Dystopian Texts An introduction

Etymology Based on a binary opposite UTOPIA- from Greek ou "not" + topos "place" coined by Thomas More literally "nowhere," 1551. DYSTOPIA- from Greek dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult“ apparently coined by J.S. Mill , "Hansard Commons“, 1868.

Dystopian texts Speculative Fiction- Fantasy Science-fiction Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick, 1971 “Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible.” ― Rod Sterling

Dystopian Texts Therefore, Dystopian texts are a subgenre of Scifi. Focus on setting- bleak vision of the future. Post Apocalyptic literature focuses on a future after a major nuclear catastrophe. Cyber Punk address issues of technology and artificial intelligence. Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, 1982

Utopia/Dystopia Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions. Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control.

Utopian and Dystopian Novels In 1516, Sir Thomas More published a book called Utopia. It's title meant, in Greek, either "good place" or "no place," and the book described an ideal society that More used in order to criticize his own society. Utopia was not the first book to imagine a perfect society, Plato's Republic, for example, does the same thing. But Utopia did give the genre a name, and numerous writers over the years wrote their own Utopian novels. In addition, a number of writers wrote Dystopian novels, in which they imagined the worst possible society, and used it to criticize their current world. Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel. The primary literary model for Nineteen Eighty-Four is considered to be H.G. Wells's anti-Utopian satire When the Sleeper Wakes (1899), but Orwell was also influenced by the writings of the 18th century satirist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels (1726). Prior to writing Nineteen Eighty-Four Orwell wrote and published essays on Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), Jack London's The Iron Heel (1907) and Yevgeny Zamyatin's We(1924), dystopian novels set in an imaginary future, and James Burnham's nonfiction political tractThe Managerial Revolution (1941).

Themes- Control 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 controls: • Corporate control: One or more large corporations control society through products, advertising, and/or the media. Examples include Minority Report and Running Man. • Bureaucratic control: Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy through a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and incompetent government officials. Examples in film include Brazil.

Control • Technological control: Society is controlled by technology—through computers, robots, and/or scientific means. Examples include The Matrix, The Terminator, and I, Robot. • Philosophical/religious control: Society is controlled by philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic government. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margret Atwood, 1985.

Themes Dystopian texts are a mirror of our current fears and concerns. They reflect the issues of today’s society. They project a comment about what is wrong with the world today and what inevitably could occur if these problems are not addressed. The Road, John Hillcoat, 2009

Themes Environmental: Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam). Class Inequality: Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium (film), Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Talents, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (film). Corruption/Government: Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay), Jack London’s The Iron Heel, Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale. Capitalism/Social Complacency: E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops, Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! (a.k.a. the inspiration for the film Soylent Green),  Mike Judge’s Idiocracy (film), Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant). Gender/Age Inequality: P.D. James’ Children of Men, William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson’s Logan’s Run. Science/Technology: Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca, Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano. Miscellaneous: Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive), Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Lathe of Heaven.

Ten Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heAVOA8iyCw

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