Beyond the Dome: A Critical Analysis of Logan’s Run
by G. Jack Urso
Sometime in the 23rd century . . .
The survivors of war, overpopulation and
pollution
Are living in a great domed city, sealed
away from the
Forgotten world outside. Here, in an
ecologically balanced world
Mankind lives solely for pleasure,
Freed by the servo-mechanisms which provides
everything
There’s just one catch:
Life must end at thirty unless reborn in the
fiery ritual of carrousel
— Logan’s
Run (film)
Logan’s Run was released on June 23, 1976. It comes in
as one of the last entries of pre-Star
Wars sci-fi films, such as Planet of
the Apes (1968), THX-1138 (1971), Soylent Green (1973),
and Rollerball (1975), which explore dystopic
realities that reflect the excesses of our civilization, though usually within
a framework of then-contemporary social issues. In the case of Logan’s Run, as noted above in the introduction to the movie, those issues are “. . . war, overpopulation and pollution.” Sound familiar?
Under the Dome: The futuristic home to the world of Logan’s Run.
While the novel preceded the
movie by nine years, it is the latter that made a lasting impact on
sci-fi. Those critical of the movie might point to the disco-era inspired set
and costume design, but the film struck all the right notes regarding its
prediction of a youth-obsessed, consumer-oriented culture, and even technical
trends such as smart phones and laser surgery. Nevertheless, those elements are
really just dressing for the real ethical dilemma posed to viewers: How do we
as a civilization survive in a world of limited resources?
Despite the many conflicts around
the globe today, there is little fear of a worldwide nuclear Armageddon.
Certainly, there are legitimate fears of a limited use of nuclear weapons in a
specific region, which would certainly cause great devastation, but end the
world — a complete and total end of our civilization? The idea seems ludicrous
today, but that was not always so.
There was a time, not so long
ago, when young people went to bed never really knowing whether the world they
left for slumber would still be there in the morning. The old idea of
“annihilation by nuclear war,” seems so old fashioned that few take it as a
serious threat, yet there was a time when that threat was very real, so real
that school children were in fact required to practice “duck and cover” nuclear
bomb drills. I know. I was one of those children.
The fear that everything we knew
could be destroyed by the very adults who were supposed to protect us inspired
both a mistrust of authority and an increasingly consumer-oriented leisure culture. These competing psychological reactions created a type of social
schizophrenia in Western culture during the 1960s and 1970s, leading to an
increased use of recreational drugs and sexually-liberated social mores, which
play major roles in the world of Logan’s
Run.
Official trailer for the 1976 movie.
The Novel
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 21 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.
— Logan’s
Run (novel)
In the introduction to the novel Logan’s Run, published September 1967, authors
William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson establish what they feel is the
major cause of the impending Armageddon. The post-war baby boom ran for twenty
years, between 1945 and 1964, and produced 76.4 million children. In 1946 alone,
3.4 million babies were born, more than had ever been born before in one year,
and the numbers just kept growing: 3.8 million in 1947, 3.9 million in 1952,
and over four million every year between 1954 and 1964 (“Baby Boomers”).
What Nolan and Clayton did not anticipate
while they were writing the book in the mid-1960s was the eventual drop in the birth
rate, but certainly the Generation Gap is a well-documented social catalyst
of the 1960s and 1970s. Even a casual review of news and entertainment programs
from the era will reveal a preoccupation with the conflict between the
generations.
The novel Logan’s Run was published in September 1967 during a crucial point in
the 1960s. It comes right after the “Summer of Love” in 1967 — arguably
the height of the peaceful hippie counterculture. After that, things got very violent.
With 1968 came the Tet offensive, the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the violent police action against protestors at the
Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and the increasing
militancy of the Black Panthers and the Weathermen.
In 1967, Logan’s Run builds off the fear of nuclear war, mistrust of
authority, and a growing sexual freedom and youth-oriented culture to create the
premise of a controlled society with limited resources, but unlimited personal
freedoms.
