced in British cinema, perhaps because these topics resonate better with the fears of the public.

Master and Margarita is in my top 5 favorite novels, together with Dead Souls. 

Yeah.  Russia ended up inventing modern Distopianism becaus it wasn't so much a fiction as the unfortunate reality.   

[jimmy olsen]

Yeah I guess you are right (btw, you are familiar, I hope, with "Master and Margaret" by Bulkhakov? It's one of the best books ever written - of course in case of Russia, if you want to set your story in a dystopian totalitarian world, you just describe reality ).

I just think that this is more pronounced in British cinema, perhaps because these topics resonate better with the fears of the public.

Master and Margarita is in my top 5 favorite novels, together with Dead Souls. 

Yeah.  Russia ended up inventing modern Distopianism becaus it wasn't so much a fiction as the unfortunate reality.   

As "We" Zamyatin demonstrates.

[grumbler]

I would point out, Marti, that British dystopianism goes back much further than so far stated.  The Morlocks and Eloi, after all, were Britain's future in The Time Machine, and that was written in 1895...

[Neil]

*WHO THE FUCK CAST NATALIE PORTMAN? V IS OBSESSED WITH MUSICALS, HAS A BITING, CAUSTIC WIT AND DRESSES FABULOUSLY IN A DRESS: HOW THE FUCK DID THEY HAVE STEPHEN FRY IN IT, AND NOT CAST HIM AS THE BRILLIANT, SARCASTIC, VERY OBVIOUSLY GAY SUPER HERO?!?!?!?!

Cause they wanted to sell tickets.

An interesting point:  Nobody likes gays.

[Agelastus]

I would point out, Marti, that British dystopianism goes back much further than so far stated.  The Morlocks and Eloi, after all, were Britain's future in The Time Machine, and that was written in 1895...

Dystopianism goes a loooong way back in British literature; there's dystopic elements in Gulliver's Travels, as far as I am concerned.

"Police state" dystopia's relatively new though. It only really got going after WWII.

[dps]

I just think that this is more pronounced in British cinema, perhaps because these topics resonate better with the fears of the public.

Or perhaps they resonate better with the fears of the film industry in Britian, rather than the public?

[BuddhaRhubarb]

V for Vendetta was a transparent attack on Bush's faith based fanaticism.

written in the early mid 80's? odd.

[Admiral Yi]

written in the early mid 80's? odd.

I was tricked by the thread title into thinking we were discussing movies.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

written in the early mid 80's? odd.

I was tricked by the thread title into thinking we were discussing movies.

well the movie is based on the book.... if they turned it into an anti bush thing they didn't get it. Bush is no Thatcher, not by a long shot.

[Martinus]

I just think that this is more pronounced in British cinema, perhaps because these topics resonate better with the fears of the public.

Or perhaps they resonate better with the fears of the film industry in Britian, rather than the public?

Don't think so. I may be wrong about this, but I think in Britain the "film industry" is not some isolated "dreamworks" machine like Hollywood, so the topics it raises are connected much more with the British public.

[Sheilbh]

I'd add 'Children of Men', which is possibly not a British film but is based on a P.D. James novel and the pretty dreary 'State of Denmark'.