Dystopian fiction has a rich history in literature and film. Its very existence speaks something of us as a culture: we assume the worst. Even utopian fiction is secretly dystopian (Thomas More’s philosophical narrative Utopia introduced the idea, but “utopia” means “no place) and sometimes a dystopian narrative is actually about how humanity’s achievement of a utopian society is actually dark and undesirable (see, for example, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Lois Lowry’s The Giver). Dystopian visions are fascinating because they can serve, much of the time, to portray how the creator of a given fictional world imagines the way our real world is going. (Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy comes to mind as a recent interesting example; going further back, re-watch The Road Warrior and see how relevant it still feels 34 years later.)
The above examples feel like they could potentially evolve from real life, but sometimes dystopian fiction takes on the fantastical, and thus is the subject of today’s film: the classic anime movie Akira, a truly incredible film about the breakdown of society in 2019 (four years away!). Thirty-one years after World War III, rival biker gangs battle it out in Neo-Tokyo. All is as “normal” as it can be until one gang member becomes part of a secret government initiative involving the study of psychic abilities. And then it gets weird.
Akira is presented as a midnight movie tomorrow, Saturday, June 20, at Baxter Avenue Theaters, located at 1250 Bardstown Road. Further theater information can be found at the Baxter Avenue Theater website.
Do not miss this one!
Image: IMDB
