Aeon's Run, Logan's Flux

A Comparison of Similar Dystopian Visions Encountered in Two Disparate SF Films
In Simple Words: It’s AEON FLUX V/S LOGAN’S RUN

“The seeds of the Little War were planted in a restless summer during the mid-1960s,with sit-ins and student demonstrations as youth tested its strength.
By the early 1970s over 75 percent of the people living on Earth were under twenty-one years of age.
The population continued to climb—and with it the youth percentage.
In the 1980s the figure was 79.7 percent.
In the 1990s, 82.4 percent.
In the year 2000 — critical mass.”
- The first lines of William Nolan and
George Clayton Johnson’s

“Logan’s Run” (Novel)
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“Light, in the absence of eyes, illuminates nothing. Visible forms are not inherent in the world, but are granted by the act of seeing. Though the world and events do exist independent of mind, they obtain of no meaning in themselves: none that the mind is not guilty of imposing on them. I bid my people follow, and like all good equations, they follow; for full endowment of purpose, they do submit - in turn, they resign me to a role inhuman, impossible, and unaccountable. But I can no longer stand the sleepless nights. ...I think I am learning to love the Demiurge.”
- Opening lines of original ‘first’ episode,

called “The Demiurge” of Peter Chung’s

“Aeon Flux”.

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Having seen, and to some extent, having enjoyed both Aeon Flux (2005) and Logan's Run (1976), I couldn't help but notice some startling similarities between the two. Let’s check them out in order.

Firstly, both are Dystopian Movies, from novels (Logan’s Run) and Comic Series (Aeon Flux) which were predominantly Dystopian. Both movies have considerable alterations from the sources.

I don’t think the basic stories of both movies need to be gone into; the comparisons will bring those out amply. Also, the Wikipedia articles (follow all links) provide more than ample information. Trusting that you will go through those articles I have provided links for, I will go on to the comparisons.

Let’s look at the similarities by category:

The Basic Premise:

Logan’s Run: The premise is this: the world’s population is age limited. No one can live beyond 30 years of age. Age is indicated by pulsing Lifeclocks in the middle of each person’s palm. Different colours indicate different ages. On the 30th birthday, the Lifeclock turns black. On reaching their 30th birthday, each person is euthanised in a "Sleepshop". This day is accordingly titled Last Day. There is also a vision of a place called "Sanctuary", where no one dies at 30, and some people who rebel look out for this, trying to avoid Lastday.
Aeon Flux: Cloning was perfected, and implemented on a large scale. But this has resulted in impotency. Initially, cloning successfully sterilised the people. But with time, gene pools have adapted, and fertility is returning. So those in power, the ones who are Pro-Cloning, eliminate all who pose a threat to the immortality offered by cloning; and so anyone showing signs of sexual potency (a female getting pregnant, for instance) is immediately killed. Therefore, broadly speaking, this is also an age limited society.

The World:

Logan’s Run: Here, overpopulation has destroyed the world. The obvious and oft-favoured Sci-Fi premise is adopted, wherein overpopulation results in enormous strain over a country's resources and reserves. Finally, due to starvation, lack of basic amenities and lack of sufficiently effective medical procedures, most of the population dies off. In the beginning of Logan’s Run, this has happened (Timeline: 2000, overpopulation. Some 20, 30 years later the movie takes place). The remnants of the Earth’s population, a handful, live in a Domed City, with the outside world being basically a wilderness into which no one is allowed to go. In order to avoid overpopulation, everyone above the age of 30 (in the book it’s 21) is killed off.

Aeon Flux: Similar premise. A virus kills off most of the world’s population. The rest now live sequestered in a City (A city in the movie, two in the orig. series), cut off from the outside world. Here it is specifically stated that nature has grown into a menace, so no one ventures outside. We see huge pesticide spraying machines at the City walls.

No one reproduces, instead the people are cloned when they die. Also, the cloning makes them infertile, so they cannot reproduce. Timeline is again close to 2000. Story takes place some 400 years later. Here, in these 4 centuries, cloning is perfected, but the drawback (infertility) is kept a secret.
Similarity: Both undertake the situation that the world will destroy itself. The remnants (only a handful in both cases, mere fractions of the total population before), will live sequestered inside Centrally Controlled Cities, knowing nothing about the outside world. Indeed they are prevented from knowing anything or even vernturing into the outside world.

