What is Dystopia?
A dystopia is the opposite of a utopia because a utopia is a future where everyone's needs are met and everything at least appears to be perfect and there seems to be no problems in the society. However, a dystopia is a vision of the future in which society has lost its way and things are broken down and ruined and society has essentially fallen to its knees and reverted to how it once was when it was first conceived. A dystopia is quite an old concept as it was first created in Thomas Moore's book called "Utopia" and it is the opposite of a utopia as well. Dystopian fiction imagines the worst-case scenarios for our future. However, paranoid these imaginings may seem, they also expose important truths about our current reality and the most frightening fictional dystopias are recognizable extensions of our current world. These worlds answer "What If" questions about the future with the most pessimistic of responses. "Topia" simply means place or world and "dys" means bad in Greek.
What are some of the common fears explored in dystopian narratives?
What if the earth runs out of resources?- Mad Max, Maze Runner
The fear is that no one will survive and everyone will die.
What if we stop having as many children?- Children of Many
The fear is that the population will have run out and no one will be alive due to people not reproducing
What if we live in a military state?- Hunger Games, V for Vendetta
The fear is that everything that we do will be controlled and we will have little to no freedom left.
What if there was no law and order?- Purge: Anarchy
The fear is that everyone will do whatever they please if given the chance to do so without any consequences.
What if the government used reality TV as a form of propaganda?- The Law, 1984
The fear is that we will be controlled subliminally by things that we go to relate to and for comfort.
What dystopian films have you seen? TO DO
Hunger Games-
A Clockwork Orange-
Fahrenheit 451-
The concept of 'Used Future'
It acknowledges that even in the future clothes are ripped, there will still be garbage left in places where garbage shouldn't be and things will still break and need to be fixed.
For the longest time science was all about portraying a very futuristic view of what the concept of 'future' included a perfect and polished white gleaming plastic (stark trek and all early portrayals of what future technology would look like. Even cartoons like 'The Jetsons' set in the early 2000s where there is flying cars and completely automated kitchens.
10 Terrifying Dystopias That Could Happen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHff1bwnCn0
Character of a Dystopian Society
Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society
Information, independent thought and freedom are restored
A figurehead or concept is worshiped by the citizens of society.
Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.
Citizens have a fear of the outside world.
Citizens live in a dehumanized state.
The natural world is banished and distrusted.
Citizens conform to uniform expectations, individuality and dissent are bad.
The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.
Types of Dystopian Controls
Most dystopian works present a world in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through one or more of the following types of control:
Corporate- One or more large corporations control society through products, advertising, and/or the media. Examples include Minority Report and Running Man.
Bureaucratic- Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy through a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations and incompetent government officials. Examples in film include Brazil.
Technological- Society is controlled by technology- through computers, robots and/or scientific means. Examples include The Matrix, The Terminator and I, Robot.
Philosophical or Religious- Society is controlled by philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic government.
The Dystopian Protagonist
Often feels trapped and is struggling to escape.
Questions the existing social and political system.
Believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives.
Helps the audience recognize the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective.
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