Arcadia

Suburb (for example “Fall at Aracadia”) describes much better the actual state of contemporary outlying districs rather than other touted terms: Unlike civitas, exurbs are out (of civilization) or perhaps preceding (vorstadt) even against (anteurbanum). These word games reveal the deep meaning of suburbios, shelters that do not deserve to be named city because they want to be out of it, far from it and finally in opposition to it. There is not civic value in their foundation.

This is the scenario of X-file episode “Arcadia” where individual dissension is not compatible with community. It is denied because they seek desperately to imitate the appearance of paradisal lost Arcadia. The totalitarian aesthetics just becomes an arrange of forms publicly.

The monster of the week is a kind of Golem, a being made of mud, whose duty is to protect the purity of community by enforcing law strictly. Law is against mess that pretend to naturalness, eternalness and changeless: chained to earth (ironically Falls at Arcadia is built on a dump).

The communitarians set a reference frame to be subdued without discussion. I mean: they delegate the most valuable thing for an american, their freedom. In fact that is what they really fear.

Gated communities protect from the rest of world hygienically but, how protect a community from themselves?