Party like it’s 1984: Top 6 examples of dystopian architecture in movies
Sure, dystopias aren’t any fun to live in — that’s kind of the point. However, cinematic totalitarianism makes for some stunning architecture. The cityscapes from these six grim movies are plain old doubleplusgood:
Elysium – In this summer blockbuster set in 2154, the population is starkly divided into two classes; the wealthy reside on a space station resort, where war is nonexistent and cancer can be cured by hopping into a medical pod. Everyone else, of course, lives on a crowded, ruined Earth. Bald Matt Damon to the rescue! Photos: illabus.com, forevergeek.com
Equilibrium – This risible sci-fi drama features a world in which emotions have been banned, and the underground resistance is… literally underground. The public squares are dominated by huge screens that telegraph propaganda and daily reminders for residents to take their feelings-suppressing medicine. The new outdoor cinema? Photos: desura.com, punkycybergeek.com
The Hunger Games – The Capitol of Panem is all about pageantry, including fashion, food and annual teenage death matches. How could this techno-totalitarian city not be fabulous? Photo: hungergamestrilogy.net
Matrix Revolutions – The third installation in the Matrix trilogy put the “meh” in “mecha,” but the last human city of Zion was a visual marvel. Photo: matrix.wikia.com
Metropolis – Fritz Lang’s German expressionist masterpiece is set in Metropolis, where wealthy industrialists rule from skyscrapers while a lower class of underground-dwelling workers slave away at the machines that power the city. Totally irrelevant to modern society. Photo: davidszondy.com
Blade Runner – This seminal 1982 thriller is kinda-sorta dystopian the way that replicants are kinda-sorta human. Genre quibbles aside, the opening minutes of Blade Runner reveal the ultimate in garish noir cityscapes. Plus, Rick Deckard’s world reminds us of New York’s Times Square, which is pretty much a real-life dystopia. Photos: biomechanicalrhetoric.wordpress.com, drnorth.wordpress.com