A Different World
Although the novel preceded the
movie, it is the movie that most people are familiar with, yet those who read
the book will immediately notice that the world the book is set in is a vastly
different world than the movie. In the novel, the year is 2116; in the movie,
the year is 2274. A minor difference, yet the further away from the 20th
Century, the more believable the social evolutionary differences.
In the novel, the age of Lastday
is 21, not 30, as it is in the movie. Sanctuary exists in the novel, but not in
the movie. Instead of the futuristic flaming kill-sticks of the film, in the
novel Sandmen carry revolvers not dissimilar to a classic Colt-45. In the
novel, there are no giant domes, history is not forgotten, and, more
significantly, in the novel there is no Carrousel — the fiery ritual in which
citizens of the Domed City bid for life renewal.
The plot device of convincing
young people worldwide to kill themselves upon reaching their 21st
birthday is basically a flawed concept. The idea that such a movement, even in
the face of starvation and disease, would permeate every culture everywhere
requires a great suspension of disbelief that, even as a sci-fi fan myself, I
cannot give the novel. As a result, the events that follow along become less
“believable” within the framework of the story.
The movie, however, by
transplanting the idea into a Domed City with a population whose numbers are maintained
at limited, though steady level, makes the basic concept more believable. While
the idea of voluntary euthanasia at a young age is challenging to embrace as a
reader, increasing Lastday from age 21 to 30 gives the idea a bit more
believability within the framework established by the movie.
Additionally, the age of 30 also
exploits the 1960s axiom: “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” This phrase summed up
the generational gap and the youth-oriented counterculture of the 1960s, and
the movie cleverly incorporates it, creating a stronger connection with the
viewer than the novel’s terminus of 21 years of age.
Nevertheless, the decision to set
the age for Lastday at 30 in the movie is entirely for a practical reason.
Director Michael Anderson notes in the commentary to the film's DVD Blue-ray release that finding so
many actors and extras age 21 and under would have proven time-consuming and
problematic, so increasing the age had less to do with literary reasons than it
did with basic financial considerations.
Advanced preview of the 1976 film with unrestored footage.
The Knowledge Gap
Another noticeable difference is
the regard in which the characters have knowledge of the past. In the movie,
the citizens of the Domed City are much like the Eloi in H.G. Well’s The Time Machine, ostensibly peaceful,
physically attractive, yet completely ignorant about past history. Indeed, upon
seeing the Sun for the first time after escaping the Domed City, Logan and
Jessica do not recognize it.
In the movie, Logan and Jessica
are dumbfounded when they encounter the ruins of Washington D.C., not
recognizing Abraham Lincoln, the flag, and other relics of the presumably
now-extinct United States of America. This is opposed to the novel’s approach
where history has not been forgotten and is in fact celebrated, as in the
reenactment of a battle from the American Civil War with androids dressed up as
soldiers from the Union and the Confederacy.
In this regard, I believe the
movie’s interpretation provides a more compelling sub-plot. The absence of historical
knowledge among the Domed City’s citizens can be attributed to the classic
sci-fi plot device — a global nuclear apocalypse wiping out magnetically stored
data via electro-magnetic pulses (emps) and inaugurating a new Dark Age. Nevertheless,
given the level of technology present in the movie I am not inclined to make
that connection here. Considering the high level of control by the Domed City’s
computer, the Thinker, it is just as likely that historical information is
deemed non-essential and simply not disseminated.
Unfortunately, there is no
novelization of the movie, just the original novel by William F. Nolan and George
F. Clayton, so much of the backstory that would have been explained in a
novelization is missing from the Logan’s
Run movie’s canon. The filmmakers’ interpretation of the novel’s concept is
separate and original enough that it deserves its own treatment, even nearly 40
years later. Population Levels
It
keeps everything in balance. One is terminated, one is born.
Simple. Logical.
Perfect. Do you have
a better system?
— Francis 7, Logan’s
Run (film)
In the movie, Logan 5 tells the Old Man that the city has
“thousands and thousands of people,” but how large is the Domed City and what
is its true purpose? Few clues are presented in the movie.