Rebellion and Militia:

Logan’s Run: One is supposed to automatically report oneself to the Sleepshops whenever one’s lifeclock turns black, whereupon one will die. But there are rebels, called “Runners”. As the name suggests, Runners run away from Lastday. They escape into secret chambers (they are a big, organised society), and are hunted by the Sandmen (or ‘Deep Sleep Operatives’). Logan is a Sandman, and he is assigned to penetrate the Runners by having his Lifeclock artificially turned black. He infiltrates the Runners, and then, finally, joins them.
Aeon Flux: The cloning procedure also transfers memory. As a result of this, memory leaks are occurring. People are remembering their past incarnations. That they might realise what is being done to them is a foregone conclusion. Again, there are rebels, the Monicans (in the novel, Monica is a separate city, the other is Bregna. In the movie, Monicans are a secret society living inside Bregna.) Here again, Monicans start of as a group, finally growing into an organised society (or, as in the film, a rebel assassination squad), Monicans infiltrate the Council from time to time and try to get the cloning reversed or stopped. Both Council members and top Monican agents (like Aeon) get killed with startling regularity, but both sides are resurrected by cloning (Aeon Flux and Trevor Goodchild always recur).
Similarity: Both cases involve rebels who are cut-off factions of the larger remnant population. Both movies involve the rebels starting off small, then becoming public knowledge, then public envy. Finally, the public awakens.

Sexual Promiscuity and Openness:

Logan’s Run: The movie was considered sexually very explicit for it’s time. The Age of Sexual Consent was 15 (obviously, considering people would die by the time they are 21). Men and women have rotating scanners in their rooms, which will depict in series, pictures of members of the opposite sex who are sexually mature. One may at will choose any one person, and have that person sent to one’s apartment, where one may “do it”, at one’s leisure. Orgies also occur with great regularity, and anyone may invite anyone. Open use of drugs is also seen, though smoking is illegal. Sadism, sexual torture and self-mutilation are also depicted. Overall tone is very, very dark.
Aeon Flux: Considering that Aeon Flux was designed as the antithesis of a “good” hero, this series is obviously very explicit. Here, the stress is on Domination (Aeon and other agents’ dresses are leather, and frequently suggest FemDom and Sadism). Aeon Flux herself (a brilliant quirk, IMHO), is a model for a Foot Fetish Magazine called “Foozwak”. There is actually one episode which shows Aeon dying and going to a Heaven where her feet are eternally licked. (I’m serious, and I am not a sexual deviant.)
In almost every episode, Aeon dies. She is depicted as overconfident and arrogant, and these kill her every time. Also, instances are there where her sexual quirks delay her, causing her to be killed by soldiers/robots, etc.

The Ending:

Logan’s Run: Logan succeeds in going out of the Domed City and locating an Old Man (Peter Ustinov). He brings the Old Man back, as proof of Sanctuary (a place where people live to grow old, and are not killed on Lastday), and proof that there was civilisation before the concept of Lastday. The Domed City is torn apart and all survivors come out and look, awestruck, upon the Old Man, touching and marvelling at his beard, etc. – the signs of old age that they have never seen
Aeon Flux: The Monicans succeed. The Council is destroyed, and the people of the City are awakened. They destroy the City Wall and go outside, seeing the jungle for the First time.
Similarity: In both last scenes, the people surge out from bottom right of screen, and stare, overawed, at things they never thought to exist. In Logan, at the Old Man and in Flux, at the jungle. In both, people finally realise that they have been lied to and that life can be much, much better than it actually is. Society, in a way, awakens to life as it was, that is, our way of life. Apparently this shows that ours is the most idyllic life, given all the drawbacks, and this is much better than any Dystopian scenario.

Both endings are thus very, very simliar.

There. Another long article. This sufficiently compares the two. I will post something else if this is found to be insufficient.

Yours,
K.