Re: Meditation vs. conga lines

[Don Smith <dasmith at rotse2_physics.lsa.umich.edu>]

> You MUST see "Dark City" if you haven't already- 

Saw it in its (one-week) theatrical run.  First DVD I ever bought, back in
early 1999, I think.  Along with Tron.  :-)

> an equally important modern adaptation.

You see Dark City as an adaptation of Metropolis????  I mean, sure, there are
design influences, and you could find some thematic similarities (both have to
do with an oppressed group's struggle for freedom, in some sense), but I think
calling Dark City an "adaptation" of Metropolis doesn't make any sense.  You'd
have to say Schreber was Rotwang, and that would make John more of the robot
figure, but the robot was created to work against freedom, not for it... no, it
just doesn't track.  Jennifer Connoly can't be Maria; she's way too passive.
The control relationship is inverted: it's the elite *under* the city who
control those above in secret, rather than a ruling class out in the open with
an oppressed worker class in the underground.  In my mind, in order to be an
adaptation, they would have had to start with Metropolis in front of them and
set out to tell the same story in a different setting.  Dark City is a
completely different story from Metropolis.  Metropolis works toward
reconciliation, Dark City works towards destruction.  Dark City is caught up in
a gnostic vision of reality and the nature of identity; these are questions
that never come near Metropolis.  Although I certainly agree that Metropolis
was a strong influence on Dark City, artistically, I don't think it's fair to
say Dark City is an adaptation.  Not in the way I understand the word, at least.

Fun to think about, though.

And what's your problem with the conga line?
-- 
Don Smith                          Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment
donaldas at umich_edu                                http://xte.mit.edu/~dasmith/

"a social relationship between two individuals who have a reciprocally amorous
and increasingly exclusive interest in one another, and shared expectation of
the growth of that mutual interest, that has endured for such a length of time
and stimulated such frequent interactions that the relationship cannot be
deemed to have been casual." - US Court's definition of "dating".
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References:

• Re: Meditation vs. conga lines
• From: "ryan richards" <randomricky at hotmail_com>

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