In the film's commentary on Blue-ray DVD, director
Michael Anderson posits that in the movie’s concept of the Domed City there is
a zero-sum approach to the city’s population control: For every one citizen
that dies, another must be born. This is to ensure a steady number of citizens
so as not to tax the city’s resources. The problem with this approach is
that it assumes each citizen will fulfill his or hers’ designated role within
the Domed City’s society — an assumption that is undermined by the presence of
the “cubs,” the violent juvenile delinquents exiled to the Cathedral Complex
and who refuse to integrate into mainstream Domed City society.
The presence of the cubs taxes
city resources without any positive contribution by the consumers — the cubs —
yet the Sandmen do not target the cubs for automatic termination. Why then are
the cubs allowed to exist in a closed society with limited resources? The
answer is not clear. Director Michael Anderson, in the commentary for Logan’s Run on DVD, suggests that the cubs are
children hidden away by older citizens who don’t believe in “Renewal.” Despite
Mr. Anderson’s very well-qualified opinion on the movie, this suggestion is
rife with contradictions. The cubs live a hard, brutal life, impoverished and
cut off from city services and adult supervision. Indeed, the cubs kill anyone
over 15 who tries to remain within their ranks. This implies a tacit acceptance
of the concept of Lastday and runs counter to the idea that cubs are hidden
away by those who oppose the idea.
The architecture used for Biosphere 2
would be at home in the Domed City of Logan’s Run.
One could make the argument that
the reason the cubs are allowed to exist in a closed society is that their
bodies produce carbon dioxide and other waste products that can be recycled and
used to maintain the balance of the Domed City’s ecosystem. One lesson from the
Biosphere 2 experiments in 1991 (the so-called “Bio-Dome”), was that
maintaining a balanced ecology in a closed, self-contained environment is
incredibly difficult. It takes an extraordinary level of technology to
maintain a perfectly enclosed, self-contained, and truly balanced ecology in a
domed environment (Winerip). This suggests that the Domed City is not necessarily self-contained,
but draws from the environment air, water, and, as Logan himself suggests in the
movie, power from the tidal motion of the ocean.
The purpose of the Domed City is to preserve human life in the face of a global nuclear apocalypse until such time as life is once again viable “beyond the dome.” Since it is unknown how long it will be before life can once again repopulate the Earth, a rigidly structured society with internal population controls must be maintained. To that end, keeping the populace “pacified” with distractions such as sex and drugs in a highly automated society is a vital component in maintaining social stability. Size Does Matter —But Not As Much As You Think What size is the city? According
to Logan 5, there are at least several thousand. Nevertheless, the question of
the Domed City’s population level is not so much a matter of how many are
needed to maintain a balanced ecology, but rather how few are needed to
maintain a sufficient level of genetic diversity to ensure a viable population.
Francis 7 and Logan 5 visit the infant Logan 6 in the
Nursery.
Anthropologist John Moore of the University of Florida studied this question as it pertains to
multi-generational interstellar space exploration. He concluded that for a 200
year voyage at least 160 people are required to maintain a steady population
level. Further, Moore calculated such a situation would provide each person
with approximately ten possible candidates for marriage. Removing ourselves
from notions of monogamy and marriage, that suggests at least ten possible sex
partners per person — not to mention more causal encounters. Herein we can see
the sexually liberated mores of Logan’s Run
logically evolving from social engineering a sustainable post-apocalypse
human society (Carrington). Evidence from the movie implies
that the existence of the Domed City is to preserve the genetic viability of the
human race in the face of a global disaster. The individuals themselves are not
as important as the purpose they serve, to ensure that a high-quality sample of
human genetic material exists until such time as the outside world can be
repopulated.
Computer Error
“The system is
dying. The Thinker is dying.”
— Ballard, Logan’s
Run (Nolan and Johnson 147)
In the novel, the great global computer, the Thinker, is malfunctioning;
however, this sub-plot is only hinted at in the movie and a greater emphasis on
that fact would help to explain some discordant plot lines to the viewer.
