Utopias Explored: THE TIME MACHINE and BLADE RUNNER

Science Fiction and Film

Utopian Societies Explored

The Ancient Greek work for "no place," utopia has come down to modern readers as something to be the ideal -- the Eden. The actual word comes from the Greek 'ou -- not' and 'topos -- place,' and was coined in the modern sense by the title of a 1516 book written by Sir Thomas Moore. More's Utopia describes a fictional island possessing a seemingly perfect society in which social, legal, political and cultural systems act in harmony and are ideal for humans (Manuel).

The reverse, dystopia, is life that is characterized by poverty, oppression, suffering, unhappiness, and the lack of basic human rights. The irony and use of the term arises from much of utopian literature and the juxtaposition between the utopian ideals of certain societies with the realities of the way that society...
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