Chung storyboarded the show’s plot as well as the opening sequence of Rugrats.ĭespite the positive reaction and popularity that followed the children’s show, Chung felt that the constraints that came with a children’s production were too creatively binding. He collaborated with Gábor Csupó and Arlene Klasky to design and develop characters for the cartoon show. He was soon drafted by Disney to work on live-action feature projects. During the early stages of his career, the idea behind Aeon Flux started to flourish as a response, in Chung’s mind, to the clichés of superhero depiction in 1980s Hollywood cinema.Ī pivotal point came in 1990 with Chung’s involvement with the popular children’s show, Rugrats. At the age of 19, he worked under the guidance of illustrator Salvador Bru and designed characters for Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. The Korean American started his animation career in 1980 at a small creative firm in Maryland having recently graduated from the California Institute of the Arts. If you are involved in a process of trying to figure out what is happening, what you are witnessing on the screen, then your mind is encouraged to go to places it wouldn’t ordinarily go to, and I am satisfied with that.” It is kind of a cliché but it is mind altering… it expands your consciousness … and that is why I think that I am more interested in the process of thinking that gets evoked through looking at my work than providing any kind of answers. “I do find that when I am watching the films or reading the books that I enjoy my mind starts to get evoked into a thought process that is different… it takes you out of your ordinary, mundane way of thinking. Speaking to Former People, Chung explains the non-declarative nature of Aeon Flux. Another scene is based on the pregnancy of a male citizen. One particular episode highlights the argument between Aeon and Trevor regarding the gender of an alien who is without biological assignation. To match her scant leather attire, the character of Aeon displays unapologetic promiscuity and kink throughout. In a more psychological sense, Aeon Flux provides a progressive view of sex positivity and gender identity. Chung does not don kid gloves in the portrayal of violence and physical combat either. The acrobatic anatomy of Aeon, who always sports a dominatrix-inspired outfit, is presented with clear sexuality. Characters are drawn with razor sharp skeletal features and gravity-defying hairstyles. The characters of Aeon Flux are cadaverous and angular as opposed to the svelt muscularity of popular vigilantes such as Superman and Wonder Woman. Surreal themes of self-imposed amnesia, artificial intelligence and eroticism fuel episode plotlines.Īesthetically, Chung draws a stark view of anti-heroes. Aeon Flux is not concerned with continuity either, as the titular character suffers a violent death in several individual episodes only to emerge unscathed in the following one. Chung’s aim, from the very beginning, was to uphold ethical ambiguity in order to inspire questioning thoughts in the viewer – questions which would remain unanswered conundrums. He uses citizens as scientific test subjects and is under constant threat of Aeon’s political plots and allure.Īt no point in the show is it made clear which one is the protagonist and which is the villain. Goodchild is the authoritarian dictator of the adjacent city-state of Bregna. She, a spy from the anarchist society of Monica, is represented in borderline fetish fashions and leather gear. Its story follows the movements of the female assassin/insurgent, Aeon Flux as she attempts to outwit and overthrow her nemesis and lover, Trevor Goodchild. The show takes place in a cyberpunk-styled dystopian setting. Fortunately, these obstacles did not impede the birth of the enigmatic Aeon Flux by Peter Chung. With censorship, advocacy groups, fickle viewership and production costs all at play, it is fair to say that the majority of television productions are scrapped before they see the light of day. A modern television show in development has many hurdles to overcome before any network will give it the green light.
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