In the movie, the Old Man’s
existence in the Capitol building and the prevalent vegetation seen in the outside
world suggest that it is ready to be repopulated and the controlled society of
the Dome City is no longer needed. The Thinker, the city’s computer, however, is
programmed to preserve the human race through the Domed City’s continued existence.
Escaping runners upset the Domed City’s balanced ecology and must be stopped.
The Thinker considers over 1,000 unaccounted runners evidence of Sanctuary’s
existence. Therefore, despite the computer’s truth detector verifying Logan 5’s
statement that “there is no sanctuary,” he must be in error; however,if Logan is in error, then the Thinker must
also be in error since its truth detector is saying that Logan is telling the
truth. It’s a classic Star Trek: The
Original Series Kirkian computer-destroying logical paradox (see episodes
“The Changeling” and "The Return
of the Archons").
Box, the cyborg, is part-man,
part-machine, and completely insane. In the movie, Box says he was built to
process the food from the sea for the Domed City, yet one day the food from the
sea stops coming. Runners then start showing up, so Box freezes them in the same
manner as he froze the sea food.
Box: Welcome, humans! I am ready for you.
Fish, plankton, sea greens, and protein from the sea. Fresh as
harvest day. Overwhelming, am I not?
In the movie, over a thousand runners are said
to be missing, yet only Logan, Jessica, and Francis get past Box. This means
that Box must have frozen the rest. In the movie, we see only a dozen or so
frozen runners, but the implication is that they are all there, or have some
been processed as food and sent back to the Domed City for consumption? This
further begs the question, what does happen to the bodies of those who
flameout on Carrousel? Are they all reduced to sand like the runner in the
beginning of the movie, or are their bodies somehow recycled?
Further evidence of the Thinker
malfunctioning may include the scene of a female runner in cathedral who claims
she is only a green (though she is wearing red). Certainly the Thinker changed
Logan’s lifeclock, but could system-wide errors result in citizens being put on
Lastday before their time? More speculation, but a logical progression based on
the scenes in the movie.
More evidence of system-wide
computer malfunctioning is the existence of the cubs. Given the high level of
technology, it can be presumed that genetic engineering is sufficiently advanced to design not only physical qualities, but also mental and emotional
qualities as well. Docility and a propensity to follow orders would be
desirable traits in a controlled society, so how then does the Domed City have so many
violent, delinquent juveniles that the entire Cathedral Complex is reserved for
their segregation? This is further evidence of the Thinker
breaking down.
Carrousel
Enter
the Carrousel. This is the time of renewal. Be strong . . . and you will be
renewed.
— The Domed City computer (the Thinker) to
citizens facing Lastday (film)
Did
you ever see anybody renew?
— Logan 5
to Francis 7, Logan’s Run (film)
One of the more bizarre rituals
of the Domed City is Carrousel, where those facing Lastday are promised life renewal
if they survive the experience. Director Michael Anderson in the commentary to Logan’s Run on DvD likens the purpose
of this ceremony to that of the Roman Coliseum — bread and circuses to
entertain the masses with a form of gladiatorial combat and distract them from
the meaning of their existence.
Carrousel: Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful
looking corpse – in flames!
The concept of renewal isn’t
fully explained in the movie and is not discussed in the novel at all. During
the Carrousel ritual, last day participants gather in an arena in white ritual
robes and death masks, obscuring their identities and individuality — a final
sacrifice for the city. Bathed in an energy field, the participants float
upwards and attempt to touch a white crystal at the top and be renewed, but of
course, no one ever does. As they near the top, their bodies — consumed by the
energy — erupt in a burst of spontaneous human combustion.
In the novel, special “sleepshops”
provide the means for citizens on Lastday to end their lives peacefully and in
private; however, considering the advanced scientific knowledge of the Domed
City, neither Carrousel nor sleepshops are really needed. For example, given
the level of technology it is possible that those on Lastday could be remotely killed, perhaps via a signal or poison delivered through their lifeclock palm flower and activated right on the second of the person’s 21st
or 30th birthday (depending on whether you prefer the novel or the
movie version). In this model, running becomes a much less likely event.
