Logan's RunEach new generation looks back upon the previous one with a degree of confusion, and even a degree of arrogance, convinced that their world view is the right one, evolved from progressive gains and growth. Each generation moves into new territory and changes--if only slightly--the mores and accepted norms of politics and religion, of sex, diet, and fashion, for varied reasons, be it social or physiological, sometimes we're not even sure. In the 23rd Century world of Logan's Run, civilization is contained within a massive biodome, regulated and classified, controlled, monitored...insulated, a less-than-brave, renewed world.
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The title character of Logan's Run--Logan 5 (Michael York)--is a "sandman", a mix of police and executioner of "runners", those who deny the accepted nigh-religious practice of "renewal", where at the age of thirty, each person must undergo a pyrotechnic culling to prevent overpopulation, under the auspices that they will be "renewed", which suggests a kind of reincarnation. The social structure of Logan's Run is fairly evident by the color coded outfits the groups wear, also indicative of their age. As a sandman, Logan--and his partner/friend, Francis (Richard Jordan)--are not only good at snuffing out rogue elements who deny the mandated ceremony of renewal, but are conditioned to be good at and enjoy their jobs. After stopping one runner and reporting into their base, the computer informs Logan that he is to seek out a place called "Sanctuary", something which is indicated to be a haven for runners that have gone missing, and eliminate it. To make this espionage convincing, the computer clocks forward Logan's "life clock", so that he is deprived the rest of his remaining days, and must now run himself. A symbol pulled from the same dead runner--an ankh, a symbol for life--catches Logan's eye, just as the pretty girl he met wore, Jessica (Jenny Agutter), whom he presses to introduce him to the runner underground to help him "escape" to Sanctuary. Logan makes a convincing performance as a rogue sandman, equal parts hypocritically selfish and scared, but because a sandman "never runs", his act is a tough sell on the renegades who stalk the biodome, and even try to have him killed rather than risk exposure. Logan remains dodgy about just how much he really wants to seek out Sanctuary for his own sake, or that of his job, even for us as the audience. Maybe Logan truly is terrified, or at least resentful, that the core foundation of the circle of life as he knew it is shaken, and he appears to find himself wavering between his loyalties. Ultimately, Logan is experiencing a crisis of faith, and his fallen idols now signal his impending "last day".
Watching Logan's Run makes me wonder at what point did this future world go so far into left field. Certainly the catalyst was the obliquely referred to "catastrophe", but the nature of such an apocalyptic event remains unclear. Was it some kind of biological terror? War? Overpopulation? Maybe it was all of the above, who knows? Whatever history there was is no longer relevant in the decadent microcosm of the biodome, a future where any myths of yesteryear are warped beyond recognition. Certainly we can surmise just where the prospect of renewal originates, and why the idea of eliminating anyone over thirty would have been the kind of idea of an ecological fanatic. The film is like the actualization of a bevy of conspiracy theories about things like the "mark of the beast" and population control, since the myths of renewal are not far removed from a kind of ecoconscious alternative to religion, the decadence of free sex and drugs, the hippie philosophy unbound. This is a world modeled from the desire for superficial pleasure, a hedonism oft attributed to reckless youth--unsurprising with no one under thirty around and computers that do everything for you. And it is a shallow perspective for a shallow world; when Logan and Jessica finally discover the world outside, their experience is one lacking in the creature comforts they had grown accustomed to. Once they meet the "old man" (Peter Ustinov) and his cats, do they begin to really understand that the life clocks are a lie, one which Francis still refuses to disbelieve even in the face of the proof. It's unclear just when Logan truly abandons his mission in favor of a life with Jessica, but at some point he realizes that their previous world is wrong, and needs to be torn down. The life clocks which dictate when one must die are regarded as the evil force which binds the people to their fate. But even when they are destroyed, would this world of carefully monitored, protected and soft young people really be able to abandon the comforts of their previous existence? Our generation's perspective is to consider the society of the biodome as a police state, and an oppressive nightmare, if a pretty one; but what would future generations see in Logan's actions to force the populous out into the real world? Would they view Logan as a terrorist, bent on overthrowing his community's social structure? Would they even follow him to the promised land? It is hard to say if they would truly seek freedom, or if they would still remain bound by their gilded cage, invisible to the eye, but stronger than steel. Time will tell.
Recommended for: Fans of decidedly "Seventies-era sci-fi", with big hair and tight jumpsuits for costumes, and some genuinely weird moments. But it is a story which is open to enough interpretation to allow for a varied perspective on the future of Logan's Run.
Watching Logan's Run makes me wonder at what point did this future world go so far into left field. Certainly the catalyst was the obliquely referred to "catastrophe", but the nature of such an apocalyptic event remains unclear. Was it some kind of biological terror? War? Overpopulation? Maybe it was all of the above, who knows? Whatever history there was is no longer relevant in the decadent microcosm of the biodome, a future where any myths of yesteryear are warped beyond recognition. Certainly we can surmise just where the prospect of renewal originates, and why the idea of eliminating anyone over thirty would have been the kind of idea of an ecological fanatic. The film is like the actualization of a bevy of conspiracy theories about things like the "mark of the beast" and population control, since the myths of renewal are not far removed from a kind of ecoconscious alternative to religion, the decadence of free sex and drugs, the hippie philosophy unbound. This is a world modeled from the desire for superficial pleasure, a hedonism oft attributed to reckless youth--unsurprising with no one under thirty around and computers that do everything for you. And it is a shallow perspective for a shallow world; when Logan and Jessica finally discover the world outside, their experience is one lacking in the creature comforts they had grown accustomed to. Once they meet the "old man" (Peter Ustinov) and his cats, do they begin to really understand that the life clocks are a lie, one which Francis still refuses to disbelieve even in the face of the proof. It's unclear just when Logan truly abandons his mission in favor of a life with Jessica, but at some point he realizes that their previous world is wrong, and needs to be torn down. The life clocks which dictate when one must die are regarded as the evil force which binds the people to their fate. But even when they are destroyed, would this world of carefully monitored, protected and soft young people really be able to abandon the comforts of their previous existence? Our generation's perspective is to consider the society of the biodome as a police state, and an oppressive nightmare, if a pretty one; but what would future generations see in Logan's actions to force the populous out into the real world? Would they view Logan as a terrorist, bent on overthrowing his community's social structure? Would they even follow him to the promised land? It is hard to say if they would truly seek freedom, or if they would still remain bound by their gilded cage, invisible to the eye, but stronger than steel. Time will tell.
Recommended for: Fans of decidedly "Seventies-era sci-fi", with big hair and tight jumpsuits for costumes, and some genuinely weird moments. But it is a story which is open to enough interpretation to allow for a varied perspective on the future of Logan's Run.