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Im a lover of dystopias, but Ive always foundBrave New Worldirksome.
That film is Marco Brambillas 1993 epicDemolition Man, which turns 25 years old this week.
The film wisely wastes no time establishing either characters past or motivation.
Spartan loves justice, Phoenix loves chaos, and ever the twain shall fight.
Social engineering at its finest.
Oh, how wrong you would be.
Were transported to the year 2032, where everything is … pretty great, actually.
They do so and the manhunt begins.
But ultimately, one doesnt really give a shit about the manhunt.
Obviously, Spartan will catch Phoenix and take him down.
None of that is very important.
The real magic of the movie lies in its world-building and its message.
Abortions also illegal, but then again, so is pregnancy if you dont have a license.
Its all just provocative enough without taking itselftooseriously.
Two stand out in particular.
Taco Bell, were informed, won the franchise wars and is now the only kind of restaurant.
I suppose that could be a commentary on megacorporations, but its mostly just a charmingly weird idea.
And then there are the seashells.
Spartan uses the bathroom at the precinct and informs the cops that theyre out of toilet paper.
Everyone giggles and hes told that no one uses TP anymore instead, they use the three seashells.
Later, Spartan inspects a bathroom and sees three seashells near the john.
In the final line of the film, Spartan asks Huxley to explain the three seashells.
What a brilliantly strange literary choice, to leave that act entirely up to the viewers imagination!
But ultimately, the non sequiturs are overpowered by the commentary.
It becomes clear as things progress thatDemolition Manis intended to be a libertarian manifesto.
His is a world of scarcity and dirt, lived below the surface of San Angeles.
Cause I like to think, I like to read.
Im into freedom of speech and freedom of choice.
I want to eat bacon, butter, and buckets of cheese, okay?
I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in a non-smoking section.
I wanna run through the streets naked with green Jello all over my body readingPlayboymagazine.
Because I suddenly might feel the need to.
Ive seen the future you know what it is?
Your other choice: come down here, maybe starve to death.
Has there ever been a rawer, more perfect argument against the nanny state in mainstream cinema?
How ballsy is that?
This is a Stallone character, after all.
Hes not going to have a detailed plan for societal balance.
He simply concludes, I dunno.
Youll figure it out.
He and Huxley walk away toward some experimenting with fluid exchange.
As the credits roll, one is struck by how supremely odd the experience of the picture has been.
Spartan yells before he kicks Phoenixs flash-frozen head off of his body) and moralizing.
But I would contend that this tonal dissonance is a feature, not a bug.
Though largely lost to time, its well worth a watch.
Will you be convinced of what it has to say?
Youll figure it out.
