Last and First Men: An Essay in Myth
The German philosopher Ernst Bloch talked of the “ontology of not yet being” as the main philosophical idea of our time. Bloch sought to explore how history reflects lost opportunities as well as future possibilities. He wanted to understand why humankind has always dreamed of utopia.
Concentration City: How Urban Visions Shape Our Future
Cities play a key role in dystopian science fiction. Consider Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, dominated by Moloch, Jean-Luc Godard’s modernist Parisian future-scape in Alphaville or Ridley Scott’s oppressive, neon-lit Los Angeles in Blade Runner. This is hardly surprising. Projected as chaotic centres of over-crowding, pollution and crime, they are fertile grounds for dark narratives about our possible futures.
Chris Marker: Unknown Cosmonaut
Sometimes you encounter a film that is so far removed from your experience that it takes your breath away. Chris Marker’s La Jetée is one such film. When I first saw it, it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.