Dystopian Motif in British Cinema/Art

[Josquius]

Anti-authoritarianism and underdog love is the British thing.

[Brazen]

I'd say it owes a lot to post-war austerity and rationing and has the same root as kitchen sink drama.

[Brazen]

Because he is fat.

You never see his face.  Body double.

Having a masked Aussie (who starred in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, remember) faking a British accent is almost the same thing.

[Brazen]

John Hurt's opening speech mentions my home town, Enfield. When I went to see it, everyone stood up and gave a llittle cheer at that point

[Warspite]

The British, like the rest of Europe, ploughed headfirst into the social upheaval and trauma that were the first and second world wars. But unlike our more unfortunate European brothers, we never experienced first hand the crushing weight of authoritarianism and totalitarianism, so we were left to explore it in our literature and arts. Also remember that foreign examinations of the same sort of dystopian phenomena are harder to access without knowledge of that language.

[PDH]

I blame soccer hooligans.

[Neil]

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.

Indeed.  Thatcher was brilliantly successful in many things.  Bush was merely average.

[saskganesh]

some post WWII "American" dystopias:

Phillip K Dick (Blade Runner et al)
Burrough's Interzone
Matrix
Gibson's Neuromancer
Logan's Run
Terminator
Max Headroom
Robocop
Truman Show

most of these are considered "science fiction". there are of course many subgenres: Zombie (Night of the Living Dead et al) and post-Apocalypse (Postman, The Day After, Boy and His Dog) and so on.

Most of the films are from Hollywood, so apparently they are part of a dreamworks machine that have no connection to public hopes and fears.

anyhow, I think the popularity of dystopias are a modern reaction to a complex world, and are part of global culture as the creatives who come up with them consume and  influence each other, transcending national cultures (Mad Max anyone?). There's no "28 Days Later" without Romero, there's no "V for Vendetta" without Eisner or Kurtzmann.

[DontSayBanana]

some post WWII "American" dystopias:

Phillip K Dick (Blade Runner et al)
Burrough's Interzone
Matrix
Gibson's Neuromancer
Logan's Run
Terminator
Max Headroom
Robocop
Truman Show

most of these are considered "science fiction". there are of course many subgenres: Zombie (Night of the Living Dead et al) and post-Apocalypse (Postman, The Day After, Boy and His Dog) and so on.

Most of the films are from Hollywood, so apparently they are part of a dreamworks machine that have no connection to public hopes and fears.

anyhow, I think the popularity of dystopias are a modern reaction to a complex world, and are part of global culture as the creatives who come up with them consume and  influence each other, transcending national cultures (Mad Max anyone?). There's no "28 Days Later" without Romero, there's no "V for Vendetta" without Eisner or Kurtzmann.

You forgot Fahrenheit 451. Reading banned in favor of easier-to-manipulate television and squads of "firemen" destroying information sounds pretty dystopian to me.

[saskganesh]

yeah, good one. of course, there are many more.

note that Farenheit 451 the movie was produced by Universal, but directed by Truffaut, who is pretty much "non-Hollywood" if that actually means anything..

[Ed Anger]

yeah, good one. of course, there are many more.

note that Farenheit 451 the movie was produced by Universal, but directed by Truffaut, who is pretty much "non-Hollywood" if that actually means anything..

So that explains the awfulness of that movie.

[PDH]

It's America so therefore not worthy of Mart's consideration.

[Ed Anger]

It's America so therefore not worthy of Mart's consideration.

As an American and therefore a god upon the earth, I find Mart not worthy of any consideration.

[Valmy]

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.

Indeed.  Thatcher fought to save the environment by shutting down those horribly polluting coal mines.  Unfortunately she failed to stop global warming but she will always be remembered as the greenest of the green.

[Warspite]

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.

Indeed.  Thatcher fought to save the environment by shutting down those horribly polluting coal mines.  Unfortunately she failed to stop global warming but she will always be remembered as the greenest of the green.

And being a trained chemist, she was instrumental in pushing forward the ban on CFCs.