Dystopia - The Rise of Destruction
I have talked a lot on this blog about the connections between society and the fictitious narratives we as humans create out of our circumstances. Most people think of the historical moments going into their television shows. Say during President Obama's presidency, many people saw African American presidents portrayed in their favorite television shows and movies. This is just one way the present can alter our fictions.
But some are more frightening than that. I am talking about the Rise of the Dystopian novel.
The first dystopian novel written was The Time Machine by HG Wells and it was ahead of its time. Where many of the more popular dystopian novels are about the fears of society, the Time Machine is the fear of the other and of technology. When you read The Time Machine, you will see people who are not the stereotypical 1895 England person. They are "savage" but they are also the future. Is this a fear of technology taking the world back to it's primitive nature? Possibly.
The World War II era was the real rise in popularity for the dystopian novel. With the world having already been through one world war, they were privy to the horrors of what went on on the battle field as well as how the governments could be turned against their people. Fears of what could (have) happen(ed) if these powers were not stopped seeped into the minds and hearts of people around the world, and therefore into their literature. With the addition of the radio dramas as well as the just widespread broadcasting of the war itself over the air, the world was well aware of the dangers the world was in.
Books like 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury all explored different aspects of these fears.
Orwell's 1984 showed a world where the "war" raging was a way to keep citizens in line. From fear mongering to the Big Brother looming and watching over everyone, it is no wonder this became a classic in the dystopian genre. It has the oppression of the people. It has the need to take away freedoms and individuality and beauty. It has the overbearing overlords. Society used this as a way to show how much better of a world they lived in because the did not live in this world, but it also marked fears for the future.
Huxley's Brave New World was able to take these same fears but twist them in a sugar coated way. Now I am not saying that this book is not just as powerful. I am saying it is subversive in it's power. There is not the same looming fears and obvious oppression that there were in 1984. People were, in their own way, free to an extent. There was not the overt knowledge that they were being watched at every second and that they could be taken off to a torture room if they stepped out of line. But there was still the soul sucking feelings throughout the novel that amped up the fear from the reader's standpoint. They would be shown that they could be controlled in a more subtle way. Both 1984 and Brave New World have very little hope in the novels, both ending in their own grim ways.
Fahrenheit 451 was showing the dangers of suppression of culture and censorship. This also shows the power of the people standing against their oppressors. They are able to keep their stories, keep their culture, but in an intangible way that cannot be taken from them. I believe that this is what current narratives draw on the most out of the three novels.
The 1960's to 1970s brought on another time of upheaval and change that often ended in violence. Not only were their the Civil Rights Movements, but also the assassinations of three upstanding leaders in our country, and a war the people of the country wanted nothing to do with.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is a novel, and later a film, filled with the violence that crowded the airwaves of this time. Gangs running rampant, sexual and physical assault expected more than anything else. This was definitely a book where the world had gone to hell. And, yes, there was a large amount of violence in this time, but in this novel, Burgess was able to heighten these crimes to give a view into the society itself. And it was terrifying. For this, the message seemed to be that violence was inherent in the system and while people could try to make it better by using science and aversion therapy to get it to stop, it would ultimately fail.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K Dick, while not the same kind of dystopia, is dystopic in nature as well. This hearkens back to the fears of technology and the other that The Time Machine introduces. In a place where replicants (androids) are illegal, the main character known as Deckard has to hunt down six who have illegally returned to Earth and started mingling with the human population. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where Earth's life has been greatly damaged by nuclear global war. This fear of a global war resurfacing stems from the fears of post World War II and the Cold War that was happening throughout this era. This may seem familiar (especially from the gif below) because it was turned into a little film called Blade Runner.
Fast forward to the 1980s and 1990s and you will find a new resurgence of this trend. This could be because of the rise in violence during this time period, the civil rights movements, the growing technological movements, the wars entered and seemingly never ended, or the end of the Cold War. All of these have a lot to do with dystopian novels in general and have a profound affect on this era and up until the current times.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood explores the fears of a post war world where women are placed back into a place of no power and are forced to become surrogates for the wives of men in power who cannot bear children. There is a 1984 vibe to the novel in the fact that someone is always watching and will report you if you step our of line. Sexual promiscuity and female identity are what are at the heart of this novel. The fears of these basic human rights, like the right to choose, being taken away from half of the population are what are truly terrifying in this novel. There is no hope at the end of this novel for me. Just a ceaseless pattern that this treatment will go on forever.
