Aeon Flux
The development of Aeon Flux
Æon Flux is an avant garde animated science fiction television series that aired on MTV . It premiered in 1991 on MTV's Liquid Television experimental animation show as a six-part serial of short films , followed in 1992 by five individual short episodes. In 1995 a season of ten half-hour episodes aired as a stand-alone series. Most viewers prefer the Liquid Television serials to the show for their lack of dialogue and narration, which greatly heightened the story's mystery. Æon Flux was created by Korean American animator Peter Chung . A live action motion picture loosely based upon the series and starring Charlize Theron was released in late 2005 .
THE VISUAL STYLE
The visual style of Aeon Flux was deeply influenced by the figurative paintings and drawings of the Austrian artist Egon Schiele. Other key influences on Æon Flux can be found in Japanese anime (especially grittier fare like Akira), and European comic works such as the work of Moebius (particularly in lineforms, color palettes, and figure characterizations); Æon Flux is often erroneously classified as an anime series. Graphic violence and sexuality, including fetishism and domination, are frequently depicted. One peculiarity of the series is that every short and even some full episodes end with the violent death of Æon Flux and there is virtually no continuity between episodes other than characters. Another is that, with the exception of a single spoken word, all of the short episodes are completely devoid of dialogue. Peter Chung has said that this plot ambiguity and disregard for continuity are meant as a satire of mainstream action films, and his stories often emphasize the futility of violence and the ambiguity of personal morality.
LITTLE RESEMBLANCE
An Aeon Flux Hollywood adaptation has provoked tremendous controversy among Aeon Flux fans since the film adaptation bears little resemblance to the original animated series. Nevertheless, after nearly a decade of speculation and rumor, filming began August 2004, and completed at the end of 2004 in Berlin, to be released in December 2005. The screenplay was written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and the film is being directed by Karyn Kusama. The character of Æon Flux is being played by Oscar-winner Charlize Theron. Filming was temporarily suspended during September 2004 while Theron recovered from a neck injury she suffered during stuntwork on the tenth day of shooting.
One peculiarity of the early shorts is the violent death of Æon Flux, which occurs in each of the installments (by contrast, she only "dies" once in the half-hour series). Often her death is caused by fate; sometimes she dies due to her own incompetence. One of the half-hour episodes, "A Last Time For Everything", ends with the original Æon being killed and replaced by an identical clone . Although continuity is not non-existent in the series -- and Chung made some adjustments for the DVD release to improve this -- the only unchanging continuity between half-hour episodes is the two main characters of Trevor and Æon. There is intentionally no continuity between the shorts. Peter Chung has said that this plot ambiguity and disregard for continuity are meant as a satire of mainstream action films, and his stories often emphasize the futility of violence and the ambiguity of personal morality .
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