For argument’s sake, let us take
as a starting point that the Carrousel ritual is a logically evolved social phenomenon
of the Domed City. Referring back to director Michael Anderson’s comment about Carrousel
having an analogous relationship to the Coliseum in Ancient Rome, the larger
purpose of Roman blood sports — beyond that of simple diversions — is to
acclimate the populace to violence and death in an age when people died young.
Interestingly, few gladiators
lived beyond the age of 30, with the average age of death approximately 28 and
most dying in their early 20s, so perhaps Anderson is onto something in
connecting Carrousel to the Roman Coliseum (“The Gladiators”).
Short
documentary on the making of the 1976 movie.
Contributions of the TV Show
Into this mix, let us consider
some elements of the much-maligned television series version of Logan’s Run
that aired on CBS from September 1977 to February 1978. The series was launched by TV execs hoping
to capitalize on the success of Star Wars,
which was released on May 25, 1977 — about a year after the Logan’s
Run feature film — and inspired widespread popularity of the sci-fi genre
as never before.
The television series very much
emulates the Wagon Train* concept of visiting different groups of people every
week, a model introduced into the sci-fi genre by Star Trek. Indeed, a few of the people involved with the television
series, such as story editor D.C. Fontana and writer David Gerrold, were Star Trek veterans. [*Note: Wagon Train is a Western TV
show that aired on NBC from 1957 to 1962 and on ABC from 1962 to 1965]
The first concept from the series that could be further
developed in future versions of Logan’s Run
is the Council of Elders – a group of senior citizens who secretly control the
society from a hidden enclave. This idea provides a deeper, more sinister
meaning behind Carrousel. Renewal may indeed exist after all, but as a
selection process for replacements to the Council of Elders who guide the
overall survival of the Domed City.
There is a limitation of
experience in a population whose eldest person is 30, so a secret council of
elders, those over 30, selected from the Domed City’s population to live in a
separate, hidden area — a utopia within a utopia — provides a deeper level of
control. Needing to maintain a stable population with limited resources,
the age limit of 30 is maintained for most citizens and only a very small
minority are given the privilege of an extended lifespan. Obviously, keeping the Council's existence secret
is based on the fear that, if known, it would upset the social stability of the Domed City.
The second concept is the
introduction of a fully autonomous, self-aware android/robot, Rem (portrayed by
actor Donald Moffat), into the Logan’s
Run universe. Though their existence is only implied in the movie, there are plenty of androids and robots in the novel; however, none are self-aware to the point of
near-human consciousness, as we see in Rem.
Rem, the android.
Given the sophisticated level of
computer intelligence seen in the books and movies, and the cybernetic
technology implicit in Box’s existence, being able to create an android with
artificial intelligence should be a logical extension in the novel, if
not the movie. While there are androids in the novel, such as those used to
reenact scenes from the U.S. Civil War, they are never portrayed with the
same level of autonomy as Rem, or say Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Rem serves as a commentary on
what defines humanity to the Domed City refugees, Logan and Jessica, who are really searching to find their true natures as much as they are sanctuary. Further, an android could have a lifetime
much longer than 21 or 30 years, therefore providing a historical perspective
that the Domed City citizens lack. While there are earlier models for self-aware
androids through Isaac Asimov’s writings, or Gene Roddenberry’s The Questor Tapes, Rem predates
Commander Data in Star Trek: The Next
Generation and is divergent enough from the ‘droids of the Star Wars universe to warrant
inclusion in the Logan's Run canon.
Trailer for the 1977 CBS TV series.
Conclusion
Even though the world of Logan’s Run is filled with free love,
recreational drugs, and the leisure-time benefits of high technology, both book
and movie are essentially conservative in message and anti-technology in tone.
