io9: dystopian

Wall-E, Social Critic

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:50:23 PDT

The most controversial movie of the summer... Wall-E? That's what one writer is claiming. The G-rated animated movie presents a dire image of a morbidly obese human race, crammed into giant spaceships and exhorted to ever greater depths of over-consumption by signs saying "DO YOUR PART, FILL YOUR CART." (Remember those shopping carts in the trailer?) Meanwhile, the reason Wall-E has been left as the only custodian of Earth is because the human race has rendered it uninhabitable with pollution and heedless consumer culture. Somehow, I doubt the inevitable toy tie-in ads will mention these aspects of the film. [Jim Hill Media]

Worst Possible Outfits for the Apocalypse

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:34 PDT

When society implodes, women need to make themselves easy zombie targets, so the boys can run to the hills and get weaponized. That seems to be the point of a lot of self-proclaimed post-apocalyptic fashion, at least. From floor-length hobble skirts with a million straps to straitjackets to kinky boots, the clothes in SludgeFaktory's post-apocalyptic collection would be worst thing to wear while trying to escape from cannibal bikers. Weirdly, mainstream fashion designers are creating more appropriate dystopian future-wear. Click through for images.

At least the pre-torn skirts and tops will save the cyborgs a lot of time, when they catch up with you. And it's good that one skirt says "CANNIBAL" on it, lest your captors forget what they are.

Meanwhile, self-proclaimed postapocalyptic designer Yeohlee Teng unveiled her fall 2008 collection last month, and it actually does look like stuff that might offer some protection from falling satellites and spattering monster blood. Could this be a rare instance where mainstream fashion is actually smarter than subculture wear? Look at this gallery and decide for yourself: Yeohlee photos by Scott Gries/Getty Images for IMG.

Liquid Supercomputer Has A Meltdown

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:15:07 PST

Zero, the supercomputer from Rollerball, looks 10,000 times cooler than most scifi computers of the 1970s, with their giant tape spools. But it suffers from that typical 60s and 70s problem — the crazy monotone freakout — when Rollerball champion Jonathan E. wants to ask for information about the Corporate Wars. It turns out even the "waters of history" get dammed up when they try to address corporate secrets. Click through for a clip of the crazy sports stunts that are what most people remember Rollerball for.

"Game? This wasn't meant to be a game! Never!" Rollerball was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid, with its Death Race-y dystopian take on the sports movie. I didn't even bother to see the recent remake, so I have no idea if it was as awful as I'd feared. When we finally get around to doing our listing of the top 10 dystopian skate movies, Rollerball will definitely be in the top five.

Norway Builds Giant Shelter For The End Of The World

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:23:07 PST

Norway's "Doomsday Vault" will open tomorrow, just in time to safeguard our biodiversity against the apocalypse. Carved into the permafrost of a remote Arctic mountain, about 620 miles from the North Pole, the vault has been built to withstand nuclear missiles or a plane crash on top of it, but it's also far enough above sea level that it won't be flooded by melting icecaps. Click through for more images of the Doomsday Vault.

The vault will hold up to 4.5 million batches of seeds for the world's main food crops, allowing humanity to re-establish agriculture if our main food plants disappear due to a catastrophe. Already, "gene vaults" from Iraq and Afghanistan were destroyed due to the wars in those countries. Images by AP.

[AFP]

What Utopian Scenario Will Totally Come True Soon?

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:00:34 PST

Everybody's sick of dystopian futures and bleak predictions. Whatever happened to science fiction's tradition of sunny optimism and can-do cheerfulness? Just because our population is exploding, our consumer economy is dependent on the waning availability of cheap oil and our oceans are dying, is no reason to be negative. Click through to vote for your favorite scenario in which everything is going to work out totally okey dokey. Hunky dory, even.

Viggo Takes Young Wolverine On "The Road"

charliejane — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:00:07 PST

The movie adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic bestseller The Road is roaring ahead, with the casting of Kodi Smit-McPhee (pictured) as the son of Viggo Mortensen's character. Smit-McPhee also plays the young Logan in the Wolverine solo movie. The Road starts filiming next month in Pittsburgh (possibly the most dystopian location they could find) and also co-stars Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce. And we've got a new synopsis.

Production Charts just posted this description of how the movie will translate the book's plot:

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

Doesn't sound too different from the book, and it also does sound as though Charlize Theron may only appear in flashbacks. [Rotten Tomatoes]

Nothing Says 'Party!' Like Dystopian Disco

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:30:14 PST

Blade Runner: The Final Cut had a screening last night at the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival, and Warner Bros. decided to host the after-party at the famous Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles. io9 was there, snapping photos and gawking. If you've seen the film, then you know it's the rat-infested condemned shithole where J.F. Sebastian lived. Let's party! Check out our huge gallery of pictures after the jump.

Future Cities Will Run On Pig Shit

charliejane — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:10:01 PST

Forget wind turbines and solar panels. In the ragtag future, Tina Turner will get her mood lighting from hog lagoons. In Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, an army of pigs swarms beneath Bartertown, one of the last (semi) civilized outposts. The pigshit produces methane, a gas which keeps the city's power going. The only thing anybody remembers from the movie is the "Two men enter" chant, but that huge chaotic tapestry of pigs is the film's true moment of innovation.

New Joss Whedon Show: Eliza Dushku Is An Amnesiac Puppet

charliejane — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:54:14 PDT

Mind-wiped humans serve as "dolls" for the wealthy in Dollhouse, a new TV series from Buffy and Firefly creator Joss Whedon. Echo (Eliza Dushku) can take on any personality you want her to have — complete with memories, skills, languages and "even muscle memory." Once imprinted, she fulfills the fantasy of whoever rented her, and then goes back to being a childlike amnesiac in the Dollhouse, a dorm/lab where she lives with her fellow dolls. But Echo starts to regain self-awareness and wants to find out who she really is, in the new Fox TV show which Joss is writing. Says Joss:

The idea is those with the money or connections can access this secret highly illegal facility where they can basically fulfill their greatest fantasies. Most people assume that means sex—and on an occasion it does, because that is a lot of people's fantasies—but it's basically scenarios. They can basically reenact scenarios of romance, adventure or anything perfectly, because they become the person that you want them to be—they become that person.

Fox has already committed to seven episodes of this show, and Angel/Firefly producer Tim Minear will be involved too. Joss has already pitched all seven storylines, in advance of the looming writers' strike. It's a vehicle for Dushku, who already had the deal at Fox. Here's hoping the network gives it the same chance that Tru Calling got. Image by Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images.

Best News Ever! [E! Online]