Merriam Webster dictionary defines Dystopia as:
- An imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives
- Anti-Utopia
Dystopia derives from the combination of the two Greek words dys (meaning bad/hard) and topia (meaning place/landscape). Dystopia is also sometimes referred to as Cacotopia.
Humans have always been fascinated with imagining what future — near or far — has in store for them. Weaving dystopian stories is a natural progression of this attraction. So, dystopian fantasy (stories set in a less than optimal world) has been around, I’m sure, since man could exchange ideas with fellow humans using words. Dystopian novels have been published for more than a century now.
Dystopian fantasy is a popular sub-genre of science fiction or, more broadly, speculative fiction.
The young adult market is teeming with dystopian fantasies (Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix, The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Uglies by Scott Westerfield, to name a few), although many dystopian adult novels (The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Children of Men by P.D. James among others) have been popular over the years, too.
With the recent release of the movie The Hunger Games (based on a YA book of the same name), this genre is probably more popular now than ever.
These novels depict either an individual fighting against oppression or a group of people coping collectively as a society with the dehumanized conditions.
Some of these stories are set in non-specified (in terms of time and geography) worlds, though generally speaking they are set in a future that is dark, dismal and oppressive. The reasons why society, in each of these books, has slid into this state is one of many:
- The rise to power of one political or religious group of people who then begin a systematic oppression of the society.
- An apocalyptic disaster, natural or otherwise, resulting in pockets of survivors.
- An unnatural/mysterious fear or disgust of the world outside. This usually is the consequence of a disaster in the distant past, the details of which none of the living members of the society remembers.
- Advancement of technology at a more rapid rate than humans could handle. So man has shunned technology and gone back to the dark ages.
- Technology has taken over humans, making puppets of them.
When I first began to read dystopian fantasies I refused to take them seriously, because they seemed overly fantastical and set so far in the future.
And then I picked up The Handmaid’s Tale. This story takes place in the United States where a theocratic regime has made the lives of women sub-human.
The ultimate shock for me? The story unfolds (in an eerily unemotional first person narrative) the truth of how the society has hurtled towards this state within the life span of a modern American woman. This novel forced me to look at the disturbing possibility that something like this could happen to any country, any time.
Despite that realization, I’m not a big fan of dystopian fiction. Why? Because, the eternal optimist in me shrivels up at all the gloom and doom in these stories. Who is to say what the future holds for us humans? Why look at it only through a pessimistic lens and expect the worst?
And the mom in me balks at the supposition that we may be leaving our future generations to such a miserable future.
Even if you haven’t had a chance to read a book set in dystopia, you may have encountered it in movies such as: The Matrix, Minority Report, Total Recall and Avatar.
So, do you like dystopian fantasies? Why or why not?
I love dystopian! Even though they’re pessimistic, they’re really interesting. They teach us how to avoid the futures they talk about.
You make a good point, Alexa! Any book that can bring about a discussion is definitely good….
I love dystopian, too! I’m a bit worn out on them now, though, because I’ve read so many lately.
I know what you mean! I’ve read my share of them lately, too – all the grime, concrete and steel ( in addition to the pessimism) can get to you, right?
I read the Handmaid’s Tale as my first dystopian novel. The writing was amazing, the storyline superb, but not my cup of tea….However, I was totally addicted to the Uglies and Hunger Games… The people who have the ability to create these stories are amazing, I wish my brain worked that way.
I totally agree, Sharon, that it takes a different kind of imagination to be able to make up such worlds and make them so believable.
No, I don’t really like dystopia (still have to read Orwell’s 1984)… but I’ve read “The World Without Us” – which is actually non-fiction – to build more realistic futures… except sci-fi is not really my forte anyway! ;-) Too untechnological for hard sci-fi fans…
So, I’m not totally alone in my indifference to that genre! :)
I like dystopian. I will say that I thought th writing was phenomenal in The Handmaid’s Tale, but I did not like the story. If that makes any sense???
I totally get it. Some books have the same effect on me.
My threshold for dystopian literature/movies is about one a year. I cannot fathom a world like it. I mostly read it for the fantastical aspect, I think.
I’m totally there. Dystopian literature or movies have the same effect on me as the other extreme of the spectrum: sickly-sweet romances. It’s very easy for them to turn my stomach :).
I haven’t read Hunger games or the Handmaid’s tale – I am unnerved by their premise and haven’t felt brave enough to read them -yet…..
The Handmaid’s Tale made a bigger impression on me than The Hunger Games maybe because it’s plot seemed so much closer to home. It was a hard and emotional read, but a good one in terms of the writing (of course, it’s Margaret Atwood) and the instructional value in it-there are glimpses of the oppression women suffer already now in some parts of the world.
Dystopian books are all the rage in my classroom right now. As both a history and reading teacher dystopian books appeal to me as a warning, or glimpse into a world of what could be, often though to an extreme.
I’ve never read The Handmaid’s Tale, but oddly enough have heard that title mentioned about a dozen times over the last two weeks. That must be a sign that it’s time to read it.
Definitely – these books can serve as a dire warning, and I hope readers do thnk about that aspect when they’re reading them.
Handmaid’s Tale is very gripping in a lot of senses. It’s one of those books which need mental preparation before you pick them up.
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