The Giver by Lois Lowry is more like our current dystopian trend in the fact that there is a chosen one who can help save the world. Again, this suppression in the book is less visible, mainly because the people do not really know what they are missing. They are kept in this black and white haze in which the main character is able to come out of because he can see color. The Giver is given the knowledge of this suppression, is able to understand that the children who are given to the government are killed, not helped or taken to a refuge where they may one day reunite with their families. This is a dark world, but only under the surface. This is showing the less visible ways a government can control their people and that not everything is as it seems.
Fast forward again to today and there is another spike in this genre. You might even say that this trend has not really stopped since 1985-ish, but has changed in its portrayal of the characters. No longer are there helpless girls who have to be saved. No longer will civilizations allow themselves to be oppressed forever. Now there are symbols of rebellions who will affect change immediately and violently. They will overthrow and take what is necessary to save those they love.
The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins is no exception to this. This series is what really pushed the genre to the forefront in popularity for young adult readers. The film franchise kept that going as well until we had what we have today. A girl, saving her sister from a horrible death, not wanting to play by the rules and in turn, losing everything to save her society. She has to kill or be killed, literally. She gives the readers a view into what they want to be but will not strive for. One thing I find most interesting about this book is the attention to the media. In the focus of the love story of Peeta and Katniss, the media, The Capitol, are able to distract their people from the horrors of their children being sacrificed every year. They see a love story, they see some kind of sensationalized drama, not brutal murder games. I point this out because this is exactly what happened in our media covering the franchise. Gone were the allegories and symbols. It was only: Team Peeta or Team Gale.
Divergent by Veronica Roth shows the fears of the other, but this is the fear of diversity of people's thought processes. The five factions: Erudite, Abnigation, Dauntless, Amity, and Candor, all stand for core values, but there is strife between them. Much like in our society, people value the strong and the smart and want to push away the kind and selfless because they are "useless." Roth is showing readers that you need to have a bit of everything to succeed in being a good person.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver is showing the government's fears of our emotions. In turn, they take them away, fearing that our fears will make us dangerous. Love will make us do things we normally would not, like stand up for people, or die for our loved ones. It makes us unpredictable and therefore uncontrollable. I think I love this series because it is showing readers to not fear their emotions. And while the ending is not necessarily a wholly happy one, it allows us to see a hope for a brighter future that may come.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a world in which technology rules. Instead of living in the real world, people rely on their manufactured one to "live" in. People become sloths in their own lives, refuse to acknowledge one another, are not able to socially operate in a world that is not created out of pixels. There is also the overbearing agencies that want to control and monopolize a product for a profit, no matter how it may affect those using the product.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a world that has been destroyed by man's own hands. In this series, the world has been put on the brink of destruction because of it's lack of care about nature. The weather has turned to hell, the soil is rotten so food can be scarce. The birds have disappeared, the water is running dry. And one girl wants to live. There is a world of people with powers that cannot come to the light because they are afraid of the government. There seems to be little kindness in this world, until Juliette. It is a powerful series of showing young people (girls in particular) that they need to embrace their inner power to be able to affect positive change around them. There will be hurdles, but you have to pick yourself up again to really succeed.
And in all of these examples, I have not even touched the hundreds of films and television shows that deal with the same issues. This is a growing genre and does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
So, what do these all have in common? Well, for one thing, they are all very destructive in nature. There is often, well almost always, a destructive governmental force that is forcing these horrors onto their people. There is suppression, often genocide of some sort, and a feeling of hopelessness in all of the characters, but more often in the side characters.
One thing to note, especially in the more recent narratives (the young adult ones to be even more specific) is that there is a Chosen One who has to save the world. They are able to start the resistance against the foul government. They are a beacon of hope.
I think that is the most important part of these recent stories. The hope for something better. Yes, there is a fear of a cycle of oppression. The question of are we just trading one master for another comes up a lot. But there is still that overwhelming desire for good and peace. Hope brings the people together for change.
How does society, in detail, affect our changing desires for genres? To me, I think society looks around and sees the horrors going on around the world. We want to be able to deal with these issues, but don't really understand how we can do that in our limited positions as individuals. Yes, we look up to the Katniss's in our fantasies, but we cannot see ourselves as becoming her. And in general, our society and what happens to us determines a lot of what we want to see in our fiction.
