27 July 2008

Movie Meme: Dystopia Edition

I found this on the blog of another foreign teacher, ::A Geek in Korea:::

Copy the list and BOLD the movies you have seen. Post yours in the comments, or on your own blog.

  1. Metropolis (1927)
  2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  3. Brazil (1985)
  4. Wings of Desire (1987)
  5. Blade Runner (1982)
  6. Children of Men (2006)
  7. The Matrix (1999)
  8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
  9. Minority Report (2002)
  10. Delicatessen (1991)
  11. Sleeper (1973)
  12. The Trial (1962)
  13. Alphaville (1965)
  14. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
  15. Serenity (2005)
  16. Pleasantville (1998)
  17. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
  18. Battle Royale (2000)
  19. RoboCop (1987)
  20. Akira (1988)
  21. The City of Lost Children (1995)
  22. Planet of the Apes (1968)
  23. V for Vendetta (2005)
  24. Metropolis (2001)
  25. Gattaca (1997)
  26. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
  27. On The Beach (1959)
  28. Mad Max (1979)
  29. Total Recall (1990)
  30. Dark City (1998)
  31. War Of the Worlds (1953)
  32. District 13 (2004)
  33. They Live (1988)
  34. THX 1138 (1971)
  35. Escape from New York (1981)
  36. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
  37. Silent Running (1972)
  38. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
  39. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
  40. A Boy and His Dog (1975)(www.archive.org)
  41. Soylent Green (1973)
  42. I, Robot (2004)
  43. Logan’s Run (1976)
  44. Strange Days (1995)
  45. Idiocracy (2006)
  46. Death Race 2000 (1975)
  47. Rollerball (1975)
  48. Starship Troopers (1997)
  49. One Point O (2004)
  50. Equilibrium (2002)


Original list is from Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time at Snarkerati, an interesting looking movie new site that I have yet to investigate.

Geek adds: "This is my favorite type of genre film. I can’t wait till I finish reading The Road and it is released as a movie."

It's my favourite type of movie, too. I think most geeks enjoy watching dystopian films because they're usually about how technology and the future are going to be awful. Many geeks have suffered at the hands of the technology they love and seeing get beaten on and maligned this way appeals to some sense of schadenfreude. Another theme that appeals to geeks is the abuse of technology (and associated freedoms) by authorities that don't understand it.

I have seen almost everything on this list but it's far from a complete listing of dystopian themes in film. Bunker Palace Hotel is one I've watched recently, hard to find but a good film. Another great one is Richard III. Or Kafka, a simply awesome film. There are lots of these films, maybe it's a sign of our impotent frustrations in dealing with modern bureaucracy.

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