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Dystopic Cult Films Most of the films viewed in class have been classified as a cult film. (click for list of films) A cult film "is not defined according to some single, unifying feature shared by all cult films..." (Jancovich, pg. 1). However, these selected films to be more closely looked at all have a common theme: dystopic environments. A dystopic environment is "a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding" (dictionary.com). Why does 'dystopia' and 'cult film' go hand-in-hand? From the definition of dystopic above, you can see that dystopia is anything but normal. To live in a dystopic environment is unheard of and the audience cannot familiarize themselves with the place or setting. This imagined environment could be different and unique in itself to attract mass fans (which in most cases is true). Dystopia is to Utopia as Cult films are to Mainstream films. Cult films are in opposition to mainstream pop culture. They generally do not conform to the mainstream ideals. The films and fans, which make a movie a 'cult film', produce a distinction between themselves and the more 'normal' popular films and audiences. Most cult films are on the cutting edge with a different attitude and more than just car crashes and big bangs (Davies, pg.3). A cult is formed when a film has something unique and different such as a place where there is constant surveillance by governments or other agencies or where the "memory" of institutions is overriding human memory. Which leads us back in full circle to dystopic environments being perfect candidates for cult film status. (scroll along the film covers below to find out more about them) |
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