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Dystopia
Dystopia is a place or society existing only in imagination, where the lives of humans are
worst and appalling because of the violence, terror, oppression, poverty, totalitarianism and
moral degradation taking place. It sometimes depicts the result of the societal trends of today that
are taken to or have gone to extreme. Sometimes, dystopia is used by the critics in the post-
modern society to condemn the bad things they see.
Dystopia is the contrast of the word utopia, a term first used by the English philosopher
and humanist Sir Thomas More in his book entitled with the same name. More describes utopia
as an ideal society or a place free of terror, violence, poverty, famineor in other wordsfree
of characteristics that make up a dystopia. Utopia comes from the combined Greek terms eu,
meaning good, and topos, meaning place. On the other hand, dystopia (sometimes called
cacotopia) is derived from the combination of Greek words dys (bad) and topos. Dystopia is a
term invented by the British philosopher John Stuart Mill, while cacotopia, is invented by the
British philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The meaning of the two may be understandable because of
the prefixes attached but the real difference between their meanings depends upon the situation
of a person. Say, for example, in Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; the people of district one
experience a very cozy and pampered life, while on the other hand; the people of district twelve
experience poverty, famine and hardship. One may live believing that a place or society is
somehow perfect; the other may not.
Dystopia in books and movies is commonly set in the future. It is usually under the genre
of science fiction and can be themed as either cyberpunk or steampunk. Cyberpunk is a genre
under the science fiction which features a highly-modernized, futuristic world controlled by
computers, robots, and/or other products of technology. Steampunk, on the other hand, features a
world controlled by steam-running machines, machines like those that can be found during the
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prime of industrialization in Europe and other Western countries in 19
th
century. Some people
relate dystopia to a post-apocalyptic environment or worlda result of a major catastrophe in
human history or some kind of advancement in human civilization due to technology. The
creation of this fictional world or society is sometimes associated with some uprising, revolt,
war, biological-related attack or some natural-occurring disaster in the past. Whichever way,
there is still a gradual and utter change on the system of a certain place either politically,
environmentally, socially or economically. In the political aspect, established government under
dystopia is commonly ruled by a corporation, totalitarian, or bureaucracies with few democratic
principles. In the social aspect, some dystopia features a society characterized by egalitarianism.
Equality is enforced very much to the point that everyone eats the same food, wears the same
clothes, learns the same things, and possesses the same quantity of things; talents, abilities and
accomplishments are forms of inequality. There are also many that feature and very much give
emphasis to social stratification in the society. In the famous novel Brave New World by Alduous
Huxley, the society is classified into five groups: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilon. In
Divergent by Veronica Roth, the society is then classified into five factions, namely Abnegation,
Dauntless, Erudite, Amity and Candor, but there is also a type of people with no faction called
Factionless.
Citizens living in dystopia are deceived by the most powerful authority into thinking they
are somehow living in utopia, thus, making them openly or forcefully accept their absurd life.
For them they are living happy and contented, thus, they think their society or place is perfect,
but from an outsiders point of view, their life is incongruous and wrong. They are deprived of
the basic human rights like freedom of expression, independent thinking, individuality,
information, and freedom itself. Ignorant has become of them since the authority denies them the
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Dystopia
right to learn and gain new knowledge. Their rights as a human, if not deprived, are being
restricted. In the book Matched, The Society controls the food that the citizens eat, their medical
needs and their freedom to choose their significant other. The Society, which is the most
powerful being in the said novel, has denied the citizens their right, as well as freedom, to
choose.
The citizens in dystopia are basically human robots. The authority is technically
controlling their lives. They are being dehumanized. Whatever moral principles or humanity left
to them are now gone and replaced by the rules and dictatorship of the authority. They are turned
into something against their own nature, against the human nature. They fear the outside world
because the authority has already engraved to their minds the uncertainties, risks, expectations
and all the other negative impressions of going to a place they have certainly no idea of. They are
expected to obey the rules of the government. They would avoid doing or causing any act of
disagreement or rebellion against the system or the authority in fear of the punishment that the
authority will give them. There is the idea incorporated in the minds of the people that they are
always being watched, thus, inhabiting the fear of dissenting the authority. The citizens see the
powerful authority as a god-like figure which they worship and admire so much, as well as some
figurehead invented by the state.
In dystopia-themed fiction, there are some approaches applied and uphold in the society to
control the citizens. Among these is the use of corporate control. A corporate retains its control
and power to the society through products, advertising, and media. In The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, a
man became so affluent and influential because of the bottles of fresh air he market. Another
type of control is the bureaucratic one. Here the society is ruled by a mindless bureaucracy with
an incompetent government. An example of bureaucratic control can be portrayed in the book
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Dystopia
1984 by George Orwell and in the film District 13 Ultimatum. The third type of approach in
controlling the society is through technology. The society is controlled through the use of
computers, robots, and other technology-related things. The example of this type of control can
be seen in the movies I, Robot, In Time, and Terminator. Lastly, the fourth type of control
through the religion or philosophy. Here, religious and philosophical principles and beliefs
control the minds of the society.
In dystopian films and novels, there is always a protagonist who sees the imperfection of
the society. The protagonist feels like theres something awfully wrong with the society. When
the protagonist realizes the wrongdoings of the society, he or she does something about it. Often
times, he/she is the one who starts the uprisingor if notthe one who stirs the feelings of the
people and makes them see his/her point of view. In Hunger Games, Katniss was able to provoke
the people of several districts to rise against Panem. Later, she became the one who leads a
rebellion against her nation. Sometimes, if overthrowing the dystopian government seems
impossible, the best option of the protagonist is to just escape. A dystopian government controls
only a specific society or place, so there are still other societies outside dystopia which are also
identified as the forbidden places, places one dares not go.





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References:
"Dystopia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web.
2 Jan. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopia>.
"Dystopia - George Orwell Links." Charles' George Orwell Links - Biographies, Essays, Novels,
Reviews, Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2013. <http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/col-
dystopia.htm>.
Read Write Think. (2006). Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics. Retrieved January 2, 2013,
from
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson926/DefinitionCharacteristics
.pdf
"What is the dystopian society? - Yahoo! Answers." Yahoo! Answers - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 2
Jan. 2013. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090707175240AAiuM1g>.