By KAMILA JASIŃSKA
If titles such as Blade Runner or The Matrix ring a bell, then you have an idea of what dystopia is. As opposed to utopia, it is a universe governed by some form of oppressive control, usually creating an illusion of idyllic or a destroyed society of the future. If you are one of those who enjoy the latest whims and wonders of mainstream culture, several titles come to your mind.
Hollywood’s obsession with dystopian film continues with the long awaited third part of The Hunger Games trilogy coming out on November 21st. The previous part grossed a nice sum of $864 million worldwide, which points to the new trend of turning dystopian fiction into high-budget movies (L. Lowry’s The Giver, V. Roth’s Divergent, J. Dashner’s The Maze Runner).
Bleak portrayal of the future feels honest, if not “right”. At some point each of us experiences that “chill” while watching TV, noting climate change and political conflicts, and wondering whether the direction humanity is heading is not perhaps the path to destruction. We have a tendency to imagine the worst and that is where dystopian fiction comes in, visualizing our silent fears.
Still, the main reason why we like dystopian movies and literature seems to lay in the myth of a hero. The ever-present need for someone to step forward from a crowd of ordinary people and turn the tables falls close to comic book heroes. There seem to be two types of dystopian heroes: one who lives in a blissful state of unawareness before finding faults underlying the system and deciding to fight it (The Giver), and the second one who already knows the system is faulty, but only in the course of some events plucks up the courage to fight it (The Hunger Games).
The plot structure and settings frequently seem oddly familiar. Dystopian fiction in most cases recycles the “evils” history taught us. It is all there: propaganda, restricted freedom and information, constant surveillance, dehumanization, uniformity, and the idea of a single person in power worshipped by many. Maybe that is the secret behind its enormous popularity. It warns the young and scolds the old – a reminder to watch our actions, beware the consequences. They just may come back to haunt us.
Two sub-trends within dystopian fiction can be distinguished: illusory idyllic society (The Giver) and post-apocalyptic world run by a faulty system (movies like Elisium, Oblivion, second season of CW’s TV show The 100). Most of those novels and movies are extremely packed with action and violence, which is supposed to attract attention of wider audiences. This seems to be true especially in case of video games (BioShock Infinite, City 17 – Half-Life), which appeal to people of all ages.
There is always a need for coming-of-age stories for the young, and stories about destruction for the adults. People need reminders to question the world, realize that nothing is as it seems and that there are always several layers of truth. Dystopian craze may eventually slow down, but it definitely will not disappear.
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