MovieChat Forums > The Dark Backward (1993) Discussion > The setting is an ambiguous Dystopia

The setting is an ambiguous Dystopia


Even though this film has a 50's throwback visual style, I personally think it is set in a dystopian society. The corporation Blump's seems to be the one sole entity in economic control. Any takers?

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The director didn't want to dilute any of the scenes by using real brand names. So they just agreed on Blump's for everything...

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Right Libertino. It's equivalent to the use of Ajax as the manufacturer of every type of lethal gadget in all the Wile E. Coyote cartoons.

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Actually, the manufacturer of the Wile E. Coyote's gadgets was ACME. Ajax is a brand of abrasive cleaner.

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ajax was the battlecruiser from flash gordon

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awesome reference, Hero's hit, I'm going after him!

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I first became aware of this movie because the first posters consisted of (fake) Blump's ads and nothing else. I...WANT...A...BLUMP'S...POSTER!

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I agree that it very much seems a dystopian society in this movie. I get the impression that the people are living post-nuclear war -- not only does Marty spontaneously grow an extra arm, there are other random mutations as well (I heard one of the TV announcers say coming up soon was someone and their singing bunion. There are probably big storms, too, as after one of Marty's auditions, small fish come out of the drainage pipe (swept up by a storm due to major climate change?). The group of fat women in the film were sort of a sign, too, as they seemed to be living in the more rich environments in the film (so probably were rich), and in less modern societies (where food was scarce) being fat was a sign of wealth.

Certainly, there's a lot of garbage and filth shown, and it seems like society has degraded in the film. Here's another random supporting fact -- at one point we see an ad for "weaselroni," not beefaroni. Also, a few seconds later, graffiti on the alley wall says "NUKE ME."

I might add that another film that has a similar dystopian feel, that is revealed throughout the film as we see more about the society, is "Bad Boy Bubby." The world there doesn't seem quite all right either; it is hinted that the issue was a war with poison gas.

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