Why do we do this? Why do we enjoy seeing destruction of our civilizations so much?The simple answer is that we need an escape, but we also want to be reassured that it can always get worse. That we aren't at a point in our history where we sacrifice our children, our emotions, our happiness to the government's control. We are still free standing people. The destruction is our desire for what can be called "disaster porn." This is the idea that there is an unsettling beauty in destruction and decay that we look for in our world. That's why we are so drawn to images of abandoned places, and, in a way, destroyed cities of our favorite books.
I, personally, love dystopian novels, shows, and movies. I love seeing the people rise from the ashes and get to start anew, though often they do not get to do so.
But I want to hear what you think of all of this. You've heard my thoughts on dystopias, so what do you think? Do you agree with me? I would love to hear from you!
Tweet me your answers at dsbookie! (You have more room to do so now! Woo)
As always, you can find me on social media at dsbookie on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Goodreads.
I'll catch you all next time!
XO
Dana
But some are more frightening than that. I am talking about the Rise of the Dystopian novel.
The first dystopian novel written was The Time Machine by HG Wells and it was ahead of its time. Where many of the more popular dystopian novels are about the fears of society, the Time Machine is the fear of the other and of technology. When you read The Time Machine, you will see people who are not the stereotypical 1895 England person. They are "savage" but they are also the future. Is this a fear of technology taking the world back to it's primitive nature? Possibly.
The World War II era was the real rise in popularity for the dystopian novel. With the world having already been through one world war, they were privy to the horrors of what went on on the battle field as well as how the governments could be turned against their people. Fears of what could (have) happen(ed) if these powers were not stopped seeped into the minds and hearts of people around the world, and therefore into their literature. With the addition of the radio dramas as well as the just widespread broadcasting of the war itself over the air, the world was well aware of the dangers the world was in.
Books like 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury all explored different aspects of these fears.
Huxley's Brave New World was able to take these same fears but twist them in a sugar coated way. Now I am not saying that this book is not just as powerful. I am saying it is subversive in it's power. There is not the same looming fears and obvious oppression that there were in 1984. People were, in their own way, free to an extent. There was not the overt knowledge that they were being watched at every second and that they could be taken off to a torture room if they stepped out of line. But there was still the soul sucking feelings throughout the novel that amped up the fear from the reader's standpoint. They would be shown that they could be controlled in a more subtle way. Both 1984 and Brave New World have very little hope in the novels, both ending in their own grim ways.
Fahrenheit 451 was showing the dangers of suppression of culture and censorship. This also shows the power of the people standing against their oppressors. They are able to keep their stories, keep their culture, but in an intangible way that cannot be taken from them. I believe that this is what current narratives draw on the most out of the three novels.
The 1960's to 1970s brought on another time of upheaval and change that often ended in violence. Not only were their the Civil Rights Movements, but also the assassinations of three upstanding leaders in our country, and a war the people of the country wanted nothing to do with.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is a novel, and later a film, filled with the violence that crowded the airwaves of this time. Gangs running rampant, sexual and physical assault expected more than anything else. This was definitely a book where the world had gone to hell. And, yes, there was a large amount of violence in this time, but in this novel, Burgess was able to heighten these crimes to give a view into the society itself. And it was terrifying. For this, the message seemed to be that violence was inherent in the system and while people could try to make it better by using science and aversion therapy to get it to stop, it would ultimately fail.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K Dick, while not the same kind of dystopia, is dystopic in nature as well. This hearkens back to the fears of technology and the other that The Time Machine introduces. In a place where replicants (androids) are illegal, the main character known as Deckard has to hunt down six who have illegally returned to Earth and started mingling with the human population. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where Earth's life has been greatly damaged by nuclear global war. This fear of a global war resurfacing stems from the fears of post World War II and the Cold War that was happening throughout this era. This may seem familiar (especially from the gif below) because it was turned into a little film called Blade Runner.
Fast forward to the 1980s and 1990s and you will find a new resurgence of this trend. This could be because of the rise in violence during this time period, the civil rights movements, the growing technological movements, the wars entered and seemingly never ended, or the end of the Cold War. All of these have a lot to do with dystopian novels in general and have a profound affect on this era and up until the current times.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood explores the fears of a post war world where women are placed back into a place of no power and are forced to become surrogates for the wives of men in power who cannot bear children. There is a 1984 vibe to the novel in the fact that someone is always watching and will report you if you step our of line. Sexual promiscuity and female identity are what are at the heart of this novel. The fears of these basic human rights, like the right to choose, being taken away from half of the population are what are truly terrifying in this novel. There is no hope at the end of this novel for me. Just a ceaseless pattern that this treatment will go on forever.