Ultimately, it is not polygamous sexual relations that are regarded as
important social mores, but rather monogamous relationships. Technology is
regarded with suspicion: it spies, controls, tracks, tortures, and kills — the
Thinker itself is breaking down. Though dressed up in the gloss of an advanced utopian
society, the world of Logan’s Run is a
decrepit and dying dystopia.
Despite the criticism of liberal sexual-social mores, film is equally critical of the conservative attitudes of the prevailing Dome City culture. This is a society that sees no reason to progress. It not only resists change, but actively fights against any threat that might upset the status quo. New ideas are forbidden. Access to knowledge and history is controlled and censored. In this regard, Logan's Run is more layered and nuanced conceptually than usually given credit.
The idea of Sanctuary as presented
in Logan’s Run, the novel, is a literal place; however,the film takes
a more literary tact in suggesting there is no Sanctuary. What is
a Sanctuary after all but a place of refuge from the apocalypse? It is a place
that promises an easier life. Now, what sort of place does that sound like? To
me, that suggests the Domed City itself — the place Logan and Jessica seek is the place they
escaped from. This is a variation on a theme worth exploring in future
interpretations.
Perhaps, that is the ultimate lesson of Logan’s Run— that the paradises we seek are often the ones we
leave behind.
Related Content
I created this video with images
from and inspired by the movie Logan's Run with Jerry Goldsmith's
theme to the motion picture, along with some special effects of my own!
Logan’s Run soundtrack to the film, by Jerry Goldsmith.
“Baby Boomers.” History.com,
A&E Television Networks LLC, 2014. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/ baby-boomers>.
Carrington, Damian. “"Magic
Number" for Space Pioneers Calculated.” New Scientist. Reed Business Information
Ltd., 15 Feb. 2002. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1936- magic-number-for-space-pioneers-calculated. html#.U7Kiw2dOWHs>.
Logan’s Run. Dir. Michael Anderson. Perf. Michael York, Richard
Jordan, and Jenny Agutter. UnitedArtists.
1976. DVD.
Nolan, William F, and George
Clayton Johnson. Logan’s Run. New
York: Bantam, 1976. Print.
“The Gladiators of Rome.” BBC. BBC.com, 17 Feb. 2009. Web. 19 July
2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/ messageboards/brunel/A46178445>.
Winerip, Michael. “A Second Act
for Biosphere 2.” The New York Times.
The New York Times Company, 10
June 2013. Web. 19 July 2014. < http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/ booming/biosphere-2-good-science-or-bad-sense.html? _r=0>.
My thought about the Logan's Run TV series (which I enjoyed when it aired back in the 70's) was that it emulated more of the story structure of The Fugitive than Wagon Train (Logan, Jessica and Rem are being chased by the Sandmen, a plotline that echoes Lt Gerard chasing Dr. Richard Kimble). Then again, the Fugitive motif would also be used in another CBS series of the time, The Incredible Hulk (Dr David Banner is on the run from an investigative reporter, which brings him to new locales and new adventures).
Good insight Chuck. I didn't make the connection with the Fugitive angle, but it's on target. I wonder if the TV show lasted if Francis would have helped Logan, as Gerard ultimately helped Kimble, or would he have remained the same character he did in the film? I think Logan's Run would do well for a Netflix series, though based on the film with some elements of the TV show, rather than the novel.
I just stumbled across this essay while rereading the novels after watching the movie (I've never seen the series but it's in my backlog I'm trying to catch up on). Everything is on point but I do have a few observations, of a sort, from a cultural point of view. Monogamous dating is a relatively recent phenomenon. It started taking hold in the 50's with "going steady" and the free love movement was an attempt at rebellion against the new normal. We see that in Logan's World going steady is almost unheard of ("I'm curious not sick" to use Logan's phraseology) but we see the monogamy trope between Jessica and Logan take hold pretty fast in the film. There's also an egalitarian element in sexual identity and preference present in the City in the film that was fairly revolutionary for the era of the film. Logan flat out asks Jessica if she prefers women but not flippantly. Logan could also potentially be seen as bisexual, that's the vibe I've always gotten at least, because he has both women and men in his circuit.
