Utopia Resources

Websites

Thomas More: the (Marxist) 411

This book might be old, but it's a classic look at Thomas More's life and works as seen through the lens of Marxism. You'll never read Utopia the same way again.

Read it yourself. We Dare You.

Check out this (very) early 20th-century English translation of Utopia by Gilbert Burnet. Hey, at least we didn't send you to the Latin.

Everything You Need to Know About Thomas More

Here's a wonderful website devoted to all things More. It not only has links to other great resources, it also has useful (and fun) background info on the Renaissance. Definitely worth some serious browsing.

Movies and TV

More on Screen

A classic, this film depicts the moral dilemma Thomas More faced when Henry VIII decided to break with the Catholic church. Filled with Oscar-winning awesomeness, it will definitely increase your dinner party cred.

Silent Dystopia

Groundbreaking in terms of both early film technology and dystopian storytelling, Fritz Lang's Metropolis portrays a futuristic world where the kind of economic inequality that Hythloday was so upset about has become a horrible extreme.

The Red Pill or the Blue Pill

Yep, even The Matrix is a great example of a dystopian future brought about by a technological world Thomas More would never have imagined. But, like Utopia, The Matrix is interested in exploring our fears of the new.

Tudor TV

While not always 100% historically accurate, Showtime's popular television series does a beautiful job portraying the life and times of Henry VIII. And we'd like send a special shout-out to Jeremy Northam for his wonderful portrayal of Thomas More.

Articles and Interviews

Utopian conversations: a conversation

Check out this fascinating New York Times piece on the idea of Utopia and how we think of the concept of "modernity." Hint: there might be a connection.

Video

Utopia: inspiring in 1516, inspiring today

Here's a cool video of art students using Utopia as an inspiration for their designs. What would Utopia look like? How can we visually conceptualize it?

True Facts from Tudor England

Brought to you by the minds behind Showtime's series The Tudors, this is a pretty awesome (and funny) virtual tour of Tudor England.

Audio

Utopia, we hear you

Long car ride coming up? Check out this 19th-century English translation of Utopia now audio-recorded. You have no excuses left...

Images

More in the Flesh... Sort of

Considered the most iconic image of Thomas More, this one was painted by the famous Renaissance artist Hans Holbein.

We're off to see Utopia!

Actually, this map of Utopia included in the first edition isn't very useful if you're trying to find it. But we think it's kind of cute.

Brush up on your Utopian...

With this handy-dandy alphabet, you'll be joking with some syphogrants any day now.