In 2010, while I was a design student at the University of Western Australia, I studied Ridley Scotts Blade Runner as part of the first-year architecture curriculum. My tutors spoke effusively about the films representation of class struggle through architecture and encouraged us to examine how technology in the Los Angeles of Scotts imagined future was reflected in our own cityscape.

The film was set in 2019 and some of its ideas talking computers and enormous digital billboards are all but reality even if flying cars have yet to take off. So it now seems appropriate to choose a new movie to challenge and inspire the next generation of city-makers. But does one exist? Im not sure. If I were to write, direct and lets be honest star in a film that was tailor-made for future architects and designers to study, the metropolis depicted would have a decidedly retro feel, using technology to make room for more analogue activities.

Imagine, for instance, a world where mobile-phone data was blacked out in select public areas, forcing people to stop scrolling through social-media feeds and pick up a conveniently placed local newspaper instead. We would marvel at how brakes on scooters would be automatically activated in designated zones, allowing pedestrians to go about their business without fear of colliding with someone on a two-wheeler. In short, hi-tech would be used to create soft-tech spaces, with the resulting streets feeling more friendly and inviting.

So if anyones thinking of funding an urban-utopia film project in the coming year, drop me a note. Because in a world of hi-tech effects, its the low-tech future that would really bring shock and awe to cinema audiences and perhaps improve our cities along the way.

Excerpt from:

Friday 27 December 2019 - The Monocle Minute - Monocle