寻梦乌托邦

Ever since Thomas More coined the term in 1516, utopia - that better place somewhere between fiction and reality - has been reimagined and reinvented by generations of writers and dreamers. For better and for worse, utopias have been an engine of cultural change, spurring human imagination, inspiring major art and design movements, spawning new genres of fiction and forging experimental communities. Now, in a major new arts series for BBC Four, art historian Professor Richard Clay examines the enduring appeal of utopias and asks what it is in the human condition that yearns for it and what it is in human nature that often frustrates us getting there. Ambitious and provocative, with high profile interviewees including architect Norman Foster and composer Steve Reich, the series ranges across high art and popular culture, from Swift to Star Trek, Wagner to Wikipedia.