Logan's Run

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Logan's Run, An Introduction and Defense

PLOT

The 1976 movie Logan’s Run is the story of a post-apocalyptic future. The movie (which this article is mainly about) is based loosely on the 1967 book, by the same name, which was written by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. In the movie, survivors of some kind of untold apocalyptic disaster are living within a beautiful seaside megalopolis, totally enclosed within protective domes and thoroughly committed to pleasure (hedonism). Those inside have little knowledge of any world "outside" and live dependent on the central computer, so dependent in fact that some parts of the city have fallen to decay. A central artificial intelligence computer solves overpopulation problems by enforcing the idea of "renewal" at thirty years of age as it operates the domed city (in the book the city has no domes and the renewal age is twenty-one). A person's age is revealed by the color stages of a small crystal in the palm of his or her hand, implanted at birth. Eventually, the crystal signifies by its color the arrival of "last day" when the person voluntarily enters the slaughterhouse called "Carousel" with a group of others who are also on last day, and are lifted into the air adorned in outfits for the special occasion, disappearing in quick, brilliant explosions, blindly hoping to be "renewed" (reincarnated) in accordance with a works oriented belief system. Instead of the computer just killing everyone automatically at a predetermined time through the crystal (seen by some as a hole in the script) and probably causing mass rebellion, the people have been given such rituals and myths to live their pleasure filled lives by, hoping for a good renewal. Onlookers who are not yet 30 years of age pack the stands at Carousel like a Roman coliseum, cheering and shouting with delight, "Renew! Renew!" Aside from some rebellious types who have refused to adhere to all this, known as "runners," most people live in bliss and ignorance believing that this is how life should be and how problems of humanity are avoided or solved. Society believes emphatically in "renewal" with religious fervor, even to the point where to question the idea is considered alarming. Stranger things than this have happened in history! Of course these ideas are nonsense, and eventually Michael York’s character, Logan, comes to this conclusion.

At first Logan, a "sandman" (an elite law enforcer with considerable privileges), shows the same attitude as others of his trade, but at the same time reveals that he is questioning his society a little bit. Sandmen are responsible for eliminating those people who want to live past thirty (the killing of runners is not considered murder by sandmen). The computer assigns Logan the task of finding the runners’ safe haven for those older than thirty called "Sanctuary," and destroying it. In the process, what starts out as Logan’s cold hearted, soft-talking use of the female character Jessica (played by Jenny Agutter) to accomplish his mission, turns into a huge adventure consisting of a central upheaval and dramatic change of Logan’s beliefs, a determination by Logan and Jessica to escape "outside," a relationship between Logan and Jessica, the discovery of commitment by marriage, and a pursuit to free their society from its inhumanity. The viewer becomes caught up in a story that is more than just special effects. Granted, some people may find it difficult to root for Logan considering he starts out as a sandman. I for one advocate the death penalty by the state for murder under any condition, regardless of a person’s change of heart. But, judicial debt notwithstanding, the film does depict that a person’s heart can change (though real life murderers rarely ever seem to change their hearts), and it’s not too hard to see (or read into) how far Logan has come around by the time of the scene where he risks his life and tries to practically preach to the masses about Carousel being a lie and the truth that exists "outside."

The story has some things to say about how people transfer their sense of priorities as they age. The characters are engaging and their depth develops as the story proceeds. Many of the themes are timeless. Youth-oriented culture, disaster, oppression by government, and courage to go against the flow, are just a few of the elements presented here. The love story implies that this is the first time since who knows when that people have thought and felt in terms of strong emotions for each other. Though affected by the world portrayed in Logan’s Run, the love story is touching and depicts two people in love for the first time under such conditions. In Logan’s world where people don't normally have lasting emotional ties to one another, it is refreshing to see meaning, intimacy, dependability, and more rediscovered (especially in light of our own culture today).

The director’s intent of meaning in the movie, and the many ways one can take the movie itself, has been seen differently by various people. Obviously the movie has some social and religious concepts called into question and proven false. There is a strong sense of the characters learning to rely on their own courage and determination instead of blindly following the crowd. Are the false beliefs of society in the film ripped away only to leave room for a belief in one’s self and nothing else? Does the movie contain deep religious or anti-religious themes? Regardless of how far the director may or may not have intended to go with such themes, the film’s ending certainly leaves room for the further discoveries of long lost truths.