The cubs also do make a certain amount of sense to me. You're always going to have people who are super aggressive that just need to get knocked flat on their butt before they shape up. The cubs are representative of those aggressive types prior to puberty kicking in. I wouldn't be surprised if Logan, well the film's version at least, was a cub prior to puberty. It would allow him to get his more aggressive impulses out in a manner that would suit a Sandman. Not every cub is going to move from the cub stage and become a productive member of society but it let's the Thinker weed out the overly aggressive types early enough to actually maintain a peaceful society.
Thank you for reading my essay and your thoughtful response. I often thought that bisexuality/homosexuality would be common among the dome citizens. I understand given the year of release why it is not explored, though the scene in the circuit does suggest it is common. I can't say how common monogamous dating was in American culture. Certainly "going steady" was a concept that mirrors engagement so as to encourage marriage. It does seem like a very post-war idea.
The concept of the circuit has always fascinated me. Obviously a take on the transporter technology from Star Trek, but if the city had that level of technology, couldn't Sandmen be "beamed" anywhere in the city where there was a circuit booth? It was a good idea, but they didn't do much with it.
In the circuit scene, Logan has a smirk on his face when he rather dismissively sends the away the guy who turns up in the circuit in his room. I always interpreted that as he was not interested in men, but maybe he was just not interested that night. As Jessica indicates, people put themselves in the circuit for a quick hook up, I suppose like Tinder, so I don’t think Logan necessarily had men in his circuit, but I suppose he would be able to filter out undesired characteristics in potential hook ups, and he did not eliminate men, so that is telling in and of itself. I agree, Logan likely would have been bisexual, though he is not written that way in the novel or the film. I always thought that Francis took Logan’s run too personally, so though he betrayed Francis not just the Dome city, so maybe there was something else going on there.
Certainly, there would be no moral issue with bisexuality/homosexuality in the Dome city. I don't recall the novels actually dealing with the issue in any depth, but it’s been a while since I read them. I think not having an actual novelization of the movie left a lot of questions unanswered. We have the novel the film is based on, but nothing based on the movie itself, which radically departs from the novel. So, that leaves a lot of unanswered question since novelizations of films often give us a lot of background information that does not make it into the films themselves.
I think any future movie adaptation should include bisexuality and homosexuality as a matter-of-fact in Dome City culture — and I would rather see an adaptation of the movie, not the novel. I find it hard to buy into the concept that everyone in the world would agree to a last day at 21. A much wider nuclear war and/or environmental apocalypse seems more like what would lead to a culture such as we read in Logan's Run or the Dome city in the movie. Still, there are a lot of exciting scenes from the novel I would like to see.
Thank you for a very thought-provoking response. I hope to see some of these ideas integrated into a future adaptation of Logan’s Run, though I think a limited streaming series on Netflix or Amazon or HBO Max might be better than a movie. Hopefully Disney won’t get ahold of it!
Excellent essay on so many questions I have had about Logan's Run. Thank you for an illuminating read!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading!
DeleteMy thought about the Logan's Run TV series (which I enjoyed when it aired back in the 70's) was that it emulated more of the story structure of The Fugitive than Wagon Train (Logan, Jessica and Rem are being chased by the Sandmen, a plotline that echoes Lt Gerard chasing Dr. Richard Kimble). Then again, the Fugitive motif would also be used in another CBS series of the time, The Incredible Hulk (Dr David Banner is on the run from an investigative reporter, which brings him to new locales and new adventures).
ReplyDeleteEntertaining and informative read.
Good insight Chuck. I didn't make the connection with the Fugitive angle, but it's on target. I wonder if the TV show lasted if Francis would have helped Logan, as Gerard ultimately helped Kimble, or would he have remained the same character he did in the film? I think Logan's Run would do well for a Netflix series, though based on the film with some elements of the TV show, rather than the novel.
DeleteThanks for reading!
