Dark Angel the Concept of a Utopian

¶ … Dark Angel

The concept of a Utopian society is one in which everything is wonderful. It is literally the best of all possible worlds. The opposite of this concept is the Dystopia which, logically enough, is the worst of all possible worlds. In a Utopia, everyone has the ability to think for themselves but the individuality and difference of opinion never gets to the point of disharmony. Contrarily, a dystopian society usually has some sort of totalitarian government or overseer who is domineering over every aspect of that society. Individuality is celebrated in the former and feared in the latter. The television series Dark Angel is an example of a Dystopia. Set in the not-so distant future, the series shows a version of the United States in intellectual and physical ruin and where individuality is feared and hunted down.

Whereas the Utopia has a leader who is benevolent and kindly and whose personality is centered on a desire for peace and understanding, the Dystopian leader will be bent on control of the world. In the universe of the Dark Angel series, this dictator-like individual is the character of Lydecker. Even before the world crumbled into this post-Apocalyptic version, Lydecker had been working at a top-secret government facility where he and his underlings genetically modified children to turn them into military weapons. In order to control a government, a person has to control the military. It is a staple of Dystopia that the person with power over the armaments of a nation will eventually be in charge of that nation. Even in the ruins of Seattle, genetically-altered Max (Jessica Alba) must hide from this figure of evil and oppressive authority. Though a highly-trained mutant hybrid soldier, Max is not match for the power represented in this one individual.

Another component of the dystopia, perhaps the most important, is a lack of faith in government which has become corrupt in order for the protagonist to survive. With this lack of faith in the larger institutions comes a more guarded version of the person. They no longer trust anyone. Max is uncertain about uniting with anyone because she has learned through her experiences that no one is deserving of trust. She has to rethink everything that she has come to lean on in order to survive when she encounters Logan Cale. Before this meeting, Max's only goal in life has been to remain off of Lydecker's radar and to find information about the other eleven genetically-altered humans who she refers to as siblings. In teaming up with Cale, Max is forcing herself to reclaim some of her humanity which was lost to her after the technological experimentation.