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Urry and Larsen (2011) in The Tourist Gaze construct a dystopia future of hyper mobility and hyper tourist consumption, resource shortages and the effects of climate change. At the centre of this future is Dubai, a neo-liberal, new design and themed park future of tourism. A place that echoes evil paradises of metropolis sprawl. Urry and Larsen’s portrayal of the future reminds us of the writing of HG Wells (1895) in which the dark forces of technology and science impact on a human society. The portrayal of science fiction in a futurism paradigm is captured in the adventures of Flash Gordon, a Yale polo player who with companions rescues the planet Earth from Ming the Merciless. It’s his companion Dr Hans Zarkow who invents a spaceship for Flash Gordon’s intergalactic travels. As Brosnan (1978) argues in Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction, Flash Gordon symbolizes Italian futurism with a focus on speed …