LOved this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
DeleteYou bet. Shared in my Logan's Run group if you'd care to comment or join us https://www.facebook.com/groups/Runrunner/
DeleteThat looks awesome. I'll have to join!
DeleteI just stumbled across this essay while rereading the novels after watching the movie (I've never seen the series but it's in my backlog I'm trying to catch up on). Everything is on point but I do have a few observations, of a sort, from a cultural point of view.
ReplyDeleteMonogamous dating is a relatively recent phenomenon. It started taking hold in the 50's with "going steady" and the free love movement was an attempt at rebellion against the new normal. We see that in Logan's World going steady is almost unheard of ("I'm curious not sick" to use Logan's phraseology) but we see the monogamy trope between Jessica and Logan take hold pretty fast in the film. There's also an egalitarian element in sexual identity and preference present in the City in the film that was fairly revolutionary for the era of the film. Logan flat out asks Jessica if she prefers women but not flippantly. Logan could also potentially be seen as bisexual, that's the vibe I've always gotten at least, because he has both women and men in his circuit.
The cubs also do make a certain amount of sense to me. You're always going to have people who are super aggressive that just need to get knocked flat on their butt before they shape up. The cubs are representative of those aggressive types prior to puberty kicking in. I wouldn't be surprised if Logan, well the film's version at least, was a cub prior to puberty. It would allow him to get his more aggressive impulses out in a manner that would suit a Sandman. Not every cub is going to move from the cub stage and become a productive member of society but it let's the Thinker weed out the overly aggressive types early enough to actually maintain a peaceful society.
Thank you for reading my essay and your thoughtful response. I often thought that bisexuality/homosexuality would be common among the dome citizens. I understand given the year of release why it is not explored, though the scene in the circuit does suggest it is common. I can't say how common monogamous dating was in American culture. Certainly "going steady" was a concept that mirrors engagement so as to encourage marriage. It does seem like a very post-war idea.
DeleteThe concept of the circuit has always fascinated me. Obviously a take on the transporter technology from Star Trek, but if the city had that level of technology, couldn't Sandmen be "beamed" anywhere in the city where there was a circuit booth? It was a good idea, but they didn't do much with it.
In the circuit scene, Logan has a smirk on his face when he rather dismissively sends the away the guy who turns up in the circuit in his room. I always interpreted that as he was not interested in men, but maybe he was just not interested that night. As Jessica indicates, people put themselves in the circuit for a quick hook up, I suppose like Tinder, so I don’t think Logan necessarily had men in his circuit, but I suppose he would be able to filter out undesired characteristics in potential hook ups, and he did not eliminate men, so that is telling in and of itself. I agree, Logan likely would have been bisexual, though he is not written that way in the novel or the film. I always thought that Francis took Logan’s run too personally, so though he betrayed Francis not just the Dome city, so maybe there was something else going on there.
Certainly, there would be no moral issue with bisexuality/homosexuality in the Dome city. I don't recall the novels actually dealing with the issue in any depth, but it’s been a while since I read them. I think not having an actual novelization of the movie left a lot of questions unanswered. We have the novel the film is based on, but nothing based on the movie itself, which radically departs from the novel. So, that leaves a lot of unanswered question since novelizations of films often give us a lot of background information that does not make it into the films themselves.
I think any future movie adaptation should include bisexuality and homosexuality as a matter-of-fact in Dome City culture — and I would rather see an adaptation of the movie, not the novel. I find it hard to buy into the concept that everyone in the world would agree to a last day at 21. A much wider nuclear war and/or environmental apocalypse seems more like what would lead to a culture such as we read in Logan's Run or the Dome city in the movie. Still, there are a lot of exciting scenes from the novel I would like to see.
Thank you for a very thought-provoking response. I hope to see some of these ideas integrated into a future adaptation of Logan’s Run, though I think a limited streaming series on Netflix or Amazon or HBO Max might be better than a movie. Hopefully Disney won’t get ahold of it!
Interesting analysis in the two comments prior. Well done.
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