Bregna – The last and perfect city on Earth!? Utopian/dystopian cities in contemporary Science Fiction

The 2004 Science-Fiction film Aeon Flux tells the story of the last remaining city on earth. Surrounded by a dense and dangerous jungle, Bregna is a beautiful and immaculate garden state, far from many of the dystopian depictions of post-apocalyptic cities in the history of Science-fiction cinema. Making the most of Berlin’s architectural heritage, the film makers have managed to turn real locations (from Victorian medical theatres and baroque gardens to contemporary concrete structures) into a perfect utopian city. Yet all is not as it seems, as the manicured gardens soon turn into deadly weapons when the film raises important questions about the moral implications of our striving for perfection and the control of nature.
I have recently explored these issues in my monograph Body, Soul and Cyberspace in Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema: Virtual Worlds and Ethical Problems and I would like to propose a poster introducing the key features of this u/dys-topian city and some questions for further reflection and discussion.