Science Fiction
The premise does half the work here, which is probably why it keeps sticking in my head: a Utopia rising above a ruined Los Angeles. That’s a strong enough image to survive a lot of clumsy explanation.
I’m more interested in whether it feels convincing than whether it feels shiny. Utopias are usually at their best when they look slightly annoying, slightly compromised, and just plausible enough to make the rest of the city look even worse by comparison. That’s where the tension lives.
I’m more interested in whether it feels convincing than whether it feels shiny. Utopias are usually at their best when they look slightly annoying, slightly compromised, and just plausible enough to make the rest of the city look even worse by comparison. That’s where the tension lives.
The bit that interests me is the social pressure of it, not the architecture. A “better” place sitting over a city that’s still falling apart below has an almost built-in resentment problem. That’s usually where utopia stories get sharper, because perfection starts to look like a boundary someone else has to live with. Also, if it’s too cleanly ideal, it stops being interesting very fast.