The Giver by Lois Lowry is more like our current dystopian trend in the fact that there is a chosen one who can help save the world. Again, this suppression in the book is less visible, mainly because the people do not really know what they are missing. They are kept in this black and white haze in which the main character is able to come out of because he can see color. The Giver is given the knowledge of this suppression, is able to understand that the children who are given to the government are killed, not helped or taken to a refuge where they may one day reunite with their families. This is a dark world, but only under the surface. This is showing the less visible ways a government can control their people and that not everything is as it seems.
Fast forward again to today and there is another spike in this genre. You might even say that this trend has not really stopped since 1985-ish, but has changed in its portrayal of the characters. No longer are there helpless girls who have to be saved. No longer will civilizations allow themselves to be oppressed forever. Now there are symbols of rebellions who will affect change immediately and violently. They will overthrow and take what is necessary to save those they love.
The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins is no exception to this. This series is what really pushed the genre to the forefront in popularity for young adult readers. The film franchise kept that going as well until we had what we have today. A girl, saving her sister from a horrible death, not wanting to play by the rules and in turn, losing everything to save her society. She has to kill or be killed, literally. She gives the readers a view into what they want to be but will not strive for. One thing I find most interesting about this book is the attention to the media. In the focus of the love story of Peeta and Katniss, the media, The Capitol, are able to distract their people from the horrors of their children being sacrificed every year. They see a love story, they see some kind of sensationalized drama, not brutal murder games. I point this out because this is exactly what happened in our media covering the franchise. Gone were the allegories and symbols. It was only: Team Peeta or Team Gale.
Divergent by Veronica Roth shows the fears of the other, but this is the fear of diversity of people's thought processes. The five factions: Erudite, Abnigation, Dauntless, Amity, and Candor, all stand for core values, but there is strife between them. Much like in our society, people value the strong and the smart and want to push away the kind and selfless because they are "useless." Roth is showing readers that you need to have a bit of everything to succeed in being a good person.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver is showing the government's fears of our emotions. In turn, they take them away, fearing that our fears will make us dangerous. Love will make us do things we normally would not, like stand up for people, or die for our loved ones. It makes us unpredictable and therefore uncontrollable. I think I love this series because it is showing readers to not fear their emotions. And while the ending is not necessarily a wholly happy one, it allows us to see a hope for a brighter future that may come.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a world in which technology rules. Instead of living in the real world, people rely on their manufactured one to "live" in. People become sloths in their own lives, refuse to acknowledge one another, are not able to socially operate in a world that is not created out of pixels. There is also the overbearing agencies that want to control and monopolize a product for a profit, no matter how it may affect those using the product.
And in all of these examples, I have not even touched the hundreds of films and television shows that deal with the same issues. This is a growing genre and does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
So, what do these all have in common? Well, for one thing, they are all very destructive in nature. There is often, well almost always, a destructive governmental force that is forcing these horrors onto their people. There is suppression, often genocide of some sort, and a feeling of hopelessness in all of the characters, but more often in the side characters.
I think that is the most important part of these recent stories. The hope for something better. Yes, there is a fear of a cycle of oppression. The question of are we just trading one master for another comes up a lot. But there is still that overwhelming desire for good and peace. Hope brings the people together for change.
How does society, in detail, affect our changing desires for genres? To me, I think society looks around and sees the horrors going on around the world. We want to be able to deal with these issues, but don't really understand how we can do that in our limited positions as individuals. Yes, we look up to the Katniss's in our fantasies, but we cannot see ourselves as becoming her. And in general, our society and what happens to us determines a lot of what we want to see in our fiction.
Why do we do this? Why do we enjoy seeing destruction of our civilizations so much?The simple answer is that we need an escape, but we also want to be reassured that it can always get worse. That we aren't at a point in our history where we sacrifice our children, our emotions, our happiness to the government's control. We are still free standing people. The destruction is our desire for what can be called "disaster porn." This is the idea that there is an unsettling beauty in destruction and decay that we look for in our world. That's why we are so drawn to images of abandoned places, and, in a way, destroyed cities of our favorite books.
I, personally, love dystopian novels, shows, and movies. I love seeing the people rise from the ashes and get to start anew, though often they do not get to do so.
But I want to hear what you think of all of this. You've heard my thoughts on dystopias, so what do you think? Do you agree with me? I would love to hear from you!
Tweet me your answers at dsbookie! (You have more room to do so now! Woo)
As always, you can find me on social media at dsbookie on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Goodreads.
I'll catch you all next time!
XO
Dana
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